Wipe down frequently touched items in your cabin with lysol wipes: door handles, tv remote and buttons on the tv, the phone, drawer and cabinet door pulls, bathroom faucets, and all counter surfaces.
I like to do the muster drill and grab a bite to eat, then explore. Those are the things I like to do right away. Then I go to my cabin as soon as I can and unpack.
I much prefer a late embarkation. The crowds are gone from the terminal and there’s no waiting to board. I also want to go directly to my stateroom and not lug any baggage around longer than necessary. Still, I do understand your reasoning and preferences 👍🏽🛳️
I just checked in for my next cruise in 21 days and have already watched the safety video. I always study the deck plans before the cruise, so I’m not lost when I get on board. I will even look at menus online to see what specialty restaurants to go to, or if I even want to go to anything besides the main dining room. I have never been to a sail away party because I’m not crazy about crowds, but I enjoy watching the shore fade away. I either watch from my own balcony or find a quieter space on one of the decks to watch.
Just want to tell you how special it was for me (and my husband) to meet you yesterday in Fort Lauderdale 😘.We enjoy your channel so much as you always give us relatable material and I have used several of your tips like the- put safe contents in a bag so nothing gets lost under the lip by the door. You and your family are just as lovely in person as you appear on video. From Glynda the Good Witch of the North 😘😘
We are fortunate to travel as we are retired. We do choose to travel with just carry on luggage. We have learned to enjoy a big brunch before boarding and watch the safety video at the hotel. I will select an 11:30 or noon boarding time to allow the original crush at the port to clear. Once onboard we will stop at muster before we head to the cabin to drop off our bag. As soon as we can get into the cabin we will unpack. Then we head out to explore the ship.
I get a beer in a beer mug and then keep the mug until I go home. I use the mug for my coffee. Cruise ship coffee cups are just too small and I hate juggling 2-3 cups of coffee from the coffee machine to the table. An iced latte in the afternoon made from the milk at the cereal station is another bonus.
At sail away we like to watch for the pilot boat to come pick up the harbor pilot from the ship. It’s fun to watch him exit the ship, often via a hanging ladder, onto the pilot boat. We will cheer for him/her and they might wave in return if many cruise passengers are joining us. Best to do this from the panorama deck. You might have to go from side to side to find the pilot boat as it approaches. Sometimes the cruise captain will announce which side of the ship they will be using in his sail away announcement.
I took an Alaska cruise in May, first time solo. Went to my cabin and got my card. It didn’t work so I got a new card. I went in and started to put my jewelry away and my safe didn’t work. No problem, they came and put a new battery in it. A few days into the cruise, my door wouldn’t open. They had to change the whole lock. 😂. No worries, it made the cruise more interesting. Looking forward to my next cruise next month.
We like to go right to the MDR for lunch. THAT feels like vacation to us! We've done the Panama Canal and Quebec City to Boston this year. Maybe Alaska next year?? Fun to be cruising again. And your videos have been so helpful and fun.
Awesome info another thing I do as soon as I get in cabin is send any items that are wrinkled to cleaners to steam or iron clothing so everything’s ready for dress up nites etc 😊
I bring a spray bottle with me when I travel, and I spray my clothes with water to get the wrinkles out. I understand that this is not suitable for all fabrics. 😊
Great advice!! Unpacking is a must and not rushing around on that first day makes things so much more enjoyable...leave lots of time to get to the port...viv
Here are some of my embarkation day rituals: 1. I keep a brief list on my iPhone of items for my room steward; e.g., Are the items I specified pre-embarkation in the room? Will housekeeping always be in the early afternoon as I requested? How best reach the room steward. You know, practical stuff. As I am an old geezer, I keep a list, again on my phone, of the names of the staff who’ll be my guardian angels during the cruise. Of special note is any bartender who knows how to make a great Bloody Mary. Although the cruises I take are always “gratuities fully included” I ensure those who make me happy are acknowledged with some spending money. 2. I unpack my iPad, Apple Watch and iPhone chargers, get those plugged in, ensuring the plugs actually work; 3. Magnets for the walls for announcements, tickets, etc. 4. Are there plenty of towels and boxes of Kleenex? Yes, I am old and those things matter! 😎 Then I head off for lunch, a cocktail or two, then a nap. Exploring the ship is tomorrow’s big adventure!
(1) Celebrate having a drink package and start getting your moneys worth. (2) Pass out in your room from the alcohol and stressful travel getting to your cruise. (3) Wake up at 1:30 am, realizing you’ve wasted your first day. Uh, not that I’ve ever done that :)
I love getting to cruise port as early as possible, after all you're paying for that first day! I get FTTF for CCL for that reason, also for early debarkation as I'm an early riser by nature.
