What do first-time cruisers need to know before sailing? — featuring Life Well Cruised

0:00 cruising is definitely different than any other type of vacation so in this video i'm going to go through all of the cruising do's and don'ts that you need to know especially if you're a first time cruiser [Music] hi there i'm elana from the website lifeworldcruise.com welcome or welcome

0:18 back to my channel now if you are planning your first cruise you are in for a treat it is going to be so much fun and i am telling you it is addictive so don't say that you weren't warned but on this channel we talk a lot about cruise tips and cruise packing tips and what i'm going to do in this video is

0:33 going to share with you the cruising really do's and don'ts that you absolutely need to know to make sure that you have the very best vacation now before i get started i did want to mention that if you enjoyed this video if you find it helpful informative or enjoyable in any way then please do give

0:48 the video a big thumbs up i really do appreciate it and of course please consider subscribing to the channel if you haven't done so already okay let's get started so let's start off with your embarkation day so the first do is do fly in at least one day before your embarkation day and if possible even if

1:06 you're driving in make it easy on yourself drive in one day before and stay in a hotel near the port so that you can start off your cruise on the right foot without any nervousness about getting to the cruise ship on time do explore the ship once you board you're going to see that ship is huge but explored from top

1:23 to bottom from aft to forward make sure that you see that whole cruise ship it's probably going to take you a couple of days to orient yourself but start right away don't assume that the drink that you are handed upon embarkation is free that actually happened to us on our first cruise we were on a royal

1:41 caribbean cruise we were handed a drink by the waiter who had a tray of i think it was pina coladas and we said oh thank you and then he said your card please and we said oh and we handed it over and of course we did pay for the drinks but that did surprise us a little do take the stairs whenever possible now

1:57 especially if you're going only up one or two flights of stairs or you're going down one or two flights of stairs if your knees are good take the stairs avoid the elevator firstly the elevator is almost always going to be crowded so you're going to be happy that you take the stairs but secondly the stairs are

2:12 kind of your friend because i probably don't have to tell you that there is a lot of cruise food to eat and you will probably be over indulging even if you don't want to so the stairs to your friend take them as much as possible do embark in your cruise wear or pack a change of clothes in your cruise

2:29 carry-on bag so that you can change and freshen up and that you're not in your winter travel clothes don't forget to pack your cruise carry-on bag and especially important don't forget to pack your valuables and your medication do your e-master or safety drill as soon as possible after you board your cruise

2:45 this does have to be done before sail away so you may as well get it over as soon as possible don't forget to put your cell phone in airplane mode before sail away otherwise it could result in a very big bill do stop everything that you're doing and take in the sail away now when your ship slips away from shore

3:03 it is like nothing else that you've ever experienced i think you may even feel it physically and even emotionally you actually will feel a little bit lighter it really is like nothing else that is the moment that you know that your vacation has really begun the adventures lie ahead now you may want to take and

3:20 sail away on the top deck at the party or you may want to take it in privately on your own balcony but definitely don't miss it don't forget to bring and wear sunscreen and i would include lip balm in that as well don't over indulge on the drinks especially on the first day of your cruise believe me you will

3:37 regret it do enjoy and take pleasure in all of the different cruise foods but do try not to over indulge too much because you don't want to be sick on your cruise do get a balcony cabin if you like to get away from the crowds don't feel pressured to upgrade your cabin just because other people may like a certain

3:54 type of cabin if you're in an inside cabin and you're on a budget and you don't think you're going to be in the cabin very much that's going to suit you just fine do research your cruise ports before you go now you may want to book cruise line excursions you may want to go off on your own however a little tip

4:09 especially if you are a first time cruiser is a good way to make it easy is to book those cruise line excursions book a morning excursion and then in the afternoon you can go back to the ship you can eat a little bit and then after lunch you can go walk around the cruise port on your own do be nice and polite

4:27 to the crew you'll notice that the service is really very good on a cruise and the crew is really very friendly and they want to make sure that you have the best vacation possible don't remove the tips or the daily automatic gratuity now something that you should know if you're cruising for the first time is that

4:43 cruise lines do charge um a gratuity or a service fee or sometimes they call it a crew incentive they charge this to your account every day and this basically goes for your waiters your cabinet attendants as well as some people that work behind the scenes so when you do remove that what happens

4:59 then is it really does penalize the people that are working so hard for you now i'm not going to go more into tipping on a cruise in this video but if you would like a separate video all about tipping and gratuities and how that works on a cruise please let me know in the comments below do bring a

5:14 few dollars a few small bills with you to tip people along the way on your cruise and that is going to start usually onboarding day when you have the luggage porters they're going to take your luggage it is customary to give them a few dollars for your luggage when they do take it from your cab or your

5:29 car as well when you take shore excursions you may want to give a few dollars to the guide or to the bus driver don't choose a cruise cabin that's under the pool under the disco or right next to the kids club as well if you're concerned about motion sickness stay away from any of the

5:43 cabins that are at the very forward of the ship or the very top do pack a first aid kit with over-the-counter medication with band-aids and antibiotic ointment as well if you're bringing prescription medication it's a good idea to bring two weeks extra of that medication with you

5:58 on your cruise don't forget to pre-book any online reservations that are available so that includes any of your dining reservations any of your show reservations that's the case on some cruise ships not on all of them and as well your excursion something to note is that a lot of the popular excursions

