12 Things SMART Cruise Passengers Always Do 

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Cruise nerd here and your list is spot on! I’d add one. When booking my cabin I check the ship’s floor plan to make sure there are cabins directly above & below mine. You don’t want to be above or below a loud venue like the nightclub when you’re trying to get some quiet.

On our last cruise, our room was right near the exit. So we were always the first ones off the ship everyday. Made everything on shore so much easier. 😄

Totally agree with planning to get to embarkation port early. I live in Florida and literally got into an accident on way to Port Canaveral. I was early and even after doing police report, we made it in time. Thank God no one was hurt.

We like 2 or 3 days before the cruise if flying in. A little mini vacation before the main event . 👍

We have sailed on Carnival 14 times with another one booked in February 2022. Everything posted here is right on the money. The only thing I can add is referring to seasickness. If a passenger is prone, cabin is best located in the middle of the ship and on the lowest deck possible. This is where the ship has the least motion.

#10 - you do not have to spend money on the ship! If you don't gamble, or drink alcohol. If your excursions are prepaid. It was lovely. (You might want cash for an extra steward tip)

If motion sickness is a problem for you then you DO want to be in the middle of the ship and on a lower deck.

Do NOT get a room below the pool deck. You will be hearing the constant scraping of chairs above you.

Start walking alot more in the weeks leading up to the cruise. You can do a lot of walking on a cruise.

A smart cruiser also knows that sometimes it is easier to get on an elevator going in the opposite direction of your destination. If everyone is going down to dinner get on the elevator going up and enjoy the ride.

Drink package tip: If the other person in your stateroom doesn't want or can't use the alcohol package you can call the cruise line and explain why the other person doesn't/can't purchase alcohol package and they will give option to purchase soda or other beverage package depending on cruise line offerings.

Time saving tip: be unusually energetic [ for a person on vacation from the U S ] to save time. Use the stairs if you only want to go up or down one or two floors.

One thing we learned cruising a lot, is going to the local resorts during shore days. We always go to the resorts that offer day passes and enjoy the day there. For instance, in Nassau Bahamas we go to the Melia resort and pay $99 a person. That allows us full use of the resort. The drinks, beach, pools, food, and towels are all free to use for that fee. We always just make sure we are back to the ship at least an hour and half before time to leave. Saves us money on some of the excursions and allows us to enjoy all the resort has to offer.

My smart tip... After leaving the plane but before leaving shore, ... buy a large insulated mug. The cup/glasses on cruise ships are tiny/modest. A big cup saves a lot of ice water/juice "refill" trips. A large coffee cup provides "one stop" morning satisfaction. Other passengers will be jealous of your foresight.

1. Arrive day early before sailing 2. Book activities before the cruise for discounts 3. Know drink package rules 4. Do drink package math 5. Buy travel insurance 6. Book ‘end of hall’ rooms for quietness 7. Get the COVID 19 vaccine 8. Book upper level cabins 9. Bring a passport 10. Budget your $. Plan 30-40% of your fare. 11. Take the stairs.

The middle of the ship is more stable.

13 - ex military or current serving ask the cruise line if they give onboard credit. P&O definitely do and it was an automatic $250 credit on top of any other onboard credit you may get. Nice to drink some free money before I paid for a beer!

I've been on 5 cruises the best cabin is as low and center as posable more stable!!!

The other big reason to USE THE STAIRS-when I primarily use the stairs on a cruise, I’m less likely to put on a lot of weight from all the delicious food! Bonus: by spending less time in a small room with strangers, you’re a bit less likely to be exposed to an airborne virus. Just remember to use hand sanitizer if you touched the stairs’ handrail at any point

If you get a room at the front or back of the ship you will feel the rise and fall of the ship much more as it moves through the sea. If you get a room towards the top of the ship you will feel it roll much more. The smoothest ride will be in the middle of the ship, down low.

Book on the chase sapphire credit card and don’t need travel insurance as it’s built in!

I arrive a day or two before a cruise!

