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Joined one week ago and love it here!


raahc

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Hello everyone,

I was a very long time member of another cruise forum, and I'm so glad I found this one.  The members are VERY helpful and respectful - thank you all so much, and the vibe is completely different, very easygoing without the sarcasm and drama ?

I also love that you can message members here, and edit your posts outside of the 30 minute mark.  For new members, you will see your status as pre-gold, just a fun and cute feature of these message boards.  I'm not sure how it works, but it will change very quickly!

Our moderator @Lovetocruise2002 has been so warm and welcoming! and thank you @Matt, our administrator for an amazing place to share information ? 

This time around, I'm having a lot more fun planning my cruise!!!

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1 hour ago, raahc said:

vibe is completely different, very easygoing without the sarcasm and drama ?

That is until they get to know you better.  And warning...they pick on Canadians ??  

Kidding of course lol...But you do have to watch out for this guy called @mworkman ?

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10 hours ago, raahc said:

Hello everyone,

I was a very long time member of another cruise forum, and I'm so glad I found this one.  The members are VERY helpful and respectful - thank you all so much, and the vibe is completely different, very easygoing without the sarcasm and drama ?

I also love that you can message members here, and edit your posts outside of the 30 minute mark.  For new members, you will see your status as pre-gold, just a fun and cute feature of these message boards.  I'm not sure how it works, but it will change very quickly!

Our moderator @Lovetocruise2002 has been so warm and welcoming! and thank you @Matt, our administrator for an amazing place to share information ? 

This time around, I'm having a lot more fun planning my cruise!!!

I feel the exact same way!

I joined few days ago and I have been extremely active and engaging just because of the friendly vibe!

Started my addiction of cruising although I have not experience my first one yet, but its coming on Jan, 2020.

I already want to start lining up my year to squeeze cruises in when I can haha.

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17 hours ago, TJ! said:

 

I already want to start lining up my year to squeeze cruises in when I can haha.

I'm in a similar boat, new to this site (LOVE IT) and to cruising and want to book for 2020 and 2021; but even after reading ALL THE STUFF I can't figure out where to start! I'm in S Florida so near 4 ports to leave out of which gives me way too many options! I can't narrow it down by ship (any will do!) or by departure port as either of those would help... waiting for some sign to cross my path to point me in the right direction ? 

Enjoy your cruise!

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27 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

@PRebecca, I recommend the tried and true method of creating a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets always make things easier. Just ask @twangster and @Lovetocruise2002?

Lol.  You and @twangster are the spreadsheet masters.  Not me. 

The only spreadsheet I have going is the one that tracks my C&A points and which ships I will block on.  That idea was courtesy of @twangster

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8 hours ago, PRebecca said:

I'm in a similar boat, new to this site (LOVE IT) and to cruising and want to book for 2020 and 2021; but even after reading ALL THE STUFF I can't figure out where to start! I'm in S Florida so near 4 ports to leave out of which gives me way too many options! I can't narrow it down by ship (any will do!) or by departure port as either of those would help... waiting for some sign to cross my path to point me in the right direction ? 

Enjoy your cruise!

Welcome!  I'm new too!  Perhaps a newbie could give you some insight since I was in the same boat (lol) when we first cruised in 2011.  You're in Florida, so you're already ahead of the game!  No airfare to worry about.  I totally agree with @JLMoran - lists on either Word or Excel are amazing and I use excel for everything, including my daily agenda when I'm on on a cruise.

Some questions that come to my mind:

  1. Who is going on this cruise?  Adults, Seniors, children, anyone with disabilities or would require special equipment, needs - just some things to keep in mind for when you have to book cabins or excursions
  2. What ages/age group are the cruisers?  Some cruise lines cater more to a younger crowd, an older crowd, etc.  Do you want casual/free-style type cruising?
  3. What is your budget?
  4. Do you prefer a short cruise (few days), a week, or longer?
  5. What month/s can your cruise?
  6. What ports do you like?  Do you want to visit Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia ...
  7. Do you prefer a ginormous ship like Royal Caribbean's Oasis class, or smaller ships?
  8. Does anyone have motion sickness?  (I do and never thought in a million years I would go on a cruise, but I did, and I'm going again, and again.  I just take meds, and book cabins that are mid-ship and mid-level decks, not too low, not too high 

This should be a good start.  I hope it helps.

