The 7 Things Smart Cruise Passengers ALWAYS Do

There are 7 things that I have seen people I consider to be smart cruisers do every time they go on a cruise to ensure an unforgettable cruising vacation. I put these 7 smart cruise tips and tricks to the test on a cruise to see how they fare and stack up. Find out how I get on and what I recommend based on that.

Links mentioned in the video:

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00:00 Start
00:35 Sleep Well
03:16 Spend Wisely
05:14 Crafty Drinker
07:53 Be Prepared
09:16 Get Ahead
10:20 Risk Reduce
13:30 Smart Agent

[bpcapamerica]

Been on a lot of cruises. My big tip is to get to know your staff. I have made it a point to ask folks like my room steward and waiters in the dining room about their families and home. You will be amazed at how much your quality of service and fun will increase after that. Had a room steward on a Celebrity cruise cry once because we took the time to ask him about his day and his family. He made our room stay a wonderful experience. In other words, be friendly.

[conmckfly]

Even though this was posted 2 years ago, I am just watching it now in 2024 and I have to say thank you, great advice!

[pattyinsoflo]

Insurance is a must! On a cruise to Alaska 2 years ago I became critically ill near the end of the cruise.The medical team fought hard to keep me alive until they could get me to Hospital in Canada where I spent 5 days in a coma. After release from hospital I had to find my own way home and everything else on my own. It came out to over 50 thousand dollars. Thankfully my insurance covered everything. Im find today and even back to cruising but there is one big differrence, I choose my insurance policy. Dont buy it from the cruise line you will be woefully under insured.

[nixboox]

I always get a suite because I watched Poseidon Adventure and if the ship rolls over in the night I want to be able to get out of my room without having to follow Shelly Winters through the bowels of the ship.

[lesliemccormick]

Former travel agent here- ALWAYS get the most comprehensive travel insurance you can and get it from a source other than the cruise line.

[dianebrown]

Look after your cabin steward and they will look after you.
On my last cruise, March 2022, I took my crocheting with me. Plenty of fellow passengers were fascinated, watching and asking what I was making. In fact, it was a scarf for our female cabin steward. I knew that the next few cruises for that particular ship was to the Norwegian Fjords. I also left a monetary gift as well.

[catwilliams]

I don't drink, either - but I LOVE a good specialty coffee package! Being able to have a cafe mocha in the morning and a few espressos during the day make me happy.

[RichinZhills]

