Tips for first cruise?

[tjscraps]

We are going on our first cruise in February, to celebrate the life of my hubby's mom, who passed away last February (she loved hot weather vacations and we wanted to do something to honor her).

We are doing Eastern Caribbean as a family of 4 - kids will be (just) 18 and 9. We are doing a massive ship (why not start big??) ...

Any experienced cruisers want to give any tips for what we should do/bring, or conversely what not to do/bring? We're in ALL the Facebook groups for Royal Caribbean cruisers and it's overwhelming lol

 

[KristinCB]

I have never been on a cruise. my only tip is to avoid the public and stay healthy until you go LOL. the flu season is scaring the heck out of me :O

 

[nesser1981]

You absolutely don't need everything you see recommended on TikTok.

We're going in March, things that I've taken on every cruise we've done, any kind of med you think you might need. If they do have it on the ship, it will cost you a small fortune.

I got a terrible head cold when we did our honeymoon cruise back in 2004, and couldn't get anything for it, so since then I always take meds.

Plenty of sunscreen, again, it will cost you a small fortune and you don't want to run out. And motion sickness meds, just in case.

I've personally always booked shore excursions through the cruise line, I don't want to get left behind.

Honestly, less is more, you really don't need a ton. I did take take our own snorkels this last trip and small inflatable hammock floats so we didn't have to rent them. I'd recommend both, if you look to snorkel or want to try it. We did a short trip in 2024.

Also, take a small game or two for sea days and reading material. There is plenty to do on the ship, but you may also want something else to keep busy.

Don't take a ton of clothes either, maybe sandals, dinner shoes and something closed toe (sneakers), and then you'll probably wear a bathing suit with cover up most of the day on the ship, and then something nicer or dinner, and something cozy for bed, that you can also walk around the ship in if you want. Pack light. The rooms aren't huge. We did 5 of us in our room the first time we took the kids and this trip we're doing two rooms.

Oh, a hanging toiletries bag is great. Not a ton of counter space and take a charging block with multi spots for cords, you can't take extension cords, which I'm sure you know if you're in all the groups.

We didn't get wifi, or the drink package. You do not need to pay for the extra stuff. Especially not your first time, if you are a soda drinker, I would get the soda package, my two older kids are getting it. But you don't need to pay for the food and other extra things, I've never done one of those huge ships, but we've never paid for the specialty dining, this will be our 5th cruise.

Explore the ship early, get the lay of the land.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

It's been 15 years since I went on my one and only cruise. I'm sure a lot has changed since then! I agree with a lot of the previous post.

Since I had a basic flip phone in 2010, I put it in the safe for the duration of the cruise. I was using a regular camera for photos. I was with a group of around 40 people and the majority of us were still using cameras. And, international phone plans were very expensive and I didn't have one. That's why the phone got put away.

My cruise ship had water and lemonade available for free all over the ship. I drank lemonade the whole week. Ice cream was also available for free so ice cream cones also helped in the hot times. I chose not to buy any drink package. I think I had one mixed drink the whole week. On a couple of excursions, I was able to purchase a soda so that was a bonus.

Agree about booking excursions through the cruise line. I was with 2 other girls. 2 of us booked the same excursions. The other girl did her own thing since she was more adventurous. One night we waited for her in our cabin to go to dinner together. It was very close to our dinner time and she wasn't back so the 2 of us went down anyways. The ship was supposed to be out of port and on our way at that time but it wasn't. All of a sudden a bunch of people including our friend came into the dining room in their excursion clothes. A few minutes later the ship pulled out of port. Turns out there was a problem with the bus they were on for their excursion and they got delayed on their way back to port. Since it was a cruise line excursion, the ship had to wait for them.

Towards the end of the week, I quit going to the dining room and just ate at a light buffet that was available on another deck. The big dinners were too much for me and I could get food more to my liking at the buffet.

 

[AmieN1]

I have zero cruise advice, but we just got home from a week in St Lucia & it was SO GREAT! If you have any questions about St. Lucia, I'm your girl!

