Mistakes I see new cruisers make

Those of us who have cruised a million times were all new cruisers once. I remember on my first cruise I made so many mistakes on what to pack. I see new cruisers making these same mistakes today.

But it was also a different time back then. I had a flip phone.

These days you can do so much research. There are tons of websites and YouTube videos telling you how to cruise.

But even so I always see new cruisers making these mistakes:

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Bringing as many cases of soda as they can carry

I always see some of those same people bringing cases of soda back OFF the ship at the end. You always end up buying more than you think you will on board or drinking less than you think you will. Having the soft drinks in your room are just not convenient.

Thinking you NEED a drinks package.

You probably don’t. Don’t get me wrong, the drinks package is nice. It’s fun not to have to think about the cost of every single thing you order, but be realistic about how much you drink. Add up soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, specialty coffees you expect to drink in a day. If they don’t add up to the price per day of the drinks package, you really don’t need it.

Fun ship on embarkation day Carnival Pride

They get overwhelmed by first day crowds

Embarkation crowds are nothing to sneeze at, but don’t let them get you bummed out. This is something I’ve heard from a lot of family and friends on their first cruises – they were very worried about the crowds when they got on the ship. After the first day people sort of find their spaces and the crowds become more manageable.

Thinking the room doesn’t matter

There are plenty of people who take a cruise who enjoy an interior cabin. Or maybe they want a cabin lower in the ship for a certain reason (it is more stable the lower you go). Sometimes you want to choose one of these rooms, or sometimes you want a suite.

But there are plenty of “nice” rooms (balconies, suites, etc.) that have some weird quirk that makes them in a bad location. Sometimes that is because they are under the lido deck and the crew organizes the deck chairs at 5am. Sometimes that is because they are located directly above the nightclub and you can hear the beat until 3 am. A guaranteed cabin is often cheaper than picking your own, so that is absolutely fine if you make that choice. But it is a choice you have made. If you pick your own room, make sure you look at the decks above and below!

Interested in more about how to pick the best room on a cruise ship? Check out: The best cruise cabin for…

Confused about why I keep calling a room a cabin? Check out: Is there a cruising vocabulary?

Under packing

You will need more clothes than you think you do on a cruise. You need fancy clothes. You need casual clothes. You need swimsuits, coverups and hats (I’m assuming you’re going somewhere warm, but cruise ships have plenty of hot tubs and they will be popular on cold sailings!). Make sure you bring plenty of clothes. You can bring as much luggage as you want onto a cruise ship – so bring it!

Interested to read more about why you should ignore 90% of travel advise when going on a cruise and you should actually bring larger luggage. Read more about why you SHOULD overpack for a cruise here.

Not being prepared for the lack of outlets

The newer the ship, generally, the more power outlets it will have. But you may want an extension cord or a power strip. However, you can’t have one with a surge protector so make sure you check out the guidelines. We travel with a 15-foot extension cord, a multi-outlet plug, and a clock with usb ports (because cruise ship activities all have specific start times).

Fun hack: we have a European multi-plug that we bring on cruises. This frees up the American outlet for other things we want to plug in and greatly expands the plug space!

Not researching your ship in advance

There is so much information on the internet. Figure out what restaurants are available. Learn which are free and which are for a cost. Don’t let it be the last day of your cruise and you discover that what is the seafood shack at night serves free, delicious Chinese food for lunch and you never tried it (I’m looking at you, Carnival Venezia)!

Not scheduling your day in advance

Take a look at the daily schedule, on paper or on the app, and decide what you want to do for the day. Don’t let it be 6pm and you realize you haven’t done anything but eat all day. Or don’t be the person who gets off the cruise and laments that there wasn’t anything to do because all you did was sit by the pool and watch that one hairy chest competition. There is plenty to do on a cruise for everybody, but you have to get up off the deck chair and actually go find it!

You think you won’t get sea-sick

Hopefully you won’t, but it’s best to be prepared. You can get patches from a doctor or just bring an over-the-counter medication like Dramamine or Bonine. (I prefer Bonine because it is non-drowsy.) I also like the sea-bands as a non-medicated alternative. Please consult with your doctors though on what might be best for you.

Not understanding the timings for the ports

When a cruise ship tells you it will be in port from 8 until 4, that’s not really what they mean. Ok, it is what they mean, but you can’t book a non-ship excursion that lasts from 8 until 4 or you will be late to the excursion or you will miss the ship back.

The times they list are when the ship is in port. It will take at least 30 minutes after that before the first passengers are let off the ship. And then the first people they will let off the ship are those who have an excursion ticket. Don’t plan to get off the ship for an hour after the they say you dock.

(Maybe with the exception of the private islands. Usually they arrive there very early and there are very few excursions so if you actually want to get off the ship at 7am to head to the private island, you might be able to. Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never tried.)

Similarly, the back on board time will be 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time. If you are booking any private excursions make sure you budget that 30 minutes into your timing – and expect heavy traffic headed back to port in the afternoon. (If you book an excursion with the cruise, there is no need to worry about any of that. The ship will wait on you if you are late. I’ve seen it happen on multiple cruise lines and in different parts of the world. They wait.)

Falling for all the upgrades

On the first day of the cruise, many of the members of the crew are given the job to attempt to sell you on upgrades. You don’t need any of these upgrades. If they were vital to you, you probably would have booked them in advance. A polite “no thank you” is all that is required. They probably don’t think you need them anyway – that was just the job they were given for the day. They would rather you didn’t listen to their spiel if you are not interested.

Thinking you won’t enjoy cruising

This is probably the biggest mistake of all and unfortunately if this applies to you, you probably aren’t still here reading to the end of this delightful article. Cruising can be for everyone. Now, not all cruise ships are right for all people.

Do your research. Figure out what cruise ships or itineraries might be right for you. Don’t just assume because you loved Carnival that you will love Royal Caribbean or just because you loved Celebrity you will also love MSC. But with the right cruise line and the right itinerary, and maybe the right friends/family on board with you, everyone can be a cruiser.