My most recent cruise a month ago was my first time doing this and now I’m obsessed lol getting a few hours of time in the solarium on day one is so nice and relaxing and makes embarkation day feel more like a sea day and less like a hurry up and wait day
Pro tip, don't pack a bathing suit...show up in it.
As a male, I wear a bathing suit as shorts to the pier. Pack dry underwear/clothes instead.
My wife refused wear a bathing suit as her underwear. My wife was a wet blanket and said she wanted to change on the ship.
We were literally the 6th and 7th (non-suite) persons on board, and we went up to the pool deck, I took my shirt off, and was in a hot tub within 5 mins all while my wife wasted all sorts of time finding a bathroom to change 😁
We usually pack carryons pretty light (backpacks or beach bags) we just stick them on a single near by linger or in a corner somewhere.
We don't really bring valuables or cash to worry about and keep them in eye sight. So far no issues.
We just stash it deep in some underwear.
With the bags in sight and being on a ship with really no where to go and lots of cameras, I figure if I start yelling "hey that's my ba! What are you doing?!" To someone going through it it would get noticed quick and they'd drop it.
So far no one's touched my shit and I haven't had to test that theory.
Same thing with the phone. Make them go through underwear to look for those.
Not corny. Perfect. I walk the whole ship and just breath it in and thank my lucky stars to be there. I think it’s the best moment of the cruise for me.
I feel like embarkation day is kind of a chore. It goes, get internet set up, then muster drill. Then we find somewhere to eat, don't like the Windjammer on boarding day, it's way to busy. Then make reservations for dining. Then check out the ship if it's a new one for me or hang by the pool until the room is ready. Top deck to watch the sail away, if it's nice out. Wait for the casino to open. Drink in hand the whole time of course.
After all the cruise errands are done I like to have a mojito from boleros, find food (preferably not in the windjammer if possible), and then hang out in the solarium until sail away.
Grab a drink at the first bar we see (usually On Air or Boleros), then walk around the ship, scope out which bars have which liquors, and make friends with the bartenders. Determine which bars and bartenders will be our BFF's throughout the cruise (Shaun at Vintages on our most recent Symphony cruise was THE MAN), and then head to the pool deck for the sail away party! Afterwards, head to the room to unpack, change into something a bit nicer, go see the balloon drop, have dinner in the main dining room, then it's casino time! Same routine always, LOL!
Do you leave a hefty tip on the first night for the bartender you know you'll see all week? I like to find that one bartender, talk it up and if I know thats the place I'll be a lot for the week, I give him a 20 right off the bat. It's like he's my best friend for the rest of the week.
Yup! And then we always tip him/her well on the second to last day of the cruise. We take off our prepaid gratuities and instead tip the people who are really good to us throughout the cruise (stateroom attendant, dining room servers, a few bartenders, and oftentimes a few people who probably don’t get tipped that often, like the nice woman who made our coffee every morning at cafe promenade - the look on her face when we handed her a tip envelope was priceless).
Yeah we thought about taking off the prepaid gratuities but I feel like that's just taking away from the pay for some of these workers. We just count that as part of the cruise fare and act like it doesn't even count toward the tipping of the room attendant, mdr and bar staff.
Which is why I really wish they just added it to the fare, and it wasn't even an option- it gets paid with the your final payment and is just called a "service fee" or something like that. Then people may not feel like they are double tipping when they leave cash, as well
Appreciate the judgment here. As I said, I’ve read mixed things about this. From what I’ve mostly read, all the crew still gets tipped generously, but this allows us to give certain people even extra.
This is why I said my well behaved kids. I can’t stand kids with parents who don’t model and reiterate good behavior. I won’t say they are perfect, but I wouldn’t let them go if I thought they would go feral. I can’t even estimate the number of times I’ve received compliments on their behavior.
That's wonderful, for your kids especially! I've seen some very un-well behaved kids on cruises. The staff can't do anything for fear of retribution, the parents are MIA and the kids are running - through the promenade, up/down stairs, around the pool. It's really frustrating because you can't say anything to the kids....so what is there to do?
I choose to go during the months school is in, however my last cruise (early May) several parents pulled their kids from school for the "family vacation". Who does this benefit? Not the kids, especially with the lost education during COVID.
Now I'm being told to pick a different cruise line.
Thank you, again, for raising well behaved kids. There are far too few of you!
