What I Wish I Knew Before My First Cruise: Part 1

Years of cruising with my family—and with my kids at various ages—have taught me a lot. Some lessons came from experience, some from mistakes, and quite a few made me think, I really wish I’d known that before my first cruise.

So, I’m breaking down some of the most valuable things I’ve learned along the way for first-time cruisers—or anyone who could use a refresher and a few pro tips.

And it all begins before you ever step aboard.

Booking the Right Cruise

Before choosing a ship or itinerary, consider:

• How many days have you allotted for the entire vacation?

• What region and/or ports of call interest you?

• Will you need to fly to the embarkation port?

• Who is traveling with you, and what are their ages?

• Does everyone have the necessary passports or other travel documents?

• Do you have a particular cruise line in mind?

• If not, what types of hotels or resorts do you usually prefer?

• What activities interest your group, both onboard and in port?

• Are you celebrating anything special?

• What is your overall vacation budget?

These questions may seem like a lot when all you really want to do is book a cruise, but the answers can make the difference between choosing a cruise that looks great online and choosing one that’s actually a great fit for you.

Start With the Time You Really Have

Let’s begin with vacation length and flights.

Say you’re interested in an Alaska cruise and need to fly to Seattle or another embarkation city. Don’t think of a seven-night cruise as simply a seven-day vacation. You need to account for getting there—and I strongly recommend arriving at least a day before embarkation when you’re flying.

Why?

Because the ship isn’t waiting for you if a delayed or canceled flight causes you to miss final boarding.

My husband and I learned how important flight arrangements can be when we traveled with our two kids to Seattle for an Alaskan cruise. When we looked into the cruise line’s airfare program, we learned there was a possibility that all four of us would not receive the flight arrangements we wanted. We weren’t comfortable taking that chance.

Instead, we booked our own flights for all four of us from Tampa, where we live, and flew to Seattle early the morning before embarkation. We also booked a hotel that confirmed transportation to the cruise port so we’d have plenty of time to get there.

Could we have flown in two days early instead?

Absolutely.

How early you should arrive depends on your itinerary, available flights, time of year, your comfort level with risk—and whether you’d enjoy spending a day or two exploring the embarkation city anyway.

The important thing is to build some breathing room into your plans.

Cruise-line airfare programs can offer certain assistance or protections when travel disruptions occur, but the exact terms vary by cruise line and fare program. Read the terms carefully so you understand what is—and isn’t—included before deciding whether to book airfare through the cruise line or independently.

The net-net?

Read the fine print.

And this is one of the places where working with a knowledgeable travel advisor can be invaluable. A travel advisor can help you compare options, understand what questions to ask, and look at the entire trip rather than simply the cruise fare.

It’s also a good time to consider travel insurance. Coverage varies considerably, so don’t assume the policy offered during checkout is automatically the best fit for your particular trip. Look at the coverage, exclusions, limits, and your individual circumstances before making a decision.

We’re STILL Booking?

Can you believe we’re still in the booking stage?

Buckle up. There’s a lot to learn—but don’t worry. I’ll keep the information coming throughout this series.

Remember that extra time we talked about building around your cruise? It doesn’t necessarily have to happen only before embarkation.

For our Alaska trip, we chose to spend additional time in Seattle after the cruise and stayed a couple more nights at the same hotel we’d used before embarkation. That gave us another experience within the same vacation.

This all goes back to one of those first questions:

How many days do you actually have for the entire trip?

Where you want to cruise matters, too.

A Mediterranean cruise, for example, may require additional time for international flights and travel between airports, hotels and the embarkation port. On the other hand, if you have five business days of vacation plus the weekends on either side, a seven-night itinerary from a convenient port may fit nicely.

Don’t choose the cruise first and try to force your available time around it.

Look at the entire vacation.

Next time we’ll do a deeper dive into the traveling party, documentation requirements, and more.

Diane Levin, BSN, BA, RN

Travel Writer & Advisor

Checking In with Diane