In December, I went on my very first cruise. Brenden's Mimi gifted us a trip on a cruise for Christmas this past year. We had sooo much fun!! But before we left I had so many questions. What do I pack? What to expect? I asked tons of people that I knew had taken cruises for their best tips and advice. I also did my due-diligence and researched online: blogs, websites, Pinterest, etc. There was a lot of information but still quite a few things I never read about or knew about and I wished I would have known before leaving.
1. Items to Leave and Items to Pack
Leave your blow dryer at home. They have one in your stateroom and it just takes up a lot of room in your suitcase. And also leave everything all the other websites and blogs tell you to leave at home. You really don't need much more than clothes, shoes, and a bathing suit. Definitely pack a lanyard for your SeaPass (the card they give you once you get checked in). You have to take this card with you every where; to get into your room, to get a drink from the bar, buying gifts from the gift shop, getting on and off the ship and dining in the halls. In order to not lose it, I would highly recommend a lanyard that you can put around your neck. We ended up buying them from the cruise ship gift shop.
It's pretty universal that the state rooms are small and you need to condense your suitcase. Most websites recommended packing items that can be worn as different items that can be mixed and matched with each other. From my experience I would suggest packing enough outfits for each night. There are formal, smart casual and casual nights. You do not know what night is what until the day before, usually after you have gone to dinner. Sooo if there are two casual nights in a row, you probably do not want to wear the same top to dinner both nights. Plan on the exact number of casuals/formals that your cruise tells you ahead of time and pack for each one. No mix matching unless you are just wearing it to the pool deck. Also it's worth noting that not all cruise ships have laundry so if you mess it up, it will be hard to re-wear.
2. Unexpected Charges
Everyone always says cruises are a very affordable vacation. Yes, at first glance they are very reasonable. But do not forget about the service charge and tax that will be added to your fee each night to be divided between the crew. If you are lucky, find a travel agent that will apply this to your total bill before hand. But also do not forget to tip. The crew does not make that much and relies heavily on your tips.
I was warned before about the specialty restaurants and that they would cost extra but the price that was listed online was not the price listed on our daily itinerary. It was about $50 more per person which is pretty significant for a party of 8. And when they promote specialty meals served in the main dining room these are extra (Holiday Brunch - not included). Even though it is being held in the main dining room, which is usually included, these special meals are not.
Also, if you have a drink package you have to pay a service charge on each drink purchased (or if lucky to get a travel agent that includes it in their package, you only have to pay on the package fee).
Speaking of the additional service charge, it is important you know what is included in your drink package. There is a specialty drink of the day which is included but if they are walking around on a tray in a fancy glass, it is probably not included. Also, some of the packages have drink price limits which were not stated on the website. I have also heard that some ships limit the amount of drinks consumed per day. I would highly suggest calling and verifying the extent of your drink package.
3. Explore the Ship
When you first get on board, exploring is a little difficult because everyone is exploring. But you also cannot go to your stateroom immediately so it's worth packing a backpack with your swimsuit so you can grab a drink and sit on the pool deck. Once most of the people are on board and your boat is about to take off, then you go exploring! There is sooooooo much to do on board the ship you won't possibly go to everything. But that is the best part. There is something for everyone!!
Have a central meeting spot if you have a large party. We found our chairs on the pool deck in almost the exact same spot every day which was great point for us to meet at throughout the day. If possible, with a large group, try and get your staterooms beside each other. That was also very helpful. You can call or knock on their door to see if they are there. Yes, there is internet but it's kind of spotty and let's face it, you are on vacation. You do not want internet. Bring walkie talkies if you feel it might be difficult to round everybody up in one central location.
4. Days at Sea are a Blast
The cruise we took was 5 nights with 2 ports. So we had three full days at sea and these were my favorite days. There is so much to do: shows, trivia, games, shopping, fitness classes, etc. You can lay by the pool, find your pool boy and stay there all day! I felt so relaxed on these days. Like I was truly on vacation. If you have the option to take a cruise that is back to back ports or ports that are spread out, I would choose the later every time. We had ports back to back and those two days together were a lot.
5. Schedule Your Day
While you might be on vacation, the ship is all about a schedule. You eat at a certain time, shows start at a specific time and you will be in port for an exact amount of time and you better be back or they will leave! They follow the same time zone you started in. So if you port out of Tampa (Eastern Time Zone) and end up in Cozumel for a port (Central Time Zone), your time should remain on Eastern.
When you first board the ship you will see your dining time on the card they gave you at check-in. There are typically two dining times; an early and a late time frame. We were scheduled for the later one and we asked to have it changed. They were able to change it for day 2 and on. Day 1 we ate at the later time. In my opinion, the service was better at the later time. Everyone is in such a rush to have that early time slot that the servers are overwhelmed. They just got four tables all sat at the exact same time. Some are tables of 2, 4, 8 and others are tables of 12. That's a lot for anyone! Do yourself a favor, get a snack at the cafeteria and then dine at the later time frame. Just be warned, eating will become your full time job...
When you book your cruise, go ahead and book your excursions. Do not wait until you get on the ship. Some of the excursions fill up and you won't be able to go on the excursion you really want to go to. And do excursions! Yes, it's fun to shop and dine while you are in port but you are only there for a few hours. Fill it with memories you will not forget. If it is something outside of your comfort zone, bring your friend or family to help push you along. By the end of the excursion you will be glad you did. But don't forget to be back on the ship at (or I suggest before) the time frame they have given you.
I had this laid out into 10 things I wish I had known and then realized a lot of the points I was making ended up being repetitive or could be looped into another point I had already made. All in all, the research I did leading up to my first cruise was pretty spot on. There were just a few things I was a little disappointed in that I did not know before hand. We took a Royal Caribbean cruise. I would highly recommend it to my friends and family. And now that I know what to expect, I will be ready for the next adventure.
Cheers,
Kayla
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