Think you’re an experienced traveler? When it comes to cruising, there are so many aspects that are different than every other type of trip! We learned a lot from cruising and will go into our next one much better equipped to plan and execute an amazing vacation.
So before you board your next cruise ship, be sure to do these six things. They aren’t hard but can make or break your experience!
1. Buy insurance
The first thing you need to do after booking a cruise is purchase travel insurance. There are lot of reasons why you should have at least some travel insurance, ranging from travel delays to lost luggage.
In my mind the biggest reason to opt for travel insurance for a cruise is the emergency medical transportation coverage. If you are injured or ill beyond what the ship’s medical facilities can handle, you may need to be evacuated to the nearest major hospital or even to a facility closer to where you live. That can run you upwards of $100,000 in the worst case. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that much sitting around.
While many premium credit cards include travel insurance coverage, they can be notoriously challenging to work with and have a reputation for denying claims. We usually rely on coverage from our Chase Sapphire credit card for other trips where coverage isn’t as critical.
When shopping for travel insurance I really like using Squaremouth to compare my options. You can easily filter on the left for the minimum coverage levels you want in each category and even choose a cruise-specific policy. There are thousands of reviews for every policy so you can get a sense for how real-world experiences are with that specific provider. They even have an in-house policy option called Tin Leg that we’ve used before.
2. Consider your passport needs
Cruises represent a really interesting conundrum when it comes to passports.
If you’re a US citizen, a “closed loop” cruise is just about the only international vacation you can take without a passport. Closed loop means that it begins and ends at the same port in the United States. You can still disembark at most foreign ports even without a passport. Generally you will need to bring a birth certificate and drivers license if you don’t provide a passport. This all works because of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
That said, bringing a passport is still your best option. If there’s an emergency that requires you to disembark and fly home from a foreign port, having your passport on hand will streamline your experience and avoid the need to seek emergency documentation from the consulate.
If you’re embarking outside of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, you’ll definitely need to bring a passport with you and the expiration should be at least 6 months after the end of your cruise.
It’s very important that you check on your passport (and potentially visa) requirements as soon as you book your cruise. If you need a new passport or a renewal, sometimes there are lengthy delays leading up peak travel periods.
As for our family? Even though our next cruise is a closed loop, we’ll all bring our passports just to be on the safe side!
3. Book a pre-cruise hotel
Cruise ships wait for almost no one, even if your flight gets cancelled. Plan to arrive at your port of embarkation at least the day before your cruise begins if you’re flying in.
That means you’ll need a place to sleep the night before. On our last cruise one family member didn’t finalize his travel plans until a few weeks beforehand and by that time nearly every hotel near the port had very limited room options that wouldn’t work for his family. If there are two large cruise ships embarking on the same day, that could easily create demand for 5,000 hotel rooms in a pretty compact area!
Thankfully nearly every hotel can be booked at a refundable rate in case your plans change. But if you’ve committed to going on a cruise, the likelihood of your hotel needs changing is low – if anything you might decide to spend two nights before your cruise so that you have time to enjoy the area.
When you book a hotel be sure to look for special rates just for cruisers or packages that include your transportation from the hotel to the port. These can be a huge savings!
4. Research your ship’s offerings
Every ship has slightly different options for dining, entertainment and activities – even within the same cruise line and class of ship! To make the most of your experience, spend a little time familiarizing yourself with your temporary home away from home. It’s important for two reasons: first, so you can decide what (if any) extras you want to pay for; and second, so that you can reserve what you need to in advance.
Thankfully these days there are tons of great resources to use. The first place to look is on your ship’s webpage, though to be honest sometimes that’s the hardest to sift through.
I definitely recommend doing some targeted internet searches that will yield helpful, practical information. First up is “[ship name] + dining options” – that will help you understand the whole range of what you can eat on board, when you can eat it and whether or not you’ll need to pay for it. You may decide that you really want to try a specific specialty restaurant, and then you can reserve it in advance (and look for sales – more on that in a moment).
Next, you’ll want to find out if there are any special activities that need to be reserved and when those reservations open. This applies to capacity-controlled activities like laser tag, escape rooms, ice skating, go-karts, cooking classes etc. Often those are full before you even set foot on the ship, so be sure to understand the options and process. That’s especially true if you plan to leave the ship in every port and will be competing for limited slots on sea days.
Finally, it can be really helpful to hop on Youtube and check out ship tours that are specific to your interests. You’ll find them for dining, music venues, kids clubs, pools and more. That’ll help you have a handle on what to prioritize during your time on the ship. You might even want to watch a tour of the type of stateroom you’ve booked since that will help you understand what storage space is available and any special features to make use of.
5. Watch for sales on add-ons
While the price you see when booking a cruise can be all-inclusive, there are plenty of opportunities to spend more money too. These days you can choose to spend money on specialty dining options, extensive drink packages, cabanas, excursions and even internet packages.
But what you might not realize is that the prices for all of those add-ons vary – a lot. You’ll probably get the best deals in November when cruise lines advertise their Black Friday specials, and you can take advantage of those no matter how far out your cruise is. Last time we went cruising I saw discounts from 25-50+% on everything – even spa treatments, photo packages and excursions. Heck, we even got a great discount on bottled water delivered right to our stateroom.
The great thing is that those add-ons can generally be cancelled without penalty as long as it’s 24 hours before your cruise/reservation (depending on what it is). If you’re concerned about an experience filling up, you can book it whenever you want and then watch your email for big sales!
I won’t judge you for cancelling and rebooking the same internet package five times.
Pro tip: You may also be able to re-price your entire cruise! While writing this article I noticed that my family’s stateroom dropped by $900 for our upcoming cruise. Since we haven’t made our final payment yet, the total to be paid later was adjusted.
6. Order some cruise-specific convenience items
Cruising is a unique form of travel, and there are a few small, inexpensive items that can make your experience easier and more convenient. I have a whole article of tips for how to make the most of your cruise ship cabin.
Here are a few specific recommendations for your cabin, your stuff and your person that you might now have thought of:
- Lanyard for your key card – One of the best things about cruising is that you don’t have to carry a bunch of stuff around the ship with you. Your card acts as ID, room key and payment method all rolled into one. Putting it on a lanyard ensures that you never lose it or forget it in your room! I like this type because you can easily detach it if you need to hand it to someone working on the ship to scan it.
- Magnetic hooks – These ultra heavy-duty magnetic hooks turn every surface of your stateroom into a storage opportunity. Hang your wet towels, laundry bag and snorkel gear from the ceiling. Give each person a designated hook by the entrance for their lanyard and hat. The options are truly endless!
- Luggage tag holders – One thing I didn’t have last time that’s current in my cart is a huge pack of luggage tag holders. Generally when you arrive at the port, you’ll put all your luggage on a cart that gets delivered to your room a few hours later. But the catch is that every single item needs to be tagged for your room. You’ll need to print luggage tags at home and bring them with you, but if you’re flying you can’t attach them in advance. That could leave you scrambling at your hotel or port to tape/staple awkward folded paper to tons of suitcases and backpacks! Instead, I’m going to buy a bunch of these sleeves and get them loaded up with luggage tags a few days in advance while I watch Netflix. Then we’ll just have to attach them to our bags before heading to the port!
Unfortunately these are the kind of very specific items that it may be difficult or expensive to source locally at the last minute. Purchasing them online in advance is the best way to ensure that you have them when you need them!
Keep planning your cruise
Check out these helpful resources to help you plan a wonderful cruise: