Living and working on board a cruise ship is a completely different experience than relaxing and vacationing on one, and with our last cruise out of the Port of Tampa Clinton and I were lucky to experience the latter for once!
When we were on board the Enchantment of the Seas, I made sure to utilize one of the most important items for navigation and logistics: the Royal Caribbean app! While onboard, it is the best place to find the daily schedule, what deals on going on at the moment, and the deck plan for the ship. You can go into the daily schedule and ask it to remind you when the event is about to happen so that you do not miss anything!
Something important to remember is that when you start your journey onboard the ship, they will take the majority of your luggage from you – and you want them to do this! Make sure to print the luggage tag that they email to you because your normal personal luggage tag will not work. You will need this tag for each bag! If you do not print it, you will need to stand in a separate line to receive you tag.
Nothing is worse than trying to keep track of your luggage while you wait for your room. Rooms will not be ready until about 1 p.m., so I recommend that you pack a separate backpack or light bag that has a bathing suit, any medication, extra clothes, and essentials like your phone, keys, wallet, and sunscreen. Then you can easily navigate around the ship without your bulky luggage, which will be delivered to your room! DO NOT take your luggage even if you see it on the side – they have staff that will bring it to your room. Let them do their job!
When you are onboard, there is plenty of things to do besides the usually suspects like the pool, casino, and restaurants. You can shop – and there are tons of awesome deals while on board, and you can exercise along the outdoor track or in their amazing fitness centers. They have a theater with daily entertainment and karaoke! I had a great time singing Hotel California and Bad Romance with my dad.
Speaking of the restaurants – there is the consideration for the drink packages that you should think about before blindly purchasing. Take a moment to think about how many drinks, alcoholic or non, that you actually will drink besides the excursion packages you purchased and determine if it is within your budget. For days where you are simply sailing, maybe it is worth it. But if drinking was not part of your cruise adventure, don’t sweat it! They have other packages as well. I ordered an Evian water package and Clinton ordered Perrier. My dad ended up purchasing the Soda Package, which gave him a cup he could refill with soda. These ended up being the best options for all of us.
While on board there are unique things that you can also participate in, depending on the ship or company. Duckies are a cute way to share you location (not address!) with others and magnets on the door are another good way to share your excitement for your first cruise, birthday, anniversary, etc. They have formal nights, white nights, casual nights, etc, which is another cool way to connect with others on board because you can take formal pictures, people watch and share with them a nice comment.
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