We LOVE to cruise. It is our favorite way to travel. You get to see so many places in such a short amount of time and everything is taken care of! You don’t have to find transportation, food or a place to stay. It is all taken care of! We have been on quite a few cruises and we think that it is a good way to travel for pretty much anyone. Here are 50 of our best tips for cruising broken up into 5 categories.
Planning Your Cruise:
Decide Where to Go
One of the ways you can plan your cruise is based on where you want to go. Is there an area of the world you would like to visit? If it is accessible by water there is a good chance you can find a cruise going to that area of the world.
Decide How Long
Depending on where you want to go will probably help you decide how long you want to be gone for. If you don’t have a preference on where you go, you can search by length of cruise on most major cruise lines. We always like to go on a cruise for 7-10 nights with 1-2 at sea days. More Sea Days than that and you will probably get quite bored.
Look For Deals
Every cruise line has deals that come up throughout the year. So make sure you are signed up for their emails or follow them on social media so you know when sales are going on. We can almost always find a good deal with Royal Caribbean where kids sail free and adults are often buy one get one 50% (or more!) off.
Sign Up for Rewards
Have you cruised with a specific cruise line before? You are probably already enrolled in their loyalty or rewards program. Don’t lose your membership numbers! Keep them and apply them to your future cruises, it doesn’t take many cruises to get you perks.
Do you need a drink package?
We have never bought a drink package on any of our cruises. Decide if you really need one. There are packages for bottled water, soda and alcohol and combinations of all three. Really decide if you need one. Most cruise lines offer complimentary water, coffee, and tea and they usually will have milk and juice out for breakfast. On Royal Caribbean ships they also have complimentary lemonade, iced tea, and flavored waters. If you can be fine for a few days without a drink other than your basic beverages, I would suggest not getting a drink package. And if you really need a drink, you can probably get one for cheap when you go on shore!
Book your next cruise before you leave
Lots of cruise lines give you special incentives to book your next cruise before you leave your current one. If you know what your schedule is like and have an idea where you want to go, this could be a really good option for you. We considered booking another cruise onboard before we finished our last cruise but because we aren’t sure what will be happening the next couple of years, we decided to hold off.
Decide when it’s worth it to spend extra money
When planning your cruise, there are times when it might be worth it to you to spend the extra money. Just make sure you decide when it is worth it and be ok with spending the extra money for convenience. For us on our last cruise, we decided it would be worth it to book a disembarkation excursion so that the cruise line would be in charge of our transportation, activities and handling our luggage until our flight later that evening. Could we have done the same thing for less money? Probably. But it was worth it to us to have the convenience.
Before You Go:
Pack Light
Staterooms on ships are not very spacious, even if you have the super fancy rooms. We have always tried to pack light for our cruises and have never had a problem with space in our stateroom (even on our last cruise which had the smallest stateroom ever!). Bring things that mix and match and that you can wear for a couple of days before needing to wash them. Consider doing your own laundry onboard (either at the laundry facility if there is one or in your stateroom sink). This will really help limit the amount of stuff you need to bring.
Packing cubes
As we’ve said before, use packing cubes to help with your packing. It makes for easy packing and unpacking. See our full post about them here.
Don’t Forget a Jacket
Even if you’re going to a tropical location, days on the ocean can be quite breezy and chilly. And sometimes the air conditioning on the ship can be quite chilly as well! So bring a jacket so you won’t get too cold.
Download Shows and Movies onto Your Device
While the ship does have TV with a few channels, you’re not going to find much on it in terms of entertainment. There will be times when you just want to hang out in your stateroom and chill for a bit. Make sure to download some of your favorite shows or movies onto your device so you can watch them in your stateroom.
Load up on books
Same thing with books. If you have some kind of e-reader (my favorite is my Kindle Paperwhite!) make sure you have a few books downloaded. It’s great to take with you when you’re waiting for lunch or for a show. Or if you’re up on the pool deck soaking in some sun. It’s a great way to pass the time and an easy way to not have to carry lots of physical books.
Bring cards/games
Again, there will be times on the ship when nothing that interests you is going on. Make sure to bring some cards or some small games that you can play to pass the time. Most ships do have a small collection of games as well, but we have found that often pieces are missing.
Bring a Highlighter
Easy to pack and a great way to mark on your daily agenda things that interest you.
Bring magnets and Magnetic Clips
Everything in your stateroom is magnetic! Bring magnets and magnetic clips to keep important papers in a safe place, to put notes on your door for your stateroom attendant or friends.
