Tips For Minnesotans Who’ve Never Been On A Cruise

Earlier this month, my wife and I went on a cruise with my granddaughter and her mother. We were celebrating my granddaughter’s graduation from high school. This was their first cruise and the second for my wife and I, we went on one 23 years ago.  

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We sort of knew what to expect, but it had been so long there were aspects of being on a cruise ship that we had forgotten. Since we started planning our trip and now that we have returned, we have talked with a ton of people who have never been on a cruise but have an interest in going. 

Here are some things I think may be helpful if you are interested in taking a cruise. Keep in mind, I’m in no way an expert, but these are things I’ve experienced firsthand.
 

Be Able To Board The Ship 

Find out for certain what documents you need and how long it will take to get them if you don’t have them already. The four of us each got a passport card, which is cheaper than a regular passport and at least in our case, didn’t take nearly as long to get as it does a regular passport. The only difference is with a passport card, you cannot fly into other countries, but you can enter by land or on a cruise ship.  

The cruise industry takes this very seriously when you get off and get back on the ship, so don’t underestimate the importance of having the correct documents. 

Don’t Get Left Behind 

Make sure you arrive on time. We were given advice to fly to Florida the day before just to make sure there was no chance the boat would leave us, because they would have. Flights get delayed all the time, so make sure you’re not starting your vacation with the stress of missing the boat, literally. 

Don’t Be In A Hurry 

Once you’re on the ship, especially the first day, don’t be in a hurry. The elevators are notoriously slow on cruise ships. We had six primary elevators and two secondary elevators, but we were still waiting quite a bit. When it was just me moving around the ship, I took the stairs. I needed the exercise and didn’t have to wait on the elevators. 

Cheers

Understand the drink package options before you purchase. There will likely be a few choices, which, by the way, are sold per person, by the day. We chose the soda only package and spent most of the trip drinking soda from cans we would get at the bar.  

There were two of those fancy touchscreen multiple drink option machines in the buffet style restaurant, but you could only access those when the restaurant was open. 

I learned on our last day from a very rigid bar tender that our package didn’t cover soda from a can. It didn’t seem to be a big deal overall but do check your package over ahead of time.  

There’ll Be Singing and Dancing 

Check out the shows. Most ships have a theatre and there will be entertainment nightly. We saw a variety of shows: a comedian (Lester Bibbs), a tango show from a dance duo from Argentina, a talented juggler who was hilarious to boot, and then a Broadway type show.  

These shows are included in your price and the entertainment is normally very entertaining, and you may even see the entertainers around the ship as well did with Lester Bibbs.  

You can come and go at your leisure, but I’d recommend at least checking out the shows they offer on your cruise. 

The Early Bird Gets The Shot 

I know it’s vacation, but if you can and are willing at least one morning, get up and check out the sunrise from a cruise ship. It was worth it for me, very relaxing and therapeutic. Here are some pics I snapped as well pulled into Nassau in the Bahamas. 

Have Your Card Handy 

Lastly, lanyards with clear plastic pockets are your friends. You will need to show your “sea pass card” for everything while on the ship and if you get off on a island the cruise line owns. Your "sea pass card" can be scanned or seen through the clear plastic pocket.  

A couple of other things to pay attention to include: 

• How tipping those on the ship works 

• Don’t feel like you have to dress up, a lot of people didn’t, including us, on our trip. 

• The pools are usually small and crowded. You may disappointed if you think the pools look like they do on the commercials you see with only 3 people in the water 

• Look for Pre-Sail date specials on drink packages, internet packages and excursions; you can save a ton because once you’re on board, it’s very unlikely you’ll get a deal. 

I can only speak about the two trips I’ve been on, but 99% of the staff go out of their way to be nice and treat you well on your cruise, especially your cabin attendant, who will clean your room each day. 

I suggest telling whoever you book with that you’ve never been on a cruise, and they should be a good source of information as you’re trying to decide where to go, which room to get, and how to get the most out of your trip.  

Hopefully these tips are helpful to you. Bon Voyage.  

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