My first cruise was to celebrate my cousin's Bat Mitzvah, and it was with multiple cousins, my mother, her two sisters, my then-teenage son, and the parents of my cousin's wife whose daughter was being celebrated. Most people on the trip had cruised before, but it was an activity that having grown up outside of Boston had never really occurred to me.
We were sailing on Carnival Conquest, a mid-tier ship in the company's fleet, over New Year's. So, it was a full sailing. My son and I shared an interior cabin, and we ate dinner every night in the Main Dining Room, filling two tables with our group.
Related: 3 things Royal Caribbean passengers should do before their cruise
I'm a planner. So, before our cruise, I had read multiple books that offered tips, so I went in reasonably aware of what to expect. Still, there are a few mistakes you can make before you ever get onboard that can greatly impact your vacation.
These aren't the only things you need to know before getting on a cruise ship, but they're true no matter what cruise line, at least in the family-friendly cruise line space, you book your trip on.
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1. Make sure you have a passport
Before my first cruise, I made sure my passport was up to date and ordered one for my son, who was roughly 15 at the time. You don't need a passport to sail on most cruises leaving from the United States, but it's a lot easier if you and everyone in your party have one.
If you have a passport, you can board the ship faster and make it through customs much easier when you return. In many cruise terminals (but not all), you show your passport to a cruise line employee when you board who makes sure it matches what you entered when you checked in. When you return, facial recognition confirms you are you.
Not having a passport means waiting in longer lines and dealing with actual customs officers when you return. More importantly, if you don't have a passport and get sick, or have another emergency, you can't easily fly home from whatever country you might be in.
Getting a passport is a hassle, but if you are more than 90 days from your cruise, obtaining one should be easy. If the window is shorter than that, it's still possible, but you may want to consider using an expedited service.
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2. Know what's included in your cruise fare
When you stay at a hotel, you might be surprised to find breakfast included or perhaps you specifically booked a chain that offers that. Cruise lines vary heavily in exactly what's included in your cruise fare, and some cruise lines including Norwegian, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruises sell many of their cabins as packages with things like internet and drink packages as part of the fare.
In many cases, your cruise fare includes your cabin, access to the pool deck, and various venues like sports courts, bars, karaoke spots, and nightclubs. You will also generally have meals included in the main dining room (MDR), the buffet, and select other locations, usually (but not always) including free pizza).
Nighttime theater shows are almost always part of your basic fare, but there may be add-ons like Escape Rooms or dinner theater-style shows. Most cruise lines only include a very basic selection of beverages — think tap water, flavored water, and hot water with tea bags and hot chocolate mix — so, if you want soda, specialty coffee, and/or alcohol, plan ahead.
Cruises are not, for the most part, all-inclusive affairs. Internet, for example, costs extra, unless you booked a package that includes it. Knowing what comes with your cruise allows you to budget for the things you will want on your trip, which also keeps you from having a shocking bill, at the end of your vacation.
3. Do as much as you can before you board
In most cases, it's cheaper to book excursions, drink packages, internet, and specialty dining before you cruise. Exactly what can be booked before your trip and what has to be booked onboard varies a bit by cruise line, but doing as much as you can before embarkation day (the day your cruise leaves) makes the first hours of your vacation more fun.
This starts with making sure you check in for your cruise as early as possible. Once you book your trip, download the cruise line's app, which will be needed to check in. It should show you what day check-in opens and doing it that day gives you a wider choice of check-in times. If you can select an early time, well, that's a few more hours of vacation.
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Some cruise lines let you make reservations for shows before you board while others don't require them at all. That can actually vary by ship class on the same ship. So, it's important to find out what you can and should do before you board (a good travel agent can help with this).