I'll second Vanessa's sunscreen recommendation- we ended up buying more at our resort for $$$! The UV down there is always high (according to my teenage UV obsessed daughter) and we all sunburned on our first day.

We've talked about going back on a cruise to island hop more- so I'll look forward to your experiences!

 

[lorigaud]

I did a cruise on RC in 2024 and it was a blast! It was my first cruise, and I asked for advice here too.... I'll see if I can find the post and link it here.

Agree with what was said about excursions. Book through RC.
I didn't get the Wifi and didn't miss it. I did buy an international package through AT&T that was like $10 on any day that I used it, which were the port days.
I didn't bother with the drink package because I don't drink lol. I did get a coffee card that was like $30 and gave me multiple fun coffees. There's a coffee place on the ship that isn't Starbucks but sells Starbucks coffee. It's great!
Heavy duty magnet hooks were awesome in the cabin - I bought some on Amazon and they worked great for hanging clothing, bags, etc.

Found the link to my post: https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98346

Oh, and regarding fb groups... you should be able to find the specific group for your cruise date. That was an awesome resource!

Have so much fun! It sounds like a great way to honor your MIL's memory!

 

[bienejen]

These are ALL the things I would say as well! My only additions would be to bring a nightlight or two as it's nice to be able to easily find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night and go to all the free evening shows. Even if you think it might not be your thing. It's included and only around an hour so why not? I'd also recommend going to any lectures on board. They bring these people on to help you get the most out of your port stops so, again, why not? My BIL's sister does this and I think it would be the COOLEST gig.

You absolutely don't need everything you see recommended on TikTok.

We're going in March, things that I've taken on every cruise we've done, any kind of med you think you might need. If they do have it on the ship, it will cost you a small fortune.

I got a terrible head cold when we did our honeymoon cruise back in 2004, and couldn't get anything for it, so since then I always take meds.

Plenty of sunscreen, again, it will cost you a small fortune and you don't want to run out. And motion sickness meds, just in case.

I've personally always booked shore excursions through the cruise line, I don't want to get left behind.

Honestly, less is more, you really don't need a ton. I did take take our own snorkels this last trip and small inflatable hammock floats so we didn't have to rent them. I'd recommend both, if you look to snorkel or want to try it. We did a short trip in 2024.

Also, take a small game or two for sea days and reading material. There is plenty to do on the ship, but you may also want something else to keep busy.

Don't take a ton of clothes either, maybe sandals, dinner shoes and something closed toe (sneakers), and then you'll probably wear a bathing suit with cover up most of the day on the ship, and then something nicer or dinner, and something cozy for bed, that you can also walk around the ship in if you want. Pack light. The rooms aren't huge. We did 5 of us in our room the first time we took the kids and this trip we're doing two rooms.

Oh, a hanging toiletries bag is great. Not a ton of counter space and take a charging block with multi spots for cords, you can't take extension cords, which I'm sure you know if you're in all the groups.

We didn't get wifi, or the drink package. You do not need to pay for the extra stuff. Especially not your first time, if you are a soda drinker, I would get the soda package, my two older kids are getting it. But you don't need to pay for the food and other extra things, I've never done one of those huge ships, but we've never paid for the specialty dining, this will be our 5th cruise.

Explore the ship early, get the lay of the land.

 

[tjscraps]

Thanks everyone! I am a terrible overpacker, so that will be a struggle lol

I had not thought of cards or games/dice - I will add that to my list, good plan!

We have 1 excursion booked through RC, on St Maarten. For St. Thomas we booked a private excursion that came highly recommended - I'm worried about it but hope it will be ok!

We have 1 room for the 4 of us - we've put in a 'bid' to get a better room, but we're good where we are at if we don't get it.

