Things you wish you’d known before you cruised for the first time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I would’ve figured out how to smuggle in liquor.

Choose Disney. No smuggling needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent excursions are usually nicer or at least cheaper. Go visit cruisecritic’s forums if you want any tips for a particular port or cruise.

I thought you should never book independent excursions because if something happens and you don't get back to the boat in time the boat won't wait for you.

That is correct. Plus if you miss your excursion due to your boat being late to dock you won't get a refund. If you book it through the cruise company you will.

This depends. There are very honorable independent excursion operators who will refund you. They detail this on their webpage. Independent is almost always cheaper and better, less crowded.

There are valid reasons to pay extra for the cruise line excursion though:

1) A full day far flung trip. We’ve had it happen that we were one hour delayed - breakdown on a rural road. Extra hydrofoil was sent out to get our group back to the ship - the tenders had already ceased operations. Another time was a cruise excursion that included a flight, but there was a security issue at the airport and a great delay, no worries, they waited for us.

2) You are simply too stressed out (or similar) to research or deal with any logistics whatsoever. You simply want to show up at your ship’s karaoke bar and get a sticker planted on your chest. They’ll take it from there. You don’t want to or have to think about weather, altered ports, refunds, waiting somewhere off the ship, or getting to a certain meeting point.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of prohibited items on ships that you wouldn’t immediately guess. For example surge protectors, and birthday candles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are preparing to embark on our first ever cruise and it feels daunting. I feel like I will forget something important or do something wrong, only to find out too late.

What general advice/tips would you give a first timer? Things you found out too late or wish you had known before you even left the house?

Pick another trip? They're crowded, people stuffing their faces all week, and the excursions are expensive.

[Anonymous]

I agree with trusting cruise critic. I've found things in there that I never would have thought of for specific ports.

Don't over pack clothes. Bring slightly nicer clothes for evening, like business casual, or 1 fancy thing if you'd like.

I have a bunch of cruise gadgets now, but for your first cruise don't bother. If you do others, you'll decide what if useful for you personally. (I like magnet hooks for the wall for jackets and hats, my kids use lanyards for the key cards, I have collapsible bins for shoes and clutter, over the door organizer, a bag lock for the beach....)

So bring an outlet splitter. Bring over the counter meds. I got Covid on the last cruise and only had a few Advil in my regular travel bag. It would have been nice to have enough Advil and cold meds etc. Plenty of sunscreen - you don't want to run out. Water shoes - the beaches can be rocky.

Find out what you need to make reservations for in advance - specialty restaurants, shows, upgrades like spa or private pool passes.

I find the worst value when it comes to cruise line excursions are the beach trips. Expensive and you can probably get yourself to the same beach for a fraction of the price (on of our best days probably cost $60 for 2 of us with transportation, drinks, and great food - then the cruise line group showed up to the same beach and had all of the same things for about $100 a person). This is where cruise critic comes in useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent excursions are usually nicer or at least cheaper. Go visit cruisecritic’s forums if you want any tips for a particular port or cruise.

I thought you should never book independent excursions because if something happens and you don't get back to the boat in time the boat won't wait for you.

This is what I heard too. And, they are vetted - if you go out on your own you could end up with some shady excursion that’s dangerous/not regulated/under the table.

The excursions to see the Whakaari volcano in New Zealand (in 2019) were RCL vetted. Yet numerous people died or were horribly burned by the eruption. A cruise excursion is no guarantee that all will go well!

I’m pretty sure vetting a company won’t ensure that a freakin’ volcano won’t erupt on any give day

Have you WATCHED the documentary on that accident? It's not that the volcano erupted. That's what they do. But there were signs that they shouldn't have gone on that excursion that day. And really no plan in place to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re leaving from a port in Florida, some locals will have arrived and started drinking long before you arrive right when the safety briefing begins
Even high-end cruise lines suffer this

And? how many safety briefings do you need? they are all the same

Are you joking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent excursions are usually nicer or at least cheaper. Go visit cruisecritic’s forums if you want any tips for a particular port or cruise.

That is correct. Plus if you miss your excursion due to your boat being late to dock you won't get a refund. If you book it through the cruise company you will.

This depends. There are very honorable independent excursion operators who will refund you. They detail this on their webpage. Independent is almost always cheaper and better, less crowded.

A refund of the excursion still leaves you standing on the dock as the ship pulls away. If you book through the cruise line they will get you to the next port to rebound the ship at their expense. Or so I’ve heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I would’ve figured out how to smuggle in liquor.

Choose Disney. No smuggling needed.

We smuggled our vodka in sealed dasani water bottles. Carefully keep the seals intact while dumping water and adding vodka.

This was a long time ago and I was 25. It was fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are preparing to embark on our first ever cruise and it feels daunting. I feel like I will forget something important or do something wrong, only to find out too late.

What general advice/tips would you give a first timer? Things you found out too late or wish you had known before you even left the house?

Pick another trip? They're crowded, people stuffing their faces all week, and the excursions are expensive.

I was a snob and thought I would hate cruises. I then finally went on one and it was fun. It was a family reunion trip and not something I would have gone on left to my own devices.

As said earlier, the days at sea are great. Only the pool was crowded. The ship was huge and it was easy to spread out and relax.

[Anonymous]

The pool are lousy but there are lots of nice quiet places to sit and read a book and watch the sea go by.

Many ports have good excursion options that aren’t through the cruise company.

The vegetarian Indian food is usually really good as the kitchen staff is mainly Indian on a lot of cruise lines. They often have a vegetarian curry that is not listed on the main menu but they will bring it if you ask.

The only special cruise stuff I pack is some magnets and magnet hooks for the wall and some binder clips or something similar so you can put stuff to dry on your balcony. Clip it to a chair so it won’t blow off. You may also want a waterproof waist wallet for your phone if you want to just walk off the ship and walk or taxi to a beach to swim which I have done in some ports.

Get there much earlier than departure time on departure day.

Cruises are the only vacation I actually unpack so I can put the suitcases under the bed and put of the way.

Embarkation day is crazy crowded and the muster call is the worst. Don’t get discouraged by it.

Avoid activities that are trying to sell you something — like anything that’s an art show or talking about jewelry will be like a MLM party. Things like trivia, game shows, performances, etc. are fun.

[Anonymous]

Any advice for an Alaska cruise? Leaving from Seattle in two weeks. Just us grown ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any advice for an Alaska cruise? Leaving from Seattle in two weeks. Just us grown ups.

Bring layers.

You’ll need sunblock.

[Anonymous]

Picking the right cruise line is key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent excursions are usually nicer or at least cheaper. Go visit cruisecritic’s forums if you want any tips for a particular port or cruise.

That is correct. Plus if you miss your excursion due to your boat being late to dock you won't get a refund. If you book it through the cruise company you will.

This depends. There are very honorable independent excursion operators who will refund you. They detail this on their webpage. Independent is almost always cheaper and better, less crowded.

A refund of the excursion still leaves you standing on the dock as the ship pulls away. If you book through the cruise line they will get you to the next port to rebound the ship at their expense. Or so I’ve heard.

No. You should have read that whole post actually.