5 Cruise Tips for Your Next Vacation

Essential Cruise Tips to Know Before Sailing Away

A cruise is one of the best vacations to take because you pay one price and EVERYTHING is included: food, lodging, entertainment. There’s no cooking, cleaning, and working. For these reasons, I always take a yearly cruise with my family, and it’s the best getaway. However, there are some things I’ve noted over my many years of cruising that I wish I knew the first time. That’s why I’m offering a few tips for your next cruise, whether it’s your first or fifteenth time!

Cruise Tip 1: Boarding Times Are Suggestions

Most times when you book a cruise, you’ll need to select a designated boarding time. These could vary, but for example, the boarding time on my last cruise was 12:30-1:30 p.m. This means that they want you to arrive at the cruise terminal between those times. However, rather than be a strict guideline, this is just a suggestion so that everyone doesn’t show up at once. When you arrive, they usually assign you a zone number. My fiancé and I were eager to get on board so we showed up to the terminal at 10 a.m. and were on the ship by 11:30 a.m., eating lunch on the Lido deck. That’s because sometimes the ship docks early, and the staff gets the ship ready for the next group ahead of schedule, so the zones are called earlier than the specified boarding time. So, if you’d like to chill and stick to the boarding time, that’s definitely fine, but you could be on the boat way earlier than it seems.

Cruise Tip 2: No Need to Pack Shampoo/Body Wash

Save yourself some space when packing and pass on the shampoo and body wash. Most cruise lines have these items in your stateroom’s shower, and the room attendants refill them regularly. I brought a huge container of shampoo and conditioner, and it took up so much space that I could’ve used for another pair of shoes. I also didn’t touch those products once throughout the whole week. Plus, there’s no need to wash your hair nightly when it’ll get salty from the ocean the next day. If you do want to bring shampoo and body wash, opt for travel-size bottles to save luggage space.

Extra Cruise Tip: Retractable Clothesline in the Shower

This is a neat feature included in rooms that I wish I knew about my first time cruising. A retractable clothesline is in each shower and is so convenient when hanging up wet clothes. You just pull it across to the other side and securely hook it into the opening. Now you won’t have to stress over where to hang all of the wet bathing suits and towels.

Cruise Tip 3: Check Your Dining Location

There are usually three options for dining: Early, Late, and Your Own Time. Early is typically at 6 p.m., Late is normally around 8 p.m., and Your Own Time varies between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Your dining arrangements are printed on your ship card, such as the dining room location, the time, and table number. I usually scope out my dining table as soon as I get on the ship to see if I’ll need to request a change. The maître d’ is the person that handles all of the seating requests and speaking to him or her is one of the most important things I could suggest. They normally place couples at large tables with other couples and large parties of 4 or more at their own tables. If you’re traveling in a small party and want an intimate setting, you can definitely request a more private table. You don’t have to be stuck in an unsavory seating arrangement; a quick talk with the dining coordinator could fix all of your troubles.

Cruise Tip 4: Ordering Items at Dinner

When you eat meals in the dining rooms rather than the buffet on the Lido deck, you get a menu to order off of. Conventionally, you’d order one appetizer, one entrée, and one dessert, but sometimes there’s two or more items that stand out to you, so what do you do? Order both, of course! On the formal nights when they have the option of lobster or steak, you don’t have to just settle for one — you did pay for this vacation after all, so why not take full advantage? Sometimes I’ll order the escargot and a Caesar salad as my appetizer, or the Penne Mariscos and grilled chicken as my entrée. The options are unlimited and completely up to you.

Cruise Tip 5: Shore Excursions are Worth It

I’m not kidding when I say that excursions booked through the cruise line are worth it. There’s an extra charge, but the variety of activities they have available is incredible. Not only that, but transportation to and from the excursion is included, and because it’s booked through the ship, they won’t leave without you if the excursion is delayed for some reason. Some excursions include lunch, too. You can most certainly still enjoy your cruise without booking excursions by taking a taxi to the beach and chilling there, but if you seek more adventure, I’d definitely recommend checking out the excursions. On my most recent cruise, I swam with stingrays and sea turtles in the Grand Cayman Islands, went cave tubing in Belize, and scuba dived in Cozumel, Mexico. I have no idea what the cost of those excursions would’ve been on my own, and that’s not even including the stress and cost of transportation. If you can spare the expense, book a cruise excursion; you won’t regret it.

Bon Voyage!

As you plan your next trip, I hope you find these cruise tips useful. It is your vacation after all, so plan how you like and, most importantly, have fun. Always be aware of the laws and customs of other countries, and be wary of your surroundings. Let me know if any of these cruise tips are helpful or if you have your own advice to share. Happy cruising!

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