I see some older threads on this but they are MUCH older (20+ years ago) so, asking again if that’s ok:
I am going on my first cruise in May. Any tips? (in my case I do NOT need tips about excursions but others may find that helpful)
I have been watching some videos and the one thing (so far) that mystifies me is disembarkation. I am used to a plane. The plane connects to the terminal and everyone stands up and walk off in a queue. It seems this is very different on a ship.
That said, I know nothing about this so any advice is appreciated.
By the time you’re getting off the ship, you know your way around so when you’re told “at 9:17am go to the port side doors of the 9th floor” or whatever, you’ll have no trouble finding it. Usually while people disembark the corridors are roped off and there aren’t many places you can go other than gradually get herded towards wherever you get off. There’s a gate or door, a ramp, an entrance to a terminal, etc and then you basically leave like when you leave an airport. They’ll have directions to when and where you get your luggage, if they picked it up from your room for you the night before.
Depending on the cruise line, they’ve already managed your customs paperwork or told you how to prepare for the things they couldn’t cover. They’ll have tracked what you brought into the ship during excursions and what you’ve bought on board (in terms of duty free) to help make things easy for you. It would be very, very hard to get lost in this process.
It’s been a handful of years since my last cruise. They’re a lot of fun, but I got tired of the same-same tourist shops after having done a few (Diamonds International and Margaritaville, anyone?). I can’t really say I’ve “visited” the countries we docked at.
I always splurged for a balcony room. Days at sea on a quiet balcony vs by a crowded pool were the best. I could stare out at open water for hours.
The disembarkation process, like embarkation, takes 3-4 hours to get everyone off the boat. Each passenger isn’t involved that whole time, but it’s a big job.
Typically there are passengers who are in a big-ass hurry to get off, typically to rush to catch a flight home. Ideally you are not one of them. Far smarter to simply get up, get breakfast, and know when’s the last minute you must be off the boat. They’ll be making periodic PAs.
For my last cruise disembarkation started at 0730 and everyone had to be off at 1030. I was up and dressed at 0615 and there were people queued up with their drag-along luggage already. They wasted 90 minutes standing in a corridor while I had a suumptious breakfast, 3 cups of coffee on deck and enjoyed the boat some more.
At 1030 I sauntered down the exit. No line. They scanned my fob, and bid me adieu. I walked off the boat into the terminal building. Where there was no crowd to collect baggage and no waiting at US immigration. My uber showed up a few minutes later and off I went to my next stop.
There’s more about cruising in general, but I gotta go to dinner now. I’m leaving on another cruise Fri noonish.
Disembarking is a much bigger proceed on a ship tha on a plane because you have 3000 passengers instead of 300, but still just one exit.
They will sort the passengers into groups, based on their connections, and assign a corresponding departure time: if you have an early flight you’ll be in the first group. If you don’t care about getting to the airport, you’ll be last off.
The last night on the ship, everyone will be directed to leave their luggage in the hallway outside your cabin (minus a carryon for last minute clothes and toiletries). When you get off the ship you’ll go straight to a hall in the cruise terminal where you’ll be reunited with your luggage. Get a porter, find a taxi, and you’re on your way.
I’ve been on a whopping 3 cruises, all on Royal Caribbean (other lines may work differently)
The ports I used were Galveston, Seattle, and New Jersey.
I did self carry luggage on the first two. (so did not put out luggage) – was still assigned a time (there may have been more than one self carry option time). There was a line, but I don’t recall it being long at either Galveston or Seattle.
New jersey was a different story. I got in line when I was supposed to, but about 15 min later they said that customs/border wasn’t allowing anybody, and not to get in line. I already was in line.
After quite a bit of time on the ship, I got my luggage (I did not self-carry because they said folks using the cruise supplied shuttle bus could not self-carry, though I did use the cruise shuttle bus to get from Galveston to Houston)
Anyhow, I found my luggage pretty early, but I was in line for 2? hours. Others who had more cruise experience said it was way worse than normal. I interacted with the border guy for about 30 seconds (scanned my passport, said “welcome back” - I was done.