Great List! As a former crew member, I've seen just about every mistake cruisers do make 😁 Here's a few that go well with your video:
->Be on time (that's SHIP time, not always local time): Being late is the worst, the ship does tend to leave on time, so even being 5 minutes late can mean extra cost associated with you flying to the next port to catch the ship. If you read the fine print, your travel insurance may not cover you arriving back late, so that flight & arrangements can cost as much as the cruise. Keep in mind on some cruises you'll cross date & time lines and the ship may or may not adjust, but maybe your phone or watch does. Always keep "Ship's" time.
->Shipboard Tours/excursions vs. booking your own. See the above, if you book your own, get caught in traffic, and miss the ship, that's going to be one expensive tour. Anything arranged on shipboard will have the added benefit of the ship waiting. That's usually the only time it will. They may cost a little more, but there is safety in numbers and added insurance that the ship will be there, even if the tour is held up.
->Medical insurance - it usually isn't accepted onboard. Medical is one of those ala-carte things that you pay upfront on, then YOU have to fight your insurance company to get reimbursed for. So the first thing is to check with your carrier to see IF they will reimburse shipboard medical care in addition to foreign hospital care. If the ship can't treat you, they'll disembark you at the nearest port, wherever that might be, for medical care. Don't wait until after you paid all your fees to find out you are not covered. Carrying the specific shipboard medical and foreign port coverage could save you thousands, so for a few dollars more on your travel insurance, see about getting all medical covered too.
->Booking the cheapest cabin and expecting a free upgrade. If you've cruised before, you know the line to Guest Relations on the boarding day can be as long as your DMV and just as slow. Cabins tend to be on the smaller side, so judge your space well. The bunks & fold downs take up a lot of space, so plan on alternating dress times, bathroom details, and social events around how big the cabin is. Opening the door and sprawling out into the hallway isn't an acceptable solution. So choose a cabin/stateroom you'll be comfortable in. Most cruise lines also require a parent or guardian in a room, so unless it's adjoining, don't plan on putting your teens alone in a room by themselves. This will be reported and now either mom or dad will swap with one of the kids. So if you want privacy and alone time, spend extra for that middle door and the kids can stay "over" there.
->Book everything early: Dining times, showtimes, and port times. Most sail times are around the late afternoon 3:30 to around 6:30 unless the port is a fair distance away from the main city advertised or the port is an overnight. So you'll always be cutting your shore time down if you've selected 1st seating. Keep in mind this is the same for Shows, they usually alternate between the 1st & 2nd Seating. So even though you've selected 2nd seating for meals, you may need to be back to the ship by 4 or 5 pm to catch the first show. When you first arrive at your cabin on day 1, have your list of times and things you want to do arranged beforehand. Once in your cabin, turn on your TV. Most cruise lines allow you to arrange for the onboard shows & events right there. So get that done. Next morning, all your tickets & passes should be delivered to your stateroom (cabin) and you're done. If you wait until the 2nd or 3rd day, the sea day events & shows may already be booked so you'll have to decide on the port or seeing a show instead of enjoying both when you want to. You may even want to book or schedule two if you can, one early cruise, one late. That way if you like it or miss it, you still have a second opportunity. But be fair, if you're not going to use a booking, please cancel it, it will allow one of those passengers that didn't arrange things a chance to see it.
->Be nice: The list goes on, but one thing can't be stressed enough, be nice to all of the crew members 😁 They don't set the prices, they don't sail the ship, they're underpaid, and they work their butt off for you and every passenger. They're expected to be super-friendly BUT, don't mistake that with passion or desire. You can get a crew member into serious trouble by trying to create a romance on board. Look to the other passengers for that, appreciate the crew member for making you feel special, and feel free to let them know you're having a great time because of them.
->Get to know your Crew members: Crew members are also a font of knowledge for the ports you're visiting, so if you're looking for a particular food or event, start with your stateroom attendant and if they don't know, ask them which crew member might. You might enquire which bartender is from Cuba to get yourself a true Mojito or where a crewmember from India goes to eat to find the best Indian restaurant at the port. They also usually know the best & cheapest places to buy goodies as they're there every week.
->Tips & Grats: It is 100% True that most crew members are there for their family, they work their whole contract just to send the money home. I was fortunate enough to be an officer and they tend to have better quarters and benefits and you usually don't tip them. But tips & prepaid all go into a pool that is split between All staterooms. And yes, if you skip out on paying or tipping, your name is on a list that stateroom attendants get at the end of the cruise. So please, at #1 on your budget, have your tips & prepaid already figured in. That extra $5 you leave every morning on the bed or nightstand says a lot about how much you appreciate their efforts. And you never really know how well that crewmember may be connected, mafia's do exist onboard 😁 So whether it's a show that's sold out or an excursion you missed out on, a motivated stateroom attendant might be the roommate of or be really good friends with a crew member that could solve your issue. So please don't be cheap when it comes to the hardest workers. If you don't believe me, just check out the phones or local free wifi areas, they're usually always filled with crew members reaching out to their families. They have to pay for onboard wifi & phone calls just like passengers, which isn't cheap.

->Wifi & Phones: Are Slower at sea, so don't expect everyone will be able to stream as fast as they do at home. There's one, maybe two satellite dishes for data and everyone onboard is using that. So #1, on your cell phone turn off roaming, after 3 miles, the shipboard cell tower kicks on, and now all calls and streaming from your phone are using super expensive 3rd party roaming. Think $6-$8/minute. So if you have teens, you might want to just collect their cell phones (yeah, right), but uploading/downloading, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram onboard will all eat up your wifi package. So do as crew members do, save everything and when you find those free wifi spots in the port, turn your wifi back on and send everything. If you have an unlocked phone, sometimes a cheap alternative is to buy a local sim card if you're going to be making a lot of calls. You can usually find these right in the port/duty-free shops. There are also ship calling cards you can buy that are a local call onboard, but use a carrier to go long distance for a limited amount of card time.
Happy Cruising!

