I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but if you kow you're going to book another cruise, head to the next cruise desk on the first day and book it. Not only do they give you an incredible amount of OBC for the cruise, my wife and I did that and we received a free bottle of champaign because we did it on embarkation day.
@@LP2488 The cruises are not discounted just because you bought it on the ship. The closer you get to a sailing date, you may be able to get the same cruise for a reduced price from one of many discount cruise websites. The value is the $200 in OBC they give you for booking on the ship, to be used on your next cruise.
My wife and I are sailing on oasis this September. With our two daughters there first cruise. My wife and I are planning on doing Alaska cruise for our first our first time. That’s too soon late to book for our cruise plus I don’t think you’ll get much of a difference
@Geno The cruises are not discounted when purchasing them onboard. The value is in the reduced deposits, and the $200 in OBC Royal gives you. On top of that, we transferred our reservation to our travel agent, and they gave us $100 in OBC. That's $300 we can use towards drink or dining packages, or excursions.
The advice I share most often is to have a fully stocked carry on bag. We are going on our 14th cruise, in 4 weeks. Of all the cruises, our honeymoon, they lost our bags for almost the entire day. They didn't locate them until after 11pm. It really ruined that whole day because we had no change of clothes, nothing really. This was a long time ago, and how we learned. We spent the day becoming more convinced that our bags didn't make it on the ship. And as much as I like RC, they failed to respond accordingly. They just kept downplaying it, and gave us a bottle of wine. Me and my wife don't drink wine. So it did nothing. A bottle of Jack Daniel's maybe would have been more appropriate. So have travel bags that have bathing suit, change of clothes, toiletries, etc. Anything important. Imagine a day with nothing, what would you need or want? Pack that.
1:24 I agree completely about early check-in. Yesterday’s date was 46 days in advance of my cruise. I stayed up until midnight to do my check-in. At 12:15 am ET, check-in was available to me so I completed it. We snagged the first check-in time (10:30am for this particular sailing) and are very excited to have that time slot. We fly in a day or two prior to our cruise, so early embarkation is easy for us (and desired!).
@@tduck828 Yes, getting 11am is easy the next day but if you want 10:30 or even 10:00 on some sailings, you need to do it exactly at midnight (I was late few min because of the glitch on the website and all those slots were taken and I had to bear with 11am.
I stressed so bad pre-cruise last year about not having an iron in my room and my clothes being wrinkled. (It had been several years since I’d cruised. Lol). I was thrilled to get on the ship and see the ironing special for the first day. I had all of my dresses ironed for less than $20!
@@miamigirl247 no bedroom iron and you can’t bring one! They are banned. The first day ironing deal was well worth $20 though. This time I don’t plan to pre-iron anything. I’m just gonna pack it and have it ironed there. 😜
Great video, One update I would say is many of the reservations you speak of doing on the first day after you board the ship can be done on the app prior to boarding. Some several days to several months. For example, my cruise on Allure is 4 months away, and I have already reserved my time for my time dining. Also, on my last cruise in December, I was able to book all my shows several days before sailing on the app.
@@reenakemp9132 Yes, they are. Your drinks package doesn't cover those drinks as you are technically in whatever city the port is in, but you can get drinks. Board in your swimsuit and hit a pool. Your carry on luggage will be fine next to you at the pool. The buffet is rocking early too.
We set sail Saturday on the Wonder and it’s our group’s first time cruising. The amount of tips and advice online for first timers is overwhelming, however, your channel has helped me a great deal. Upbeat and straight to the point. Thank you! ☺️
On Oasis OTS, they directed us to our muster station immediately as we boarded. It was just off the Royal Promenade. We spent about 10 minutes there talking to the staff, who demonstrated the life jacket and the alerts, and checked us off. We were done within 15 minutes of being on board, except for the repeated announcements begging others to finish up so we could leave.
Yeah, I don't get why people just don't get it done as soon as they board. 15 minutes is not bad. I've heard of others taking less time than that. Grab a beer on your way.
I'm going on a group trip, I was told I don't need a passport? Have you ever heard of this, and what should I bring just in case. ( I don't have a passport at all)
My wife and I sail on Independence of the Seas in April. The first thing we do after getting on a Royal Caribbean ship is head to the Schooner Bar for a cocktail 🍷🥃then off to the Windjammer for lunch. A tradition of our for over 20 years.
HI Tom! My name is Diane & 4 of us will be traveling 5.5.23 on Independence of the Seas. Thanks for the embarkation day recommendation. Question for you: Do we need to reserve to watch any shows on a 3-day cruise? When & how should we do that? Don't want to miss anything on such a short cruise. Thanks so much! Also, did you go to Nassau? We want to steer away from crowds... suggestions? Thanks again, Diane C.
