Our goal at Cruise Fever is for our readers to be the best educated cruisers on the planet. We want them to have the best possible cruise each time they embark on a cruise ship. With that being said, here are five surefire ways to ruin your cruise.
Forget Passport/Birth Certificate – Nothing will ruin your cruise faster than leaving your citizenship documentation at home since you won’t make it past the check-in counter. Before you leave home, always double check and make sure you have your passport and a credit card. Anything else can be picked up on the ship or in port.
If you do not have a passport, make sure you know which cruises are required to have a passport and not just a certified copy of your birth certificate. There is a ton of misinformation spreading on Facebook groups and online message boards. If the cruise is not closed looped (starting and ending in the SAME U.S. port), a passport is required, no exceptions. Passports are required for ALL one way cruises, even if the embarkation and debarkation ports are located in the U.S..
Bad Attitude – Having a bad attitude it a great way to not only ruin your cruise, but also of those around you. Attitudes are contagious, so have a good attitude and go with the flow. After all, a day at sea beats any day at work.
Bad Flight Times – If you are flying to your embarkation port, it is vital that you schedule your flights that will allow for extra time to spare. It is recommended that you fly in a day early. Not only to give yourself a little wiggle room for flight delays, but arriving a day early is a great way to kick back and relax before your cruise.
Due to work schedules, not everyone can fly in a day or two before the cruise. If you have to fly in the morning of embarkation day, try and book the earliest flight possible with the least connections. If your flight is delayed, the ship will not wait for you.
Not Purchasing Travel Insurance – Travel insurance should be budgeted in when planning every cruise. Nothing will ruin your cruise faster than ending up with thousands of dollars of costs that would have been covered by purchasing insurance.
Also, your medical insurance will likely not cover you when you are outside of the U.S. and in a foreign port. Purchasing travel insurance that includes medical will save you a heartache, and massive bill if anything goes wrong.
Getting Sick – Nothing will ruin your cruise faster than have to spend it in your cabin sick. Even though modern ships are extremely stable, rough weather can affect many who are more susceptible to motion sickness. Some cruisers use the patch, others wear the wristband, and some bring Bonine.
Sickness such as the norovirus spread quickly anywhere there are a lot of people confined to a small area (hospitals, classrooms, dormitories etc). Using proper hand hygiene (washing often, before and after all meals) can keep sicknesses from spreading. Also, never grab food with your bare hands straight from the buffet.
Watch out for drink waters with crowded drink trays serving you drinks with there fingers over the top of glass. Especially beer glasses or any drink without a straw. Worst offenders are the drink staff in the casino. Cheers!
I have cruised many times, from even before the internet. I agree with most of these recommendations. However, here is a question not answered above: I am not generally suseptible to sea sickness. But 2 x on cruises, I have had experiences with stomach viruses–would sea sick patches, affecting nausea work against stomach viruses causing nausea (or at least make the nausea less severe)?