Tips for Your First Cruise

Tips for Your First Cruise From my First Royal Caribbean Cruise

In January, I went on my very first cruise. I was graciously invited by my partner’s family, who are all cruise aficionados. In fact, it was his parents 70th cruise! His sister’s family and her friends were also there and have been on many cruises. We met a lot of pro-cruisers–even one who LIVES on cruise ships because its so efficient and lovely. I collected as many cruise tips as I could for you. Here’s what I’ve got! Check back for more updates as comments come in and cruise pros share more insight…

1: Get To Know Your Cruise Ship

Before booking your cruise, ask yourself a few important questions. What kind of cruise are you looking for? Do you have kids? Are you single and want to meet someone? Where do you want to go? All cruise lines and cruise ships are known for something different.

We sailed on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean is well known for family-friendly vacations. We were very much on family friendly vacation. We had four 8-13 year olds on the cruise in our gang. As you know, I don’t have kids, and we found it just as fun! We met a few adults who were single and on the ship and were very disappointed in how hard it was to actually meet people their age to hang out with.

2: Arrive Early to Your Cruise Port

You are assigned a check-in time when you purchase your cruise tickets. Everyone’s is a little different. This helps the cruise line spread out the process–5,000+ people needed to get on our cruise ship! That being said, you can get there earlier than your allotted time, which would save you stress and give you more time to settle in and enjoy the ship before you leave.

Treat the cruise port like the airport–plan 1-2 hours of time to get there, navigate the crowds, get through security, etc. There was a traffic jam getting to our cruise port in Miami. You can drive there and park your car while you’re on your cruise, get a shuttle from your hotel, or order an Uber/Lyft. We did the latter and were waiting about 30 minutes outside of the terminal just to get to baggage drop.

3: Get The Drink Package

There are some expenses to plan for beyond your actual cruise ticket. Firstly, if you came to drink on your vacation, there are the drink expenses. This includes alcoholic drinks, Propels, smoothies, and other specialty drinks. You could definitely pay as you go if you aren’t a heavy vacation drinker. Our crew most definitely was. We did the math after investing in the drink package for roughly $1,000 for two people. Erik and I drank 174 drinks during the drip. At an average $14 drink cost, we would have spent $2,400 give or take. The investment was definitely worth it for us!

4: Don’t Worry, There Will Be Plenty of Food Options

I was personally worried about this. For starters, I stick to a mostly gluten-free and dairy-free diet. Secondly, I am a foodie and date a chef. Our food standards are high. From room service, to the many buffets, to specialty restaurants, to food at our excursions–we were plenty happy and full. You can also make requests for special meal options, including kosher meal prep. We were impressed with the accommodations and generally pleased. There was even a juice bar and smoothie spot called Vitality on the boat where I could go get a truly healthy breakfast or snack any time of day.

5: Prioritize What You Want to Do on Your Cruise Ship

You are on the cruise to go awesome places, but the cruise ship itself is a destination all its own. There was so much to see on the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. We let ourselves wander the first two days and stopped into whatever we had time to visit and explore. As the week went on, we got more strategic about what we wanted to see an experience after realizing we may not have time to see it all. The last few days we crossed off most of our list like ordering drinks at the Bionic Bar, taking a slide down the Ultimate Abyss, and shopping in the Royal Promenade.

6: Eat Early

This tip came from a pro-cruiser we met early on our trip. He was headed to a Carnival Cruise and his 63rd cruise adventure. He suggested that we eat earlier in the night we could enjoy the nightlife more. The first few nights we ate closer to 7 p.m. As the cruise went on, we did eat earlier and earlier. It was actually more convenient and easier to get into dinner spots we were interested in.

7: Wear Your Tightest Clothes First

That’s right. I gave this advice. And I’ve seen it in other cruise tops roundups, too! You’ll start out feeling fresh and slim, but the more the cruise goes on, the more you’ll eat, drink, and lounge. I got my two-pieces out of the way early and saved my flowing frocks to the end. It’s just math! It was actually an efficient way to plan my outfits, as well!

8: A Few Packing Essentials

Towel Clips: Who know these little guys were so helpful! We got some towel clips for Christmas for the cruise. Towel clips help you reserve your lounge chairs if you need to step out and get a drink or snack. They also help keep your towels from blowing away and helped us find our crew every day on the ship!
AirTags: This helped us quite a bit with our travel anxiety. We put an AirTag in each of our suitcases. That helped us find them faster at the airport and keep track of them when they were loaded on the ship. We actually had a bag that was late arriving to our room, but we were able to confirm it was on the ship and relax.
Comfortable Sandals with Support: As I said above, I walked 10,000+ plus steps a day on our cruise. The cruise ship is all flat surfaces, so make sure you have shoes with arch support and are comfortable. I love these supportive sandals from Stegmann.
Prepare for the themed nights: We had a 70s night, a white night, a cocktail night, and more. I didn’t know about those! I am just glad I had most of the essentials to pull of the theme. It was always more fun to lean into the themes. Some people really go all-out and the ship will have certain themed entertainment to go along with it!
Keep scrolling to see a full packing list below!

9: You Can Work Out on Your Cruise

Yes, you can work out while on your trip! It’s not all drinking and eating and lounging. The gym on our ship was fully loaded with all the equipment you’d find at your own gym and offered yoga, pilates, and other classes. In addition, there are plenty of stairs to climb and lots of ship to walk. I logged more than 10,000 steps every day!

10: Put Your Luggage Under the Bed

This is a hack we learned AFTER we left the cruise ship. Unlike a hotel, there is space under your bed for your luggage. There were plenty of drawers and closet space for us to unpack our essentials. We could have saved even more space by putting our empty luggage under the bed.

Side Note: I will add that our room was much more spacious than I expected! I was nervous about it being so small, but we actually had space to hang out in there comfortably. Having a balcony was also essential. You can see the water from many of the decks, but having your own private space to wake up to the ocean and have solo time was critical.

11: Travel When It’s Cold

I definitely appreciated this trip more in the winter! We escaped the cold, slow, long days of January and found sunny days, tropical vibes, and gorgeous sunsets. We returned to a cold, wet East Coast, but didn’t care. Our tans were still strong and we felt an overall glow from being away in warm temperatures. It was a true serotonin boost to us both that lasted weeks after we returned.

12: Opt for the Unplug

I believe the reason I came back so refreshed from our trip was because I did a full digital detox for 7 days. I did not have WiFi or cell service for most of the trip. That means no checking emails, no uploading content, and no work calls. I was able to call my family in Mexico while at port to let them know I was okay, but otherwise I was only using my phone to take photos and use the Royal Caribbean app. You CAN buy wifi and get an international cell plan if you needed to. I wouldn’t recommend it. For someone who can make anywhere an office, part of the appeal of the cruise is that I was truly out of office! I prepped my clients and peers for my week away and came back to everything right where it should be!

13: Preschedule Your Excursions

The unplugged nature of a cruise is all about laying back and letting go. Because we scheduled our excursions ahead of time, we knew what was coming, where we needed to be, and what we needed before getting off the boat. We rarely stressed, though we were almost late one day! I had lost my SeaPass. The staff got me up and running in no time and off our excursion to Bacalar Lagoon in Mexico. If you want to see more of my excursions, follow me on Instagram!