Bring a multi-Port Charger
We have one similar to this and it works great to be able to charge multiple things while only using one outlet. There are limited outlets in your stateroom so make the most of your space!
Make and Bring a Medicine Kit
Most ships have a small store that sells medicine, treats, and other random things you might forget, but you have to pay an arm and a leg for them! We pack and take with us (everywhere we go, not just cruises) a small medicine/first aid kit. We use a small packing cube (the small one from this set) and keep frequently used medications. We keep motion sickness pills, ibuprofene, allergy pills, antacids as well as a few bandaids. We don’t have to use it often but we are glad we have it when we do!
Beach Days? Bring toys for kids
Don’t forget beach toys for your kids if you’re cruising to a beach! We have this great collapsible bucket (similar to these) for Lucy that packed so easily. We also brought a couple small shovels and this cute sea shell bag. We saw toys being sold at the beaches for a crazy amount. So save your money and pack your own!
Bring Plastic diaper bags
These are great if you’re traveling with kids (and even if you’re not!) They can hold dirty diapers until you’re at a place you can throw them away. You can put wet clothing in them. You can use them as vomit bags if you need to. They’re just so great and handy to have. We have these ones and love them.
Use Hanging bathroom kits
When packing your toiletries for a cruise, use a bag that can easily hang. It is easy to keep your teeny, tiny stateroom bathroom organized and your things won’t fall all over the place when you hit rough seas. We have one that are similar to these.
Pack a Day bag
Before you get on the ship, make sure you have a small bag that has your essentials to get you through dinner on the day you get on the ship. Your luggage will be brought to your room but sometimes it doesn’t come until late in the evening. You can also use this bag when you disembark from the boat to keep your overnight essentials since you will probably have your luggage picked up the last night of your cruise.
Don’t Forget A Water bottle
They’re great for taking on your excursions and for carrying around the boat so you don’t have to stop at every drink station for a glass of water.
Wear and Pack Comfy shoes
You could be doing a lot of walking and adventures on your excursions and you don’t want your feet to hurt! Make sure you pack some comfy shoes for your activities as well as some regular comfy shoes for walking around the ship.
Bring cash
Make sure to bring cash with you! There is an ATM on most ships, but you will get charged a hefty fee for pulling out some money. So just bring your own from home. Try to keep it in smaller bills if you can.
Bring a Laundry Bag
We bring a simple collapsable duffle bag on every trip to use as a laundry bag (and it can be used as an extra piece of luggage if we need it on the way home). We put it in the bottom of the closet and throw our dirty clothes in it from the trip.
Plan for MOtion Sickness
Even if you think you won’t get sick, you probably will! We use Dramamine and Sea Bands when we cruise. But I’ve also heard that ginger candy or gummies can help with seasickness as well. Pack these in your medicine kit!
Don’t Forget Your Swimming suit
There are pools on most cruise ships and if you’re traveling to a tropical location you will probably be hitting the beach as well! If you have back-to-back water activities on days right after each other, you may want to bring multiple swimming suits so one can always be dry. (Sometimes it takes a while for things to dry in your stateroom.)
On the Ship:
Explore the Ship
When you embark, take your time to explore the ship. Grab some lunch and wander around. You will probably not be able to get into your stateroom until the early afternoon so use your time to familiarize yourself with the ship and its amenities.
Unpack when you get there
As soon as you get your luggage, UNPACK! Staterooms are small and you really need to unpack because it is so difficult to live out of a suitcase on a cruise. Plus the sooner you do it, the sooner you can settle into your room and enjoy your vacation!
Use Storage
There is a lot of storage built into your stateroom. Use the drawers, cabinets, closet and shelves when you are unpacking. It helps to have everything in a specific place so that your (tiny) room doesn’t get too out of hand. Don’t forget to utilize the space under your bed for strollers and luggage!
Get to Know Your Stateroom Attendant
Your stateroom attendant will be taking care of your room for you every day including making it up in the mornings and doing a turn down service at night. Get to know them! You can leave them notes on your door if you have specific requests and make sure to use the door hanger or magnet the ship provides that lets your attendant know when you are out of the room or in your room. It makes their job so much easier!
Get the Beds Arranged How You Want
Talk to your stateroom attendant about your bed arrangements. Usually you can do this beforehand, but sometimes it doesn’t get done. But that’s ok. It isn’t usually a big deal. We like to have our beds pushed together to make a King sized bed and we discovered on this last cruise to have one of the bunks pulled down so that we could use that as extra storage for some of our bigger items.
Turn Your Phone on Airplane Mode
Before you sail out of port, make sure to turn your phone on airplane mode! You don’t want to be charged high prices for roaming in the middle of the ocean.
