Pack everything you need for your first day in your carry on backpack.
The cruise company will generally pick up your checked luggage and bring it right to the ship for you. Convenient, except that you might not get your bag back until late in the evening, so make sure you have a change of clothes, swim suit, prescriptions and any other essentials in your carry on.
Opt for the late seating.
Most cruise lines offer two dinner seatings—one early, one late. Pick the late seating because many of the excursions won’t get you back in time for the early seating. Let your travel agent or cruise operator know as early as possible to ensure aspot.
Deck chairs will be in high demand.
While the ship’s at sea, there’s not much to do so everybody tries to stake a claim in the seats closest to the pool. Historically, people would try to save pool chairs by waking at the crack of down and laying towels over the seats to reserve them. But cruise lines are now hip to that, so expect the deck police to come along and place a sticker with a time stamp on the back of your chair. If you don’t return for 40 minutes, they’ll remove your towel to free up the chair for someone else.
Bring your own pharmacy.
Sunscreen, constipation/diarrhea medication, motion sickness, allergies… Bring all of these medications from home because they cost about 10 times more in the cruise ship’s shop.
Pack for your excursions.
For many of the adventure and hiking excursions, you’ll need a shoulder backpack, since a beach bag will not work. Also be sure to bring an old pair of tennis shoes that you plan to never wear again as they’ll likely become very dirty. And remember that none of the onboard shops are open while in port, so if you need sunscreen or water before an excursion, you’ll have to plan in advance. Similarly, check out any beach towels you might need the night before—you can expect long lines when everyone tries to exit the ship at the same time.
Take advantage of the kid and teen programs.
Ships offer plenty of cool features for kids: Think onboard waterslides, rock climbing walls and surf simulators. But a lot of cruise lines now offer even better kids activities and excursions, plus fun features like game rooms, circus schools, and teen-only nightclubs, among others.
Onboard Shows
Most cruise lines offer top quality onboard entertainment ranging from one man bands in the bars to the full extravaganza type shows in the theatres. The entertainment team offer cruises a full day entertainment program such as games, fitness and much more on the main deck ( weather permitting)