My rule is to always take the stairs. I cruise to eat good food…a lot of it. Taking the stairs help keeps the weight gain lower.🤣😄😁

Travel insurance is a must as a Paramedic & a Registered Nurse I understand a medical air evacuation will be $20-$150K. 😳😳🤭

My wife and I, right up to the shut down are seasoned, though not avid cruisers, and we do most of these things. #11 has thee unmentioned benefit, that taking the stairs as a matter of routine on a cruise helps you avoid the lbs most people gain on the ship from eating too many free Windjammer pastries and Sorentos pizza slices.

My cruise tip for those flying in the day before. If you are traveling light pack empty toiletry bottles instead of travel size products, then buy normal size products for the cruise (travel sizes might not last your whole trip) at the local big box store, then at the end of the cruise when flying back fill the empty bottles with any leftover products. This really helps if you can't travel with aerosols and is really helpful for any of those forgotten items since you are already at the shop.

With room location, I always check the location of the galley. We were under the galley once and I don’t ever want to be there again. They start working very early and you can hear the carts moving.

It’s good to know I’ve already followed most of these tips…

These were all so great and looks like we are smart cruisers 🛳

Glad to see that hubby and I are fairly smart cruisers! There are some great tips in here.

Oh my advice if it’s at all possible is to book your drink package Internet package stuff like that on Black Friday. That’s what I did and I saved a butt load of money

Just a few things we usually do that make our cruise experience a bit easier & more relaxing :) *Arrive at least a day early before sailing, maybe two or three if you want to do some exploring around the port/city before the day the ship departs. *Book activities/excursions when you book your cruise for discounts, this also includes flights. Also remember that if your excursions are booked through the cruise line & are late getting back to port, the ship WILL wait for you but if they're booked through someplace else, nope, you're on your own to get to the next port if you get back late. *If you're a member of AAA, this is the perfect time to utilize their travel agent service! We've gone through their service in our area for our last 3 cruises & they've been wonderful! *Do drink package math & Know drink package rules *Buy travel insurance and EVACUATION insurance so you will be taken to a hospital in the states, not some island hospital! * Get the COVID-19 vaccine *Try to be as close to the middle as possible & if possible, try to get on the port side so when you do port, you can watch the 'dock runners' from your window/balcony... Always entertaining ;) These rooms may not be the quietest but you won't feel motion as much as if your on either end/way down at the lowest level. just go a couple decks below lido & you'll be fine. *Bring a passport! We have a pencil pouch that has two pockets, our passports LIVE in the front, then any other paperwork we need along with a pen & small notepad fit neatly in the larger pocket. *Budget you're $. Plan 30-40% of your fare. * If flying to the cruise port, wait with the toiletries! Between the airport & your hotel, find a CVS/Walgreens/Target and then get all those toiletries, especially full-size shampoo, conditioner & body wash, after a week of everyone using it, it'll be almost if not empty, just toss & your not taking a chance of bottles leaking & getting stuff all over everything in your luggage, as well as extra space & not having to figure out 'what can go through TSA in carry on & what has to go in checked luggage'. *For bringing home goodies... Wrap them in your clothes that are now dirty laundry that you're going to wash when you get home anyway. My husband & I have a system for travel, I pack to go & he packs to come home & we haven't had a broken item yet :)

About those stairs and travel insurance....I just got off a Princess Cruise a couple of weeks ago. I'm the sort of person that typically loves to take the stairs. First night of the cruise, as I was coming down the stairs, I lost my balance and fell onto a hard wooden chair in the atrium and split open my lower lip. I'm on blood thinners, so yeah, it was UGLY. I literally spent the entire night in the medical center. Three stitches, a shot of adrenalin (to try to stop the bleeding) one round of antibiotics and a charge of $800 later, (not to mention I couldn't drink or eat very well for the majority of the cruise), I was glad we took the travel insurance.

I've learned to take a Dramamine on the first day even if I still feel fine.