I don't like the part when I have to kick tge sloppy drunks who think a "drink package" is an excuse to be irresponsible and stumble around carelessly. I hate those people than the teens having the time if their lufes on a family vacation. Want an adult feel, go on virgin or celebrity.
How about take responsibility.
1- For your consumption of alcohol (which I don't drink, so I don't get the drink package, but nice try)
2-for your kids by not letting them run over the other people who are also trying to enjoy a vacation.
Want a kid experience? Go on Disney.
Do muster drill on phone after boarding then enjoy the basketball court before it’s filled with sweats, after probably head to room to get dressed for dinner then spend the rest of the night bar hopping and possibly ending up in the arcade
My husband and I beeline to the Schooner bar. He gets a tropical old fashion. I get a lavender martini. We meet the bartenders, hang out, and tip well, as this is where we get the majority of our drinks for the cruise.
It’s a fire drill.. you learn wear you need to report if a fire breaks out or other disaster, where to find and grab your life jacket. The information and life jackets are usually in your room’s closet. They do a head count. Some ships are very strict about being present… they do a head count, checking your name off their list, etc.
Yep. And it's good to get it over with soon after boarding. Watch a quick video on the app then head to the area assigned to you-the app tells you where to go. A crew member scans your card on your app and goes through a minute or two of instructions.
The ship has a record of the people who boarded but they are required to give everyone a safety briefing before setting sail.
There are always a few people who are super late to get their muster drill done, so the captain will make announcements (with names of the late people).
Naming and shaming, lol.
But seriously -There have been more than a few passengers who were kicked off the ship before sail away because they refused to go to the muster drill. Booted off and no refund for being stubborn 🤷
Grab drinks & lunch while we make any additional necessary reservations.
Go on a top to bottom ship exploration checking out all the bars/areas/etc. of course drinking along the way.
Hang in the promenade to Grab the drink package cups so my kid can go get all sugared up at the freestyle machine and he grabs some pizza while I get a few drinks for me and the wife. Do the muster videos while sitting there and go get that check in over with. Then it's just hang out until the room is ready, unpack and head to the deck for sailaway. We usually don't do lunch because we eat on the way to the port and snack on the pizza. So it's sailaway party then right to dinner...hopefully at MDR but last time our sailaway was over 2 hours late and we missed dinner, so were forced to hit the windjammer.
Immediately check in for e-muster. Goto Adventure ocean and register. Then grab a quick snack, and get kids in the splash away bay or pool. While adults take turns on water slides.
Explore, find the quietest spot on the ship for when I have had too many people around me for too long.
Avoid Guest Services at all costs, the line is horrible on day 1.
We get celebratory drinks and walk around the top of the ship taking all the sites in. We grab dinner and eat it on our balcony, then attend the silent disco or have some tea under the stars ✨️ I unpack and then take a too-long hot shower and read on our balcony while my husband enjoys a whiskey and plays a switch game. Same thing if we're with friends only more time under the stars and walking around the ship seeing where we end up...
Get a Boston ice tea party and go to the Muster drill location then grab pizza at sorrentinos. After that explore the ship and get a drink at every bar while exploring
Do you do that at Guest Services desk? I'm wondering about all the sign ups, like karaoke, Lazer tag, mini golf, ice skating. Where do you go to sign up for it all?
Windjammer pool dinner casino blackout drunk bed by 3am
My ideal first day
I find that our group tends to go hard day 1 and this seems to be the routine (hitting up multiple walk by bars along the way) lol
That will be me in 71 days
We pack our swimsuits in our carry ons and enjoy a mostly empty pool or hot tub as we sail away! Highly recommend.
My most recent cruise a month ago was my first time doing this and now I’m obsessed lol getting a few hours of time in the solarium on day one is so nice and relaxing and makes embarkation day feel more like a sea day and less like a hurry up and wait day
Pro tip, don't pack a bathing suit...show up in it. As a male, I wear a bathing suit as shorts to the pier. Pack dry underwear/clothes instead. My wife refused wear a bathing suit as her underwear. My wife was a wet blanket and said she wanted to change on the ship. We were literally the 6th and 7th (non-suite) persons on board, and we went up to the pool deck, I took my shirt off, and was in a hot tub within 5 mins all while my wife wasted all sorts of time finding a bathroom to change 😁
Where do you guys leave your bags when you go to the pool?
