10 things you need to know to prepare you for a cruise, By Chris

1. The identification you need

You need a REAL ID Drivers License to get through TSA. You must have this by October 1st 2020

A non expired passport (preferably more than 6 month before expiration) or an original birth certificate is the main proof-of-citizenship document that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency accepts for you to get on a cruise leaving from the United States or an United States territory. Government-issued photo identification cards that satisfy this requirement include state driver's licenses, ​state identification cards
and U.S. military IDs. 
​You will also need to go to online, log in to your cruise manager, check in and print out your boarding pass and luggage tags.
Most cruises will give you a room key card that is to be on you at all times to be able to get into your room, pay for drinks, gifts and photos etc., and to allow you to get off the cruise ship and back on the cruise ship when you make it to the destination.
Please arrive promptly within your Arrival Appointment to reduce your wait time in line.
At check-in, you must present your boarding pass, picture ID and citizenship documents (including any necessary visas).
Guests who are scheduled to arrive at the terminal before 1:30 PM, usually check their bags with a porter and then can eat at a buffet.
Checked baggage service is only available until 2 hours before the ship's published departure time.
Guests arriving after this time will be responsible for taking their bags on board. 
Final Boarding:
In preparation for departure, all guests must be on board the ship no later than 60 minutes prior to the published sailing time
printed in the cruise documents or they will not be permitted to sail.
​
​It is a great idea to download the app for your cruise line, its free just use the ship's wifi
Popular cruise apps click below to download
Carnival cruise lines: Carnival hub
Royal Caribbean: Royal App
Find other cruise line apps in your app store

2. The clothing you should pack

Footwear you should bring
Flip flops, sandals, swim shoes for walking on the cruise ship and on the beach...
Tennis shoes, for walking around on the cruise ship and longs walks on land...
Tennis shoes, casual shoes, formal shoes or heels to go to dinner restaurants and to night time bars and night clubs
Don't forget to bring socks, although I wouldn't recommend just walking around the cruise chip in only your socks.
Tops you should bring
T-shirts, tank tops, spaghetti straps, tub tops, and muscle shirts, for walking around the cruise ship in relaxing settings like when its time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the buffet areas, or dance by the pool or do activities on board, bring a Jacket and a sweater for the colder nights on the ship when you're not ready to go in your room yet and you want to sit outside on deck to watch the feature movie.
Bottoms you should bring
Any type of family friendly short shorts, basketball shorts, jeans, jogging pants, leggings, tights, capris, etc.
Formal wear you should bring
There will be opportunities for professional photo shoots and formal dinners, so if you are interested in dressing up...
You can bring a nice suit or sports jacket, collar shirt, slacks or chinos...
You can bring slacks and blouse, nice dresses or a ball gown...
Swim wear you should bring
​For using swimming pools and hot tubs on cruise ship you should keep your bikinis, cover ups, swimsuits, swim trunks, and speedos family friendly.
For the beaches, keep your swim attire culturally friendly and respectful for that country.
Don't forget your work out clothes if you plan to exercise in the gym!

Luggage
To help you plan, I suggest you limit your luggage to a maximum of one bag per person.
Each checked suit case and carry-on suit case should not weigh more than 50 pounds,
​and when lying flat, bags must not exceed 16 inches high by 24 inches wide (the length of the bag is not a factor).
For security screening purposes, all luggage should be unlocked. Oversized luggage and locked luggage may cause delivery delays.
If traveling on cruises of 3-5 days duration, and no more than two bags per person, for cruises of 6 days or longer.
Personalized luggage tags are included in the guest’s Electronic Documents (available once online check-in is completed).
It is not necessary to print the tags in color.
Carnival luggage tags must be affixed to your baggage prior to arriving at the terminal.
Additional tags can be obtained at curbside from the porter. Porters will re-tag any luggage tag with a TBA cabin assignment.   
When you get to the port you will need to check you luggage in, once you board the ship, you luggage will be bought to you stateroom
Curbside porters are men/women at the port who you can give you luggage to as an option kind of like a bell hop.
They can take your luggage for you to get it checked in, they are customarily provided a $1 tip per bag.
They are not employees of Carnival and should a guest experiences any problems, they must report it to porter management on site.
Since the screening and movement of large coolers through embarkation is an impediment to the boarding and security screening process, large coolers are not permitted as carry-on or checked luggage. Small, personal-sized coolers, no larger than 12 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches, for the purpose of housing small quantities of non-alcoholic beverages and/or medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.
Don't over pack, you only need 1 pair of each type of footwear, 
Examples of typical days
Full day cruising on the ocean:
You wake up put a swim suit on eat breakfast, swim, hang out on the deck all day, eat lunch, swim or get into the hot tub, decide to go to your room and change into formal clothes for dinner at a restaurant, go back to you room and go to sleep for the night (no casual clothes needed) 
Full day cruising on the ocean:
Wake up, put on tank top and shorts, go eat breakfast, go gamble, go watch a show, go eat lunch, go watch another show or do some on board activities, come back out to dinner in the same clothes for dinner buffet (you can wear tank top to buffets but you not wear tank top to the finer dinning restaurants, you have to have a T-shirt or collar shirt on and pants) and then go watch another show or do more activities and then late night go back to your room to watch TV all night (no swim suit needed, no formal clothes needed)
Cruise makes it to a destination:
Wake up, bring a backpack or bag to carry a few supplies for going to the beach or going on the excursion you chose.
(Casual clothes and/or swim suit needed, no formal clothes needed)

