Welcome to Life Well Cruised, where we share our best cruise travel tips, cruise news, cruise ship reviews, and destination guides.
Having worked in the cruise industry for more than a decade, Ilana believes that we can all have amazing travel experiences, while enjoying cruise ship life, of course!
Please note that we don’t sell cruises at Life Well Cruised. For all inquiries specific to your booking, please contact your cruise line or travel professional.
If you love cruising, or would like to know more about #allthingscruise, then you're in the right place!
For business inquiries, please email Ilana at lifewellcruised@gmail.com
You really don't need to pack shampoo or conditioner, since it's provided on all cruise ships and in hotels. Moleskin has been around for decades, great stuff. Don't skimp on the cheap generic ones, get the real thing from Dr. Scholl's. We like that rolled sheet, which lets you custom cut the size you need. I usually pre-cut a few pieces for the Achilles heel area of my ankles, the place I'm most likely to get a blister. If you wear a thin polypropylene liner sock under a crew sock, there's far less rubbing and the hot spots that quickly become blisters.
We are cruising June 30 next year. And I'm really confused about bringing a puffer jacket or a rain jacket. I really didn't want to bring two jackets. From what I'm reading I should bring a light puffer and a light rain jacket and then thicker layers for underneath? Or should I get a good puffer with a long poncho type raincoat that I can wear on top of the puffer
On some Carnival Cruise ships we found that deck 3 under the lifeboats along the sides there where chairs and lounge chairs that were very seldom used and you got the cool breeze running down along the sides
We could not find 2 chairs in the sunny area by the pool one day. I spotted 2 empty chairs and asked an attendant if he could also watch those chairs. I set my timer for 40 minutes and approached the attendant again, he didn't want to move the towels or help us out. I said thank you and walked over to the chairs and set our things down. I gathered the 2 previous towels and returned them to big laundry bin by the pool attendant. After being in those chairs nearly 2 1/2 hours the owners came down to claim them. I politely told them that an attendant removed the towels and let us sit there. The couple of women had clearly just had lunch and had never even set foot in the pool. They weren't happy, but what could they do? Then next day I did the same thing, waited 40 minutes and removed the towels. No one came by and we had great seats. I was frustrated that the RC attendant did not want to help or get involved. My advice is to set your timer and wait the 40 minutes the attendants would wait and take care of it yourself. My poor husband was mortified, but fair is fair and shame on RC for not enforcing the rules that are clearly stated in several areas around the pool.
Great ideas Ilana! 😊 We’ve had success with some of these. Once though things didn’t work so well! 😳😂 We moved a towel once (and the lounger thankfully so we were not found out by the people involved!) after asking if anyone had been using the lounger and getting a negative (being told they hadn’t been there for three hours!) but then they returned and were livid! 😮 Hubby was in the pool at the time so he didn’t witness it and I just pled ignorance. 😂
I'm surprised this is even a thing on cruises. IMHO, they should have guests register/swipe their "card" to reserve/obtain a chair for a max of x hours to free up space for other guests.
Cruise lines need to have shelves to put belongings and have a rule that if you are not sitting on a chair, you dont leave your stuff on it or it will be removed immediately and you are responsible for your stuff. I am not paying thousands of dollars for a cruise to then have no access to a chair because the crusie line allows ppl to claim chairs theya re not using. The same thing happens at resorts, disgusting people.
We really dislike chair hogs. I like the idea of them being monitored. Give people 45 minutes, then have staff pull their stuff off & put it by the towel area.
No way would I let someone reserve a ton of chairs. I wouldn’t need the help of a pool attendant either . I would take a chair for my wife and myself and too bad of the person doesn’t like it. Thats just ridiculous.
I’ve gotten many drinks of the day and they were definitely not watered down. One time my son had to help get my mom and me back to our room after one drink. He remembers that very fondly.
We have been on many Caribbean cruises. We really enjoyed Celebrity’s Solstice class ships because they have many seats in the shade on the pool deck. We NEVER sit by the pool because we avoid the sun. We love Celebrity’s Edge class ships in most ways, but there are not as many lounge chairs in the shade. Wish they would have more shaded seats. As my cousin, who has lived in Florida for more than 40 years, says “the sun is not your friend.”. Lots of cases of skin cancer there.
I love removing a dozen towels or so in the early morning while people are at breakfast, returning them, and spending my day in the highest bar on the ship, watching the chaos.
We were in the Aurea in September and are going again. You mention the wrist band is for Aurea and Yacht club - but we were told it was not included for Aurea. Has this been changed?
This is the biggest irritant I have on a cruise ship, bar none! If I see just towels on a chair, I would ask the people near by how long they have been unattended. If the answer is an extended amount of time, I would remove the towels and use the chairs for my wife and I. If there is an UN-attendant near by, I would advise him/her of my actions. I use the word "un-attendant" because of the history of the cruise lines not policing or not having policies in regard to chair hogs.
Recently I took my daughter and grandson to Cancun. We needed to get up by 6 am and go to the pool to save our chairs. It was ridiculous. Thank goodness for those chair bands that you recommended. They saved us. The pool attendants did release chairs after an hour. It was fabulous
