Here is part two of our survival guide to Luxo-Barge Cruising
6. Don’t Leave the Budget at Home
Cruise ship companies have it all figured out. You can agree to put all charges you incur on the ship onto a credit card. These include the fancy restaurant, the cafe, ship store purchases and the ship excursions. You never get a receipt or see the final
damage until it is time to walk the plank. Remember how much it cost to book the room on the ship? If you choose ship shore excursions, book the spa, eat at the restaurant, and really cut loose with the drinks, you can expect to easily double that initial cost.
What, you booked all-inclusive? Great, so did we the first time around. That doesn’t include alcohol, or swinging by the cafe, or the fancy restaurant. In fact, you’ll be quickly surprised what it doesn’t include and after three days of doing without you simply must have and will pay whatever they want for it. Just because it is vacation doesn’t mean you want to go home with credit card regret and a stomach full of anxiety. That is what work is for!
7. Research, Research, Research
Oh don’t grumble just because it is supposed to be vacation. Would you walk into a corporate meeting without knowing who the client is? You’ll get the most out of your vacation if you are not constantly trying to catch up with what is going on. Every ship and cruise company is a little different, so with a bit of investigation you should hopefully choose a cruise line that will match you as much as the ports of call. There may be a reason those super discounted tickets are out there after all!
Once you pick the ship and book, you will know the stops and itinerary. Take the time to read about the islands and cities by going to local tourist boards and doing some preliminary internet surfing. Don’t just read the excursions the ship offers (see #3 in the previous post!). You may be surprised at what is out there that the cruise line never mentions. Even if you do take the ship shore excursions, you will have a better appreciation for the tour than you would have gained otherwise. Remember, it is your first and potentially only visit to a location. To the on-island tour director, you are just the most recent mega-ship to grace his harbor. Their job is to get you back to the boat in one piece and on-time. Take your fun a bit seriously and read up on your upcoming vacation during that 15 minute “break” at work. It’ll get you excited and get you prepared!
As an added preparation, we suggest you buy an international SIM card good for the areas visited and phone that is quad band (iPhone) so that you will be able to talk, and more importantly make your own arrangements on island.
8. Make a Game of It
Cruise ships have rules. Too many as far as we are concerned. Stepping on board is akin to entering a government facility, complete with metal detectors. Sure, you can party but don’t expect the senior crew to let just anything go. Expect to have any alcohol you bring with you or purchased in port confiscated as you are showing your ship ID badge. Oh, you’ll get it back when you leave just in time to take it home as a souvenir. There are of course options like things called Rum Runners, but we won’t venture too far into the realm of how to get away with smuggling as the cruise ship security teams read these blog too 😉
Weapons are another issue, we can understand machetes or handguns, but they also restrict pocket knives. We believe that next to a toothbrush, a pocket knife is an absolute necessity for travel. If you wish to carry a knife, leave the metal ones at home. We suggest buying one of the composite or ceramic ones and smuggling it on. Not being metal, you can go through the metal detector without it going off. Although not so much of an issue on board, as there are plenty of knives you can steal from the dinner table, the need off ship is paramount (see number 4 in the previous post).
9. Tech to Take
If you are reading this, you’re probably not one of those typical cruise ship passengers. You want to know what’s going on, how it’s going on and where it’s going on. Here are a few suggestions on what to have to make the cruise worth while.
- Intel report of the ship, ports of call, including current aerial photos of terminal, port, city and landmarks. The report should also include a current newspaper, geopolitical climate report, and contact numbers to the embassy with related extensions. This report should be completely digital and included on your;
- An Ironkey– This is the most secure USB key produced. Include your IR on this device, as well as a scan of your passport, credit cards, license, birth certificate, and any other ID you feel necessary to have access to. If you lose the key, it is useless to a hacker, 10 wrong password entries will destroy the key.
- A Jailbroken Iphone with Poof and application password protection installed: This is a great way to stay in touch and being able to password protect and hide the icon, your IR will remain safe and undetected.
- GPS: The gps is a necessity on the cruise, it will tell you the distance and time from the destination, the speed, as well as local islands should you happen to fall off 😉
- Laptop: We prefer the smaller the better, Apple just came out with a 11.5″ Macbook Air. Light and powerful
- Camera with a Eye-fi card: We prefer the Canon G12, it’s small powerful and will deliver great photos. The Eye-fi card will geo-locate the images for future reference
10. And for Goodness Sakes, Have Fun!
Okay, maybe you are not entirely sure a cruise is the right vacation for you, but your significant sweetie has suckered you in. You are going so try to relax and not constantly whine about how short the stops are in port or how little you actually get to see of a locality. Yeah, yeah, we know.
Re-read number 5 in the previous post and remember the motto of number 8 above, make a game of it. Yes, you have to be back in time for the ship to leave, but how close can you cut it? Slide onto the ship at last honk with an extra-wide grin and leave everyone wondering what you were up to.
Those two formal dinners have you feeling a little stiff? Well, if you have to play dress up, who do you want to be? You know you always wanted to try on your grandmother’s flapper dress! Or maybe you’d rather be a 1950’s gangster? Why not James Bond? Perhaps Carmen Miranda? Maybe on your last sojourn to India you picked up a nice sarong with gold thread, or maybe one that is all black. Can you say LBD with a black sarong? It sounds formal. Or maybe your idea of formal might just fit a different culture than suit and tie. Who are we to judge? 🙂
Look, all we are saying is that there are expectations and there are inconveniences. It happens, even on vacation. We are not saying you should you should break any rules, just warp them a little with your personal humor and have a little fun!
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If you want to read more on cruising, both pro and con….check out the leading cruise ship site at http://www.cruisecritic.com/