BTW, the Royal Caribbean website (and other cruise lines) has user friendly interfaces, if you haven't been on them already. You just input your criteria, and it will populate some cruises for you.  Or, you could also visit a travel agent.  

Oh, one more thing, if you want to cruise in 2020, don't wait too long.  We just decided in late July to book another cruise, and there were only a handful of cabins (the ones we wanted) left.  Also, the price went up by over $500 in 24 hours!  

2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

@PRebecca, I recommend the tried and true method of creating a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets always make things easier. Just ask @twangster and @Lovetocruise2002?

LOVE excel ?

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9 minutes ago, raahc said:

Welcome!  I'm new too!  Perhaps a newbie could give you some insight since I was in the same boat (lol) when we first cruised in 2011.  You're in Florida, so you're already ahead of the game!  No airfare to worry about.  I totally agree with @JLMoran - lists on either Word or Excel are amazing and I use excel for everything, including my daily agenda when I'm on on a cruise.

Some questions that come to my mind:

  1. Who is going on this cruise?  Adults, Seniors, children, anyone with disabilities or would require special equipment, needs - just some things to keep in mind for when you have to book cabins or excursions
  2. What ages/age group are the cruisers?  Some cruise lines cater more to a younger crowd, an older crowd, etc.  Do you want casual/free-style type cruising?
  3. What is your budget?
  4. Do you prefer a short cruise (few days), a week, or longer?
  5. What month/s can your cruise?
  6. What ports do you like?  Do you want to visit Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia ...
  7. Do you prefer a ginormous ship like Royal Caribbean's Oasis class, or smaller ships?
  8. Does anyone have motion sickness?  (I do and never thought in a million years I would go on a cruise, but I did, and I'm going again, and again.  I just take meds, and book cabins that are mid-ship and mid-level decks, not too low, not too high 

This should be a good start.  I hope it helps.

BTW, the Royal Caribbean website (and other cruise lines) has user friendly interfaces, if you haven't been on them already. You just input your criteria, and it will populate some cruises for you.  Or, you could also visit a travel agent.  

Oh, one more thing, if you want to cruise in 2020, don't wait too long.  We just decided in late July to book another cruise, and there were only a handful of cabins (the ones we wanted) left.  Also, the price went up by over $500 in 24 hours!  

LOVE excel ?

I was already jealous from the very beginning of this post. You're already in Florida !!! I'm glad I don't live in florida or I would have a serious problem cruising back to back non stop!

I'm in California and it cost about $500-$600 round trip to get there. Paying for my lady as well I'm always looking at about $1,000+ ?

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12 hours ago, JLMoran said:

@PRebecca, I recommend the tried and true method of creating a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets always make things easier. Just ask @twangster and @Lovetocruise2002?

I'm a bit of a spreadsheet nerd too ... Have not created one to layout options in years; last cruises have been pretty straightforward.

10 hours ago, raahc said:

LOVE excel 

I'm more of a Calc (Libre Office) guy, but lately I've been using Google Sheets too. Instantly everywhere.

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20 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Here ya go...

yolo-book-it-mug-full-color-mug.jpg

I don't know what that is but I want one ? 

 

OK, I've never been much of a spreadsheet kinda person but started a rough draft this morning and immediately see the value in working thru it that way. All great suggestions everyone, I appreciate your input!

 

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17 minutes ago, PRebecca said:

I don't know what that is but I want one ? 

It's a coffee mug from the RCBlog merch site on spreadshirt.com -- https://shop.spreadshirt.com/royalcaribbeanblog/accessories?q=D4

They also have a nice collection of T-shirts. I believe @Matt gets a small cut to help keep the site going, too.

EDIT -- Also adding a link to the CruiseHabit merch site, in case you feel like throwing @monorailmedic a bone. ?

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On 8/22/2019 at 7:26 PM, TJ! said:

I was already jealous from the very beginning of this post. You're already in Florida !!! I'm glad I don't live in florida or I would have a serious problem cruising back to back non stop!

I'm in California and it cost about $500-$600 round trip to get there. Paying for my lady as well I'm always looking at about $1,000+ ?

Hi @TJ! - lost track of this post but I think you meant to send it to @PRebecca who is located in Florida.  I'm from Canada ?

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