On a cruise from Singapore, where I dilocated my knee in the airport (days before cruise), I waited until 2:30 to board and that was my greatest embarkation day. No lines, went straight to muster drill then to my cabin and unpacked as my luggage was already in my cabin, plus the attendant was right there and able to assist with anything I needed as I was the last passanger in his cabins to arrive. Since then, either h ave the hotel hold my luggaage or drop off luggage at the ship, do some sightseeing, and watch safety video before getting on the ship.
As soon as we get onboard, we will do the muster drill. Next steps would be to get a bite to eat and explore the ship a bit until we are able to head over to our cabin.
Hi Illana..50 days to embarkation. Yes whenever it is on my app I watch the safety video ahead of time…then i head straight to the muster station…then i am up having a 2 slices of pizza and a Heineken. Thats where i was when i called out to you😂😂For me my ‘ vacation’ does not officially start until I am unpacked😂
I actually like to play my embarkation time by ear. I agree that if you are a first time cruiser or even if it’s the first time at a particular port you should probably get there early. However depending on how the port is laid out I like to drop my bags off early then leave, go get something to eat and maybe walk around for a bit but as I said, that depends on the port. For example the port in Vancouver is easily accessible to walking to the port from your hotel, dropping off your bags then finding somewhere to get something to eat. You can even take time to walk to the steam clock which is only about 5 minutes away. However the port in Seattle can be a bit confusing and it’s probably better to just get there early and get on the ship as soon as possible. Also one tip for anyone leaving out of Vancouver, don’t try going in where all of the taxis and ride share drop everyone off. If you go up the ramp and use the entrance to the convention center (on the other side of the Pan Pacific) you can find the entrance to drop your bags off and not have to wait in that long like for the elevator for the elevator.
On our last cruise in May, embarkation was horrible. On our upcoming cruise, we are going to do a late arrival time and we have priority boarding. Also there is an NFL football game nearby so anyone going to the ship early is going to hit a crowd going to the stadium.
In your cabin, check for bed bugs before you unpack. If the Cruise line has to put you in a different room, you don't want to repack everything that may noe have been exposed to the bugs.
I'm team early embarkation, normally have a drink package. Why not take advantage of what you pay including lunch. Most cruise line don't require room card if they're not ready, you can use your boarding pass.
Off topic but just wanted to say is I bought the portable hangars you recommended on Amazon and I absolutely love them! I used to bring several wire hangers with us and leave them there on the ship. However since we’ve retired we no longer get things to the dry cleaners!! Thanks for the tip!!❤
I’ll be honest, as soon as I board the ship, I do the muster drill and then I post up in the casino. I pick my favorite machine, grab a seat, and then wait until the casino opens!
Lots of helpful tips in here, although it feels a little jumbled at times. Thanks for the reminder about where to pick up our cruise cards if they're not given to us in the terminal, and thanks for reminding us to book the shows we want to see ASAP once we're onboard 🙂
The first thing I do is muster station after getting the card. Make sure to eat something because the drink package might sneak up on you early on. Sorry, but I'm one of those that lives off the suitcase. 😂. I travel solo, so I use the "neatly folded pile system " used vs. clean 😂😂😂. Ziplock bags to sort undergarments in a similar fashion. 😂😂😂
I wish they (carnival at least) enforced the arrival time, sucks when the line is super long and you can see peoples arrival time on their sheet and they arent supposed to be there for a few hours. Very frustrating
I find the main bars, atrium so crowded on embarkation day and long waits. So I suggest heading a more out of the way bar for that mimosa. Also if your room is forward or aft, walk down and take those elevators, the middle main elevator bank is the busiest. ( and people bring on a lot of large luggage themselves idk ,so they fills up quick ) . Is nice to look around right away but avoid elevators as much as possible. Guess it depends on length of your cruise but it is much more relaxing to look around the next day. Never miss sail away, stop unpacking and just go up ha !! I do agree with unpack right away but not on sail away time.
If you want to eat in MDR on embarkation day, remember to wear appropriate clothes to board ship. We always arrive at least the day before and stay in hotel in cruise port. This makes organizing our suitcases, picking out what to wear, etc easy to do. First thing I do once on board is find our room and grab our cards. If possible, we will leave our carry on bags. Check in at muster station and then grab a drink.
