16 Bad Decisions That Could Ruin the Best Cruise 

Never travel with out insurance. Wound up with a medical emergency a couple days before a European cruise. Insurance covered cost of entire cruise, tours and air fare.

I work for an airline, and I can't tell you how many times I hear the words "what do you mean my flight is canceled/delayed? My cruise is today!" My first cruise is in November. Believe I'm flying in the day before. Airline employee standby flights for a cruise are also a no-go.

Never travel with a toxic person or partner. Big mistake.

I always wear a cheap Timex on my cruise with time from where I’m from on it bc your cell will automatically change. Make sure you know what time the ship leaves the port bc they will leave you! Seasoned cruisers get on the pool deck to watch ppl running for the ship, then later as boats bring them to the cruise ship. Never go on a cruise without travel insurance & a passport. If you get injured off the ship in another country, the hospital won’t treat you & if you need transportation to get back to the ship, you’ll need a passport. Take ibuprofen, Benadryl, alka-seltzer, Tums, Emetrol for nausea, & if you have medical issues that could possibly flare up, take supplements that could help in the middle of the night. You won’t have to spend your vacation hunting for this stuff off ship or pay double for it on the ship. Make copies of your cruise paperwork, passport, & important paperwork etc… to have with you off ship, then keep the originals in your safe in your room. Put a bright sticky note on the safe so when your cruise is over, you won’t leave stuff inside.

True experiences: My parents missed their cruise because the airplane getting them to the the embarkation spaces was cancelled because of fog, making it impossible for the plane to take off. I became seasicksick on the third day of using the patch on a 7 day cruise. I did not cover my land legs for several weeks after the cruise ended. Some people are just more sensitive to motion sickness than others. I think I was the only person seasick on that cruise.

If we are flying in winter from Canada (or Northern USA) we plan to fly in 2 days before departure- not 1 day. A winter storm can easily impair flights for more than a day and we want that extra margin of safety. We budget accordingly.

I speak as someone who had to find my husband's case in the luggage room in the middle of the night because he accidentally packed the trousers he was going to wear going home. Luckily it was a small ship. On another cruise he was called back to portside because he had packed a folding penknife because I was always leaving string labels on my clothes. They did let him keep it. We have done one fly cruise where we flew in the same morning. It all went fine but I would not do it again.

Our very first cruise we flew in the same day as the departure. Lucky everything worked out and we made it to the ship no problem. After that we decided it was much more relaxing to fly in the day before.

I am so sick and tired of cruisers bringing on medical marijuana ,CBDs, and joints. Then they get an attitude with security and claim it is okay in their state. Happens a ton on Carnival

Trip insurance is a must. On our last cruise, on the last full day of the 7-night cruise, my wife got sick. She went to the ship's medical center and was given a Covid test. She was positive. They gave her some medication, quarantined her in our room for the rest of the cruise, and handed her a bill for $1457.00. Our private insurance refused to reimburse us since the illness happened at sea with a foreign doctor treating her. Thankfully we had trip insurance. Not only did they reimburse the entire $1457.00 but they also reimbursed 1/7 of the cruise fare for the day that my wife was stuck in the cabin.

I'm on O2 and my concentrator has to be registered to the airline. My rental concentrator quit when I got to the airport and the provider did not have the same model. I was not allowed to fly, lost my fee. Luckily, we were able to throw our stuff in our van and drive to Florida - we got to the port an hour before we boarded. We slept until 11 the next day.

My wife holds all of our passports and on one cruise we got to the port to find out that my passport was expired. We had to contact a friend/neighbor to go into our house, get my birth certificate and email it to us so we could print it out at the port and give it to them so I could get on the ship.

Thought I had my phone turned off. Turns out I didn’t and by the time I realized it, I had racked up almost $500 in phone charges. I haggled with my phone company and they knocked off around $125. I was very upset with the whole ordeal.

ALWAYS FLY THE DAY BEFORE YOUR CRUISE DEPARTS!!!!! A major air line canceled a flight to Fort Lauderdale and did NOT make it up. People on that flight missed their cruise.

so your telling me I can’t smoke my crack on a roller coaster while i’m drinking my moonshine I smuggled on board in my zip lock bags? I spent a whole $50 on this cruise. this is outrageous I have rites as a freeman!

Closed loop cruises are cruises that leave and return to the SAME PORT. If a cruise leaves Seattle (stops in Vancouver) and ends in Anchorage or leaves Boston (stops in Bermuda or a Caribbean island) and ends in Ft. Lauderdale, you need a passport.

Please take note ….if you are married OR divorced and still use your married name , make sure you take marriage license with you . Some cruise lines need both because your married name is different than your birth certificate !!! This happened to me for the first time EVER with celebrity crises and I was almost not able to board !!!!!!!!! 😮

Make sure the cruise insurance covers enough that if your return home flight is missed by 5 minutes checking your bag that the insurance only pays $500 and the expense of a room till the next day and the new flight which with the airline that only has one flight a day as well as food cost for the night totals almost $600. Remember that you have to pay for the expenses and put in a claim to get it back maybe a month later!

I was taking an Alaska cruise with a group. The bus driver from the airport kept getting lost. We could see the ship but she couldn’t figure how to get there. Our true organizer finally called someone and we made it to the ship on time. We didn’t have to wait I long lines. We just walked up to the window.

