What are the best Royal Caribbean cruise tips? — featuring Royal Caribbean Blog

0:00 Simple changes can have a major impact on making your cruise vacation better. So today I've got nine things you could do differently on your roller coing cruise for a smoother vacation. Hey everyone, it's Matt from realblog.com. Think of this video like learning a new shortcut to drive home

0:18 from work. Shaving a few minutes off your trip isn't a big deal, but it does get you there faster and that might help a little bit. Plus, I think these little tricks could save you money or just simply reduce the stress of a cruise. Starting with number one, walk to the further gang way. When your ship is

0:33 docked at a port, there's almost always two gang ways open at the middle and the forward sections of the ship. Most people just simply go to the first gang way they encounter, whichever's closer to where they walking in on the pier. But I found that the line to get back on the ship is almost always far less

0:48 crowded on the gang way further down the pier. The truth is this tip is less about waiting on the gang way as it is for the elevators. Because after you scan back onto the ship and go through security, you have to wait for an elevator. And wait times for an elevator can get pretty high when everybody is

1:03 coming back to the ship in the afternoon, and it's always worst at the first entrance back on the ship. So, in my opinion, it's worth those extra steps if you can hop right onto an elevator and get to your room or the pool faster. Number two, apply your sunscreen before you disembark. So getting sunburn is

1:20 such an easily avoidable problem. And yet it happens to our writer Elizabeth all the time and a lot of other people because they don't apply sunscreen soon enough. It's amazing how quickly you can get sunburn in the Caribbean. Even when you're just walking off the ship and going down the pier, that sun can beat

1:35 down on your neck, head, and shoulders, and it leaves you with a red burn before you even get to the beach. Even if you do avoid a burn off the bat, you're supposed to apply sunscreen every 15 to 20 minutes before diving in the water. And if your kids are like mine, they'll want to go right in and not wait. So

1:51 instead, what you should do is apply the sunscreen in your cabin before you depart for your shore excursion. Number three, pick up your beach towels at the gang to the pool deck. I love this tip because I'm lazy. I never remember to pick up towels the day before our shore excursion. And so we always get to the

2:07 morning of and then my wife is like, "Hey, do we have towels?" And I'm like, "Oh, I forgot." And so then I'm like, "Oh, I really don't want to go back upstairs to the pool like to go get them." because of course it's in the opposite direction of where I need to go to get off the ship and I'm already busy

2:21 enough in the morning trying to get everybody ready to disembark. Royal Caribbean seems to have figured this out because there's a lot of people like me that are having this problem and so they started putting towel pickup locations right near the gang way. You'll almost always find a towel station right before

2:34 the gangway location. They're usually near the staircase when you reach the gangway deck. Occasionally it's on the royal prominade like on Icon of the seas. Now, to be fair, there is a very slight chance there won't be one, but I've seen them consistently offered on Caribbean sailings near the gangway for

2:49 quite some time, and this is so much more convenient than going up to the pool deck and going out of your way. Plus, on the way back to the ship, they're in the same spot near the gangway, taking your towel returns. Of course, another idea is to check out your towels the day before your port day

3:02 and have them ready to go, but that requires way more forethought than I'm capable of while on vacation. Number four on my list is to get a theft proof bag because I've always been that guy that puts his wallet and other valuables in my pockets, but I really had to change that when I went to Europe

3:15 recently. Pickpocketing is a real issue in some European countries and really elsewhere in general. So, a lot of experts recommend getting an anti- theft backpack. I never like the idea of these because they look too much like fanny packs. When I was a kid, those were not cool. But fashion sense aside, they

3:30 really do work well. Personally, I went with an anti- theft travel bag. And I like this one a lot because it can be worn as a cross body bag or as a sling. So it has far less embarrassing 90 vibes here. These bags work because they're hidden, well concealed, and have openings and zippers that aren't as

3:46 inviting for pickpockers as your pants pocket. Pick pocketers are looking for an easy prey, not to undertake a mission impossible endeavor. They want to get in and out quickly. So an anti bag has enough protection to cause them to probably look elsewhere. I'd put in there your phone, Cass card, cash,

4:01 credit card, and pretty much anything else valuable in there while you're ashore. Another tip for a really smooth vacation overall is to get to your shows early, even if you have a reservation. Royal provides free reservations that you can make for its show on its big ships, but you shouldn't roll in at the

4:15 last minute. Where you sit in the theater really does make a difference, and that's why you really want to arrive early. Personally, I'd recommend arriving to the theater at least 30 minutes before showtime to ensure you get a really good seat. This is especially important at the Broadway