[willym]

I worked for several years at a Canadian airport - Canada+winter = snow or blizzard = flight delay. Yet every Saturday morning there would be people who had a cruise departure booked out of Miami that day. It was bad weather and their flight would be delayed, often their connections were no longer possible and alternate flights were booked or cancelled. The demands would start - what was I going to do to get them to the cruise dock? I was one of those agents who actually gave a damn and would try my best but I would often also ask why they hadn't left the day before. The general answer was: because it would have cost me a hotel. Then when it appeared they would miss their cruise departure it became my fault. I had ruined their vacation! I was once actually attacked by an irate gentleman and had to call the airport police.

Now that I'm retired I cruise myself and always leave a day - sometime two days - before. Those mornings of disappoint and often abusive people taught me that lesson very early on.

[lisajaworski]

I much prefer an inside cabin because they are so dark at night. I sleep so much better when it’s dark. I’ve tried the balcony and window rooms and the light wakes me up continuously. So for me, it’s an inside cabin. I also don’t drink much, so a drink package is a waste for me. I don’t care about the specialty restaurants either. So I actually don’t spend much on the ship. I may do a few excursions and maybe get a spa package and that’s about it. But the good thing is that it leaves my budget open to take even more cruises. I average around 3-4 per year on top of other trips. So being budget conscious can also be a good thing.

[nosebirdy]

Our parents had their travel documents stolen and we could not get replacements in time. We tried up till the last minute. Our agent got their fees returned AND their entire cruise cost as a credit for a future cruise within an hour.

[FartBiter]

You really made my day when you said you don’t drink. The biggest thing that is stopping me from a cruise is the alcohol. I quit drinking years ago but it’s still tough to be around at times. Glad to see you’re having a good time sober. Thank you for the inspiration!

[jencra]

I’m a nurse so I always have a little first aid kit with a variety of meds and things but I have NEVER thought about a dental repair kit. Will have to consider it.

[bigdaddio]

If we are flying in, we get there 2 days ahead just in case the airlines loses the luggage. Gives you that extra day to get your luggage or go shopping if the bag(s) are lost.

[Dodo-bfdm]

As someone who loves to travel, but is a very nervous traveler, arriving to my departure port the night before has been the best advice I've received for cruising!

[helios]

Yes, yes 1000 times yes--get to your departure port early. Make that time in those cities part of your holiday. Before our 2018 cruise around the Galapagos Islands, we savored four days in Quito Ecuador. We walked their Old Town, met locals in the Plaza Grande. One lunch, we dined in a bakery/coffee shop off the arts district. The smiling shop owner phoned her friends to come and meet the adventuresome Americans. We soon had a roundtable of folks talking, sharing stories and us playing with the kids.

[deborahwade]

I just realized that you are our "go-to" guy on everything around cruises and I've never written to tell you this. My husband and I are taking our first cruise ever at the end of March. We have been watching and rewatching your videos. Each of your vlogs are filled with incredible tips and you make them fun in a really straight forward way. Thank you so much Gary. :- )

[Tricky_Adventures]

#8 : Make up a vacation trip list for items to bring on any trip you go on.
I have a text file I print out for any trip, with sections for general vacation items and sections for different types of trips like winter skiing, summer cruises, etc. Clothing sections, documents section, medications, toiletries. Every trip I ever go on, I print it out, and start checking off items on the list while packing and leaving the house. I always have my gear, passport, etc. It's a pain to spend an extra $80 because you forgot your ski googles and even worse if you arrive at the airport without a passport...

[michaelcollins]

One item that I would add is have a good amount of one dollar bills for tips. There are a lot of times where someone helps you and you want to give them a few bucks so singles always come in handy. This can be for help both on and off the ship.

[lorettaolson]

I was in line at customer service. The fellow ahead of me was frantic. He had a cabin near the anchor. The noise was driving him crazy. Ship was at capacity. He was stuck. The cabin location is a make or break for a cruise.