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Guest writer – Justin Moore
After completing my first-ever 12 day cruise with Celebrity that included stops at ports in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Roatan, Belize City, and Cozumel, I wanted to share a few quick points on things I thought might help answer another first-time cruiser’s question(s).
Bring Semi Formal Clothing – Long pants and dress shirts.
For my first cruise, I packed light – t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, and a single pair of pants. I found that the main dining and other restaurants will expect you to wear semi-formal clothing, like a button-up shirt and long pants. No sandals or shorts are generally allowed. Different cruises will have different levels of tolerance for this.
Sign to not clean my room.
The staff will clean your room up to 2x per day. If you are relaxing in your room and don’t want to be bothered, there should be a sign in your room that you can hang on the door to let them you don’t need room service.
Keep your keycard/stateroom card with you at all times.
When you arrive on the ship they will give everyone a card, or it will be on the door of your room when you arrive. This is what lets you on and off the ship at ports (also always bring a photo ID when leaving the ship, they never asked me for this but you should never be caught without it, especially in case you lose your keycard). If you have a beverage package included they will ask to see your card every time you order a drink as well. If you lose your card it’s not a big deal, you can go to the Guest Relations counter to ask for a new one.
Make sure you know what is included in your package.
If your package includes basic wi-fi, make sure you get it! Even though my package included this, when I got on the ship there was no option to connect to the basic wi-fi, the only options presented were very expensive daily passes (50$ USD/day). After talking to the guest relations counter they were able to activate the basic package on my account and it worked fine after that. Note that some apps or webpages may be blocked on basic internet access, such as Skype and YouTube on my cruise, so if you are planning to do any work you will likely need to upgrade. I found the basic internet more than sufficient to check email, send messages, use Facebook, and things like that. I could watch short videos if the service wasn’t blocked, and interestingly WhatsApp worked to send messages, but would not send or receive images.
Food at the buffets should be included in every package, but drinks may or may not be. There is generally a classic and premium beverage package, and the staff at restaurants may try to upsell you on premium drinks instead of something included in your package. If you are unsure always ask if it is included in your package. On most ships, there is a main dining restaurant that should be included, but other optional restaurants will not be, so just be aware of this. They will ask to see your card and for your room number to bill drinks to, if they are included in your package it will just be billed as $0.00. No one ever asked me for my card when getting food at the buffet or main dining, only for beverages. You can also take as many plates as you want at the buffet, or ask for multiple starters or entrées at the main dining restaurant, they had no problem with this. You can even ask for something not on the menu, or if you don’t like what you ordered you can ask for something else. They will do whatever they can to make sure you are satisfied!
Gratuities also may or may not be included in your package. This is essentially a form of mandatory tip, charged to your room for every person in the room each day, and every drink ordered. Make sure to understand if this is or is not included in your reservation.
It is also worth noting anything in the mini-fridge in your room is NOT included even if you have a food/drink package included, so avoid this and go to the bar if you want a drink. You can bring food and drink back to your room if you want to.
Be aware of the tourism tactics in ports.
When you arrive at a port there will be many locals and shopkeepers urging you to browse their goods, offering you a taxi, and the like. They will be persistent, if you are not interested simply do not make eye contact or kindly tell them you are fine and keep moving, don’t dawdle around them. If anyone offers you anything for free (a charm, necklace, drink, etc.) do not accept it. Depending on where you are visiting, locals may try to give you something, like place a CD in your hand or a bracelet on your wrist that you did not ask for, at which point they will ask you for a hefty price or tip and be upset if you refuse to pay it.
Taxi’s, boat rides, excursion bus rides, and ship tenders, may all ask for or expect a tip for their services. A local walking beside you and telling you about the area as a sort of tour guide will ask you for a tip at the end, even if you didn’t ask for it. Keep in mind that everyone sees you as a wealthy tourist and they want a piece of that pie. Generally, the poorer the location the worse this might be. Don’t let this scare you away however, this is just to make you a more aware and prepared traveler!
Don’t mess around with the “all aboard!” time.
If the boat is at port from 8am to 5pm, try to be back on the boat a bit earlier. The cruise WILL NOT WAIT FOR YOU if you are late. The one exception to this is if you book an onshore excursion through the cruise line, they might try to wait for your return (within reason) if it is running late; however, there are still instances of ships having to leave without passengers. If you book an excursion on your outside of the cruise line, you are totally on your own. If the boat leaves without you, it is your responsibility to catch up to it at the next port on your dime. This would be a lot of stress, so best to avoid it and plan accordingly.
If you are a first-time cruiser like me, then I hope you find these experiences, notes, and tips helpful. If you’re a seasoned cruiser – what would you add to help out someone new to cruising?
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