Tips & Tricks For A Cruise
Ahoy, mates! Officially back on land from my first cruise as an adult. My last cruise was over 15 years ago (click here for an epic throwback) so I am NO expert but happy to share some tips and background knowledge that I found helpful. In case you missed it, I previously posted what I wore on this post.
SPECIFIC InFO ON ouR TRIP:
We cruised on the Norwegian Encore on December 29th - January 5th out of Miami. We stopped in San Juan, St. Thomas and Tortola. We spent the first two days at sea, three days at the mentioned spots and two days heading back to Miami.
We stayed in a Mini-Suite - Connecting Stateroom which had our own balcony. To be honest, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Our room was really spacious and comfortable. I didn’t take any pictures of our room but the ones on the site are accurate.
We booked the trip early (back in April of 2019) and received two promotional packages with the early booking. We chose Internet + a premium unlimited beverage package. The beverage package was great and very well used (although bottled water and espresso was an extra charge). I drank mostly Tito’s (bloody Mary’s, bloody Caesars, vodka tonic, etc.). The Internet on the other hand was not what it seemed. The “package” we had only included 400 minutes of wifi and unless you keep logging in/out, it’s consecutive (learned that the hard way). We ended up paying an extra $300 for two devices for the week - just a heads up if you like to be connected. We purchased an extra dining package and didn’t find the value was worth it whatsoever. Stick to the included meals and splurge on the alcohol package.
We only spent about an hour exploring the streets in San Juan (the boat was only docked for 4 hours due to port traffic). In St. Thomas, we took a taxi cab (located right off the port) to Magen’s Bay which was really nice but prepare to pay a $5 entrance fee and for a beach chair. Our favorite stop was Tortola, Brian found Captain Anthony from Ocean Bliss Charters and we chartered our own private boat for a day. We were able to explore the British Virgin Islands on our own schedule (most of the best spots are only accessible by boat) and we’re already planning our next trip back. It was incredible. Definitely stop at Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar for a Painkiller!
The service on the boat was phenomenal, we ended up becoming friendly with a few of our favorite bartenders, tipped them extra and they took very good care of us on the busy cruise days when it was difficult to get a drink at the bar.
GENERAL CRUISE TIPS:
MOTION SICKNESS
I typically don’t get motion sickness but wanted to be prepared. It really depends on the person, the waters and where you are on the boat. However, I did find using these bands to be helpful when we docked and if I felt like I needed them (didn’t sleep in them). I did ask my doctor for a prescription of nausea patches beforehand but didn’t need them. You also can’t drink alcohol when taking anti-nausea medicine so opted for the wristbands for that reason. I also liked these stomach settle drops for nausea and upset tummies.
PREPARE FOR CLOSE QUARTERS
I was not mentally prepared for the amount of people we’d come in contact with. On cruising days (days we’re not at a port), the pool was PACKED. If you’d like a decent chair, prepare to be on deck by 7:30am. However, Norwegian had a policy that if you leave your stuff for more than 15 minutes, they remove your stuff to free up the chair. The pool chairs were very close to each other, just prepare for minimal personal space.
MUST HAVE ITEMS
I read a lot of blogs prior to cruising (check out @CruiseTipsTV for more extensive tips) but the things I found most useful that I brought outside of a typical vacation were:
Pool chair clips- the pool deck gets very windy so these help your towel stay up and also help you remember where your chair is.
Magnetic hooks - your stateroom walls are metal so hooks will give you some extra wall space to hang things. I found this helpful!
Insulated water bottles- we brought them and these caps for easier drinking and I loved them to fill up for water for the pool/our room.
Portable charger/ battery - due to the nature of my job I carry this one on me everyday but if you’re using your phone a lot, this is a must.
I also packed this clear TRVL Design case filled with medicines/first aid items. I like the clear case so you can see what’s in there and stay organized.
THINGS I DIDN’T FIND NECESSARY
I read a lot of blogs that said to bring lanyards/ card holders (for your cruise card) but I didn’t find it useful because you had to take the card out every time they need to swipe it. I just put it in my wallet/small purse.
Binoculars… I don’t know why I bought them but I did. You can use them while you’re pulling into the ports but I was too busy sunbathing to pull them out. Maybe I’ll plan a bird watching excursion on my next vacation.
Power strip/ extension cord - so we had two plugs in our room and that was enough for the two us to charge our phones. I didn’t open my laptop once so we didn’t really need any other plugs.
Still looking for a little more clarity? I found this blog post on the pros/cons of cruising that you may find helpful if you’re still trying to decide if it would be a good trip for you!
I hope you found this post helpful! Be sure to leave any questions or tips I missed in a comment below.
OUTFIT DETAILS LINKED HERE