phlatlanders and the missus going on their 1st cruise

[phlatlanders]

As Caribbean tourists, Barbados, Cuba, Mayan Riviera, this will be our 1st ever cruise. Cruising friends convinced us that the prices were right so have a balcony with chairs no less! Should be interesting.

Holland America Eastern Caribbean cruise; our ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, departs Ft. Lauderdale March 6 and returns March 13. 

[Milli]

  Congratulations Phlatlanders.  You will have to be a "trailblazer" for some of us who sit on the fence when it comes to taking a cruise.  I look forward to your impressions.   Enjoy!

[travelchick]

You surely have the travel bug, phlat!  Congrats on yet another booking.  And I'm with Milli--looking forward to your "take" on cruising.  Your ports sound like great choices.  Have a blast.  TC 

[flopnfly]

Congrats on taking the plunge 

It looks like you got a good itinerary, and a balcony with chairs.  It should be great.

We're all sitting on the fence, wanting to take a cruise but not quite ready yet, so we are all going to be anxious to hear all about it when you return.

[phlatlanders]

One of the cruising things I AM NOT GOING TO ENJOY - PAYING FOR EACH DRINK! And apparently they confiscate any booze (wine exepted) in your luggage to be returned when you're finished.

Regarding our recent travels, we have not struck gold. We didn't travel much in 07 & 08 & early 09 as Mrs phlatlander was busy beating the big C. Now that she is a survivor we are making up for lost time and very thankful for the opportunity a great healthcare system has provided.   

[FredTracie]

congrats on making the leap to cruising! Check out cruisecritic.com as this site has an abundance of information that you may find usefull, or rumrunnerflasks.com may also be of interest!
 The balcony is a real plus to enjoy on your cruise.
   Cheers

[phlatlanders]

F&T, thanks for the links. The missus is reading the reviews and I'm seriously contemplating getting a couple of those rumrunners...

[FredTracie]

A couple of ideas that worked well for us on our cruises.
 - Take a small power bar as there are only a limited amount of wall plugs. Maybe a small ext. cord.
 - Take an over the door shoe holder to keep all of your loose items in rather than all over the small table tops.
 - clothes pins, bungee cord, bathroom freshener, .
 - soft sided cooler, tip the steward and it will be full of ice every day (must keep the wine chilled) large zip bags for ice.
 - Stainless steel wine glasses (won't leave home without them), corkscrew and plug.
 - binoculars (for looking at Cuba when you sail past) The Americans on board go over the top when passing Cuba!

  hope this helps!

[phlatlanders]

Thanks for the tips F&T.  How was Santa Lucia?

[FredTracie]

Santa Lucia was good, always an interesting time, would return in a minute!