We did already pay for the drink package - I drink socially but as it also covers pop, coffee, bottles of water, etc. we decided to just do that so we didn't have to worry about it. The cost was $80 a day, Canadian - which equals 2-3 drinks, 1 special coffee, and 2-3 'soft' drinks, so I think that's easy to get our money's worth, but we're going into it with the thought that it's the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much we'll be spending - and then if we do have a night where we want to enjoy a few we can do so without trying to add up the cost (I also figure if there's a drink I want to try and then end up hating it, I can just go get another one and not feel like I've wasted money by getting it!).

We also did get the internet, but only for 1 device at a time. We figured that allows each of us a couple minutes each day to check in on things to ensure there's nothing urgent going on at home, then we can disconnect. Phone plans in Canada are stupid and it's $18 a day if we use our phones, so we'll just go in airplane mode and hope that nothing goes wrong! lol! This part is nice because it'll be my first true vacation without checking in on work in at least 10 years. Even after 3 surgeries (including a c-section) and a mat leave I checked my email daily (from my hospital bed ...lol). So this will be a very nice change!

 

[tjscraps]

I have never been on a cruise. my only tip is to avoid the public and stay healthy until you go LOL. the flu season is scaring the heck out of me :O

Trying!!! We all got TwinRix too, just in case ... and I'm avoiding people until we go lol

 

[SeattleSheri]

We are also going on our first cruise (with RC) to the carribean in February, so I'm definitely following along. I have done no planning, other than booking hotels on the front and back end of our trip, and purchasing flights. I'm not a huge fan of all of the nickel and diming they do for everything, but I also get it. If you have any FB groups you think are especially helpful, I'd love your intel!

 

[tjscraps]

We are also going on our first cruise (with RC) to the carribean in February, so I'm definitely following along. I have done no planning, other than booking hotels on the front and back end of our trip, and purchasing flights. I'm not a huge fan of all of the nickel and diming they do for everything, but I also get it. If you have any FB groups you think are especially helpful, I'd love your intel!

I'm also finding that everything is nickel & dining, but for us it's about the same cost as going to an all-inclusive in Mexico so we figured let's say we saw a few countries lol

 

[HavaDrPepper]

We have 1 excursion booked through RC, on St Maarten. For St. Thomas we booked a private excursion that came highly recommended - I'm worried about it but hope it will be ok!

About 10 of us from our group did a non-cruise line excursion in Cozumel (Cozumel Bar Hop... highly recommend it!) They had the small buses and our bus also had people from a different ship. The guide (who was also the driver) was very conscious of the time all throughout the excursion because the Norwegian ship was leaving port before our Carnival ship. We got back in plenty of time. Even the other ship cruisers had some time to walk around the port area before boarding the ship. It was also a highly recommended excursion. I think you will be OK

 

[nesser1981]

We are also going on our first cruise (with RC) to the carribean in February, so I'm definitely following along. I have done no planning, other than booking hotels on the front and back end of our trip, and purchasing flights. I'm not a huge fan of all of the nickel and diming they do for everything, but I also get it. If you have any FB groups you think are especially helpful, I'd love your intel!

Yeah, I don't love it either. But you can seriously get away with not spending a dime on the ship if you don't want to.

We're not big drinkers, especially me, so the drink package was way too much for. Even with the fancy coffees, etc, I wouldn't use enough of it to make it worth the $500 just for myself for the week. We're doing a 7 night this time. Although, the nice thing is if you do plan on getting it, the gratuity is already included, where as if you purchase drinks here and there, the 18% is added to each beverage.

Our 2024 cruise was on an older Carnival ship, and this is one of the mid range Royal ships, so not one of the megas, but not one of the oldest either. We are doing like the escape room, Keira & Sean are doing a sushi making class, Harper & I are doing a candy sushi making class.

We'll hit the shows, the only other thing I'll probably spend anything on is a photo package, and probably just like the 10 digital photos, that way the kids aren't overwhelmed and I get some. LOL!

 

[nesser1981]

1 room will be fine, we all fit in ours for 5 of us, and i had two full size men, LOL! It's just tight. You don't spend that much time in there anyway. And honestly, on those new ships, you'll probably spend even less time in there than we did.

