11 Recommendations when Traveling on Cruises
Traveling on cruise ships is an unforgettable experience, but it is important to know what should be done to avoid mistakes and enjoy the trip on board to the fullest.
Nothing more exciting and relaxing than traveling on a cruise: not thinking about packing and unpacking or tedious waiting at airports, where to sleep, eat or have breakfast. It is an adventurous experience that every traveler must experience at least once in their life.
However, there are many mistakes that cruise passengers make that put them at a disadvantage when traveling. Find out what should be done to avoid having problems when traveling on cruise ships.
What to do to travel on cruises better
Without a doubt, traveling on a cruise is a magical and fun experience that is worth it. But many passengers who decide to pay for these types of trips make many mistakes that end up ruining a large part of their stay on the ship.
That is why, if you are traveling on a cruise for the first time or want to improve your experience, here are some tips to keep in mind.
1. Inform the bank before traveling
On many cruises, the room key card is used for onboard purchases. At the end of the cruise, the account is charged to the passenger's credit card.
If you use your credit card in a port in a country where the card's bank does not know your customer is there, they will most likely assume it is a fraudulent transaction and block the card.
If the credit card associated with the onboard account is blocked, it is likely that you will receive a call from customer service. This inconvenience can be avoided by making sure the bank knows where you will be traveling to, in advance.
2. Not solving everything on the first day
Another recommendation to keep in mind is that I don't know how to try to solve all the problems after boarding the cruise. Mainly, because the day one boards also coincides with the date on which other passengers have to disembark.
On these particular days, the staff on board have double the workload and must prepare everything to see off their old passengers and welcome the new ones who enter.
In the event that the luggage has not yet been delivered to the room or you want to request a separation in the room's beds, it is possible that the crew is aware of the problem, but they have not had the time to solve it yet .
Eventually, during that day the inconveniences will be resolved little by little. Customer service areas can be filled with simple inquiries and orders; however, a large part of the workers are carrying out tasks to finish disembarking the passengers who are leaving. That's why it's recommended to wait to resolve non-urgent issues until dinner time, when the wait time to make requests is shortest.
3. Choose the best time to travel
Many of the offers are for traveling at times when the weather is not very good and that, in some places, can mean a bad experience.
In addition to taking the weather into account, if you are traveling alone or as a couple, vacation times should be avoided, during which more families with children travel.
4. Do not fly the same day
If it is necessary to take a flight to the port of departure of the cruise, it is better to be cautious and arrive the day before. It is very common for flights to be delayed and for airports to be far away. In addition, the airlines will not be responsible if the ship sets sail and the trip is missed.
The same happens if you have to travel from the place where the cruise ends. It is not often that ships are delayed although they can be due to a storm.
5. Get familiar with the boat
Cruise ships offer different rooms and entertainment spaces for their passengers, such as theaters, bars, karaoke rooms or spaces with Jacuzzis. Exploring the ship in the first few days and knowing where these points are located saves a lot of searching time and avoids getting lost.
It is also important to read the program of daily activities that the cruise offers. In general, they can come in the form of a brochure at the doors of the cabins, on general billboards viewed by the general public or from the respective applications that each cruise has.
Knowing the activities that will be carried out, in which sectors of the ship and at what time allows planning in advance the days within the trip. And thus not miss any experience on board.
6. Read the excursion tickets well
To avoid getting confused about the excursion and going to a completely different place than planned, it is important to carefully read the tickets that specify all the information about paid excursions.
These tickets indicate the meeting point for the excursion. Passengers often assume that the meeting point they went to on the first day in port is the same place they will meet on the following days, but this is not always the case. In order not to miss an excursion, it is important to read the instructions on the excursion tickets carefully.
7. Evaluate all cruise excursions
The cruises offer excursions to do in each place of visit and in general they are all very good. But if a multi-day cruise is taken into account, the pockets will not be able to afford all the excursions.
Many passengers choose to hire them because of the fear generated by not knowing if the port is far away, or for fear of not returning to the ship on time and that it will leave without them.
The tours offered by the ship are usually more expensive than other similar ones that can be paid upon arrival, or can also be booked online before arriving.
There is no doubt that local operators know the departure times of the boats and comply with the schedules. You just have to agree in advance.
8. Finish the tour on time
The general rule is that if you are going on a shore excursion organized by the cruise line and the bus is delayed returning to port, the ship should wait for those passengers.
However, if a group of passengers decides to go on an excursion on their own and cannot make it in time for the ship's departure time, the ship will not wait for them and will set sail. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to have a good record of the schedules and the time it should take to make a certain excursion.
In case of traveling to places with different time zones, make sure that the watch is set to the correct time. Even if the "ship's time" stays in the time zone of the port of embarkation, guests' mobile phones may automatically change time zones without them noticing.
9. Maintain a dress code
When traveling on cruise ships, it is important to know how to dress depending on the context. This does not mean that you have to be dressed to the nines or in very expensive clothes at all times, but rather that depending on the situation you should have a little awareness.
Thus, when eating, it is important to dress in a non-vulgar way. It is common sometimes to see passengers go to eat at restaurants or to the buffet in a bathing suit, which is not very pleasant for the company. In such cases, it is likely that the workers themselves will tell these passengers to change their clothes.
A very useful piece of advice is that, in the activity programs, it is often recommended what type of clothing should be worn during that day. This allows passengers to be dressed in similar ways and there are no issues with dress codes.
10. Buy drinks on land
Although many do not know it, you cannot enter the cruise with any purchase. A clear example is that of alcoholic beverages. Some companies allow one or two bottles, but it is best to check this with the cruise company with which you are going to travel.
When re-entering the ship from each port, everything is controlled by scanners, and if drinks are not allowed they must be left before entering. In some cases, they retain them until the end of the trip.
In the event that you can bring a bottle of wine, you can ask to be served in one of the ship's restaurants. However, for that they generally charge and it ends up costing almost the same as any of the ones they offer. Upload as many bottles as you can and enjoy them in the cabin or on the loungers.
11. Hire health insurance
Some trust that nothing bad will happen during a trip or believe that the medical service on board is included, although in reality it is quite expensive.
It is best to hire medical insurance that works, not only on the ship, but in each port that is visited. Many credit cards and social works include this type of assistance, you just need to find out and reserve it before leaving.
Read More- Tips For First-Time Cruise Travel
