20 SMART TIPS YOU NEED FOR YOUR CRUISE

So you’ve booked the cruise! You are going to love it. Here are some of my favorite tips for cruising that I wish someone had told me!

1. Hide a foldable duffle bag in the bottom of your suitcase. When you hit the ports and start buying gifts, you are going to be glad you have it for your return trip home. There have been times we had to search around for a reasonable priced suitcase to bring our souvenirs home.
2. Take a small travel power strip (preferably one that has a few USB slots also) so you can charge your phones, tablets, cameras etc. . https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D25RSWX/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_TYhnEbK8QNYM7
3. Waterproof phone bag that floats. You can wear it around your neck but if it happens to fall in the water during one of your activities it will be safe and float. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075CGYP46/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_CWhnEbMR9RTG2
4. Pack a large brightly colored T-shirt. Why you say? When you are at sea, no one tells you how windy it is on the deck! . My towel kept blowing off of my lounge chair when I would get up to go grab a snack or drink.. So I took my husband’s t-shirt and put it over the towel and the back of the chair. The t-shirt holds the towel down and it makes it easier to identify your chair with the other hundred chairs. I received many compliments on what a great idea that was. Now you could always take those towel clips but that is just one or two more things to keep up with. A large t-shirt make a great coverup too. So it’s a win!
5. Don’t forget a refillable bottle. Come on, do your part to cut down on waste. This is great to have on the excursion days also. The juices are free in the dining room of the ship, so my kids like to fill up with juices before we take off for morning activities.
6. Do the BEHIND THE SCENES KITCHEN TOUR! It is so amazing how many meals are prepared on the ship each day. They have crew working around the clock in preparation.
7. An Over the Door hanging organizer for your toiletries and makeup is a Must. It saves a ton of space.
8. Magnets-most ships have a lot of metal, like the walls and doors. So if you get the hook magnet you can hang your lanyards, sunglasses, goggles right by the door. Each day you will get a paper schedule of the daily activities so we like to put it up on the wall where we can all keep track of the fun events happening.
9. Highlighter. Great for highlighting your schedule on the wall with the magnets.
10. Packing Cubes. They are a lifesaver for me and my family. You can squeeze in a lot. You can line the bottom of your closet with the cubes. Tip for kids. I pack my kids stuff in ziplock type bags (that we reuse over and over). They are labeled Day 1, Day 2 ….So each morning I can grab the say DAY 3 bag. It has their outfit for the day, undies and socks. I also have a bathing suit bag that has swimsuit, googles and sunscreen. Also you can ask your steward to bring you extra hangers if you want to hang your formal outfits up. Did you know you can put your suitcases under the bed? This is a great space saver.
11. Sunscreen! Don’t wait to buy that stuff on the ship or at the island. You will pay out the Wazzu! Many destinations are not allowing you to bring regular sunscreen to their locations because it is destroying the Coral Reefs, wildlife etc. So be sure to buy the kind that is Reef Safe.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y9TT1K8/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_U0hnEbMVSCKX7
12. Carry a lightweight drawstring back pack. It’s perfect for lugging around sunscreen, water bottles, books etc. This will just help keep your hands free. But I wouldn’t put anything important or valuable in there. They can be easily snatched if the wrong person wanted to take it.
13. Don’t worry about packing beach towels. The ship will have towels around the pool and by the exit door when you are leaving the ship to the ports. Just keep up with them. They will charge you if you don’t turn them back in.
14. Before you leave for your trip, buy some blow up floats at the dollar store. When you arrive at your island stop, there will be a tremendously long line to RENT these. Keep in mind, You will just need to blow it up so don’t get a huge one. Then you can deflate it before getting back on the ship or you can throw it away if you had a $1 worth of fun with it and want to be done.
15. Costco and Amazon have those snorkeling masks that you can rent to go snorkel. It may be worth it to you in investing in one before the trip if you see yourself cruising more. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put my head in something other people have been breathing, spitting and sweating in all day before me. There is a long line to get these also when you arrive at your island stops with swimming.
16. Tour packages…..This is a tough one. Do you buy the ships tour package or book one on your own? If you aren’t an experienced traveler I would stay with the ships tour package. It’s just safer. The best ones fill up fast so if there is something you are dying to do, book now. If not, wait. Sometimes if they don’t fill up they will offer discounts. If you are experienced traveler, and you will know how to book tours on your own, do the research on good tour groups in area. Make sure the tour group knows (before you leave on the tour) what time you have to be back at the ship. Pad this time. If you are late, the ship will not wait for you. It will leave you and take all your stuff still on the ship with them! . One trip we bought the ships tour, not for the tour but to get to our desired location without wasting all of our time. When we cruised to Santorini, we had a very limited amount of time there. If we took the ships tour bus, it drove us all the way up the mountain. If we didn’t we had to WALK it. It was going to take a good amount of time. By the time we would walk it, it would be time to leave! So we bought the tour-just for the bus ride. When we arrived the top, we then left the tour, and ran ahead on our own so we could get pictures before the CROWD from all the ships arrived. We also found a nice bar with a view so we had a seat for the sunset. We saw much more on our own than if we had stayed with the group. As I mentioned before, we have done a lot of traveling so we have well researched the areas that we go, how to get around and stay mindful of the time and our safety.
17. If you are going to a port that has a View like the Sunset in Santorini, research some restaurants before your trip and make a reservation! Depending on the destination, (like Santorini) you may need to make the reservation months in advance.
18. If you need internet just buy ONE cell package for one phone. It’s usually a sign in type of internet access so my husband uses it. Signs in and out. Then I use it on my phone sign in and out with his password. We don’t mind taking turns and sharing. From the moment you get on the ship to the time you get back to port make sure your phone is in AIRPLANE mode or you will Pay.
19. Dinners on the ship. Did you know in the main dining room you can order more than one entree? Also, since there are so many nationalities who work on the ship, many times you can access Indian dishes, Thai food, etc. I also just learned that you can have continental breakfast delivered to your room for FREE! (BUT DON’T FORGET TO TIP)
20. Check the wine policy but on some cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, you are allowed to carry on 2 bottles of wine on per room. But don’t forget your bottle opener. The cruise will charge you a corking fee if they have to open it for you. (check your ships policy before you go.)

Now go pack your bags and have a Great cruise! Bon Voyage!

Joys On A Journey

*All of these tips and tricks may only work for some cruise ships and not all . So do your research before you go. I was not paid to mention these products. These are things that I have found to be helpful and that I use on when I travel.