We haven't been on Royal Caribbean in a few years. We appreciate the tips, in particular to obtain a check in time through the app about 45 days before our departure date.
Thanks for info. As for the first two things to do after boarding, we think you have them reversed. We try to avoid specialty dining on a day we want to see a show. Sometimes shows occur once a cruise, so we head to the box office first to see if/which shows need reservations and when they occur to make our show reservations. With our show schedule in hand, we then work on the specialty restaurants.
This was SO incredibly helpful! We haven't cruised since pre-Covid so I'm glad to have the reminders as well as updates. We're booked on Oasis in May! And the porters must love us as this Canadian typically tips far more than what you recommended. I still will as it's part of what I budget for cruises. :)
@@kissy7121 Hi Kissy! I'm not sure if the questions were meant for me or the Royal Caribbean folk. I like to pre-pay gratuities so they're taken care of. Otherwise, it's my understanding that they're added to the daily expenses so a big chunk to pay last day of cruise. I do tend to tip a couple of extra dollars here and there for great service at the bar, etc. And I usually leave an extra $20+ for my room attendant in the little envelope provided for passengers on the last night of the cruise. For porters, I typically tip about $5 per bag. Again, I'm Canadian and we tend to be generous tippers. It's all part of my budget as I plan. It sounds as though some people just tip $1 here and there so please do what makes you feel most comfortable so you can fully enjoy your cruise. I hope you have a fabulous time!! :)
@@kissy7121 my wife and I have sailed on 3 cruise’s With Mardi Gras including. We just booked on the oasis with our two daughters for there first cruise .anyway my wife and I always book our cruise’s with tips including.I hope this helps you?? Where sailing this sailing this fall.
I think US travellers must have far more money to spend on their cruises. These people working on the cruises aren’t forced to do so. They choose to do so and agree to the salary. Having looked at industry standard salaries they have reasonable pay plus board lodging and travel around the world, in many cases for unskilled labour. I’m glad they are there and appreciate what they do but we all work and most people don’t get gratuities for doing their job. And having spoken to several, most of their money goes home, in some cases,to very poor countries where the money is worth far, far more. We just need to get some perspective
We just did a last minute cruise in Dec. Your tips were right on. The only issue that I had and most will probably won't experience this was the check-in. My passport was expired and was in process (online) before I booked the cruise. I have Global Entry which is a valid document you can put under your profile via the App and web site during check in. I brought my expired passport anyway assuming my Global Entry was just as good. Well they did not accept my expired passport and told me that they would not accept Global Entry as a valid form of ID. They asked if I can get a photo of my birth certificate. Luckily my daughter was home and was quickly able to text it to us. Once I received it, I connected to their WiFi and sent the photo of my birth certificate to their printer. Once it was printed, they approved it and allowed me on my way So they accept a print out of a "photo" of my birth certificate. They couldn't tell if it was valid or in the format of the state I was born in. But they would not take a Government ID in which I had to go through a background check and finger printing for? That did not make sense. And guess what I used when we returned to port and going through customs; my Global Entry :)
Some countries require an actual passport; a conveyance like an airplane or cruise ship is supposed to ensure that the document is valid per the individua country. If a passenger is caught without , the carrier could be fined up to $10,000. (I know because I was refused boarding a flight to a country with a passport that expired within 6 month of my travel.) Each country could require them upon departing the ship if they want to. BTW Global Entry is a trusted passenger program in the United States but not in other countries, but if you are someone selected for inspection which they do randomly, and you don’t have your passport it could be troublesome. (I worked with CBP for 15 years. We randomly pulled over passengers all of the time for inspection.) Definitely ask before traveling about the documents required. I’ve seen people lose their GE status. Have a great vacation.
Izumi Hibachi you have to go there and make the reservation. Also you have to do Chops directly to book as well. Learned that the hard way. So so Izumi first, then run over to Chops to do them and the other restaurants
My husband sent me this video this morning. We’ve been on 5 other cruises but being reminded of thing since we haven’t sailed since September 2019 in Europe, it was great. Being partially deaf, in Europe, muster drill was fun where we went to the mdr and sat with people we didn’t know and made “friends” prior to sailing. The closed captioning on the tv’s was great for me!! Now I’m excited I can just watch a video that has closed captioning for muster! It would be amazing if RC actually emailed this video after bookings are made. I’ve had a few friends who didn’t research anything and ended up disappointed over many things.
This will be my very first cruise. Mack thank you soo much. I got tired just watching all the fun and exciting things that are available and included. Thanks again. I've Subscribed and shared with my cruising party.
