Going on a cruise!

[fair_warning]

I'm going on my very first cruise - my first round of research told me to avoid the cheapy P & O booze cruises.... After that I'm not sure.

It will be around the Pacific region, from Sydney to a few of the islands and back, only 10 days...any advice...any horror stories out there?

 

[oggbashan]

I'm going on my very first cruise - my first round of research told me to avoid the cheapy P & O booze cruises.... After that I'm not sure.

It will be around the Pacific region, from Sydney to a few of the islands and back, only 10 days...any advice...any horror stories out there?

Modern large cruise ships, and indeed most cruise ships, are just floating hotels that are not designed for bad weather at sea. Modern weather satellites mean that most cruise ships can avoid bad weather but if they are caught out, they can quickly get into real trouble.

Make sure that you attend the evacuation drills, read the safety notices, know where the lifejackets are kept, never move around the ship without taking a small torch, your ID and money in case you have to disembark in a hurry into the Pacific...

The worst risk to any ship is fire at sea.

...be prepared to catch the winter vomiting bug, food poisoning, any viral infections...

The larger the ship, the more chance you have of illness, because they are like all enclosed societies. Whatever illness one person has they will share with hundreds. A cruise ship is an ideal breeding ground, nearly as good as a dormitory or a prison.

Check prices carefully. The recent disasters to cruise ships have damaged the industry and deep discounting is common.

Don't forget the torch. Evacuation in case of a disaster is made much more difficult if the lighting fails. Ships' passageways are usually inside and if the lights fail it will be completely dark. Even the light from a mobile phone could save a life.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

No worries mate....




CRICKEY! It's a cyclone!



Have fun!

 

[fair_warning]

Oggbashan...that sounds like good advice...but it makes cruising sound like a high risk activity. I was thinking that avoiding drunks throwing up was going to be the biggest risk. You make it sound like just surviving the fucking cruise will be an achievement....

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Oh...that sounds like good advice...but it makes cruising sound like a high risk activity. I was thinking that avoiding drunks throwing up was going to be the biggest risk. You make it sound like just surviving the fucking cruise will be an achievement....

Victims of the news cycle.

As a rural person, I see no reason to pack myself into a floating city with no method of escape other than a brisk swim through shark-infested waters...



I'll stick with Branson, where the people are armed, polite, and a stone's throw from mother nature...

 

[tactful]

It's it Costa ?
Is the Captain Italian ?
Know the ship layout, some freebees to be had, liquor tasting, cooking shows, wine tasting, usually the very, very top deck goes topless.
If you're going off the boat, make sure you know the time it leaves.
Always barter when shopping.
Do not be afraid to get something else if you don't like what's being served to you or ask for seconds, Lobster, comes the day before you depart.
Have fun.

 

[fair_warning]

NOT Costa..Royal Caribbean

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

We have riverboats stop here...



Lot's of old people disembarking. Best to head out to Walmart...

If it's the ocean experience you want, there's Bass Pro™ in Branson!

 

[girlsmiley]

Oh...that sounds like good advice...but it makes cruising sound like a high risk activity. I was thinking that avoiding drunks throwing up was going to be the biggest risk. You make it sound like just surviving the fucking cruise will be an achievement....

I thought of that scene in Titanic. You know. Where Jack dies...

Jack: Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor, Rose. Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.
Rose: I promise.
Jack: Never let go.

Rose: I'll never let go. I'll never let go, Jack.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

NOT Costa..Royal Caribbean

Not to worry, no sinkings, just outbreaks of mysterious diseases...




There's also a Hollywood wax museum and two troupes of Chinese acrobats in Branson!

 

[fair_warning]

I'll stick with Branson, where the people are armed, polite, and a stone's throw from mother nature...

I hate flying...and I'm looking foward to travelling without having to board a plane.

 

[phoenix1105]

...be prepared to catch the winter vomiting bug, food poisoning, any viral infections...

The larger the ship, the more chance you have of illness, because they are like all enclosed societies. Whatever illness one person has they will share with hundreds. A cruise ship is an ideal breeding ground, nearly as good as a dormitory or a prison.

Read this! I went in December over Christmas and was soooooooo sick. Luckily I caught the rotovirus the 5th or 6th day of a 7 day crews, but I was living in my bathroom for at least two weeks after getting home.

Otherwise have fun...

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I hate flying...and I'm looking foward to travelling without having to board a plane.

I hear you on the coffin with wings...



Maybe I can buy a used tank.

 

[fair_warning]

I hear you on the coffin with wings...



Maybe I can buy a used tank.

Hahaha..I've flown over the Tasman Sea 37 times and each time the plane touches down I feel like I am part of a miracle. I'm quite pathetic really.

 

[fair_warning]

Read this! I went in December over Christmas and was soooooooo sick. Luckily I caught the rotovirus the 5th or 6th day of a 7 day crews, but I was living in my bathroom for at least two weeks after getting home.

Otherwise have fun...

:going green thinking of this:
Wow, did it put you off ever taking another trip by cruise?

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Hahaha..I've flown over the Tasman Sea 37 times and each time the plane touches down I feel like I am part of a miracle. I'm quite pathetic really.

That was the only part I hated about International competition (and our adoption)...



There's always the gang called Terb-U-Lense...

 

[oggbashan]

Oggbashan...that sounds like good advice...but it makes cruising sound like a high risk activity. I was thinking that avoiding drunks throwing up was going to be the biggest risk. You make it sound like just surviving the fucking cruise will be an achievement....

I travelled to and from Australia by liner in the early 1960s. In those days liners were built to withstand bad weather but were small by modern cruise ship standards, i.e about 22,000 tons.

Crossing the Great Australian Bight on the way from Perth to Adelaide we ran into a Force 10. That was scary. Some of the ship's bridge windows were smashed by the waves but were replaced in minutes. None of the passengers or crew were hurt but some crockery items were in limited supply until we reached Adelaide. I was told that plastic plates were used in the Tourist Class.

We passed a freighter and could sometimes see air under the centre of its keel, or its propellor out of the water as it was lifted by large waves.

During that storm I had one of my rare sporting achievements. I won the First Class passengers' Table Tennis tournament because I could cope with the violent motion of the ship while playing. Half the competitors withdrew because of sea sickness. I'm not a good table tennis player - except in a Force 10 at sea.

That evening the entertainment staff tried to teach us the Highland Reel. The few trying to learn ended up in a wriggling heap at one side of the saloon as the ship rolled. We learned The Twist instead.

PS Remember that even Captain Cook ran aground off the Australian East Coast...

 

[TonyClifton]

You are welcome here at Fantasy Island.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ind4VssZk94/Tz1pHtAzz3I/AAAAAAAAAp0/_2-iZnwL9lE/s400/tattoo-and-roarke1.jpg