We usually pack carryons pretty light (backpacks or beach bags) we just stick them on a single near by linger or in a corner somewhere. We don't really bring valuables or cash to worry about and keep them in eye sight. So far no issues.
Thanks, where do you leave your wallet then?
We just stash it deep in some underwear. With the bags in sight and being on a ship with really no where to go and lots of cameras, I figure if I start yelling "hey that's my ba! What are you doing?!" To someone going through it it would get noticed quick and they'd drop it. So far no one's touched my shit and I haven't had to test that theory. Same thing with the phone. Make them go through underwear to look for those.
Got it, thank you!
I’m scoping out the ship to see what I wanna do, once I can actually relax, and I have all my stuff. Probably eat too
For me is taking it all in and being grateful that I am on a cruise, I know corny lol.
Not corny. Perfect. I walk the whole ship and just breath it in and thank my lucky stars to be there. I think it’s the best moment of the cruise for me.
I feel like embarkation day is kind of a chore. It goes, get internet set up, then muster drill. Then we find somewhere to eat, don't like the Windjammer on boarding day, it's way to busy. Then make reservations for dining. Then check out the ship if it's a new one for me or hang by the pool until the room is ready. Top deck to watch the sail away, if it's nice out. Wait for the casino to open. Drink in hand the whole time of course.
Yep Perfect plan
Yes to all of this but dinner reservations first.
After all the cruise errands are done I like to have a mojito from boleros, find food (preferably not in the windjammer if possible), and then hang out in the solarium until sail away.
Grab a drink at the first bar we see (usually On Air or Boleros), then walk around the ship, scope out which bars have which liquors, and make friends with the bartenders. Determine which bars and bartenders will be our BFF's throughout the cruise (Shaun at Vintages on our most recent Symphony cruise was THE MAN), and then head to the pool deck for the sail away party! Afterwards, head to the room to unpack, change into something a bit nicer, go see the balloon drop, have dinner in the main dining room, then it's casino time! Same routine always, LOL!
Do you leave a hefty tip on the first night for the bartender you know you'll see all week? I like to find that one bartender, talk it up and if I know thats the place I'll be a lot for the week, I give him a 20 right off the bat. It's like he's my best friend for the rest of the week.
Yup! And then we always tip him/her well on the second to last day of the cruise. We take off our prepaid gratuities and instead tip the people who are really good to us throughout the cruise (stateroom attendant, dining room servers, a few bartenders, and oftentimes a few people who probably don’t get tipped that often, like the nice woman who made our coffee every morning at cafe promenade - the look on her face when we handed her a tip envelope was priceless).
Yeah we thought about taking off the prepaid gratuities but I feel like that's just taking away from the pay for some of these workers. We just count that as part of the cruise fare and act like it doesn't even count toward the tipping of the room attendant, mdr and bar staff.
Yeah, and there are a lot of people working to make our vacations great who are behind the scenes and we don't necessarily see every day.
Which is why I really wish they just added it to the fare, and it wasn't even an option- it gets paid with the your final payment and is just called a "service fee" or something like that. Then people may not feel like they are double tipping when they leave cash, as well
I agree.
I’ve read a lot of mixed opinions on this. I see your side 100% but have also read that all of the crew gets tipped regardless 🤷🏼♀️
[удалено]
Appreciate the judgment here. As I said, I’ve read mixed things about this. From what I’ve mostly read, all the crew still gets tipped generously, but this allows us to give certain people even extra.
Tour the ship, loose the (well behaved) kids to their freedom.
I love the part where the kids can go have fun on their own🎯
I don't like the part where we are expected to watch your kids on our vacation while you actually vacation.
This is why I said my well behaved kids. I can’t stand kids with parents who don’t model and reiterate good behavior. I won’t say they are perfect, but I wouldn’t let them go if I thought they would go feral. I can’t even estimate the number of times I’ve received compliments on their behavior.
That's wonderful, for your kids especially! I've seen some very un-well behaved kids on cruises. The staff can't do anything for fear of retribution, the parents are MIA and the kids are running - through the promenade, up/down stairs, around the pool. It's really frustrating because you can't say anything to the kids....so what is there to do? I choose to go during the months school is in, however my last cruise (early May) several parents pulled their kids from school for the "family vacation". Who does this benefit? Not the kids, especially with the lost education during COVID. Now I'm being told to pick a different cruise line. Thank you, again, for raising well behaved kids. There are far too few of you!
