Going on a Cruise? Keep This in Mind

When you pack your clothes, keep in mind that they may not reach your cabin until much later, so if you want to go swimming right away, put a bathing suit in your carry-on luggage. And remember, when you go up to the pool deck, either for a dip or for lunch, don’t take the drink being offered to you, unless you want to pay for it – it’s not free. Once you take your first sip, they’ll ask for your room key, which doubles as your onboard credit card, to pay for the drink.
Picking the right luggage for the cruise is important; the cabins don’t have a lot of storage space. Look to bring suitcases that can fit under the beds. Most standard suitcases will fit, but if you have one that is extra-large, it might be best to leave it at home. Pack hangars – cheap wire ones from the dry cleaner work best. They never give you enough and this way you won’t worry about bringing them back with you. Don’t pack any curling irons, flat irons or clothing irons as these items are not allowed on the ship.

Get a lanyard with a clear card holder, for holding your room key. It works a lot better than keeping the card in your wallet, because except for this card there’s nothing in your wallet that you’ll need aboard ship. Colonial Williamsburg has these lanyards at their ticket booths now and you can try to get one there. Busch Gardens has given them away in the past as well. The exception to this rule, is when you go on shore. If you are going to walk around the port, make sure you take off your lanyard and put your card in a pocket. You will need your card to leave the ship and to re-board, as this is how they keep track of passengers.

If you are worried about your kids charging up a storm, it is possible to lock their cards so they cannot make charges. However, the consequence of doing so is that they need to get you whenever they want to make a charge at the arcade, at the smoothie bar (on some ships), or at one of the specialty restaurants (such as Johnny Rockets on Royal Caribbean). You have to weigh the pros and cons and decide if your kids can stick to a budget. It’s also important to remember, especially for your kids, that the only drinks included are lemonade, hot and iced tea, coffee and hot chocolate. If your kids, or you, like to drink juice or soft drinks, or even wine or beer (for you, not your kids) look into purchasing a drink pass. Each cruise line handles it differently, but usually there are different kinds of passes that can be purchased that allows you to consume as much as you want of the aforementioned beverages. The one pass that you won’t usually encounter is all you can drink alcohol package, and if you do find it, it is usually pretty expensive.

Finally, remember that there is an automatic gratuity added to your account at the end of the cruise. Typically, they take $20-$30 per cabin, per day. The money goes to your room steward and assistant steward, as well as your wait staff. This amount can be raised or lowered based on your own preference. Customarily, if you choose to, you tip the Maitre D’ in cash at the end of the cruise. If you are bringing kids, you should bring cash to tip the camp staff, as they are not included in the automatic gratuity and usually their tips cannot be added to your account. Bartenders get tipped per drink, and that amount is automatically added onto your bill.

Cruising is a vacation, so the most important thing is to have fun. Keep these tips in mind for a bit less stress on the high seas.