7 Tips I Learned From My First Cruise

One of my best friends recently tied the knot, and he did it on a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise. Talk about getting married in paradise!

I’ve never been on a cruise ship in my life, so although I was obviously overjoyed for my friend and his partner, I have to admit I was nervous about how the whole thing would go down.

For starters, I usually get super anxious when I’m cooped up anywhere for too long. I worried that I’d start to feel panicky being confined to a ship for so many days.

For seconds, I’m not the biggest fan of crowds. It’s not a phobia or anything close, I’d just rather have my space than be around a ton of people.

Now before I start sounding like a Debbie downer about taking a weeklong Caribbean vacation (poor me!), let me say that the trip was amazing. It was a one-of-a-kind wedding filled with so many memories that I’ll treasure forever!

I survived my first cruise, but I did learn a few things along the way. If you’re about to take your first cruise, here are some things to know before you go.

1. Unpack when you first arrive 

I probably would’ve never done this if I was traveling with my husband, but my mom (who came along as my date) suggested it and I’m so glad we did it. It made all the difference in the world in the room being livable for seven days.

Hot tip: cruise ship staterooms are small. I know, you’re shocked. But they actually do a great job maximizing storage space between the closet, a few drawers, and random shelves and cubby areas around the room. Use these!

Unpacking our stuff meant we could slide our suitcases under the bed and keep them out of the way. It also meant we knew where everything was, so we didn’t waste time digging around for stuff while trying to get ready.

2. A balcony makes the room feel a lot bigger

We sprung for a stateroom with a balcony and once again, I’m so glad we did this. It makes the room feel much more like a standard hotel room, and opening up the sliding door is a great way to make the room feel bigger.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was eating breakfast out on the balcony while looking down on the beautiful Caribbean sea every morning. We felt so fancy!

3. Pack an over-the-door toiletry case

I saw this tip online a little too late to use it, but I’ll definitely do it if I go on another cruise. A hanging toiletry case like this one is perfect for the inside of the bathroom door so you have all your goodies within reach without them taking up precious counter or shelf space.

4. Use a backpack as your carry-on

I bought this backpack when we were moving to New York City and it’s been one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Seriously. I take it everywhere. Hiking, weekend trips, working at coffee shops. I always use it as my airplane carry-on. It fits a ton!

Cruise ships treat carry-on bags differently than regular bags just like planes, which was news to me. You check your larger bag before you get on the ship and it’s delivered to your stateroom later that evening. Your carry-on, on the other hand, stays with you when you board. While it might be tempting to use a cute duffel or straw bag as your carry-on, I think a backpack is much more practical.

Not only can it easily hold your swimsuit, a change of shoes, a toiletry bag and anything else you’ll want easy access to when you get on the ship, but it’s great for the days in port. Every morning before we went ashore I’d fill it with my beach gear, our towels, bottled water and a few snacks, and we’d have everything we needed for the day. It’s much easier than toting around a purse or shoulder bag while you’re trying to explore.

5. When in doubt about what to pack, lean toward the casual side

I saw all kinds of fashion on this trip—truly the best and worst of America. One thing I noticed across the board, though, was that comfort came first in terms of what to wear.

I brought a bunch of cute outfits for the days we were in port, but when it came down to it I just ended up throwing on a cotton tank top and denim shorts over my bathing suit most days. It was hot! A silky top or a snug fitting romper just wasn’t practical.

On the ship, most cruises will have at least one “formal night” where you dress up a bit more for dinner. Even for this, though, most people were on the casual side. I wore this cocktail dress and felt plenty formal.

6. Know the tipping policy before you go

I found it really hard to get a clear answer on this. Some people told us we’d need cash to tip onboard. Others told us you don’t have to tip in cash because it’s automatically included in the price of things. It took us a few days to finally understand how the tipping worked. If you’re not clear on this, you could end up spending way more than you anticipate!

Here’s how tipping worked on our Royal Caribbean ship: almost everything we purchased onboard automatically included a 15% gratuity, which was shown on the receipt. On top of this, we were also being charged a flat gratuity of $15 per day, which was added to our final bill. This covered the dining room and stateroom attendants who served us each day.

So, there’s a lot of tipping going on before you even whip out any cash. In general, I tipped $1-2 more on any cocktails I ordered and we left a few dollars a day in the room for our stateroom attendant. At the end of the trip my mom also handed a tip directly to our dining room attendant, who had taken care of us every night at dinner.

We learned that it’s possible to opt out of the $15/day charge if you prefer to tip solely in cash instead.

7. Bring more cash than you think you need

This is like, a rule for life in general, right?

Even though some cruise ships claim to be “cashless,” i.e. you use your credit card or your sailing pass to make purchases, you’ll still need cash for a decent number of things. Here are just a few of the things we needed it for on our trip:

• Tipping
• Gambling in the casino
• Shopping with the local vendors in the ports
• Grabbing quick drinks and snacks from street carts
• Paying cab drivers
• Paying highway tolls on the way to and from the ship

Keep in mind that taking out cash when you’re outside of the U.S. will usually cost you money in exchange fees, so it’s best to have it on hand before you go.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by my first cruising experience. If I ever go on another one, I’ll feel way more chill about it.

Have you traveled via cruise before? Leave me a comment below and share your best tip.

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