I went on a Princess cruise last month and I am taking another at Thanksgiving. I have many friends that are serious cruisers…some of them have been on 50+ cruises.
Each line has it’s own demographic. I really like the way Princess handles their dining (Norwegian Carribbean aka NCL does something similar.
Most cruise ships give you a dinner seating, you eat every night at the same time, at the same table,with the same waitstaff. This gives the waitstaff a chance to learn your preferences and enhances the degree of service.
On Princess, you can select this option or you can go to other dining rooms that serve the same menu but have restaurant style service, you show up whenever you feel like it or you can call ahead for a reservation. If you have a fixed seating time you can skip it without notice and eat elsewhere. The menu is varied, with a selection of salads, entrees and deserts that are available every day and a extensive daily menu of fine dining entree and deserts. In addition, vegetarian and spa menus are available.
You can order anything you want, it’s OK to get 3 appetizers and 2 salads if that’s what you want. You can go to dinner once and come back again an hour later if that’s what you want.
There are also some specialty restaurants like steakhouse. Those are not free, they carry a surcharge of about $20 a person.
They serve breakfast and lunch with menus and waiter service in these dining rooms or you can always hit the 24 hour buffet. My ship had pizza and hamburger stands by the pool. All free. As is the room service. And they serve high tea with pastries and mini-sandwiches midafternoon.
I like the buffet ,mostly because I could do things like grab a big plate of fried shrimp and carry it out to the pool. You can also take buffet items back to your room, so you can grab a plate of guacamole and chips to snack on in your room.
Drinks are most certainly not free, except champagne and wine at certain events. Princess usually sells some sort of unlimited soft drink pass it was about $35 for my one week cruise.
There is an amazing amount of stuff to do onboard the ship, they will distribute a newsletter every day listing all the activities. Most of them are free, some things, like golf simulators, carry a surcharge.
You can purchase shore excursions at every port, the ship will have an extensive list. You can also leave the ship and do things on your own. One advantage to a cruise line sponsored shore excursion is that if anything happens the ship will wait for you. If you go out on your own and you aren’t back atdeparture time the boat will leave without you.
The level of service is very high. You are not expected to clear your table if you eat at the buffet and waiters will circulate and bring you drinks. The room stewards will make up your room 3 times a day and bring you ice.
You will find very few Americans working on these ships, even in positions like captain and cruise director.
Princess has one or two formal nights on a 7-10 day cruise. Most people actually do this but it is not mandatory.
Bring walkie talkies for the people in your party so you can keep in touch.
There is a daily AA meeting aboard every ship
Even if the ship has an internet cafe, don’t count on consistent internet service. Also, internet can be expensive, I think Princess charged .75 a minute.
The ship will add about $10 per day per person to your tab for tips. You can actually adjust this amount, it is technically optional, but reasonable people will agree that it is worth it. I gave my cabin steward an additional tip as well. The staff will never make you feel like their service is dependent on tips.
You can bring beverages into the theatre and they will bring drinks to your seat before the show. The aisles are much wider than those in a standard theatre and the seats have tray tables. Sometimes the “headliners” will draw a big audience and the shows will be SRO, so get there early and have a drink or two.
On days when the ship is in port there are fewer onboard activities and a smaller staff. If you stay on board it can be a nice opportunity to have the pool all to yourself.
You can always find a nice quiet corner to hide in with a book. My tip for a Princess ship is to go the top deck nightclub during the day, it is always deserted then and the views are magnificent.
If you have gotten in the habit of using your cellphone as a timepiece, bring a watch.
You may not get your luggage delivered to your room until after dinner the first night, so bring essentials in your carry-on. Dress codes will be relaxed that night.
Don’t get to the ship too early. Passengers do not board in the order they arrive, there will be lots of frequent cruisers that get priority boarding.
Wash your hands frequently and use the hand sanitizer provided wherever there is food.
Norovirus (stomach flu) is taken very seriously and if you complain of stomach/intestinal symptoms you may be confined to your room – and they can do that. If you don’t think it’s stomach flu keep it to yourself.
As nice and compliant as the staff is, if you do anything dumbass like climb around on rails or balconies, they will throw your butt off the ship really fast.
You have to go to safety drill on the first day, they will find you if you try to skip it. Really.
They won’t let you carry on your own booze.
I went on a diet the month before the cruise and dropped five pounds. I recommend this for guilt free enjoyment of the constant feeding
Take some time to study the deck plans before you board, and look at the maps and familarize yourself with the layout as soon as you get onboard. The ship public areas are multi-leveled with many attractions and not all elevators go to every level. It is very easy to completely miss entire sections of the ship during a one week cruise.
In terms of selecting a cruise line, I really liked Princess and they have a reputation for carrying a varied group of passengers with an equal mix of young, middle-aged and old. I know Carnival has a rep for being more of a party ship with a younger crowd. I’m really not too familar with the demographics of the other major lines except for Disney, which is obvious.
I became an instant cruise fan, it is an incredibly hassle-free and relaxing experience. Good luck