Don’t pay for food
We have never paid extra for food on cruises because we have found the buffets and the dining room food to all be great and high quality. Save your money! You already paid for the food, so why pay more for different food? This also goes for your port days. If you schedule allows for it, you may consider heading back to the ship for lunch after your morning adventures before you head back out in the afternoon. Sometimes this doesn’t make sense, but if you’re staying around the port, you might as well save some money!
Enjoy the Food
Try lots of different things! There is always a wide variety of foods and it is fun to try new things that you may not usually try. When you’re in the dining room, you can order multiple items from the appetizer, main and dessert menus! Get an extra to try and split it with the others at your table.
Balance Your Diet
While the food is great on the ships, don’t forget to still eat like a normal person! You can gain a lot of weight on cruises if you’re not careful. I tried to make sure I had some fruit or veggies with each meal and I tried to eat those first so I wouldn’t get too full for them. And I ended up losing one pound on our cruise instead of gaining anything!
GO To The Dining Room (Not just for dinner!)
On your at sea days, the dining room offers great breakfasts and lunch options. It’s kind of nice to try those sometimes instead of the regular buffet.
Use the Workout Facilities
Take advantage of the gym and walking track available on most ships! These can help you combat all the eating you’re probably going to be doing. There is usually some time before dinner to go exercise or if you’re ambitions, wake up early and go!
See the Shows
The entertainment each evening is one of my favorite parts of cruising. I love our routine of going to dinner and right after heading to a show. We like to get to shows early if we can because they can be quite popular and fill up fast! Luckily, most shows will have 2 times that you can see them.
Participate in classes and demos
There is always a class or a demo going on on the ship, especially at sea days. Some of our favorites are to go to napkin and towel folding classes. We have also gone to an ice sculpture demonstration and a fruit and veggie carving demo. They were both really interesting and fun!
Sign up for activities early
If you’re interested in doing the rock wall or ice skating or other fun things on your ship, see if they have signups for those activities and if they do, make sure to sign up early! These activities can fill up quite fast and you don’t want to miss out.
Use Kid’s Club
If you’re traveling with kids, see if your ship has a kid’s club and use it if they do! They have highly qualified adults who run the clubs and kids always have a great time! If you have a baby, they might not have a club for them, but they might have open play time or toy bags you can check out for them.
TIp! Tip! Tip!
With most cruises you can pre-pay your gratuities before you board. This is what we usually do simply for our budgeting purposes. But at the end of your cruise you may want to tip a little extra to those who went above and beyond. This is the first time we have financially been able to tip and it felt so nice to recognize our waiters, stateroom attendant and others who really helped make our trip spectacular and easy with Lucy. Make sure you have cash for this! But you can also do it through your onboard account on most ships.
Plan to Relax
This is your vacation! If you don’t want to do something, don’t worry about it. If you want to go do all the things, go do them! Relaxing is one of the greatest parts of cruising; everything is taken care of for you and all you have to do is relax and have fun!
Excursions:
Plan Your Excursions
Decide how you want to spend your days in port. Do you want to just wander and do your own thing? Want to be spontaneous and decide when you’re there? Want to book an excursion through the cruise line? Research the port and decide what you want to do.
Book Your own excursions
Instead of booking an excursion through your cruise line, book your own excursions! You can easily book third party excursions online at most ports of call. This will save you so much money! If you don’t want to book through a third party, we have also found it helpful to just make a list of places and sites you want to see in the city, research transportation in that city and just explore on your own. This also can save a lot of money.
Day pack for going ashore
Make sure you bring a good bag or backpack for when you’re going ashore. You’ll want to carry water, money, sea cards, IDs and anything else you may need while off the ship. Make sure it is a comfortable bag that you can carry all day!
Disembarking:
Plan for an early departure/disembarking
Disembarking will take place early in the morning, usually between 7:00 and 8:30 am. But you will have to be out of your rooms before that. So be prepared to eat early if you wish (they usually open the buffet and the dining room early on the last morning) and get any bags you have and be at your departure station early in the morning.
Decide which disembarking is best for you
Most cruise lines have two ways of disembarking. The first is usually called Assisted Disembarking. This is where you pack your bags and set them out the night before. The cruise porters will take your bags and take them to the cruise terminal for you to pick up after you leave the ship (similar to picking up your bags after a flight). The other way is Unassisted Disembarking. This is where you take your own luggage off the ship and don’t have to pick it up in the terminal. The only annoying part of this is bringing your luggage with you to your disembarking station.