I got on the bus (they did not verify that I had paid for the shuttle - I did pay for it)
I have paper copies of everything in hand when I arrive to check in. It saved a lot of hassles one time when they had no record of our reservation when we showed up.
Everything else can be figured out as you go along.
I have zero excursions (Queen Mary 2, New York to Southampton). I asked about this ship a year or so ago. My family finally decided to do it (and, it turns out, the wait was worthwhile since I read the ship had a refit a few months ago).
The disembarkation tips are great but also happy to hear any other tips (e.g. we opted for “open dining” as opposed to “early or late dining”…I can’t help but think “open dining” is a trick…why wouldn’t everyone want that?).
How do I know what time it is? Will my phone update itself or do I need to find the ship’s clock (or something else)? Does that mean dining times move an hour each day from my perspective?
I was considering buying a nice watch. Should I wait to shop on the ship duty free or are those a ripoff?
Drinks package? I’ve tried to do the math and it seems close…not a bargain but also no need to think about it.
WiFi? I have no need to be connected 24/7 but a little connected is nice (get the news, browse the SDMB during tea, etc.)
Sounds like a fun trip! My in-laws cruise a lot and enjoy the trans-Atlantic routes, though they’ve never taken the Queen Mary. My husband and I briefly considered it in 2010 as a way to get home from the UK when that Icelandic volcano erupted, but, alas, it had sailed the week before and wasn’t a viable option. Could have been fun though!
(I like to tell people about “the time I was stranded on an island because of an erupting volcano”)
When you change time zones, they will usually announce it. Cruises often have a daily newspaper to inform you of upcoming stuff like that, and there are “ships time” clocks around.
I like having wifi and drinks so those are things I’d get on an oceanic crossing. It is something you can often add once aboard (at least on the first couple of days).
Fixed meal hours are for people with kids, or maybe old people set in their ways. It enables a routine to be kept.
As an introvert I liked sitting with the same folks each night. In my case it was fellow board gamers. (We all booked thru same organizer) When my trans Atlantic cruise got redirected to Halifax due to hurricane Tammy my dinner mate rented a car and we (and a couple from nearby table) drove around Nova Scotia.
I’ve been on 7 or 8 cruises, the most recent was last month.
For disembarkation, don’t be in a hurry. We are typically one of the last off the ship. Find a spot to chill and let those who can’t wait to end their vacation hustle through the crowd while you relax.
Other random tips:
Your mileage may vary, but I usually don’t spend a lot of time away from the ship on port days. I may walk around for an hour or two, then return to the mother ship. It’s nice when at least half of the ship is gone all day.
This varies by cabin, but we have never had more than one or two electrical outlets. Extension cords are forbidden - even the ones advertised as “cruise-friendly” on Amazon. It seems that inspections are random - there were 5 people in my last group and two of us packed extension/USB hubs. Mine was confiscated, the other person’s was not. I got it back at the end of the cruise.
Get a room with a balcony if at all possible. I would not cruise without one.
Drinks package: I wouldn’t drink enough alcohol to make it make sense, but there is a mid-level package (that I got) that includes non-alcoholic cocktails, bottled water, fancy coffees, hot chocolate, fresh squeezed juice, and Gatorade. It was worth it for the coffee alone.
I always stash a small bottle of vodka or bourbon in my suitcase to splash into the mocktails. Last month was the first time I got it confiscated. Again, they returned it to me at the end of the cruise.
Don’t overpack. Nobody notices or cares that you already wore that pair of shorts. “Formal” nights are not what they used to be. I, and many others, wore jeans and a polo shirt to dinner in the main dining room on formal night, shorts on non-formal nights.
If you are flying in, arrive a day before you sail. Trust me on this one.
Continental breakfast via room service is free. We got coffee, juice, and croissants, bagels, or donuts delivered to our room each morning.
