11 Things You Should Never Do on Embarkation Day

Embarkation day is one of the most highly anticipated days on any cruise vacation. Not only does it mark the first time that you'll see the ship in person, but it signifies the true start to your vacation. Hours after stepping foot onboard, you'll be sailing away and watching the coastline disappear.

Amidst all the excitement, however, there are some common embarkation day mistakes that you should avoid making. Though not all will ruin your vacation, you certainly don't want to start off on the wrong foot.

Here, we break down 11 things you should never, ever do on embarkation day.

[FraserAtSea]

Great video - I'm sure this will help so many people! One thing I always say when choosing an embarkation time is - think about where you're waking up! For me, when cruising from Miami, I want to relax, and maybe even go for a walk along the beach (I don't live near a beach!) before heading to the ship, so a later slot works better for me more often than early does!

Again, excellent video!

[AbigailGerlach-ztsh]

I always fly in the day before. It makes getting to the terminal a waltz.
If you choose an afternoon arrival time, your cabin will be ready, you'll be able to find a snack or drink to relax before sail away, and you can decompress. Take a nap?
The steward becomes your best friend. Know their name, ask where they're from, and don't demand lots of things on arrival. If you have requests, write them down with your name and cabin number and tell them "when they have a moment - it's not immediately necessary." They'll appreciate your consideration.

[kvom]

Meeting the cabin steward can be random, but it will surely happen without looking for him. Sailaway "party" isn't for everyone, but you can be your own party of one as the ship pulls out.

[nascarmadman]

On our last 2 cruises, the muster station drill took maybe 2 minutes. Like Nike says, "Just Do It!"
Check to see if any country you are going to visit bans the wearing of camouflage patterned clothing. A lot of them are in the Caribbean.

[Hawkeye]

My last few cruises we had access to our cabin immediately after boarding. At least to drop off our handbags. We usually do meet our stewards at this time. My next first thing is watching the safety drill and going to our muster station. THEN my vacation can begin.

[glennestes]

Great vidro for newbies. We dont do thesail away party. We use our balcony, or go to forward observation decks . Occasionally eating with a view .
I also show up whenever i get there . ADA assistance. The port of Galveston has the worst bag people . They govto whoever waves the biggest bill. We have had to have help with our luggage . They also pass up people with scooters .

[geofschwer]

My biggest complaint about embarkation is the long line of folks already at Guest Services who believe they are entitled to a cabin upgrade, and raise cane when they can't get one. Perhaps their travel agents told them, "All you have to do is ask."

[thomfiel]

On a cruise, it's better to be an hour early than a minute late. If you're way early, then just hang about the area and find a way to stay occupied without going too far away.

[harlanabraham]

Usually like to get on board as soon as possible. Like to do the muster drill first. Only like to have a glass of wine with a meal. Like to miss the sail away party. They are boring. Most times bags arrive close to dinner time. Watch the safety video early then check in at muster station.

[Eaglejake]

I love ❤️ the “Union Scam” at the port drop off. So, you tip the shuttle driver, Uber driver, taxi driver and they hand the bags to the “Porter” who you are to tip as well, for putting your luggage from the ground to a large cart. Then…..the cruise 🚢 line brings your bag to your stateroom. Why can’t this be like an airport?

[pierrevalliereseafan]

Good tips. Going to my stateroom was the first thing i did all of my cruises, but for the next one i'll follow one of your tip, and i wont get to the cabin at first, i'll explore the ship a bit before. Thx for advice and video.

[Retiredtraveler]

Having taken 17 cruises on four different cruise lines I want to point out a couple of things. Number one, not only do you not want to pack your passport with your luggage, you also want to make sure in the case of princess cruises that you don’t pack your medallion! Make sure that’s in your backpack. It will slow you down and require a long time at the counter. Should you inadvertently pack it in your suitcase rather than have it on your person. It’s not as quick as re-issuing a new medallion. They have to give you a special boarding card and it takes about a 20 to 30 minutes extra.

Number two Cruise lines don’t always pay attention to the arrival time, I have walked right in regardless of the time of arrival with no issue whatsoever. However, I should qualify that, I don’t cruise on mega cruise ships with 4, 5, or 7000 passengers, hell no. I prefer cruise ships that are smaller more intimate and offer better one to one service.

Number three, more than one occasion it’s been difficult for me to know who my steward was, they don’t always come out and greet you. one time, it wasn’t until the second day that I actually got to meet my Steward because he was always in another room and never took time to greet me.

Lastly, the Sailaway pictured in your video is my idea of hell, that’s why the mega ships are no fun. There’s absolutely no room at the pool for an open lounge and their lines everywhere. Staying away from a mega ship will save you a lot of frustration and grief. Be advised also, when you’re on a cruise And it’s a tender port, you have to get there early with your entire group to get a number to get off in sequence. That will tie you up greatly should you arrive late. I’ve had to wait as long as 2 1/2 hours to get off the ship at atender port. I can only imagine if I was on a mega ship like royal Caribbean. It might easily be three hours plus.

[chrisfoxwell]

My wife knew nothing about cruising. We had a 1:30 check in. She just decided that we should go in at 12. We went right in.

Our last cruise in April 2024 it was raining on embarkation day. The bags were left out in the rain, but thought nothing of it. We get our bags and cloths were soaked even though we had Hard Shell luggage. Guess it came through zipper area. Cruise line should have placed luggage under some type of tent to help keep dry. Lucky we have a high status with the cruise line and always book a suite where laundry is free. Stewards took our cloths and had them dried and returned to us later on that night. Lucky cloths for dressy night were in plastic wrap and were not affected. I have scotch guarded zipper area on luggage to reduce this happening again for our upcoming Alaska trip at end of Aug. Thanks for sharing.

[stevengolden]

Rule #2 was repeatedly broken by passengers. In NOLA, we had a 11:30am boarding time, we got there 5 minutes before time and there was a sea of people. I was able to see people holding their boarding passes with 12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm boarding times, etc. We waited 2 HOURS before being able to start up the gangway. The boarding pass had to be stamped with a star on it before you could get on and in front of us we had 5 ladies in a group without that stamp and they would not let them on and they all decided to throw a hissy fit, further delaying us. If people would have gotten there when they were supposed to, it would have been so much easier.

[freddylawson]

I'm flying into Miami the night before. I reserved a room at my hotel. The hotel has a company that has a bus to take us to the cruise port. From the bus to the room our luggage is taken care of. I usually tip the person at the port. We take a small carry on and enjoy the ship once on. I have cruised out of Orlando and we got a hotel in Orlando the night before. It was convenient because the Hotel was surrounded by Restaurants that are 3-5 min walk. Orlando has a company called GoPort and if you book with them them pick you up at the Hotel to the port and will pick you up after the cruise and take you to the Airport. Very nice and stress free

[jeromejohnson]

Don't take a nap, because you'll miss everything 😂😂😂

[juliehodgson]

We fly from the UK to Miami for our cruises so we always fly in at least the day before

[jfjxlxe]

Adding to your comment alcohol consumption is the issue of travel insurance. If you injure yourself when intoxicated and the insurer discovers you had too much to drink then they will deny coverage. Ask your insurer before you purchase coverage. PS: They will find out😉

[donpomeroy]

Go to your cabin early and leave your carryon bag they will allow you to put it in the room .