We were in there to get ready for dinner, when we first got up and bedtime. That was it really.

Thanks everyone! I am a terrible overpacker, so that will be a struggle lol

I had not thought of cards or games/dice - I will add that to my list, good plan!

We have 1 excursion booked through RC, on St Maarten. For St. Thomas we booked a private excursion that came highly recommended - I'm worried about it but hope it will be ok!

We have 1 room for the 4 of us - we've put in a 'bid' to get a better room, but we're good where we are at if we don't get it.

We did already pay for the drink package - I drink socially but as it also covers pop, coffee, bottles of water, etc. we decided to just do that so we didn't have to worry about it. The cost was $80 a day, Canadian - which equals 2-3 drinks, 1 special coffee, and 2-3 'soft' drinks, so I think that's easy to get our money's worth, but we're going into it with the thought that it's the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much we'll be spending - and then if we do have a night where we want to enjoy a few we can do so without trying to add up the cost (I also figure if there's a drink I want to try and then end up hating it, I can just go get another one and not feel like I've wasted money by getting it!).

We also did get the internet, but only for 1 device at a time. We figured that allows each of us a couple minutes each day to check in on things to ensure there's nothing urgent going on at home, then we can disconnect. Phone plans in Canada are stupid and it's $18 a day if we use our phones, so we'll just go in airplane mode and hope that nothing goes wrong! lol! This part is nice because it'll be my first true vacation without checking in on work in at least 10 years. Even after 3 surgeries (including a c-section) and a mat leave I checked my email daily (from my hospital bed ...lol). So this will be a very nice change!

 

[nesser1981]

Another thing, which I'm sure you've seen, but take some cash, even though gratuity is added on, you'll want to tip your porters that carry your bags at the cruise port and you may want to tip your room steward and waitstaff separately, especially if you have the same group for dinner every night. The kids loved the fellas we had on our last trip.

 

[jacinda]

Vanessa said everything I would have said. The only other thing I'd add is to explore the ship on your first day, and find out if there is a back entrance to the buffet. On our cruise, the buffet restaurant was at the back of the ship. Instead of lining up with the hundreds of other cruisers at the main entrance for meals, we walked around to the back of the ship and entered the restaurant that way. There were never any lines, and the buffet selections at the back were the same as the front. We also ate early, which helped. That was a tip I got from one of the FB groups for that specific ship. Lifesaver.

 

[angiekey]

MAGNETS - bring magnets! This is the one thing I make sure I do on all our cruises. The walls of your cabin are metal, so if you get heavy-duty magnets, the ones with hooks, you can hang your belongings from the walls. There's very little storage in the room, so being able to hang bags, swimsuits, even to attach the day's cruise newsletter to the wall where everyone can see it - it's the best.

The other suggestion I have is to get an inexpensive over-the-door shoe holder and put your toiletries in it, and then hang it on the bathroom door. It keeps everything off the teeny tiny countertop, helps you stay organized, and keeps the room clean. Best of all, you can just pack everything in the holder at home, then carefully put it in your suitcase, folding it over itself, and you're ready to go.

And bring a folder of some kind of hang onto your daily cruise newsletter and other mementos. I bring one of those plastic envelopes with the string closure on the back. It's a great way to remember what happened on each day and scrapbook it when you're home!

Have an absolute BLAST - we love cruising!

 

[abm234]

MAGNETS - bring magnets! This is the one thing I make sure I do on all our cruises. The walls of your cabin are metal, so if you get heavy-duty magnets, the ones with hooks, you can hang your belongings from the walls. There's very little storage in the room, so being able to hang bags, swimsuits, even to attach the day's cruise newsletter to the wall where everyone can see it - it's the best.

The other suggestion I have is to get an inexpensive over-the-door shoe holder and put your toiletries in it, and then hang it on the bathroom door. It keeps everything off the teeny tiny countertop, helps you stay organized, and keeps the room clean. Best of all, you can just pack everything in the holder at home, then carefully put it in your suitcase, folding it over itself, and you're ready to go.

