Cruising Mistakes…what you should know.
Cruising is one of the best vacations you can take. You have a floating hotel, people are waiting on you hand and foot, shows and activities, and you have all the food in the world you could desire. The best part is, ONE price! However, if you make a few mistakes, it could ruin your cruise vacation. So let’s talk about what not to do…
1.Picking the “right” cabin. – If you think that you want to save the most money and pick the cheapest cabin this could be your worst investment ever. It may not be your cup of tea being on the lowest deck near the engine. You wake up every morning to the sound of rotating motors and your cabin vibrating. This could definitely ruin your trip! Talk with your travel agent about what type of things you are looking for out of your cabin, and they can work with you in picking a great spot while still saving you money.
2. Don’t spend your money if you don’t need to! – There are many great shops on the cruise where you can purchase Duty-Free items. However, it doesn’t mean that you need to go overboard on purchasing everything onboard…no pun intended! Shopping onboard is like shopping at the outlets, ask yourself if you would get it at the outlets. If not, then pass. Also, the beverage package can be great for those who drink a lot of soda or alcohol. However, if you don’t plan on drinking that much then just pay as you go.
3. Not using the WiFi once on land. – The WiFi on ships is extremely slow. Many clients tell me that it took them 30 minutes just to get onto the page they needed, and then only had 30 minutes left to do work! Money right down the water slide…pun intended. We also recommend that once you get to your destination, find a coffee shop that has free WiFi. Here you can get a few things done and even make phone calls over the WiFi. In the Caribbean I have used Dunkin Donuts many times.
4. Elevators, maybe pass on using them. – The glass elevators on the ships are beautiful. They allow you to see everything as you are going up or coming down. There is a huge bottleneck in getting where you need to be though, they stop on every floor where someone is waiting to get on. It may take you 10 minutes to get downstairs by using the elevator, but only a 5-minute walk. Head to the stairs to go down and save yourself some time, and you can avoid being smushed in an elevator.
5. Forgetting the crew. – The crew is there to also make sure that your experience is amazing. Many times, they will have been on this same ship for months. They see new people every 7 to 12 days. A simple “Hello” or “Thank you” goes a long way with them. On one of the cruises that I took, I made sure to thank our stewardess every day we saw them. Every night we came back with a different towel animal on our bed with a note saying have a great night. I made them smile, and they made me smile.
Make sure keep these few things in mind when taking your next cruise and it will make for a better vacation for sure!
Did you know that Life is Better Traveling gets many EXTRAs for our clients when they book their cruise with us? That’s right! Our clients have seen $300 onboard credits, Free excursions, and even an amazing cocktail hour on the helipad of the cruise ship! Give us a call and let’s see what we can get for you!
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