My Cruise Adventures

Arriving

If you fly to your embarkation port, you should consider getting a transfer from the cruise line. This will get you from the airport (or your hotel, if you booked a hotel through the cruise line) to the port in a timely manner.

You will be met by a porter to take your luggage - so make sure you've tagged each piece with the tags the cruise line sent you. This will insure they get to the right cabin. It's customary to tip the porter a dollar for each bag.

You will then go inside the terminal and find the appropriate counter, perhaps waiting in line. After check-in and security, there may be another wait before you are allowed to board. Once aboard, there may be another wait before you can get in your cabin.

Once aboard, drop your carry-on in your cabin, if you can, and head to the highest point in the ship to take a look around. This level may be one deck above the pool deck and afford a good view of both the ship and her surroundings. This may be your first indication of how big the ship is.

Go down to the pool deck and look for the buffet. Enjoy it, then carry on your tour of the ship. On each ship, the top few decks are all public space, followed by maybe 3 or 4 decks of cabins, then several more of public space. Each is generally the length and width of the ship, so that's a lot of space. Only by walking the length of each public deck can you truly begin to learn where everything is.

Before you sail, you are required to attend the muster drill. In the past, you had to grab your life jacket from your cabin's closet and take it with you, but now that is not required. You will attend a short lecture, then you can resume your vacation. Your ship will typically leave port soon after the muster drill, so grab your camera and find a good viewpoint for sail away.