Never book flight through the cruise line. Always easier to buy separate, especially if you are a rewards member even if you aren’t a frequent Flyer.😊

Yes! make sure to change your devise and alarm times to the local time zone... Don't get left behind!!!🤗

Went on a cruise for the first time last year we booked our flight the same day had no issues thank God😅

We carry our luggage off the ship. This way we can get off quick and on our way. We just got off Carnival Liberty 3 weeks ago. Our group was called around 7:40am and we were at our car by 8am. We also sailed with our birth certificate

I usually book cruises many months in advance, and even then, some of the best shore excursions have already been sold out. I used to fly in the same day as embarkation, that worked good until it didn't and I missed the ship. It cost me big bucks to chase the ship at its next port stop.

Would it actually be better to fly in 2 days before the cruise? Just to avoid any confusion.

So I've been on many cruises and ship time and local time has always been the same. They inform you to change times on your devices. Also passports are required for some countries depending on line and country. Definitely ensure you know the rules or risk being denied boarding even for closed loop cruises.

#17 Not choosing the right cruise FOR YOU. I may write a fabulously positive review about my perfect vacation. If you read between the lines you’ll realize that I said nothing about casinos, nightlife, comedians, or game shows - because I’m not really interested in those things - so if that’s what you want you should ignore my enthusiastic high rating. On the other hand, if (like me) you want a peaceful and quiet time with fabulous service on a small ship that’s easy to get around on, you may want to avoid the highly rated cruise that’s all about the party and high level activities. Also think carefully about the ages of your children. My grandkids loved DCL until they were about 14 or 15 but after that they hated it. (The adults in our group now love sailing DCL without the kids, because this is what is right FOR US.) One size does not fit all.

Great tips, thanks

The nausea patches say that they last 3 days; (through experimentation, I have found that they last 9)!

excellent video...thanks

Thanks for the info

Good information

I noticed that your weather app on your phone said Niceville... Would that be FL? If so... hey neighbor, I'm in Crestview! 😊 We are cruising in 2 weeks... thanks for the awesome video!

Insurance is a must and yes I always fly in a day or 2 before the cruise especially if there is a big time difference

On Disney, you can choose late seating or early seating. When cruising as a couple; eat early, you can then attend the later performance of the theater show -- this usually means fewer children in the theater.

great video

didn't know that RC allows drugs onboard. I reported and complained every day of my 4-day cruise (balcony cabin) only for them not to be able to remedy the problem (they blamed the port of Galveston security or customs). Someone in my area was smoking weed, pot, marijuana. They only compensated me $100 for a $1300 trip. Good riddance RC-royal Caribbean never again!

Thank you

There is an unless with the last one and that's unless your part of an air cruise travel package they're more rare and expensive but those often are protected

You forgot to mention transfers, or booking the airfare through the cruiseline, they make sure you have spacing and time to spare.

Anyone who trips up on prohibited items is simply being a victim of their own stupidity. Some of the things covered in this video are just fatuous. One item that can be more complex than it appears is allowing the cruise line to schedule air travel. With us, this meant we would have to awake at oh-dark-thirty, drive an hour and a half to a sunrise flight, and have a layover to the cruise port….where we would be expected to board the ship prior to departure, all on the same day. And this was in the middle of January, and we live in the U.S. Midwest. Needless to say, we rescheduled our flight to the previous day- and were charged by the cruise line for doing so (and of course we had additional expenses of hotel, meals, and transport to the cruise port). As a final real injunction: because of what has already been said, as well as other reasons, buy the insurance package. Not cheap, but just do it.

What about your boyfriend bringing his concealed carry backpack as his carry on… and forgetting to make sure there was not a bullet in the bottom of the bag. Best part is, he made it through airport security 3 times & on/off the cruise ship 4 times before he found out about it…

Ignorance of the Law ( or a Cruise Line's Regulations) is No Excuse. Learn before you embark!

Always use a wrist watch instead of your phone for the time to be back on the ship l. Like she said your phone can jump to an hour ahead of time.

Taking a cruise is a bad vacation decision to begin with… Too many rules, hidden costs and crowded spaces plus those barely functioning toilets

New sub, was curious what content you would share ...ha Jamaica and marijuana, imagine that 😂

All Logical Common Sense things! It is sad that people need to be told all these warnings. 🙄

Cruising is supposed to be leisure with little nervous or anxiety. A slower relaxed speaking speed not in such rush to finish off may sound better to the audience. It also gives breathing space to reminisce the presenters gems of wisdom. Do you agree?

It is not a bad decision if you fail to do something. This should have been 16 things you need to do. More direct, easier to follow. No click-bait.

Me and my wife is planning a cruise on carnival radiance. I have 1 question. Do you have to be vaccinated to get on

Don't worry, there's usually some idiots that can ruin your cruise.

Why does the passport need to be six months later? What’s the point of an expiration date then?

My next cruise we are leaving the ship one day early so we can just roll our luggage off the boat.

Being able to “navigate the ship like a pro”. I guess no-one should ever go on a cruise for the first time.

#17 Book a Carnival trip

One thing to never do is make any sort of comment about jumping off the ship. A few years ago I was sailing the Caribbean and apparently a woman was either dropping off or picking their kid up from the onboard daycare (in port, in Aruba) and the kid was being fussy. The mother made a comment, something like “ugh! You make me want to jump off this ship!” Well, Carnival staff called an ambulance and had her and her group taken off the ship and she had to go to the hospital to be evaluated. Then they had to find their own way back home. So just don’t say things like that.

I almost never buy travel insurance and often arrive on the day of departure. I understand the risks of both and choose to take them. Each person has to do what they think best for them. But overall good info.

Common sense. PERIOD.

How lax is cruise security? Like if I had some special gummies mixed with regular ones, any issues?

Cattle boat, that's all

Dictatorship on water

Is it just me, but does cruising seem like the biggest pain in the ass there is - and people pay squillions for this? Whoosh!