And bring a folder of some kind of hang onto your daily cruise newsletter and other mementos. I bring one of those plastic envelopes with the string closure on the back. It's a great way to remember what happened on each day and scrapbook it when you're home!

Have an absolute BLAST - we love cruising!

Agree! Heavy duty magnet hooks and a shoe holder for the door are my top 2 must haves for cruising!

Each of you might want a lanyard for your cruise pass.

I would make some sort of door decoration/poster so you can easily find your door when you are walking down the looonnng halls.

Have a wonderful trip! Priceless memories!

 

[aussiegirl]

We have only done Disney Cruises, but I imagine the internet package is expensive (plus you are on a vacation, so you only really need to take photos with your phone). We all downloaded the Whatsapp, so that we could communicate on the ship (we put our phones in airplane mode so we were not charged roaming fees). Whatsapp runs without wifi, so we could still keep in touch with everyone in our group. If the doors are magnet, you could also get some dry erase boards to leave notes for each other (especially being on a big ship, if you all split off, you will need a way to keep in touch).

I second lanyards (with the little pouches to store your room card etc). Set a spending budget per person (on Disney you can assign a certain amount or even card to each person with a limit. Not sure how other cruises work, but may be the same way. Overspending is a big thing on cruises, so stick to your budget).

Excursions booked through the cruise mean you don't get left behind in port.

Take lots of photos, but also know, even if you think this will be your only cruise, you may turn into cruise people and plan another one. We were this way! We didn't think we would really cruise again, but we are cruise people now! Things we took photos of our 1st cruise, we barely took photos of our 2nd one!

Don't try to do everything! There is usually a lot of things going on. Prioritize what you want to do, and be ok missing some things!

 

[tjscraps]

Vanessa said everything I would have said. The only other thing I'd add is to explore the ship on your first day, and find out if there is a back entrance to the buffet. On our cruise, the buffet restaurant was at the back of the ship. Instead of lining up with the hundreds of other cruisers at the main entrance for meals, we walked around to the back of the ship and entered the restaurant that way. There were never any lines, and the buffet selections at the back were the same as the front. We also ate early, which helped. That was a tip I got from one of the FB groups for that specific ship. Lifesaver.

Oooh -good tip, I'll check that out, thank you!!!

Another thing, which I'm sure you've seen, but take some cash, even though gratuity is added on, you'll want to tip your porters that carry your bags at the cruise port and you may want to tip your room steward and waitstaff separately, especially if you have the same group for dinner every night. The kids loved the fellas we had on our last trip.

How much is typical for the bag porters? I'm terrible at figuring out tips!

 

[nesser1981]

Oooh -good tip, I'll check that out, thank you!!!




How much is typical for the bag porters? I'm terrible at figuring out tips!

I think I saw like $2-$3 per bag. There are 5 of us, so I’ll probably just take a $20 each way and call it good.

 

[bestcee]

Wash your hands. Constantly. Use the hand sanitizer when you see it. People are gross.

For Royal, they have an app with a chat feature. I know that doesn't help with the 9, but will with 18. However, there's some tips on making sure it works right with your device (ios vs. Android) so check those for troubleshooting before you go. I'd love to tell you not to worry about having your phone, but so much is on the app now, it's pretty necessary unfortunately. You should already be able to see some of the events, so you can make note of what you might want to do.

For the 9 - make sure you register her with the Adventure Ocean Club. She may think she is "too big" but they do a lot of fun things, and on our cruises, had reserved times at the mini-golf and such. On our last cruise, my 12 year old niece was still hitting it up for fun things. Plus, if she goes the first time it's open, she'll find Cruise Friends.

Encourage 18 to go check out the Hyperlink events. They are totally hit and miss - one cruise they were hopping, the other they were dead. But, it's worth checking out. Reminder that at 18 she has privileges that she may or may not have in Canada (drinking, gambling, etc.).