Missed a few: when cruising with 2+ cabins, book them in the same general area but one on port side, one on starboard, so that you always have one cabin on the "favored view". On many ships, when returning from shore, don't join the crowd waiting at the elevators; simply go up one flight of stairs and cross to the other bank of elevators - they are usually empty. Always pre-pay your tips; it generally gives you even better service (I usually even add something extra in cash). If you are travelling solo, remember to tip your cabin steward extra for the lost tip of the missing second person (it takes almost as long to clean a 1 person cabin as a 2 person one but they only get half the tip). Don't underestimate the "day at sea in port" where the crowds are away and you have the ship mostly to yourself: great time to explore, take pictures, and they also usually run specials during port hours in many facilities.

Thanks for sharing these!

This guy was hired by the cruise industry!

It’s fantastic the facial recognition!!!! We were off the ship and customs with under 15 minutes

Hi Tanner, thanks for your informative video. We're looking forward to our November 2021 cruise on the Celebrity Millennium 10 night Caribbean cruise. Things are getting back to normal (more or less). Hi from Bob and Jill in Connecticut

Great information! Thanks!

Thank you for the drink calculator

We love your channel!

Mr. Cruzely, thank you for all your informations, you are verry helpful to us.

Excellent advice

For people interested in the soda drink package, check to see if you can bring your own cans on board. Carnival allows 1 x 12 pack of cans. This also allows you to get what you like, example - Mountain Dew 😉

Thank you for this video it really helps

thanks for the info. I havnt been in a cruise but Im planning to go on next year. Thanks for the TIP!

No end of the hall for ME! Middle of the ship is calmer and less nausea.

Super glad we got our cabins practically at the end of the hall. By chance. Thanks for the tip!

I bought a drink package saved all the receipts felt obligated to drink to excess every day and at the and of the tally it was about a wash as if I would have paid cash. Buying bottles to the room and mixing own drinks is the cheapest way to go. Great informative video !

Stairs and passport, budget and checking on board account are good advices.

Thank you for this video, so many tip and trick and things to know. This will be my 2nd cruise, but I'm hooked!!

Two things I might add is on the drink package it start when you board the ship that might mean a lot of drinking and some days you just may not want drinks…just sayin. Also maybe Cruzly could do a suggestion on actual insurance options and what to look for. If you have already done that then when you suggest it maybe give us a link appearing during the video plus it would give you more counts on past videos

Lots of great ideas! Thanks!

best cruise advice on RU-vid ! Awesome !

Thank you for this info!

Thanks for the information

I've read 3 re calm. 5) Also, while you are walking around the ship during the day, especially in rough seas, or else out on an excursion in a small a cabin as close to horizontal center on that deck as you can. That gives you your horizontal stability. So if the ship starts to "rock and roll," this location will be as calm & steady as possible in rough weather. My Mom and sister are verrry prone to seasickness. They had some queasiness on our first cruise, but never had any problem on the 2nd one due to our discovery of Seabands. Geo Ctr puts you above the waterline. If you like, get a balcony room so you can get fresh air and a view of the horizon which is a good thing psychologically, esp. when the seas are calm. An inside room with no window can make you feel claustrophobic which doesn't help a sufferer from mal de mer. Fresh air and an outside view always seem to help. 4) Also give some thought to your view from the balcony during your cruise: ocean views and other boats (whales or dolphins) passing by vs coastal sights & wildlife watching approach to ports o call, view of port town and surrounding landscape/mountains, etc. The choice of Starboard (Rt) or Port (Lt) side view can add an extra dimension to yr trip with a balcony or just with a window view. 5) While you are walking around the ship during the day, especially in rough seas, or else out on an excursion in a small boat or taking a tinder in to Port, be sure to wear at least one, or both, of your Seabands*, the best prevention against seasickness during active, waking hours. They were invented by 2 RNs and, in my Mom's opinion, work better than pills which only put my Mom to sleep, and then she missed the whales on the whale-watching excursion and lots of other good stuff. NO PILLS! Get Seabands at the pharmacy! (They also work for morning sickness during pregnancy.) I promise I don't own stock in the company that makes them. * Seabands are sold in pairs. They are elastic bands with one little plastic button on each. You can wear one on either wrist, or wear both - one on each wrist, with the little white plastic button directly on your pulse, at your wrist, closest to your hand. It's genius. 3) Another tip: when you book your cabin, tell them you want your bed(s) perpendicular to the side of the ship. That way, when the seas are rough at night, the motion will be side-to-side for you, like a cradle rocking - very soothing, in my opinion, of course. Otherwise, the motion will be head-to-toe. That would make anyone seasick. Ugh. The first time we tried my theory, my sister and I would have slept right thru the rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska except for the rain & sea spray kicking up and slamming on our balcony window. But getting back to sleep wasn't too difficult, rocking side-to-side, until the ship's captain deployed the underwater horizontal stabilizers. Then it was pretty smooth sailing. Bon voyage!

