27 Boarding Day Tips First Time Cruisers Need to Know (2024)

Cruise boarding is the most important day of your cruise! In fact, for first time cruisers it can be hard to know what to expect & how the boarding process works. This video is full of cruise embarkation day tips, as well as do's & don'ts for embarkation day in 2024.

Cruise ship boarding has changed in 2024, with new things to do on embarkation day. Whether you're taking your first cruise on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises or any other cruise line, this video is full of helpful cruise tips & tricks.

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Please note that I am unable to give personal cruise and travel advice. If you leave a comment I try my best to answer.

ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.

Some B-Roll Footage courtesy of RCCL
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Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic

[sewistnotsewer]

I unpack immediately, and hide my suitcases under the bed so I don't have to think about going home.

[vm]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this video. I am going on my first “girls trip” cruise at age 76. Watching this has allowed me to get excited instead of anxious.

[sunseekermama]

We have started going to the nearest bar once on the ship, order a (made it on the ship) drink and watch the muster drill on our phone's while relaxing with our drink. Then we go straight to check in at our muster station. Business before pleasure! Then we know we can completely relax for our vacation.

[kathleenjimenez]

Regarding phones in airplane mode, don’t forget to put iPad and smartwatches also in airplane mode.

[barbaralazier]

Air tags are fabulous. Every time you give us these tips I learn something new ❤. My biggest tip- your room steward is your best friend. Treat him/ her as you would like to be treated and you will find your cruise is going to be fabulous.

[davidkolarik-yjup]

Print extra luggage tags. Put one in each checked bag and carry on bag.

[faithwilley]

A funny thing happened to us on the return from a Caribbean trip. When we pulled into Florida, the temperature was a surprising 36 degrees. Since we gave our luggage away the night before, and only had shorts and tank tops with us, it was a difficult morning. There wasn't even a shop open to buy a sweater or light jacket! So, keep that lightweight cover with you the last night too.

[johnflack]

On our cruise last March, my suitcase arrived at about 4 pm, but by 5, there was no sign of my wife's, nor a message about it being held up. I left to go to Guest services to check, and happened to see it down the hall, delivered to the wrong cabin. Two takeaways - her suitcase has a fairly distinctive design, which made it easy for me to see and identify it. If your bag looks like other bags, tie a ribbon or something else to make it easy to identify. I've heard this this is also a good idea for airport baggage claim. Second, if you notice that bags have started to arrive and yours hasn't, check down the hall, it may be nearby.

[betsy]

We always like to get on as early as possible and eat somewhere NOT the buffet. Then we like to walk the whole ship top to bottom so we know where most things are before it gets really crowded. We usually cruise small to mid size ships so this is easier than on the giant ships. We also sign up for spa raffles and the like while wandering. Then we collapse with a drink 🍷

[JeanneSwank]

One thing I have found on embarkation day on eating is that people usually come hungry they don’t eat because they know that there is free food on the ship that the bigger the ship the bigger the lines are in the buffet so what I usually do and I’m usually with my sisters one of them who is a travel agent and we go out and go into the promenade or whatever and just go to the little café that are free food also And sit and relax and watch the people go by and that way we don’t have to hit the humongous crowds that are in the buffet so if it’s a smaller ship, the buffets are less crowded but if it’s a bigger ship, especially with children, the buffets are going to be super crowded, especially as it gets towards noon

[crazydariver]

Biggest suggestion I can provide, be on time and dont stress over having to wait. Lady on my last one was entitled or so she thought. Back of the line to the front ahead of me. I pointed out where the line starts. I said outloud "This will be the worst cruise of your life with that attitude." They pretty much made it so. She insulted EVERYONE

[francesgill]

Don't trust phones. I have all my docs in hand for embarkation

[arosenweig]

I always make it clear to everyone who does not live within a 2 hour drive of the embarkation port to arrive at least a day early to avoid the possibility of missing the ship.

[daughtersofjesususa]

As a travel agent, I always tell my clients to unpack IMMEDIATELY, take a picture/video of your cabin when you first go in, and track your cruise account daily on the app. I also recommend avoiding the buffet on the first day if at all possible. Thanks for another great video!

[Cruise-hair-why-care]

Always remember to put your phone in Airplane Mode to avoid large unwanted phone plan charges on your cruise. Ship WiFi works in airplane mode. Thank you Ilana!!

[Erich]

The best change to come about since Covid is the virtual muster drill. We generally watch it in our hotel room before even getting to the terminal. Once onboard, we head to our muster station to check in, and head to the nearest bar for a glass of Prosecco to toast having made it! If you're lucky enough to get the earliest boarding time (we shoot for it every cruise), we've found that our luggage is often in the hall by the time the rooms are ready. If that's the case, we unpack right away and keep the door ajar so our cabin attendant knows we're there. We meet him/her and request our paper daily Cruise Compass. It feels great to get all the "housekeeping" (no pun intended) out of the way so the real party can begin!

[adoptsalot]

Wear comfy shoes. You will spend a lot of time on your feet and walk a lot more than you expect on day one.
I like to bring a small gift for my cabin steward with a small card. Something that speaks to where I am from, to kind of introduce myself. So pecan pralines or a jar of peach jam, state tourist attraction playing cards...
HOPE that your room is ready early and that your luggage arrives at a favorable hour, but be prepared for Plan B.
Always have a Plan B.

[janetttyminski]

Always put sunblock on prior to boarding. Nothing is worse than burning on your first day.

[wpatrickw]

Arriving the day before is the best piece of advice. It was so nice to have an entire afternoon and evening to go to a grocery store and pick up sunscreen and other things that could not be brought easily onto a plane. This included a couple of cases of caffeine free Diet Coke, which the ship did not carry. I had checked ahead of time and made sure that it was okay to bring soda onboard. I slapped a luggage tag on each case and they were delivered with the rest of our luggage.

[scottdobson]

One key with luggage tags, NEVER put them on before you fly.
I place them in a Pocket on my luggage, and put them on the bags before we go to the terminal.