You didn't mention the ship, but there are things that you have to reserve ahead of time, or as soon as you get on the ship depending on which ship. Do the laser tag. It's fun for all ages! You do need closed toe shoes for that. The adults had almost more fun than the kids! The ice show was pretty neat - it's like a club figure skating show, but is impressive when you remember they are on a ship. Going ice skating was fun for the same reason. The water show is amazing! Don't miss it.

For drinks: There are a ton of non-alcoholic drinks you can try, IDK if you got your kids the drink package or just you two. Matthew drank his weight in NA pina coladas, along with soda, and water. Get a water bottle (or two) or powerade per person with the drink package when leaving the ship for excursions. They are included, and it will help keep you hydrated. The buses are often hot, and water can be scarce or expensive. Depending on your ship, the drink package will cover smoothies at the spa area. They weren't my favorite, but they were decent, and I liked the juice options in the spa.

The cookies/treats at the coffee place are usually included. And you don't have to buy coffee to have one. Check the app to see what food places are available. It'll show free/paid. There was a great (free) Mexican cantina on one ship - great option for lunch! And a salad bar in another venue (not self serve, so less germs!) Late night pizza is fun. It's not great pizza, but it's tradition for our family, and was a good way to end the day. A slice, chat, then to the room for bed.

Take hook magnets for hanging things. The closets are small, and it's nice to hang up hats, jackets, sweatshirts, etc. If you bring a shoe holder, hooked magnets let you hang it outside the bathroom - handy for makeup, glasses, etc. Speaking of - take a light jacket or sweatshirt. It's chilly on the open water, especially at night, if you are outside.

Go up to the helicopter pad and lay down on a night at sea. It's so crazy how many stars you can see and how small you feel. There's low light pollution, and it's just beautiful.

For Sint Maarten - I don't know how much time you have or your excursion. If you are a Star Wars fan, it's worth a trip to "Yoda Guy Movie Exhibit" in Phillipsburg. We did a private excursion in Sint Maarten, and that museum was a highlight for our Star Wars fans.

Don't worry too much about a private excursion. Most of the islanders are really good at getting you back to your ship with plenty of time, because they want repeat business. It hurts them if cruise people won't book because they can't return on time. I've done quite a few private excursions, and I always love them more than the RC ones.

Um, yeah. I think that's it for my brain dump tonight.

 

[norton94]

You absolutely don't need everything you see recommended on TikTok.

We're going in March, things that I've taken on every cruise we've done, any kind of med you think you might need. If they do have it on the ship, it will cost you a small fortune.

I got a terrible head cold when we did our honeymoon cruise back in 2004, and couldn't get anything for it, so since then I always take meds.

Plenty of sunscreen, again, it will cost you a small fortune and you don't want to run out. And motion sickness meds, just in case.

I've personally always booked shore excursions through the cruise line, I don't want to get left behind.

Honestly, less is more, you really don't need a ton. I did take take our own snorkels this last trip and small inflatable hammock floats so we didn't have to rent them. I'd recommend both, if you look to snorkel or want to try it. We did a short trip in 2024.

Also, take a small game or two for sea days and reading material. There is plenty to do on the ship, but you may also want something else to keep busy.

Don't take a ton of clothes either, maybe sandals, dinner shoes and something closed toe (sneakers), and then you'll probably wear a bathing suit with cover up most of the day on the ship, and then something nicer or dinner, and something cozy for bed, that you can also walk around the ship in if you want. Pack light. The rooms aren't huge. We did 5 of us in our room the first time we took the kids and this trip we're doing two rooms.

Oh, a hanging toiletries bag is great. Not a ton of counter space and take a charging block with multi spots for cords, you can't take extension cords, which I'm sure you know if you're in all the groups.

We didn't get wifi, or the drink package. You do not need to pay for the extra stuff. Especially not your first time, if you are a soda drinker, I would get the soda package, my two older kids are getting it. But you don't need to pay for the food and other extra things, I've never done one of those huge ships, but we've never paid for the specialty dining, this will be our 5th cruise.

Explore the ship early, get the lay of the land.