3. Accessories and supplies you should pack

​Common things that people like to bring are:
Hair products, hair brush, hair comb, tooth brush, tooth paste, floss, feminine products for menstrual cycle, deodorant, shaving cream, lotion, coconut oil, baby oil, body wash or body/face soap, loofah, shampoo, conditioner ​(There will also be some in the shower already in your room) and condoms...
Mosquito repellent ( small spray or wrist bands) for when on the beach or walking around in the destination.
Hand sanitizer, portable battery charger, sea sickness or motion sickness medication such as pills, patch or wrists bands, personal medication, headphones, portable battery charger, portable blue tooth speaker for the beach or in the room. Multi plug adapter if you have a lot of devices, air freshener for after using the bathroom in your room.
Sunglasses, sun blocking hats, sunblock lotion, gas relief products for upset stomachs, jewelry to wear to night life, lint roller, 
You can bring soda, juice or water that comes in a can or carton
You can buy bottles of alcohol on board the ship or at the destinations that your cruise goes to.

4. Accessories and supplies you should NOT pack

Drinks
​Do not bring excessive quantities per person (over 12 cans/cartons per person); excessive size per can/carton (over 12 ounces each) NO BOTTLES
Most cruises Liquor and Beverage Policy states that guests are prohibited from bringing Alcohol (hard liquor) and beer, wine or champagne beyond the allowable limit of one 750 ml bottle per adult (21 years of age or older)
NO weapons of any kind
NO Drug paraphernalia
Any illegal narcotics/drugs including synthetic, designer drugs, Cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana, hookah
​for a full list check out Carnivals policies here or Royal Caribbean policies here

5. The amount of money you should bring

Checking in at your departure cruise port
The cruise line may ask you to start a cruise account with a cash or debit/credit card on file (kind of like starting a tab.)
Usually minimum $100 for 2 to 6 day cruises.
or
$200 for 7 day or longer cruises
That is what is used to try to keep you on a budget.
​If you go over that budget you will have a remaining balance that needs to be paid by the last day of the cruise.
If you don't spend any or all of it, the money will be returned to you.
This is because nothing you buy on the ship will be in cash or card.
You can pre purchase onboard credit, liquor, birthday or anniversary decorations for your room, flowers and more.
You will pay for things with a special key  card or room key they give to you, its usually found in an envelope next to your room door.
Drink prices on board
Water: Bottled water ranges from $1.25 to $5 per bottle.
A 12-pack of 16.9 ounce bottles could cost around $5 or more
Beer: $5 to $8 per bottle
Wine: Bottles of wine sell from $22 and up, depending on the type and vintage.
At the bars and lounges, a 6-ounce glasses sell for between $5.95 and $12.50.
Liquor: $6.25 and $17 each. Pricing varying
BUY A DRINK PACKAGE IF YOU PLAN ON HAVING MULTIPLE DRINKS ON THE CRUISE​
Cruise ships usually have a drink package you can buy into that will cover all or most of your daily drinking needs.
Check your cruise manager or ask your travel agent to help you purchase a drink package
Keep in mind alcoholic beverages of any kind purchased in any Port-of-Call (liquor store in the foreign country you're visiting) might be retained at the gangway, stored on board and held by Carnival until the end of the voyage. Check out Carnival's policies here
Souvenirs
Plan to spend anywhere from $3 to $100 or more on souvenirs such as key chains, refrigerator magnets, sculptors, paintings, and more.
There are lots of places to eat and shop in the countries you will be traveling to.
Try to not to pay the exact price they tell you initially and learn to negotiate.
I paid $15 for a Dallas Cowboys hat in Mexico because I asked the store worker how much, and he said,"$15".
So I just paid it...
5 min later I saw a guy ask the same store worker for the same hat, the store worker said $15, the guy said I'll give you $5 for it...
Guess what happened next...??
The store worker sold the same type of hat I just bought for $15 to that guy for only $5 just because he said all he had was $5....
?I shall never pay full price again
Never buy plants, flowers, hats or fake animals made out of leaves.
Do not collect sand or seashells you will not be allowed to bring it back on the cruise ship.
You can not bring food, fruits or drinks off the ship when you port, they have dogs that will sniff your belongings
Gratuities and Tips
​Most major cruise lines automatically add gratuities to your onboard account.
The fee is usually between $12 and $15 per passenger, per day, and the cruise line then divvies up that money between all service-oriented crew.
If you've already prepaid this you wont have to worry about it. If you haven't prepaid this be prepaid that this bill will come 1 day before the last day of the cruise. Me personally I never prepay gratuities. I just pay cash tips to my cabin cleaner and a waiter if I go eat at the restaurant directly.
I'm not much of a drinker so no need for me pre-pay tips to bartenders I never used.
Bring small cash bills to tip bartenders, shuttle bus drivers, waiters, and taxis etc. while having fun in the foreign country.
The Bill
I've been frugal enough to only spends $10 on a cruise.
I bought 1 picture and nothing else.
Some people needs to bring $500 because they want to buy lots of drinks, photos, souvenirs, excursions, and whatever else floats their boat.
You could technically go on a cruise and spend $0 during the whole cruise.
​So your budget is all on you!
On the last night of your cruise you will receive a bill to your door or app, if not, check with the front desk.

