Keep in mind there's 24 hours of food. Weigh yourself before and after the trip. Keep an eye on what you are charging to your stateroom. You take your card to the registrar desk and let them know what room you have. Then you go to the pool deck and start with a bahama mamma. One leads to 10 pretty quick over time. Eat on the boat and sleep on the boat. No need to get a hotel room if the ship is right there while visiting an sland overnight if you are. Watch what you drink in the different places you are going. Bottled only is a good rule. No need to have the trip end at the bathroom. Packing, keep it simple. Bathing suit, flipflops, a set of nice clothes for picture night, t-shirts and shorts. Oh!!!! everything at the ships stores can be charged to your room usually as well. This means the watches and jewelery that look good in the glass case under lights. Beginning of the cruise everything is kind of expensive in there. Towards the end prices drop a bit. There's usually a crewman who works on the ship who wants to make money for HIS portcall. He will pull out his 12 gauge and offer skeet shooting off the stern for a couple bucks a round. That pays for some fun for his day off on one of the islands during the cruise. It's not a scam, he just wants to get some beer money together to party with his shipmates. Above all else normal rules of gut feeling apply when at the different places you go. Everywhere has a bad neighborhood no matter the country or color the water is be careful and but have a blast. the pictures with the captain are worth keeping later on. Especially for the first timer cruisy.
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