Just booked a cruise! Any tips?!

[cherriescherri]

We have decided on a cruise for next year, it’s ten days. I have suddenly in the last year developed a huge fear if flying (since my BIL suddenly died) so I thought instead of booking a holiday with a flight involved, we’d try a cruise! Just until I sort this plane phobia out.

We have no idea what to expect, it’ll be myself, husband, 14 year old and nearly 5 year old. There seems to be a lot on the ship itself, it’s Liberty of the Seas. It’ll be in June term time.

But any tips or anything we should know which will be handy?!

Thank you!

You select your arrival time at check-in, which is 45 days before sailing. I would select your earliest available arrival time. Take advantage of the time to explore the public spaces and grab a bite to eat for lunch. If you are running a bit late it is no big deal. The arrival time you choose is the time to arrive at the terminal and not time you will board the ship.

Your bags will arrive at your cabin later in the day so take anything you’ll need before then on with you - possibly swimming stuff?

I’m also going on liberty of the seas next summer - I’ve never done royal Caribbean before make sure you check in advance what is and isn’t included. You would need to buy Wi-Fi if you want it on board, and also there is the option of a drinks package. Any drinks you buy on board will be the costs of the drink plus a service charge added to your account.

I agree to pack hand luggage with what you’ll need for the first day.

also any excursions you want to do are likely to be significantly cheaper with a provider other than royal Caribbean so shop around - but be wary of all day ones which carry a risk of getting back late and missing the boat!

are you driving? There are various for parking. I always use the on site provider for previous cruises as I have children - this allows you to drive right into the terminal and drop your car. It’s AB Parking for royal Caribbean I think. It is more expensive though so if no one has any mobility difficulties can be cheaper to park elsewhere.

sorry to hear of your BIL and hope you have a lovely time.

As it’s your first time, I’d strong recommend booking your cruise port excursions through your cruise line. You will hear people talk about how they are pricey, etc. But booking through the cruise line offers peace of mind. If you are off on a city tour and your bus breaks down, the ship will wait for you.
If you book through a third party whether (e.g. TripAdvisor or a local tour company) make sure that they have a ship return guarantee. That is your most important requirement and get it in writing either on their site or via your confirmation email. Companies offering that guarantee will do everything within their power to get your back for all aboard time.

Each company is a bit different, so check the dress code for that company and vessel. You’ll be sent your check in time, if you have a long distance to travel it’s worth considering a cheap hotel the night before not too far away. Book parking if not included in your package far ahead, sometimes cheaper to book as a hotel and parking package a few miles from the port, they shuttle you in.

take decent clothes for the evening and casual clothes for the daytime, sometimes cheaper ships require certain clothing on certain nights so double check that.

check what you can carry on board, if drinks aren’t included (except breakfast) it worth checking to see if you can take at least soft drinks for your cabin on board, I also take squash and we won’t mention gin, tonic and whiskey I take water bottles and thermos cups so I can take drinks from my cabin onto deck etc.

prepare ahead by looking at the ports visited and see if you can use public transport rather than booking excursions, we typically use Google maps and the local bus, I’ve only booked one official excursion ever in many cruises.

I don’t bother with WiFi on board but I have European wide phone data so use that in port.

@Forgottenmyphone

i don’t book excursions, I use public transport but we don’t go that far, European cruises rarely need you to go too far from the port

If you want to make the most of the cruise, join a few FB groups. There’s bound to be one for Liberty of The Seas and a general one for RC. We did a RC Mediterranean cruise in 2023 and got so much useful info from these groups.

If you are thinking of just playing by ear, you will miss out a lot.

One of the useful tips I got was to ask your cabin attendant a mattress topper as soon as you have arrived in your room. The beds are quite hard and there’s a limited number of toppers. We got one and slept really well.