6:14 they can sell out before your cruise do keep an eye on the schedule and make sure to take in those shows so whether it's the production shows the comedians the love and marriage and other game shows make sure that you do go to the cruise ship entertainment you will not be disappointed do visit the kids club

6:31 on the very first day and register your children go to the open house if you're cruising with kids don't ever be late back to the ship on a port day now i get nervous even thinking about it it is every cruiser's worst nightmare so unless you're with a cruise line excursion in which case they will wait

6:47 for you that is the guarantee of the cruise line excursion is that it will wait for you if you are late but otherwise if you go on a separate excursion or if you go off on your own make sure to plan to be back at least a couple of hours before the ship is due to depart from the cruise port do be

7:02 careful what you bring off the ship on port days most cruise ports will have a rule that you can't bring any fruits or vegetables off in a cruise port oftentimes you can bring some dried foods but definitely check that out before you bring anything at all don't ever throw anything overboard on a

7:17 cruise ship this can result in you getting kicked off the cruise ship at the next port don't ever climb on the balcony railings don't ever climb on any of the railings on a cruise ship and of course if you're sailing with children do supervise them well this is something very dangerous and as well can get you

7:32 kicked off the cruise ship don't get overly romantic on your cruise ship balcony just something to mention there are cameras everywhere do pack a non-surge protected power strip for your cruise now something that you're going to notice especially if it's your first time on a cruise is there are hardly any

7:48 electric outlets in a cabin sometimes there are one or two electric outlets and that is it and unless you're on a new cruise ship you're not going to have any usb outlets so make sure to bring a power strip it has to be a specific non-surge protected power strip or something that's called like cruise

8:03 approved i will leave a couple of good ones in the description below along with some other amazon cruise essentials that you might find handy for your cruise packing don't wait until you're home to resolve any issues that happen on your cruise ship so if you have a problem on your cruise if your cabin isn't being

8:22 cleaned as well as you'd like if your food isn't your liking if there's any issue at all even if it's a service issue make sure either you talk to the person involved so it could be your cabin attendant but otherwise if you're shy to do that go ahead and speak directly to guest services they'll make

8:36 sure that they settle it and they make it right on the cruise ship because otherwise if you wait until you're back home from your cruise unless it's really something major there's usually nothing that can be done do bring seasickness medication or remedy so even if you don't expect to be seasick on a cruise

8:51 it is always better to have something just in case and be prepared do look at your cruise lines dress code and if there is a formal night or an elegant night make sure that you do pack that clothing for that night including those accessories and shoes and belts now it's a good idea to have a good cruise

9:07 packing list so you keep yourself on track as you're getting ready for your cruise now if you're in native cruise packing lists or planning forms for your cruise for whatever part that you need i have a cruise planner that includes 47 pages of everything from embarkation day checklist to payment trackers to shore

9:25 excursion planning forms and more so i will leave the information linked in the description below if you're interested and you do want to check that out do bring your own wine now of course if you have a beverage package that's great you won't need to bring your own wine but if you don't have a beverage package know

9:40 the cruise line policies in many cases they will allow you to bring wine so why not bring that on board and save a little bit of money do try new foods on a cruise now that is one of the pleasures of being on a cruise is that you have a chance to try things that you normally wouldn't try at home or even at

9:55 a restaurant because you don't have to pay per meal so order something and if you don't love it well you can order something else nobody will be upset you could even order two meals if you like or you could share something with somebody else at your table don't pick the wrong cruise line or the wrong

10:10 cruise ship for you if you do this you're probably not going to enjoy your cruise as much as you can so the best way to pick the right cruise for you if this is your first cruise is maybe talk to a travel agent they will be really helpful to be able to help to steer you towards the right cruise for you at your

10:26 budget you can also watch videos like this and you can watch vlogs and vacation videos that you can find on youtube you can of course read blogs and read reviews as well and that'll give you a good idea if that is the right fit for you don't over pack now i say this even though i am definitely an over

10:44 packer and i'm always working on it on every single cruise but a good rule of thumb is put out everything that you want to bring and then remove about one third and you'll probably be just fine with that don't forget to pack a light sweater or a light jacket for your cruise now even if you're on a hot or a

11:01 warm weather itinerary it can happen that you can have a cooler day or a cooler evening or even inside the cruise ship it can be a little bit cool now ladies make sure to pack a shawl to cover your shoulders sometimes the air conditioning in the dining room or a theater well you know the way that is so

11:16 make sure that you pack something to cover your shoulders now i do have one very important tip but before i do let's talk about disembarkation make sure before the last day of your cruise that you do leave out sleepwear for the last night of your cruise as well as a disembarkation day outfit as well and

11:30 finally do make sure that you participate that you have fun that you bring your good attitude on your cruise and then you're guaranteed to have an amazing vacation now i hope this video was helpful especially if you are going on your first cruise now if you have any questions please leave them in the

11:47 description below and if you've cruised before please leave your additional tips there as well and i am going to leave the details about the cruise planner in case you're interested linked in the description below it is a printable cruise travel planner so what you can do is you can print out only the pages that

12:02 you need you can print out multiple pages if you want for certain pages and of course you can use it again and again and again for this cruise and every other cruise that you take now the information is going to be in the description below and it is ten dollars off for a limited time now i'm gonna

12:18 leave a video right after this one all about the things that you absolutely must do before disembarkation day the last day of your cruise now i hope you enjoyed this video if you did please do give it a big thumbs up i really do appreciate it and of course please subscribe to the channel if you haven't

12:31 done so already bye for now and happy cruising