Great information 👍🏾

Great tips thanks. What's your opinion on self check out vs assisted on last day of cruise.

Re drink package: Also note that if the other person doesn't drink alcoholic beverages, they can use the package for other drinks. Also, ie on NCL, where you may get the beverage package for "free" but pay the gratuities, they amount to $140pp per week. So for many, even paying the gratuities for both, at $280, is still likely a good bargain!

I was on the NCL Encore last week! Went to Alaska and was awesome. Funny to see it in the beginning of the video.

That's not necessarily true about the drink package. If one person will use a drink package and the other in the cabin won't, you can contact the cruise line and they may (possibly) give you a different package for the second person. But you have to contact them well before your cruise.

Hi Tanner. Great information for old salts and still wet behind the ears cruisers. Final cruise payment due in a week for our November 2021 Celebrity cruise to Eastern Caribbean. Hi from Bob and Jill in Connecticut

I have a carry on bag that is just for cruises. Before I even pack --it has these items ready to go; #Luggage tags cover #Insulated cups #Water protection for cell phones #Charger zipper bag ( purchased a clear bag designed for TRS Liquids. But instead I have charger cords adapter for our electronics and a cruise approved Bar they all fit in it and they stay there. Year # Lanyards. /or new electronic accessories

We bring our own French press and ground coffee. It’s wonderful to have good quality coffee with our breakfast.

The suggestion to book toward the end of the hallways to avoid noise is a good one, except that on many ships you will have a lot of vibration fore and aft, especially in rough seas.

Great info

I see so many of these "Do this" and "Don't do that" style cruising tip videos. Ultimately, when i plan a vacation, i want it to be just that, a VACATION. I wont get caught up in all this overanalyzing, or it will become a homework assignment to remember all this stuff. Or it will start feeling like work, with all the stress and worry about what i should or shouldnt be doing on a cruise. Why not just GO, relax, dont sweat the small stuff. Have FUN, its a vacation, not a trip to the moon.

with 5 people in a delux oceanview on Carnival to have a single cabin we pretty much had to be on floor 1. i do not think the time is much different getting to the fun from my experience.

I've been on more than 25 cruises and I knew about the NCL fishies swimming forward, but did not know about the circle-arrow or wave peak trick to find forward. Can't wait to sail in February and pay attention to it. Thanks!!!

Don’t forget about gratuities! They can sneak up on you if they are not prepaid and can get expensive if you have a full cabin averaging about $70 per person depending on how many days you sail.

We actually like the higher room, deck 12 or higher. Less people to deal with and much much quieter. Also, the newer ships have a better elevator system. We stayed on the Firenze which can hold 4200 passengers and it never felt crowded at the elevators. You select the floor you want and most of the time you get your very own elevator going directly to that floor. Most everything else I agree on.

Yep. Went on my last cruise 2017. Carnival. Planned on going on a cruise for grad school graduation (august 2020) but of course that didn’t work out. Last cruise we had the drink package but thinking against it for the next one. 1. My fiancé rarely drinks if he is, 2. Because they are full of calories I probably will not be drinking 5 drinks every single day. Would rather drink a few 1 or 2 days on a 5 day cruise. So it’s better to not for me.

When you book towards a ship’s end you also are closer to the lesser used elevators. Less likely to find them crowded or delayed when you need them.

