What to do – After Boarding your Cruise Ship
This post is about after you get on board the ship, not the actual boarding process.
So you just got on board – even though you may have woken at 4am (or earlier) in the morning to get here, have travelled 100 of kilometres, you will be excited and eager to explore the ship. Below is our suggestion of things to do after boarding:
1. Go to your Cabin (State Room)
Drop your carry on bags (but keep your camera with you) in your cabin and meet your cabin steward (if he/she is not there, its OK to meet them later). Your cabin steward will give you a quick tour of the cabin, explain how the toilet works; if you are a first time cruiser you do need an explanation (seriously, otherwise you may block it in day one, it will overflow and you will be complaining how bad your cruise is).
Check daily newspaper for times of the things you need to organise (lunch, muster drill, kids club registration times, times to make reservations, etc, etc.) Using a highlighter is handy for this.
2. Get yourself a drink
Now, go and grab a drink from a bar, we suggest a cocktail or speciality beer. Then post a selfie with drink in hand – go on, go ahead, all your family and friends are waiting for it.
Then wonder aimlessly around the ship for half an hour (or longer) looking at all the fantastic lounges and things you can do.
3. Book anything that needs booking
We suggest now is the time to book anything important (before it gets booked out). We can suggest the following:
- Dinning room reservations – you may need to book your reservation for tonight
- Specialty restaurant – particularly if there is a wedding or group on board, these can sell out very quickly
- Chef’s Table – these can sell out very quickly
- Book Kids into Kid’s Club – Yes on some ships, there is a maximum they will take
4. Consider buying
- A drinks package – the issue here is will you drink more every day of your cruise, than that of the daily price of the package
- A Photo package – sometimes there is a boarding day deal that gives discounts on other things (internet, extra photos, etc)
5. Have lunch
Your options will probably include the main dinning room or buffet. We at CruiseReview are not a big fan of the buffet, however some ships / cruise lines do it well. We find The Pantry on P&O is great.
6. Unpack
By the time you have done the above eight things, your bags will most likely be in your cabins, so we suggest now is a good opportunity to go and unpack. If you need extra hangers, ask your cabin steward (before they run out).
7. Muster Drill
About 30 minutes before the ships departure, muster drill will occur. See our post on muster drills. After muster drill, you will need to return you life jackets to your cabins (staff will not serve you if you are holding a life jacket).
8. Go to Sailaway
Go to the sailaway party which is usually held on the open deck (weather permitting).
As the sailaway party proceeds, you can watch the ship pull away from the dock and sailaway.
If you are leaving from Sydney, you will get some great photos with Australia’s Icons in the background
If you are leaving from Brisbane, you will get some photo of the sunset and Gateway Bridge
Don’t forget to make your dinner reservation, and plan your evening’s entertainment (i.e. which show you will go to).
Enjoy your cruise!
Other Tips
- Take lots of photos, if you want to do a photo book or remember your cruise, you will need photo’s of everthing.
- Lifts (Elevators for Americans) – on boarding day some lifts will be dedicated for staff, so we suggest you use the stairs if able/possible.
We hope you found this helpful?
Can you suggest anything else to do after boarding, or have we missed anything or got something wrong, if so please leave a comment below.
If you would like us to post on another interesting topic, please let us know what topics you would like.
Lynda Barry
CruiseReview.net.au