Tips & Tricks

Here are some things that you will want to think about:

1)Budget (can be a range)- While cruises are largely all-inclusive, there are additional expenses. Your travel agent can help you think through all of these.

2)Time of year (what month, or perhaps you already have a specific timeframe in mind)- Going on a cruise while school is in session is usually cheaper that summertime or spring break.

3)Location (where would you like to cruise from/to)- Will you be driving to the port or flying? Which port location works best for you? Which destinations are you interested in visiting?

4)Ship Expectations (theme park or relaxed atmosphere)- For some, the ship is the destination and so it makes sense to spend more on your cruise fare and go for the bigger, fancier ship. For others, it makes sense to go with a smaller ship as you are wanting to spend more on excursions at each port.

Transportation to and from the Port- If you are flying, purchasing your airplane tickets might be the first thing that you will want to do. Most recommend that you plan on flying in the day before. This allows for you to take delays into account and gives you the opportunity to unwind before getting on the ship.

Download the app- Every cruise lines have an app and are adding more to them all the time. On the Royal Caribbean app, you can see your check-in date (make sure you check-in as early as possible so as to get the best check-in time), look at dining menus, purchase extras for your cruise, upload your documents, take the health questionnaire, and view the cruise compass. Your travel agent can help you with issues if you are struggling to navigate the app.

Become comfortable with the cruise planner- At the cruise line's website, you can log in to your cruise and start looking at all the extras available to you during your cruise. You can purchase the drink package, purchase internet, set up a spa appointment, and explore the excursions that will be offered through the cruise line. It is nice to see everything all in one place and we always recommend that you lock down a good price. If prices go even lower, then just cancel and rebook at the lower rate.

Print out and attach your luggage tags to your suitcases- this will help to ensure that your bags get delivered to your room.

The day of your cruise has finally arrived!

Get ready to go to the port- I highly recommend that you have a carry-on bag that has your cruise documents handy (passports, birth certificates etc.), sunscreen and a swimsuit to change into. If you get on the ship before your room is ready (typically 1:30), you will have what you need to get your vacation started. Also, go ahead and answer the health questionnaire in your app and view the muster drill video.

Arrive on time to the port (at your chosen check-in time)- you can give your bags to a porter and they will make sure that they get on the ship. Tipping them is appreciated but not required. Then, you will head inside and there will be plenty of people around to help you move through the process as smoothly as possible. The main thing is to make sure that you have your documents ready to show. Once through the check-in progress and you are on the ship, you have a couple of tasks to complete before you are ready to relax.

Arrange all dining and entertainment- While some ships allow you to book your entertainment ahead of time, with most, especially the bigger ones, you will need to do so once you get on board. You can book some shows through the app while you might find that you need a person to help you get them scheduled. Likewise, you may have purchased a few meals at specialty restaurants ahead of time, but if you purchased the dining package then you will need to wait until you get on board to make your reservations. For this, you can go to any restaurant and make all of your reservations. Even if you are planning on eating in the Main Dining Room, you should check-in with them to make sure that they have your table configured correctly and any allergies or dietary restrictions are considered.

Complete Your Muster Drill- Thanks to the Pandemic (never thought I'd day that), the mandatory muster drill has gotten so easy. Before boarding the ship, you can view the safety video and listen to the horn in the app. Once on board, find your muster station, which is also shown in the app and someone there will scan your sea pass card and answer any questions you have. It is so easy but make sure that you do it.

Register your kiddo at the kids' club- Starting at around 1:30, you will be able to go to the kids' club and get your child registered. I highly recommend that you do this on the first day as registration can take some time, especially if your child has special needs.

Find the Closest Bar- After you have taken care of the essentials, your final task is to find the closest bar, order a drink and begin relaxing.

While on your cruise, your main goal should be to relax and have fun. Here are some tips to make sure that you are having the best time possible:

1)Become Familiar with the Cruise Compass- You will find the cruise compass on the app, but if you would like a paper version, you can ask your room attendant or find one at guest services.

2)Keep up with your Cruising Statement- You can keep an eye on all on all of the expenses during your cruise by perusing your Statement. Aside from your daily gratuities (if you didn’t prepay), you will see any charges that have been made to your account. There are at least 3 ways to view these charges. You can 1) view them on your stateroom TV, 2)view them on the app and 3)ask at guest services to have a print out made. It might be wise to take a look at these charges at least once during your cruise so that if there are any discrepancies, you can have them looked into at guest services.

3)Just Ask- If you come across an issue, the best way to deal with it is to just ask about it. It might be something that you can ask your room attendant or maybe you need to go down to guest services. Typically, the crew at guest services is more than happy to help resolves any issues you encounter while on your cruise.

4) Take Notes- We always like to take notes on our phone of all of the names of the crew that helped to make our cruise excellent. When we get home, we will have a nice long list of crew that we can recognize for their excellent service. The surveys that we fill out can have a greater impact on the crew than any tip that we might give them.

5) Extra Tips- You will already be paying a daily gratuity but you might want to give some crew an extra tip. It is totally up to you who you recognize and how much you give them. If we have made a connection with a particular bartender or dining room server or stateroom attendant, we might decide to tip them extra at the end of the cruise. There will be envelopes available either in your room or at guest services so that you can be relatively discreet when giving your extra tips out.

Time to Leave the Ship- Boo! It's that dreaded day. It's time for your cruise to end. There are three ways to leave the ship.

1)You can pack your bags up the night before, attach the provided green tags to them, and put them out in the hall by 11pm. Porters will take them off the ship for you. Then, you will exit the ship at your assigned time.

2)Or, you can participate in self-assist departure. This means that you don't have to put your bags out the night before but are responsible for taking them off the ship yourself. This also means that you have to be off the ship on the earlier side, which might work well for you if you have an early flight. We prefer self-assist as it allows us to get off the ship and get our uber before everyone else.

3)The third way is for you to simply stay on for the next cruise, which is really fun, and I highly recommend that everyone do a back-to-back cruise at least once.

Back at the port- As you are leaving the ship, make sure that you have your sea pass card handy as well as your travel documents. You might need to go through customs so you will want to have everything ready for that.

Follow the signs- Once you are back outside, you should be able to follow the sign whether it is to the parking deck, uber pick-up area, or to other forms of transportation. And, you can always ask someone who works there where you need to go next.

Post-cruise Survey- Once your cruise is over you will receive an email asking for your thoughts on your most recent cruise. Please take the time to fill this out and refer back to that list you complied of all of the crew who helped to make your cruise extra wonderful. Royal Caribbean looks at these carefully and the surveys can have a big impact on the careers of the crew members. Also, the surveys are helpful in affecting change.

Peruse your Cruise Statement- You might want to check your cruise statement, which they will send you via email (you can also request a paper copy while on board). If there are any discrepancies, you can contact Royal Caribbean to have them taken care of. Or, have your travel agent take care of any issues you may find.

Check-in with your Travel Agent- It is always a good idea to set up some time to chat with your travel agent after your cruise. You can talk through all of the things that you liked about your cruise, things you didn't like and discuss any issues that you may have encountered. These discussions will help your travel agent make sure that your next cruise is even better.