When we drive to our cruise port we always travel the day before and stay in a hotel overnight. However on the one fly cruise we have done (which was included in the package) we flew the same morning. It was only a two hour flight from Gatwick to Genoa and luckily nothing went wrong but we were not given the choice. With regard to drinks packages, we never buy them at all. We only drink (and eat) what is included in the fare. We do not drink alcohol but if we want the occasional drink at the bar we would just get it as we go along and bring soft drinks back with us from port. Who would want more than 15 alcoholic drinks a day anyway? As regards cabins we need an accessible cabin and have lost out on cruises because even though we book on the first day they have gone already so we have to take what is available and sometimes we have to compromise. Can you sail without a passport in the US? Here in England we have to take a passport even if we are doing a local one night cruise. We don't do the spa, casino or wifi either and I only do the shops if we get an onboard spend allowance. We cruise as cheaply as possible.

Check to all of those!

I do all of those things so it was good to hear that I’m on point! One thing though is that cruises going out of Florida, The hotel prices as of late are astronomical and airfares have risen too…I hope that trend diminishes very soon!

I usually take the midsized ship so I usually take the stairs.

Thank you for the video! It was very helpful and informative. We are looking to book our first family cruise to the caribbean. We are a family of 4 with two kids (15 & 12). Most likely we will go with an inside cabin due to cost. Prices are per person on double occupancy. Does that mean that we would have to share a room for the 4 of us, or can we have 2 joint rooms fir the same cost? Thank you!

Okay but whos having MORE than 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24 hour period? 😳 Seems a reasonable limit to me! But the drink calculator you have on your site is AMAZING... its so helpful thank you! Seems a drink package on my preferred cruise (Royal Caribbean) isnt worth it for how much I drink.

Thank you.

Just to add some info as far as cabin location - at the ends of the boat it might be quieter for the reasons you explained but if there are weather conditions that create large waves , there is a lot more up and down movement. Towards the center there is much less movement and for people who are sensitive to getting sea sick it makes a difference. Also the time of year and the price of the cruise can affect if you get a bunch of college students celebrating Spring Break. Do your research before booking.

Princess doesn’t require everyone in the cabin to buy the drink package. At least they didn’t when we sailed them on our last cruise in 2020.

THANKS 😊

"End of the Hall" tip is the biggest one for me!! However, I would add you should also make sure to book BETWEEN passenger-only decks! Nothing worse than trying to sleep late in the morning and have someone above you on the pool deck dragging a lounge chair across the ceiling.....

Another thing that smart people don't do is book excursions from the ship. They are WAY overpriced for what you actually get (yeah, I know, cruise ship, but in some cases it was triple from the ship). For instance, on our Ketchikan/Victoria cruise, there were tons of excursions that cost well over $250 US each. Now, once we disembarked in port, we found (as expected, which is why we didn't book excursions) several excursion services with different tours and the sales folks/owners selling them. Come to find out, the excursion we rented (a van tour of Ketchikan) combined the highlights of 3 different offered ship excursions for about the same time that all 3 excursions would have taken together ... and paid $100 each. To book from the ship would have been about $600-700 each for all three. We did the same for Victoria. Got off the ship and came upon a foot-powered rickshaw that charged $45/hr per person. Now, that seems like a lot, but honestly, that included nearly all of the elements of 3 different ship excursion tours, we got personal attention with a good smattering of history, could ask questions at leisure, came upon colleague and rival tours and they teamed up to give history and a lot of laughs. We could do as we liked without time limit (as long as we were willing to pay and we found it was worth it about 15 minutes in), so we could shop or eat or see whatever we liked. If we were eating or shopping (and I only did a little look around while the guide took my hubbie for a coffee), the driver would simply park and wait for however long we wanted to be gone. At the end of the tour, they drop you off at the visitor center and they will either help you find a cab back, or for the additional time (which worked out to about what a cab would cost), he would take us back (since he had to go there anyway). We chose him, got a bit more history, saw some super funny stuff that you'd only see by rickshaw or bike-cab, and made it back likely faster than a cab would have taken. All in all, for 3.5 hours at a snail's pace (which means we saw a lot more than we would on a bus), it cost $315 US for the both of us. ONE of those tours from the ship was over $200 US/pp, and combined with two others for the same amount of time, would have been well over $800 each. Heck, the single tour through town, not including China Town, would have been over $200 PP. And I hear that the Bites and Brew tour at nearly $300 booked from the ship included one stop for a single fish taco, a second stop for half a beer, and a third stop for a bite of something I can't remember. The woman who paid for that was SO pissed. I would have been too. BTW, think about tipping. The rickshaw driver does over 100 miles a week, even in off-season, is a trove of history, was super friendly and super funny, gave a great tour of stuff you probably won't see otherwise ... and all while carting (literally) you around town by foot. Goes through a pair of shoes in about 3 weeks and has enormous calves, so you know this tour is no joke for the driver. TIP WELL, because it's worth it. So, DON'T book an excursion from the ship. Just get off and wing it. The other much cheaper option would be to know when you're in port and how long you have, and book directly with a land-based tour. This will save you potentially more than $1000 per person to take the same excursions and that was only for 2 ports of call. We had almost 12 hours in Victoria, so, had we had any sense of where we were going (or had the energy like young folks to just ride and get lost, ask directions, get lost again, wash rinse and repeat), there are bicycles available for rent at port. Or, you could rent a scooter. SO many options with more time. So look when you book, and then never book an excursion from the ship again.