For me, tomorrow is embarkation day. Since my cruise is 21 days, I've got two large checked bags, a carry on, and a personal. I hope I can dump my carry on, into my cabin, after I board. I should be at the ship by 10:00.
I did this and it was wonderful! Just show each other respect. Most people who choose to share a room are social types who are comfortable meeting new people. It will be just great!! Enjoy!
We have only cruised on Carnival. We have never had to make reservations for the shows. Is this something new or is it still the same? We cruise again in April and want to be fully prepared.
As a D+ cruiser on Royal and an Elite cruiser on Celebrity (my two favorite cruise lines), I always plan on getting to the port by about 10:30 AM so can enjoy the early boarding that those frequent cruiser clubs offer.. The most stress that I have when cruising is fear of an accident or mishap that prevents me from getting on the ship. (like a huge traffic accident that completely blocks the highway; of if we are flying to the port, a plane delay). So I never mind getting to the port early and just waiting to board. Once I/we are there the delays boarding and getting our cabin do not bother me. Our first stop is generally an eating place, buffet or cafe. Then we generally go to the main dining room to check out our table (we always request a table for 2 so need to make sure that's honored). Then we just find a place to relax until the cabin is ready.
@@Nrustica YES, we have been at larger table with "strangers" on some cruises. Our experience is that can be good some times and bad other times because some guests don't want to be at the table with the group. We have had people disappear from our table after the first night never to be seen in the dining room again. And we have had great people who were super friendly and loved to make conversation every evening. AND, we have had tables for two where the table were so close together that it was like being at a large table; we eventually made friends with the people at table on both sides of us ........ had a great time too.
I just got off the Sun Princess trans Atlantic cruise yesterday. I was a travel agent for 20 years and took many cruises over the course of my career. Never have I experienced such self cenetered, egotistical, childishly petulant and wilfully ignorant people as I did on that ship. Rude is an understatement. Entitled to everything, including taking deck chairs from designated areas leaving no places for anyone to sit, cutting in lines, screaming at other passengers, actual fist fights because some loser refused to take his feet off the seat in front of him so another could sit (yes! security was busy on this ship) over seats in the woefully undercapacity arena. Another ignorant man sat down at a table for two where the husband had simply gone to the bathroom, told the wife she can't "save seats" and proceeded to argue with her and her husband until another seat became available and moved! My husband and I couldn't WAIT to get off. The only pleasant people we interacted with were the crew, who had a rough job with the true a$$holes as well as the awesome passengers in the smoking area. The crew won't remove anything on "saved" deck chairs for fear of bad reviews, which is inexcusable. I have never counted the days and hours for a vacation to end. I did on this one. You can't make this stuff up.
WOW, I am sorry to hear about your experience on that cruise. Some people are so miserable in life and it shows when they are around others. I’ve seen some misbehavior from passengers but this bad. Hopefully you will have a better experience on your next cruise.
When you say we can watch the safety video on our mobile phone. When are we able to do that only at the time of check-in at the ship or can we do it at the time of check in on our computer at our home?
This is totally off subject of this video. But I hope you can help. We are thinking of doing a New England cruise on Princess. My husband is very skeptical about NYC. Can you suggest a somewhat affordable close to cruise terminal hotel?
Hi can you give a name of good 3 party shore excursions company in these ports. Antigua, st Lucia, Barbados, and st Martin ? We go on celebrity Beyond 10 night southern on Nov 15 2024. Thanks ❤😊
So correct me if I'm wrong...but once you get on the ship, you have to go to your cabin to get your cruise card? But your room might not be ready yet? I'm a bit confused.
I hate embarkation day, it's not until my main luggage has shown and I've checked out my room completely. Once we hit the MDR for the evening it's all good
Hi Ilana, I have a question regarding gym. We will be going on Carrabean cruise in January 2025 from Miami and will be accompanied by our 2ybold son. We are very active couple and wondering if he is allowed with us in the gym? Many thanks in advance. Best regards Ewa
First thing we do is after checking in, if there is an escalator we go up to gang plank, we leave our worries and stresses down the escalator or on the gang plank. Kind of silly, but it has worked for us.
@@raphischuster2060 ok- I guess you don’t tip at restaurants either? I’m in a service industry and I’d never not tip. If you can afford to go out you should tip.
Investigate housekeeping, behind the scenes workers wages. Understand where how cruise fare goes and know intrinsically how most cruises are priced and why they are so cheap. After you learn the average stewards wage, let alone the workers you never see, then go ahead and remove your gratuities. Those that prefer to not look behind the curtain selfishly want to keep sleeping at night.