4:29 shows available on certain Royal Caribbean ships like Back to the Future on Star of the Seas. There's no cost of the seats up front, so why not get a really good location? And of course, there's bar service offered before the show begins, so take advantage of a drink or two while you wait. My next tip

4:43 is to eat lunch on embarcation day at a special restaurant. Now, it seems everybody has the same idea when they board the ship. Get on board and go right to the buffet for lunch. Now, rather than compete with everybody else, a more relaxing alternative is to book a specially restaurant. Now, depending on

4:57 your ship, the options will vary, but there is usually one or two specialy restaurants open on the first afternoon your cruise is sailing. Chops Grill is almost always standard offering. Occasionally, you get some other restaurants as well. As an example, I've eaten at Giovani a few times on

5:11 imbarcation day. Went checking out Utopia of the Seas, and it's such a nice way to start off with a seated meal that puts me into cruise mode with that level of service off the bat and no lines to wait in for the buffet. Not that I can't handle the lines by any means, but it's just a easier, more relaxed way to enjoy

5:27 the first day of your sailing. And an ancillary benefit of eating lunch is it's usually cheaper. When you're pre-booking, you can almost always get the same or similar menu as dinner, but at a lower cost. Another one of those tips that's not only going to make your cruise a little smoother, but also allow

5:41 you to experience more is to stay on the ship on a port day or maybe even hurry back early for low crowds at the pool. So things like the Flow Rider, the water slides, pools, and sports carts are so much emptier on a port day. Most people on your cruise ship will be off the ship doing something on shore. But all those

6:00 fun ship activities are open while your ship is docked. So it's possible to ride the water slides with no weight on port days. climb the rock climbing wall several times in a row and slide down the ultimate abyss without waiting in a really long line. Now, trying activities on a port day doesn't mean though you

6:15 have to skip everything ashore either. Even if you spend the majority of your day in port, you can do an activity immediately after getting back on board. So, what you really should do is keep your bathing suit on, go straight up to the pool deck, and if you get back to the ship a couple hours before all

6:29 aboard time, I'm willing to bet you're still going to find pretty minimal weights for those attractions. Likewise, if you get back to the ship and you have a late port day, like maybe all aboard isn't like till 7 or 8:00 and you roll back on the ship at like 6. Realistically, there's still not going

6:43 to be any demand for the pool deck or the activities because most people are now getting ready for dinner. And since you already have your bathing suit on, why not go up and give it a try? I'd still recommend trying a fun port activity. But if you're on a longer sailing with multiple stops, you might

6:57 consider staying on board for at least one day to take full advantage of what your ship has to offer, especially if you're on one of Royal Car's newer cruise ships that has a lot going on. My next tip for a smoother cruise vacation is to always tip your waiter in cash when you order a drink. Now, while I

7:11 agree tip culture has gotten out of hand, I still think tipping a dollar when you order a drink is a smart idea for speedier service. While it's true your drink package includes gratuitity. And even if you order a drink individually without a package, you're charged an 18% gratuitity, tipping like

7:26 a dollar for every drink ordered makes a difference in how quickly they come back to you. When I cruise, I always bring with me a bunch of dollar bills in my pocket to tip when I order a drink. Not only do I think the crew members deserve a little something extra, but I've noticed this makes a difference when you

7:40 want speedy refills. Again, this is less about like, hey, what you should be tipping or not. This is about me getting my drinks faster, especially with refills out there because bars get very busy, especially at night or by the pool deck. But a little extra tipping usually gets the bartender to come to you first

7:55 and that makes a big difference. And my last cruise tip for today is to order room service for breakfast. Because while room service does have a service charge, you can have a continental breakfast option that costs absolutely nothing extra. Continental breakfast items like pastries, fruit, coffee, and

8:11 juice are complimentary and can be delivered to your cabin free of charge. It's really fun just to have a casual start to your morning with a table of light food and coffee in your cabin. Especially if you're having a balcony, as an example, there are door hanger sheets with the included continental

8:25 breakfast menu on one side and room service breakfast menus on the other. You choose which items you want, then hang it on the door before you go to bed. The earliest delivery time is 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. and they give you a wake up call right before delivery. This is a really fun way to start your morning and

8:39 no need to compete with everybody else at the buffet. Having sailed on almost 100 cruises, I really found that doing these things slightly differently improves the efficiency or value you get from the experience. And I hope that these really do benefit you because I feel like each of these tips can be

8:54 applied to pretty much any sailing and you can take full advantage of what Roller Caribbean is offering you. Now that I've shared these nine tips that I think are really helpful and can make a difference in your cruise, check out our next video which actually has a number of popular cruise tips that I think

9:07 really do suck. So check those out next. Thanks for watching. This has been Nat from royalcurityblog.com and we'll talk again real