Wife and I did drinks plus package for our MSC cruise in April. Got a really great deal as we booked last minute! I can easily pound down 10 cheap beers a day that only make me buzzed, at almost 7 bucks a beer that would be 70$ per day. Now il be able to have cocktails and mixed drinks as well that are 10$ wich is all the package covers. So let's say I have 5 mixed drinks some whine and a few beers per day that will be over 110 bucks per day out of pocket. 7 day drink package was less than 200 for wife and I.

rule 9, facial scanning for disembarkation at port canaveral. time i left stateroom to time i was in car leaving the parking garage was 10 minutes. 100% worth it alone

Excelente 👌🏼

Thanks. Just getting on a cruise again, that is our immediate goal.

I always get the upgrade drink package… on RCL … 7-10 days… 1500$ in drinks, wife might have 3… so if I pay 450$ for both packages, it’s worth it by far. Includes Starbucks, and every beverage served on ship. Although there is an upper price, top shelf is discounted… my tastes aren’t that refined. 😂

Good info. Lets talk drink packages. First thing is do the math and determine how many drinks per day you have to consume to break even or be ahead. Second, you have to drink that number of drinks everyday and the cruise industry knows on average, most passengers drink less and less as the cruise days go by. On a 7 day cruise, you might drink days 1-3 and get more than your money's worth. By day 4-6 you are slowing down and they know that so its pure profit and day 7 you might have a few drinks, but not going to meet your daily goal. My last cruise, I just paid daily for drinks and spent less then the drink package. My next cruise is on Royal Caribbean in Star Class so it comes with free drink package with the other perks! I plan on tracking my drinks/day just to see how much it would have cost me.

Something else about “end of the hall” staterooms is on some cruise lines they cost a little less than midship. A lot of people like midship and in a middle to low deck as these experience the least motion. I think the concern for this is overblown but it’s obviously important to enough people for them to pay a premium.

Book specialty dining on your 1st and last night. Carnival gives a fee bottle of house wine or 50 percent off 2 specialty wines

I have never ever been on a cruise, but years ago I have taken a fairy to that small island off the coast of California. Forgot the name of it, short ride. But those tips you gave were spot on. Good advice.

I'm not so sure about booking a cabin at the end of the hallway. If the seas are a little rough the bow and stern have more motion than midship. If you are prone to seasickness or don't want to be bouncing up and down while you try to sleep then you should book a cabin midship.

I purchase shore excursions for my Mexican Riviera Cruise on the Panorama that includes alcohol like on a Yacht snorkel cruise in Cabo. Onboard I purchase it as needed.

Great video, but with mandatory gratuity, drinks or drink package, wi-fi, excursions and other miscellaneous charges, my experience is double the cabin price. With Norwegian the free at sea saves money over the same benefits a la carte.