Cruise Tips for a Better Vacation

Choosing a cruise can be a fun escape for your vacation. However, traveling on a ship can sometimes offer some unique considerations.  If you’ve never cruised before, or if your last cruise was unsuccessful, here are a few tips to making your cruise enjoyable and convenient.

First, before you book your cabin, check to see that it’s not located directly beneath a busy area on the ship. A highly traveled area can cause a lot of noise and disturbance while you’re in your room.

Be sure to check with your cell phone provider about roaming charges before your trip. Some cell plans do cover services throughout the United States, Caribbean and beyond. It’s important to know where your service extends to make sure that you’re not racking up a lot of fees unknowingly.  If you find out that you will be charged roaming fees and you’re traveling with a group of people, bring along walkie-talkies so that everyone can stay in touch with each other. Cruise chips are very large and if a few people in your group do their own thing, finding each other and meeting back up can be a hassle!

If you’re flying into the city that the ship is departing from, schedule your flight for a day or a couple of days before if at all possible. This will allow for potential flight delays or cancelations so that you don’t miss getting on the ship. If you’re driving to a nearby city, it’s smart to allow for potential car trouble or traffic problems by squeezing in some extra breathing room also.

Some cruise lines allow you to bring your own wine on board.  Usually if a ship allows you to bring alcohol on board, there are restrictions. For example, it may be one bottle per person. Bringing whatever you are allowed may help save a lot of money if you plan on having a drink while on the cruise. Be sure to check with the cruise line prior to the trip to see what the restrictions are.

A great little addition to pack for your cruise is an extension cord or power strip. Usually cabins will have only one outlet making charging your phone or computer and doing your hair impossible to do at the same time. Bringing along a power strip can help eliminate the hassle of trying to make everything work.

A great way to prepare for the possibility of sea sickness is to pack ginger. Ginger helps with motion sickness and can be a huge relief if you find yourself getting a little woozy on board. Ginger snaps and candied ginger are some tasty and easy to pack options.

Pack something in your suitcase to put on the door of your cabin. Having an identifier can make finding your cabin in the long hallways much easier!

There are a lot of little things that you may not think about if you haven’t been on a cruise before. Hopefully these tips can help you plan for a convenient and fun cruise.