Cruising’s Ten Commandments

Okay, so maybe Moses didn’t come down from the mountain with these commandments.

But I bet he’d think they were worthy for you to carry around on your tablet—whether your upcoming cruise is your 1^st or 14^th:

1. Your passport to your trip. Yes, you need your passport for the Caribbean. And this is not intuitive, but it’s very important: make sure it does not expire within six months of when you get back from your trip.

2. Over-tag your luggage. On our last trip, our suitcase almost ended up in Maryland—but we live in Florida. Someone grabbed our bag by mistake and took it to the airport. You can’t have too many tags with your name and cell, or bright-colored things hanging from it.

3. Muster up! It’s tempting to tune out at the muster drill. But just bring up a YouTube on the Concordia to remember why it’s not a good idea.

4. Do unto others...you know the rest. In other words, be nice to your fellow cruisers—it’s their vacation too. Don’t leave your stuff on the pool lounger and then go to the buffet. And speaking of the buffet, if you see someone’s sweater on a chair, please don’t sit down and pretend it’s not there.

5. The early bird makes the boat. Flying in the same day is very risky. You might just miss the boat. Or you may make it—but you luggage may not.  

6. Insure a safe trip. Getting trip insurance protects the investment you made in your cruise. But not all insurance is the same—ask questions and read the fine print. Check out this posting for more.

7. Load up on motion medicine. If you get car sick, air sick or sea sick, bringing stuff with you is the surest way not to need it. And bring whatever else you think you could need—and hope you don’t.

8. Pack right (or is it pack left?) and carry on! Your carry-on should not be an afterthought. One of our cruises was a nail-bitter—our luggage did eventually show up—after dinner.

9. Know your time wisely. When you go ashore, know if there’s a difference between ship time and port time. Or you’ll be chasing the ship on your own dime.

10. Stay sanitized. Wash hands often to avoid getting sick or making the rest of us sick. Consider carrying hand wipes or little sanitizing sprays to use after reaching for the ladle or salt shaker. And that TV remote? Elevator button? Banister and railing? They, too, can be germy.

Have a Commandment #11? Drop us a line.

What to Know Before You Go

You’ve done your shopping, planning and packing. But before you sit back and tick off the days, here are some things to know before you go:
 
First things first. Did you do your online check-in? How far in advance you need to do it varies by cruise line. We do it about six weeks before the trip. While you’re printing up your boarding pass, don’t forget to also do the luggage tags. You’ll need a color printer for these. And to staple them to your bags.


Signing a waiver is a must for climbing the walls
on Royal Caribbean ships

And did you…Sign up for shows (Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class ships), book the specialty restaurants you wanted to, sign the waivers that you need? (For Royal Caribbean, to use the zip line, FlowRider®, rock climbing and skating; you can sign them online up to three days before you leave.)

Carryon but don’t carry on. Most of the time, your luggage doesn’t show up at your stateroom right away. In fact, sometimes, it doesn’t even show up in time for dinner. So, you might want to slip something nicer than your shorts into your carryon. 


You'll need reservations for the Allure's
150 Central Park

When to bring your own. Even though the ships provide these, you might want to consider bringing your own blow dryer and shampoo. The ship blow dryers are usually substandard and the mass market cruise ships today are all going to shampoo dispensers in the shower.

Speaking of bringing your own, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess all let you bring a limited number of bottles of wine onboard. You can only drink them in your stateroom without incurring extra cost, but there’s nothing like sipping white wine on the balcony. You can get some nice wine bottle carriers with shoulder straps, which make toting them onto the ship a snap.  
 
All that baggage. When you get to the port, you’ll be surrendering all your suitcases except your carryon. Expect chaos. There are cabs, buses and cars converging in the same small place, trying to avoid creaming cruisers and each other. You’ll be directed to the drop-off, where baggage guys will take your suitcases off your hands and onto the ship.
 
Some of the cruise lines are offering fly/luggage programs, where they handle your luggage from flight to float, so you don’t even need to deal with it at all. There is a fee for this service.
 
Important: tip them. The baggage guys expect tips. The online forums are filled with horror stories of when people didn’t give them money or even when the amount fell short. Bottom line: if you want to see your stuff again, tip them and tip them enough.
 
Your passport to pleasure. Keep your passport handy when you get to the terminal. You’ll need to show it several times as you make your way to check-in. You will also need to present your boarding pass (what you print up during the online process) when you check in at the terminal.
 