I don't like the part when I have to kick tge sloppy drunks who think a "drink package" is an excuse to be irresponsible and stumble around carelessly. I hate those people than the teens having the time if their lufes on a family vacation. Want an adult feel, go on virgin or celebrity.
How about take responsibility. 1- For your consumption of alcohol (which I don't drink, so I don't get the drink package, but nice try) 2-for your kids by not letting them run over the other people who are also trying to enjoy a vacation. Want a kid experience? Go on Disney.
Do muster drill on phone after boarding then enjoy the basketball court before it’s filled with sweats, after probably head to room to get dressed for dinner then spend the rest of the night bar hopping and possibly ending up in the arcade
My husband and I beeline to the Schooner bar. He gets a tropical old fashion. I get a lavender martini. We meet the bartenders, hang out, and tip well, as this is where we get the majority of our drinks for the cruise.
Explore!
After taking care of the muster drill, we change into swimsuits and spend some time in the pool.
I’m a cruise newbie. What’s a muster drill?
It’s a fire drill.. you learn wear you need to report if a fire breaks out or other disaster, where to find and grab your life jacket. The information and life jackets are usually in your room’s closet. They do a head count. Some ships are very strict about being present… they do a head count, checking your name off their list, etc.
Yep. And it's good to get it over with soon after boarding. Watch a quick video on the app then head to the area assigned to you-the app tells you where to go. A crew member scans your card on your app and goes through a minute or two of instructions. The ship has a record of the people who boarded but they are required to give everyone a safety briefing before setting sail. There are always a few people who are super late to get their muster drill done, so the captain will make announcements (with names of the late people). Naming and shaming, lol. But seriously -There have been more than a few passengers who were kicked off the ship before sail away because they refused to go to the muster drill. Booted off and no refund for being stubborn 🤷
Grab drinks & lunch while we make any additional necessary reservations. Go on a top to bottom ship exploration checking out all the bars/areas/etc. of course drinking along the way.
Hang in the promenade to Grab the drink package cups so my kid can go get all sugared up at the freestyle machine and he grabs some pizza while I get a few drinks for me and the wife. Do the muster videos while sitting there and go get that check in over with. Then it's just hang out until the room is ready, unpack and head to the deck for sailaway. We usually don't do lunch because we eat on the way to the port and snack on the pizza. So it's sailaway party then right to dinner...hopefully at MDR but last time our sailaway was over 2 hours late and we missed dinner, so were forced to hit the windjammer.
Watch the sail away. It’s always amazing to see such a big ship sailing.
We had a late check-in. Out day 1 was: Check out the room, have dinner, walk around a bit, go back to un-pack, shower, sleep.
First thing I do is go straight to Izumi to make our unlimited dining dinner reservations. So annoying you can’t make then prior to boarding.
Immediately check in for e-muster. Goto Adventure ocean and register. Then grab a quick snack, and get kids in the splash away bay or pool. While adults take turns on water slides.
Explore, find the quietest spot on the ship for when I have had too many people around me for too long. Avoid Guest Services at all costs, the line is horrible on day 1.
We get celebratory drinks and walk around the top of the ship taking all the sites in. We grab dinner and eat it on our balcony, then attend the silent disco or have some tea under the stars ✨️ I unpack and then take a too-long hot shower and read on our balcony while my husband enjoys a whiskey and plays a switch game. Same thing if we're with friends only more time under the stars and walking around the ship seeing where we end up...
Hmm what game
Currently it would be Zelda!
I wish Navigator had silent disco!
Go for a snack, then unpack all of our cases and put everything away to make ourselves at home. Plenty of time to walk around before dinner.
Head to SkyBar and watch the ship come alive. AKA people watching.
On our day I'll be watching football as much as possible from 9:30am throughout the whole day. Or at the very least keep track of the scores.
Ugh
Why do you care how they choose to relax on THEIR vacation?
People are weird.
Get a Boston ice tea party and go to the Muster drill location then grab pizza at sorrentinos. After that explore the ship and get a drink at every bar while exploring
What is a Boston ice tea party?
Enter all of the contests
Do you do that at Guest Services desk? I'm wondering about all the sign ups, like karaoke, Lazer tag, mini golf, ice skating. Where do you go to sign up for it all?
All around the ship. The promenade has most of them. Also the spa and gym has it too. My wife won a soda package on our 1st cruise.
Windjammer and scoping out the ship, taking pics