6. Contact your bank and credit card company

​If you go on a cruise without letting your card issuer know ahead of time, you run a high risk of getting a fraud freeze put on your card
​Before your cruise contact your bank or credit card company and inform them of every country on the itinerary of your cruise. 
Now it doesn't look like suspicious charges any more when you are going from country to country spending money!
ALSO
Be alert, thieves in the world still exist, becareful who you give your credit/debit card to.
​Be prepared for pick pocketing and fake atms

7. Contact your cell phone company

The very 1st time I ever went on a cruise, I came back home to an additional $65 on my cell phone bill!!!
This is because as the ship cruised on the ocean I never turned my phone off, so when people called and I sent them to voicemail, if someone left a voicemail then I got charged a per minute fee. So if you don't plan on buying the WiFi package that allows you to receive and make calls while on the ship or allow you to use your phone in a new country. Before your cruise, contact your cell phone provider inform them that you are going on a cruise and the destinations you are going to. Tell them to disable your voicemail (or you may possibly be able to do it yourself) and also ask them what you need to do to make sure you don't get charged any roaming or long distance charges

8. Confirm your bedding types online

Make sure you check your online account to confirm the bedding arrangement in your room.
You may show up to your room  on the ship expecting 1 king bed, but there are 2 twin beds.
That is an easy fix for your cabin cleaner to fix though.
But if its 4 guests in 1 room and there is only 1 king bed...
Then you have a problem that you will need to inform the customer service desk of.

9. Inform your friends, family and neighbors

If your house is about to be left empty while you go on this fun cruise vacation, I recommend you inform some trusted family members, friends, or neighbors to check on your home from time to time and gather your mail for you.
Or tell the post office to hold your mail.
No one wants to come home to a house that has been burglarized.

10. Transportation to the cruise port

MAKE A PLAN!
Get to your departure cruise port on time! Keep all these things in mind
✔Parking the car/dropping off rental car/being dropped off by a car service
✔Giving porters luggage to be delivered to your stateroom later on that day.
✔Going through security screening.
✔Checking in at the counter with your cruise documents.
✔Waiting for boarding to begin.

Log in to your account online to find out your arrival appointment or recommended check in time at your departure port check in desk.
If you arrive earlier that your appointed time they may tell you to wait, if you arrive to close to ship take off you might get left...
At the latest Do NOT ARRIVE later than 90min before ship take off​...
​
Use Lyft: Click here to get a discount on LYFT or use code:​ TAKEMETOTHESHIP
Use a rental car: Contact Chris to get your rental car booked CLICK HERE TO TEXT ME
Drive your own car if possible
Most cruise ports have parking that you can pay $50-$100 to park for the duration of your cruise.
Many cruise lines offer buses that do round trip rides from airport to ports
Use my shuttle service that will be launching soon! ?

Bonus: Excursions

Excursions are activities that you can do when  the ship make it to its destination and its time to go have fun!⛱
​
Click here to pre pay for excursions that offer more affordable options then what your cruise may offer

Thanks for reading, leave comments if you have any questions!

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