Stepping aboard your cruise ship at the beginning of your journey is a bit like the first day of school (only we think it’s much more exciting)! There’s a sea of new faces, many opportunities and experiences waiting to be discovered, knowledge to be gained and an expert crew waiting to share their expertise with you.

So how do you go about getting the most out of your cruise? We’ve got some tips to make sure your cruise is the very best it can be!

Meet fellow travellers

You never know who you might meet on board and how much fun or good conversation there is to be had! We have so many clients that come back from their cruise and rebook a future cruise together with friends they’ve met along the way. Cruising is a great way to meet new friends, as you’re together for the duration of the voyage after all. You can dine together, attend a show or relax over a drink (and if it’s an all-inclusive cruise, nobody has to worry about whose turn it is to buy the next round)! You can also ask to be seated at a larger table at meal times to give you the chance to meet fellow passengers. Participating in ship excursions is another great way to get to know new people.

Get to know the crew

The crew is an invaluable source of information. Often they have been cruising the same destinations for quite some time so they should definitely have some good tips for you! If you’re on an expedition or luxury expedition ship, the expedition team can share incredible knowledge with you that can really make your experience. Here’s where the benefits of small ships come in. When you’re on a cruise with just a couple of hundred people, you’ve got far more opportunity to speak with the crew than if you’re on board with several thousand.

Ask questions

Whether it’s about the destination or about the ship itself, if you’re unsure of anything, please, by all means, ask away! Your crew are there to help and to make your cruise as comfortable as it can be, so make use of them!

Keep a diary

I know, that doesn’t always sound that exciting to everyone, but you’ll be surprised at how much you forget. If you don’t want to keep a diary, note down the numbers of the photos you take each day and record them against the destination. Eg. Photos 435 – 481 are from Day 4, Sitka, Alaska. That way when you get home and finally get around to sorting through your photos, you won’t have forgotten where it was that you saw the baby otters playing, or on which island it was that you saw the magnificent cultural show.

Research your destination before you go

For example, if you’re cruising to Alaska, read up on Glacier Bay National Park so that you know what you’re looking at when you get there.   A perfect time to do this now while we are all stuck in lock down!  Note down anything you would particularly like to see in each port so that you don’t finish your cruise and think “If only I’d known about that, we could have gone to see it.” Also try to read as many reviews as you can online to discover the lesser known treasures.

Our Ultimate Cruising experts have lots of awesome cruise tips that they have either learned from their own travels or have been told by their clients, so feel free to give them a call and have a chat.