Getting ready for my first cruise ever! Anyone have any tips or advice? :)?

Budget considerably more money than you think you'll need. Everything on cruise ships costs extra (e.g. Alcoholic beverages, bottled water, soda, excursions, laundry service, many of the on board events and gratuities for the many people who will be providing your service). Bring a power strip.

You generally are extremely limited in the number of power outlets in your cabin, and if you want to charge several devices (cameras, phone, laptop, etc. ) a power strip will come in handy. Find out how many "formal" days you will have and bring appropriate clothing. The best food is served in the formal dining room, especially on the formal nights.

Some of the nicer cruise lines won't allow you to enter the dining room if you don't conform to the dress code. Formal nights are usually "at sea" nights on days when the ship does not stop at a port. If you need internet access, try to get it at internet cafes on land.

If you absolutely must have internet access while on board, buy a package of minutes in advance rather than pay as you go as it is much cheaper. Shipboard internet access is usually very slow and very expensive. Thus, if you want to use it for email, configure your web mail accounts to use the simplest display mode before you leave home.

That way when you log on to your account from the ship, it will load faster and not make you waste precious minutes waiting for unimportant fancy effects to load. Bring with you everything you think you might need, as whatever you buy in the gift shop will be outrageously expensive. (film, memory cards, medicine, sunblock, whatever).

Bring much more camera memory than you think you will need. Pack clothes with thoughts of dry cleaning and laundry bills in mind. If you are on a tight budget, bringing extra underwear and socks and choosing pants that resist wrinkles and stains could reduce the number of times you need to do laundry.

Consider bringing security enhanced clothing and bags that will help you resist pick pockets and cut purses in the ports of call. Pants with hidden zipper pockets, fanny packs and camera cases with hidden steel cables inside the straps and shirts/coats with inner pockets can all be helpful. TravelSmith.com is one of many providers that carry such products.

If you have ever had top quality spa experiences or a great massage, you likely will be disappointed by expensive on board spa services, as in my experience they are mediocre and tend to pressure you to buy unwanted health care products at ridiculous prices. If you are shy, you can usually request a table for two rather than a large group table for your meals. If you get stuck with boorish dining companions you get assigned to a different table.

The hot tubs likely won't be "hot", and some may be disappointingly cool.In my experience the fancy coffee bar is one of the the more affordable places to enjoy a drink and some quiet music (often piano, string quartets and other mellow stuff). If you buy a bottle of alcohol in the duty free store or on shore, they won't give it to you until you depart as the ships do everything they can to keep passengers from having their own alcohol in their state rooms. If you have a device that can play video (video iPod, portable DVD player, etc.), you might like to bring a cable so that you can hook it up to your stateroom TV and watch your own content rather than buy expensive "Pay per view" style content from the ship.

Look up your cruise info on CruiseCritic.com to learn what others think about your specific trip and your specific ship. The site is full of reviews and helpful tips. The above suggestions likely give you the impression I don't like cruises; this is not the case.

I actually like do them, but I use them differently than most folks. I use the ship as a floating hotel to let me sample new parts of the world without the hassle of packing and unpacking frequently. I spend every possible moment in ports, and tend to ignore shipboard entertainment.

I pick cruises with few "at sea" days, and when I am on board I tend to use the time to relax and catch up on reading rather than attend mediocre lounge shows or use on board casinos.

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