What Smart Cruisers All Do On Cruise EMBARKATION DAY

Discover the things that smart and experienced cruise travellers have found works best to make for a stress-free, smooth and successful embarkation day. What you should do before, on the day, as soon as you are on board and on that first night to get the most of your first day boarding a cruise.

ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 90 cruises I have done to date.

BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs
————————————————-

SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS
—————————————————————

#CruiseEmbarkationTips #CruiseTips #EmbarkationDayTips

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
———————————————
TikTok: @garybembridge

00:00 Start
00:46 Before Embarkation Day
05:50 Once On Board
12:40 The First Night

[bridgetcasement]

Additionally I always pack my bathing suit in my carry-on. Many times when we boarded a ship you can’t access the rooms yet. So this way we can have lunch if we’re hungry and then go sit in the pool area or the hot tubs.

[joreneegreenhaw]

I am a travel agent and believe "Tips for Travellers" may be the most valuable thing I can do to help my clients find the best cruise for them. Also, really appreciate all the helpful tips. Looking back, I realize all the mistakes I made BEFORE I started viewing his videos on a regular basis. It is impossible to know everything about all cruises but with his YouTube videos I feel knowledgeable and confident. Sharing the video with my clients is such a great tutorial! Thank you.

[Mleencihols]

Gary is the best cruise vlogger. He is informative, timely, and his topics are spot-on. I cruise every 2 months and he has made my cruising experiences much more enjoyable. His advice is objective and valuable. Thanks Gary...

[RicCrouch]

On our first cruise almost 30 years ago (a short 4 night), we didn’t explore the entire ship right off the bat. As a result, on the last night we discovered a small jazz bar tucked away that we had missed out the entire trip! Now the exploration of the ship is our embarkation day tradition.

[tomasgimenez]

I have watched a few of your videos, and I feel like I have already taken a cruise without leaving my living room, and saved a lot of money!

[peterjaro]

I agree with almost everything you do on the first day... apart from one. When I've been to the cabin, spoken to my stewart and watched the drill, I go to the pool area for jacuzzi. This is usually the ONLY time I have the Jacuzzi to myself on the whole cruise and no one is waiting for me to leave... THAT is when I feel I'm on holiday. I happily skip lunch for that.

[snerdterguson]

I've only been on 2 cruises, both with NCL, and on the first, I just ran around trying to see everything at once. The second cruise, I went in with a plan, and upon getting on board, I started running around trying to see everything at once. Lol. Couldn't help myself, its just so exciting boarding a ship bound for an exotic location.

[martinman]

Putting your phone on airplane mode is a great tip for sure. Our last cruise was to Alaska and only realized I was roaming after 3 days. Got a bill for $418. I was happy I discovered it after 3 days.

[emcee]

As a highly trained retired bureaucrat I keep a document file with a checklist and paper copies of everything in the order they will be needed including on the way hotel confirmations, airline reservations if I'm flying to the embarkation port, boarding pass, luggage tags, Covid-19 test results, Google maps of areas within walking distance of the ship in ports (to find places of interest I look interesting or the post office) grocery stores (where you buy specialty items and liquor at "locals prices." I also include a list of things I might forget (or have forgot in the past)--my camera, passport book where I also keep my original Covid-19 vaccination and booster cards, spare glasses, reading material, second car key and several other items. As a rudimentary Spanish speaker I have gone to Google Translate to download correctly some Spanish phrases I think I'm going to need--"I'd need a stamp for a postcard to the USA or Where is a supermarket near here?"

[lorettaolson]

Old school. We always take paper copies of our boarding passes and our docs.

[Stripeysnave]

Great video, Gary. I also always take anti-bacterial wet wipes, and clean all points that can be handled - including the remote for the tv plus of course all door handles, plugs & switches. In our 45 cruises we have never been ill though now in our late 70s.
We usually travel off peak and pick ships with no children aboard. We like going to talks and all the shows.

[inthegreatwide]

Lots of great tips in here as well as reminders even for people who have cruised before! We haven't cruised in a year and a half so this was a great refresher. Thanks!

[davedove]

One thing I do on embarkation day is to get a decent breakfast before getting to the ship. That way, I'm not starving when I get to the ship and can avoid fighting with everyone else looking for food. Instead, I'll find one of the smaller cafes for a light lunch.

[toddmac]

I actually do everything you mentioned except for one thing. I love sitting on my balcony as we set sail. I have never gone to the Sail Away Party on any cruise.

[kylebradt]

Here is my “worst embarkation day” story.

I live about 3.5 hrs away from Cape Canaveral and decided we would just drive the same day. Well everything that could go wrong did and as we pulled into the parking garage, we had to sprint to the doors into the terminal. They were literally about to lock the doors. We were the last ones on board. This was my first cruise and knew nothing about cruising. That feeling as my wife and I were running to the terminal was the worst.

[peggytran]

Thanks for the tips. My husband and I just came from 18 Day Panama Canal Cruise with Caribbean Princess. It was a amazing trip. Love Princess.

[anitan]

Completely agree! this is pretty much how my husband and I do embarkation day, as well. We've learned along the way

[brigidconroy]

GREAT TIPS, I appreciate your advice about having a paper copy as well as a digital file.

[dougwhiting]

Most of what you have discussed we do and have found out like you that it makes the cruise so much better. Our last curies we went on, one of the couples we were cruising with booked an airfare the day of the cruise. Needless to say they had some major delays at the airport and just barley made it to the ship with only 10 minuets to spare. There are a couple of things I don't really disagree with but would like to add a point or two. One thing about pre booking everything before you get onboard is the excursions. I have found out that some lines charge you once you pre book your cruise, so if you have an onboard credit you can not use it for your excursions that you have already pre booked. The other thing is about checked in luggage, we only bring carry on luggage, that way we don't have to worry about the airlines or the cruise ship losing them. On one of our first cruises as we were going across the gang way we watched in horror as a fork lift with a fully loaded cage of luggage hit the side of the pier and the cage tipped spilling about half of the luggage into the water. Some of them the workers were able to save, but a lot simply slowly sank. After that we always take our luggage onto the cruise ship and off ourselves. We have found out that when we first started cruising we way over packed and so now everything fits in our carry on and a backpack. If you are worried about dirty clothes all cruise lines will launder your clothes for a cost, this cost will always be much less then what the airlines will charge you for an extra bag. Also some cruise lines do have self serve laundromats. As for us we take some detergent pods and wash out what we need in the cabin sink, usually this is only our undergarments. One more thing about the checked in luggage is that you don't have to wait to check it in once you get to the airport or wait to retrieve it once you reach your destination. This alone has saves us from standing in what could be some very long lines. Thanks for your videos.

[cbpd]

What a perfectly timed video! One week till I embark on my first ever cruise. Watching your videos will hopefully save me from making too many mistakes that might stress me out on my vacation!