In sickness and in health. A routine part of the check-in process these days is that you sign a form acknowledging that you don’t have any signs of sickness. What they’re really looking for is to keep norovirus from coming onboard with you.
 
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Speaking of norovirus, the best way to stay healthy during your trip is not to dodge the lady with the spray, and to also bring your own stuff. The bad germs can be spread via railings and banisters, elevator buttons, ladles in the buffet, salt and pepper shakers, the TV remote control, telephone, door knobs and I’m sure there are some I haven’t thought of. We bring our own wet wipes and sanitizer sprays and use them continuously throughout each day.

Two smiles and says cheese. You’ll have two photos at check in—one you must say yes to, and the other is up to you. The first is for your sea card, which is your ID card and credit card rolled into one. You can’t get on or off the ship without it.

The other photo is for the benefit of the ship’s photographer, who will nab you as you head toward the gangway. You can oblige him. Or duck him. The choice is yours.

 
Read the fine print. Every day, your room steward will leave you with a newsletter, which is full of info on the activities of the day. Read it closely. There are details on when to be back onboard after port, whether you need to reset your watch and how to dress for dinner. As well as the shows, the sales and the all-important drink of the day. And sometimes, even the best events onboard are buried in the fine print.
 
Well, now you know it all. What’s left? Check out the weather at your ports of call, use your free Ship Mate app to track your ship and…have a great trip!

Musing’s Top Tip: Check out the great article from Travel & Leisure on the best time to apply for a passport and what you can expect on wait times. For more on passports, see the posting “The One Thing You Absolutely Must Know Before You Cruise.”

 

 

Cruising with a Travel Agent

The cruise industry wants you to use a travel agent. In fact, some cruise lines turn finding their phone numbers into a treasure hunt.
 
But don’t despair, there are really many good reasons for using a travel agent when you cruise. I recapped these in an earlier blog post.
 
Finding an agent is like finding a doctor or hair stylist—you might have to go through a few before you find the right one. Here’s my take on the right one:
 
Cruise-wise. Cruising is a special kind of travel and unless a travel agent has done a fair amount, it’s going to be hard to give advice. You’ll want one who’s cruised, books a lot and knows the lines.
 
Willing to share. When a travel agent won’t tell you what’s right or wrong about a ship, find someone else. While the agent gets paid by the cruise line, it won’t do you any good if you get steered to a ship or trip that’s wrong for you.
 
Shows they care. You want the agent to care if you had a good time, be interested about your experience so he or she can learn from it and be more useful to others. One travel agent called us after every trip to find out how it went.
 
Available when you are. Work during the week? It’s not too useful when the agent has no weekend hours. Trip planning takes time and if you’re like me, the only time that works is the weekend.
 
Doesn’t procrastinate. After all the planning and you’ve finally booked, it can be pretty frustrating to then have to wait weeks for the confirmation/booking number. The best agents will turnaround the paperwork quickly.

Tells you what you need to know. Like you’re going to need a passport, even if you’re just going to the Caribbean. When you need to be at the pier. That you’ll give up your luggage way before you get on board.

Doesn’t make a cancellation worse. It’s painful enough when a trip has to be cancelled. You don’t need that pain deepened when the travel agent socks you with a fee. Some agents do, indeed, charge for cancellations, and this fact can be hidden in small print on their documents. Be sure to ask upfront to prevent unpleasant surprises.
 
Find out how you benefit. With the competition for business, most travel agents will offer bennies to book with them. Don’t be shy—ask. We’ve received a wide range of extras—from free drink packages to free travel insurance to shipboard credits.
 
Where to look. So, how do you find a travel agent? The usual ways, like asking friends and family. If your community hosts a cruise travel show, that’s a good way to way to hook up with an agent—that’s how we found ours.
 
Or, visit the website of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise lines’ trade association, to find an agent near you who specializes in cruising. Their agents have the designation “Certified Cruise Counselor,” which they earn both through coursework and putting in time at sea. CLIA offers agents levels of certification—up to a “PhD” in cruising. To use the search tool on CLIA’s website, on the homepage, select “Vacations” and from “CLIA’s Cruise Tools” in the middle of the screen and select “Cruise Expert Finder.”
 
Do take the time to find a good agent—it will pay off by making sure you get the vacation you want and your hard-earned dollars go the furthest.
 
Musing’s Top Tip: For more on the benefits of using a CLIA-certified travel agent, see this brief video put together by the association.