- Plan to arrive the day before your cruise, flying or driving four or more hours to get to the port.
- Use Packing Squares when packing clothes and other things for the trip, you will thank me
- Make sure your mobile phone is in Airplane mode even if you plan to turn it off.
- Bring a carry on for the first day as sometimes your bags can take until after dinner to show up in your room.
- Bring Sticky notes to leave notes for stateroom attendant.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff, things happen, get them fixed and move on.
- If on a bigger ship you will not be able to get to do everything, Pace yourself.
- On a Europe cruise, do not do too many long day (8 hours plus) excursions at every port as that can make the trip seem more like work then a vacation.
- Research the ship you are or want to travel on, not just the cruise line.
- Bring a waterproof camera.
- Talk to the crew/ staff, you can learn things about the ship and the ports you may not have known.
- Take the stairs and skip the elevators when you are able as waits can sometimes be longer then taking the stairs up or down a few decks.
- Get off at every port even if you only wander around for 45 minutes then get back on the ship and enjoy that the rest of the day.
- Don’t take food off the ship, a lot of countries taking some food items off the ship is strictly prohibited.
- Before getting the “All You Can Drink” Packages, find out how much drinks will be and do the math on how much you really will drink.
- The Main Dining Room actually does serve breakfast and lunch.
- Ask for the “Drink of the Day” without the fancy cup you will pay extra for and do not really need.
- Travel Insurance is a good thing to have, check the policy what all it will cover.
- If your Stateroom has a balcony it may not be as private as you think.
- Guest services at busy times and go late at night or early in the morning.