In the main dining room, order as much as you want. We always got a couple appetizers each, sometimes 2 entrees, sometimes 2 desserts. None of it went to waste (but it did go to waist).
Don’t get your hopes up about the quality of the food. It has gone downhill significantly over the years. I would classify it as “good enough”. I’m not that picky.
Wifi service is extremely spotty and expensive. Not worth it, to me.
Pack some heavy-duty magnetic hooks, available on Amazon. All the walls are metal, random hooks come in handy.
If you find the showers too confining (they are quite small), head to the gym area. There are large, little-used showers there. (The stand-up comic on our last cruise: “Yesterday I was in the shower and dropped my soap. When I bent down to pick it up, my hiney was in the hallway.”)
On embarkation day, your room will not be ready until the afternoon. There is a mad rush to the buffet, everyone wants to eat immediately. Either get there early and grab a table, or eat beforehand and use that time to wander around and learn the layout of the ship (if you’re not toting much in the way of luggage).
If you’re not careful you can find yourself getting irritated. Some people are rude, others merely annoying. Some things won’t go according to plan. Remind yourself that you are on vacation and being grouchy is a choice.
We’ve found that we prefer set dining times for the following reason: With a set time you show up at that time and your table is ready, and it’s always the same table. With open dining if you show up at a busy time it can be a while before they have a table for you. If you have a big party the problem is worse — on one cruise I was in a party of 25 people, and every night the staff struggled to find a place for us. Of course you can make a reservation, but that’s almost the same as having a preset time anyway.
Your device will likely be connected to the ship’s WiFi (whether you have an internet package or not) and will automatically update. Dining times will move if you change timezones (from your “home time” perspective). You will likely have a clock in your stateroom that updates with the change in timezones (maybe…).
I’ve actually only cruised Disney where drink’s packages aren’t a thing, but my understanding is that they are pretty much a wash unless you are a pretty heavy drinker. And then you end up with the “gotta get my money’s worth” issues, which may be undesirable.
Each line has different internet options available. I’ve never bothered. Depending on your ports you may be able to use roaming cellular data to get your fix whenever you are in port.
mmm has a lot of good points that I largely agree with as well. They are much better and finding booze you are trying to sneak in - I wouldn’t count on that working.
Just thought of something else. Assuming you are on Facebook, search for a group for your specific cruise. We did this and ended up getting some tips beforehand but also re-connecting post-cruise with some folks we met on the ship.
Also, we prefer set dining times for the reasons @suranyi mentioned above. Another bonus is that the waiters - who are always outstanding - get to know you and you them. You will have the same server and assistant every evening.
I don’t doubt you, but only one (me) of our three smugglers got caught.
And it’s really not a big deal. If they take it, they leave you a little note and you just pick it up on your way off the ship.
True story: One of the people I cruised with uses a CPAP device, so they asked beforehand for an extension cord to be delivered to their room. When they arrived, the cord was not there. They called down to guest services, who then brought them an extension/USB hub that was identical to the one that was confiscated from my suitcase that morning because it was deemed unsafe.
22? cruises. Walk around the ship, find the venues you enjoy. There’s usually a library/game room. Bring one set of formal wear if you want to attend formal night dinners in the dining room, but there will be other places to eat if you don’t want to dress up (buffet, specialty restaurants, cafes). I always like to have binoculars handy for looking at whales, birds, and other ships.
The walls of your cabin don’t look magnetic but probably are. I take a couple of strong magnetic cup hooks for scarves, bathing suits, lanyards, and similar. If your cabin doesn’t have a balcony, a small fan can be a godsend. Make sure you know which plugs will fit the ship’s sockets so you can look for an adaptor, and what current it runs on.
For a transoceanic cruise, books on Kindle or audio are handy, and an internet package is worth it.
If the ship offers tours of the bridge, kitchen, or other areas, sign up. If they hold drink mixing or cooking demos, check them out.