If you have never been on a cruise before getting ready for the first one is so exciting! You’ve worked hard doing all of the planning, selecting the itinerary you can’t wait to enjoy and as your departure date draws closer you may wonder what else you need to do to be prepared? There are several things that can help make your cruise vacation go so much more smoothly!
Download the Cruise Line’s App
This can help you enormously while onboard. The cruise lines have improved the features within their apps enabling you to do things like book specialty restaurants, shows, shore excursions, and onboard activities that require reservations.
Check Your Passport
Most countries require that your passport expiration date is at least 6 months away. If yours will expire sooner than that, you should renew it well before you leave for your cruise. Renewal wait times run generally 6-8 weeks or 2-3 weeks with the $60 expedite fee.
Watch Videos
You will find once you get onboard that it’s difficult to remember which way to go to find the various venues on the ship. Sometimes elevators only go to certain floors or a passageway stops abruptly requiring you to go up or down the continue forward or aft. Watching videos of the layout of the ship prior to getting onboard can help you orient yourself much more quickly.
Plan to Arrive Early
We have repeatedly advised our readers to arrive at your departure city at least a day early because the ship WILL leave without you! If the city is a place you’ve never visited then perhaps a few days could be fun to do some exploring.
Check the CDC Website
The last thing you want on your first ever cruise vacation is to get sick! Making sure you know the risks where you are going and getting the proper vaccinations before you leave is a good way to protect yourself. You can also check the State Dept.’s website for any possible travel advisories for the places you will be visiting. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say and knowing what to expect can be reassuring.
Get Small Bills for Tips
Go to your local bank and get enough $1’s, $5’s and $10’s so when you need to tip someone you don’t have to scramble to find change for a $20. US currency is good in many places and the crew onboard will have no problem with dollars. Another helpful pro-tip is to know that Europe is suspicious of US $100 bills because they are the most frequently counterfeited. You will have a far easier time exchanging $50’s if you need local currency in any of the cities you visit.
Prescription Medications
Make sure if you take medication regularly that you have sufficient supplies for the length of your trip plus a few days in case you are delayed on your return. Make sure you keep these in the pharmacy bottle with the label with your name on it to prevent confusion of what you actually have with you. It might also be a good idea to get some over the counter cold medications in case you do get sick while onboard. Feeling unwell AND having to venture into a strange city to try to find medication in a foreign language is no fun!
Weather Forecast in Departure City
Will you be able to go onboard in shorts and sandals or will you need long pants and even a jacket? This is another case where being prepared ahead of time can save you a lot of inconvenience and discomfort.
Book Transfers
Does your hotel have a shuttle? Do they offer service to the port? There are many ways to get to the ship on your departure day, but you will want to have your plan in place before you arrive! Your options will include anything from a private taxi or Uber to a bus, hotel shuttle, large 10 passenger van with a cargo trailer for bags behind to cruise staff meeting you at the airport to escort you to the ship. Choose what will work best for you and make sure you have those arrangements in place before you leave.
Check for Local Events
We found ourselves in the middle of an enormous event when we arrived in Buenos Aires back in 2022 and boy would it have been nice to have planned for that beforehand! You never know when there will be some local festival with streets blocked off that will impact your ability to get to the ship as you had planned. You can’t account for absolutely everything, but it’s worth checking to see if you need to make alternate arrangements to get to the ship on time!
These are things we generally always do in our planning stages to ensure our cruise vacation goes smoothly and without unpleasant surprises. Hopefully this checklist will be helpful to you especially for your first cruise or even for your 101st cruise! – René
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Create a packing list, review what you need to take then check it off once packed. Be sure that all medicines, passports and cruise papers are on your person or hand luggage that you will carry aboard. Do a screen save of any electronic boarding passes if you intend to board with them.
@AlohaDaveKennedy – Good points. For us we have a spot our passports always “live” if you will and yes we always check like 10x times before we leave home to 100% make sure they are where they live.