Any tips for a first timer on a cruise?! My family and I are going on a 7 day cruise (Royal Caribbean) to Balize, Cozumel, and Roatan, Honduras.
So many tips! Let's see...
1). If possible fly to wherever your ship departs from (I'm assuming FL) a day before you actually set sail. That way if you have any flight delays you won't have to worry about missing the ship (it almost happened to us on our first cruise lol)
2). Book port excursions before boarding! Then you don't have to worry if there are any spots available left. If you wait to book on board there might not be any left.
3). Find the port of call with the best shopping and make sure not to book any excursions then. They usually have a shopping seminar on board before you get to your first destination and I'd highly recommend going to that. They'll tell you where to get the best deals and all that good stuff.
4). Go to the VIP lounge at Diamonds International (if they have one, they'll tell you at the shopping seminar). Free drinks anyone? Yes, please.
5). Make sure to see if you have any theme nights. For example, Disney cruises have a formal, semi-formal and pirate theme nights. You don't want to be that one person not dressed up on formal night!
6). Try as much new food as you can.
7). When I went to Cozumel the first time we did a submarine excursion which was really fun. And the second time we just did some shopping and sight seeing.
8). Get in the lines to board the ship (and get off at ports of call) early. You'll want to spend as much time on the islands as possible.
Okay I think that's all I have. If I think of anymore I'll post them and if you have any cruise relayed questions I'll be happy to help :)