All fantastic advice!
Read the fine print on what they are not allowing - usually things like steamers and extension cords...
Consider getting a VPN to secure your connection to the Wifi. It saves you from people hacking your passwords etc. and keeps your browsing private.

 

[norton94]

Thanks everyone! I am a terrible overpacker, so that will be a struggle lol

I had not thought of cards or games/dice - I will add that to my list, good plan!

We have 1 excursion booked through RC, on St Maarten. For St. Thomas we booked a private excursion that came highly recommended - I'm worried about it but hope it will be ok!

We have 1 room for the 4 of us - we've put in a 'bid' to get a better room, but we're good where we are at if we don't get it.

We did already pay for the drink package - I drink socially but as it also covers pop, coffee, bottles of water, etc. we decided to just do that so we didn't have to worry about it. The cost was $80 a day, Canadian - which equals 2-3 drinks, 1 special coffee, and 2-3 'soft' drinks, so I think that's easy to get our money's worth, but we're going into it with the thought that it's the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much we'll be spending - and then if we do have a night where we want to enjoy a few we can do so without trying to add up the cost (I also figure if there's a drink I want to try and then end up hating it, I can just go get another one and not feel like I've wasted money by getting it!).

We also did get the internet, but only for 1 device at a time. We figured that allows each of us a couple minutes each day to check in on things to ensure there's nothing urgent going on at home, then we can disconnect. Phone plans in Canada are stupid and it's $18 a day if we use our phones, so we'll just go in airplane mode and hope that nothing goes wrong! lol! This part is nice because it'll be my first true vacation without checking in on work in at least 10 years. Even after 3 surgeries (including a c-section) and a mat leave I checked my email daily (from my hospital bed ...lol). So this will be a very nice change!

Since you got the drink package - consider grabbing a drink as you head back to the room to get ready for dinner Even if you don't drink it all, it was a nice way to try different things or sip some wine leisurely getting ready. We've gone both ways (with and without the package depending on who we are traveling with) and this made me feel like between coffee and water and this pre-dinner cocktail - I was at least not losing money LOL.

You have fantastic recommendations here! I agree with whoever said bring a small game or cards... If you have not tried it yet consider Flip 7 (we played it with our adult kids over the holidays and quickly bought a pack to bring on trips. It's easy and fun. There are plenty of places onboard to sit and play during days at sea etc. for a break from the cramped room.

HAVE A BLAST!!

 

[chinagrrl]

my 18yo and 14yo are into hiding and looking for ducks throughout the ship. i get packs of ducks for cheap on oriental trading or amazon.

 

[Natascha]

I think everything is covered right about now...I wished I had asked that question before hahaha We went on a cruise at the beginning of this month!!

Just wanted to wish you a good time and enjoy!!

You too Sheri!

 

[lovely1m]

We just came home from one! Take advantage of all the stuff to do on the ship but make sure to plan in just resting time. It's a lot.

 

[dgreenshield]

Lots of great advice!

Here are my must haves when we cruise:

1. Insulated water bottle, I love ice in my drinks and this keeps my water cold while we are ashore and I always have something to drink.

2. Metal hooks for the walls.

3. Lanyards.

4. USB charger/extension cord with USB ports. You have to be careful when you take an extension cord, but you can have one for extra plugs. We have iPads and phones that need charging and the extension is super handy since there are not a lot of plugs in the room.

5. Medicines, from upset tummy to cold and flu meds...take samples of everything you need.

6. Hand sanitizer and wet wipes, for the excursions. You may not have the ability to quickly wash your hands when out and about.

7. I cut a sponge into small pieces to wash my water bottle and take a small bottle of dish soap or fill straws with dish soap and seal the ends.

8. Small bottles of wrinkle remover and laundry soap to wash swimsuits in the room.

9. Sling bag to carry water bottles, towels, souvenirs when on excursions or around the ship.

10. Travel games or cards.


Depending on the carrier, they may give you lanyards, totes, etc. as a room gift. But I always find it better to be prepared than hope I get something I will probably need.