When I look at this picture I can’t believe I was ever that skinny! But I do remember being that young. I was 19 and this was in The Caribbean on my first cruise. I went with a girlfriend and I remember vividly planning for this trip. I was in college and Rosie and I thought it would be great to go on a cruise together.
We booked it about a year in advance and paid on it little by little. I was working as a hostess at a restaurant called Marie Callendar’s and still living at home. It took me a year to pay for the cruise and the plane tickets but I saved my money a little bit at a time and was able to go.
I didn’t know much about travel at this point, I was only 19 and had only traveled with my family, this was my first trip with a friend. We ended up having a fabulous time and came back even better friends than when we left. No drama, no fuss, just fun. I don’t remember having a big discussion about what each of us liked but we came back still liking each other (and we’re still friends to this day).
That’s me in the back and Rosie on the right. I have no idea who that is in the blue.
ME and Rosie with some friends we met on the cruise. Don’t you love the fashion?
Here are 5 tips if you are going on a cruise for the first time:
1. Talk about your habits. Some are morning people, some aren’t. It’s good to know what you both expect from your trip so you won’t be disappointed if the other had a different agenda.
2. Don’t bring so many clothes. You won’t end up wearing half of what you bring as you pretty much hang out on the boat all day or do a few excursions. Cruises are really different now so check and see if you need to bring different clothes to dress for dinner.
3. Check to see if gratuity is included, many cruises today have everything included in the price of your cruise ticket. But even if tips are included, you may want to give a little extra to the people taking care of your room and your servers, they work hard and do a great job.
4. Pack medicine for motion sickness. Cruise ships are huge and don’t do too much rocking but it’s better to be prepared.
5. If you have to fly to your port of departure, do not fly in on the same day you have to leave. You need to have wiggle room for your flight to be delayed or canceled and you may have issues with your baggage arriving. If you fly in on the same day and have any problems with your flight, you may miss your cruise.