This video was very helpful this will be on first cruise on Royal so this helped I got everything done but this video helped me double check everything
Just booked my first ever cruise as well. Also going in June! We are excited and ready to cruise 🛳. These videos with Matt have been extremely helpful 😀
I didn't kno we had make reservations for shows...when me and mom went because she elderly we went right in and sat at the end and it was a great show. Nobody asked wat time or if we was sitting in some spot. Which me and both found great because we can't walk up down stairs
Yes we were shocked and caught off guard when we had my time dining for our last cruise. Thought that my time dining was simply we showed up at say 5:155:30 and we could get a table possibly shortly. No not the case you had to have a reservation the matri took care of that for us for the entire cruise after our first day. But when you hear my time I would assume that it show up when you're hungry and or buddy to eat. Otherwise it's still like going to the main dining room where you have an assigned time and table. Because we had the same table every night at the same time.
After my last cruise, I'm done with Mytime. They not only wanted to give me the same time, but also the same wait staff. I showed up at my reserved time, was told it would be 5-10 minutes, and they'd get me when my table was ready. 45 minutes later, no table, and the place was about to close.
@@jeffreyclinard2002 Agreed. We went with MyTime when it started becoming common pre-pandemic. It was often more hassle/wait than it was worth. We had a real pain with it on Allure of the Seas last October, particularly; three different dining room staffers over at least 2 (if not 3) evenings told us they would fix our situation but none did. Back to Early Seating like we did when we first started cruising decades ago.
My last cruise I left my luggage with the porters @ 11am and boarded the ship. I walked back to my cabin at 4pm and noticed other luggage was dropped off for other passengers but my luggage was missing. I finally went walking around and found my luggage about 10 cabins down sitting outside door. Always makes me nervous
I have 2. 1. Wear really comfortable shoes! No matter if you are new on a cruise ship. Or if you've been on 100s, like Matt XD, You will always be doing a LOT! of walking and exploring. Trust me. 2. If you spend a lot of time on the deck and outside. MAKE SURE YOU PUT ON SUNSCREEN! On every cruise I've been on (except for my Alaska cruise) I have seen at least 3 people so sunburn. They make the cooked lobster look pink. No one would want to miss out on a fun filled cruise cause they got heavily sunburned on the first day
My two things were: take comfortable shoes!! There will be A LOT of walking. Please do not forget the sunscreen! I take organic shea butter(no chemicals). After 5 cruises, these items will help you tremendously!
Thanks, Matt - great tips! I've added these to my cruise preparation folder. We leave January 29th on Allure. First time on this ship & first time leaving from the new Galveston terminal. Excited for both!
Hope you’re enjoying your cruise now. We leave two weeks after you on Feb 12, Super Bowl Sunday. Our first time at the new terminal as well. So excited to see the bigger Royal ship.
@@tinagorski9 Great so far! Cozumel today so it's almost over. The ship is very nice & the size absorbs the number of people so you don’t feel crowded (except for entering & leaving the aqua show). The food has been very good. We had a great meal at 150 Central Park last night and were pleasantly surprised by Sabor. Have fun on your cruise!
My experience was I got my check-in time 45 days ahead, but when I went back to complete the check-in, I had to pick a new time, and it was way later than my original time.
Thank you so much! I’m getting ready to book are first cruise! Single mom with two teenager girls. You just helped me so much with that information!!!!!
These are great tips, thank you. I'm looking at going on my first cruise with my son this summer. This has been very helpful. So many things to think about.
We are sailing Royal Caribbean for the first time and found this video and all of your other ones to be Very helpful!!! Thank you for taking the time to do them!
Super helpful. We are cruising for the first time next week on MSC meragvilia.. I am glad we are going with our kids who have cruised before. There is a lot of information out there and this was really helpful.
Very good video. So many good reminders for that first day. 6 months until our Alaskan cruise with several first-time cruisers. This will be so useful. Thanks again 🛳️
Great video Matt! Not sure if you've ever done a video explaining the differences of the classes of ships. People have asked me which ships have this and which ships have that? Maybe an explanation of what the differences between the classes are would be helpful. Such as which ships have toddler pools, Promenades, private suite areas, MDR dining lunch only on sea days, and complimentary breakfast at JR, etc. Just a thought if you haven't already done that! Cheers!
Here’s a better tip. GET TO THE PORT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, in Miami the Royal parking garage fills to capacity before 1 pm. You get routed to another garage which is a long walk away, if it’s not full!!!
have you ever made a video explaining dining with an allergy and how the restaurants on board accommodate, Especially gluten free/celiac accommodations?
2023 Critical Things RC should do on the first day 1. How do you make sure there is a wheelchair there when you arrive at the ground-level terminal entrance? Last cruise in November, lots of confusion and I was no longer to walk even with rollater. My scooter was at the room that was not available until 1pm. 2.The drop off cruise terminal was chaotic if you needed assistance. Can you leave your bags with any porter in front of your ship? 3. It would be helpful if cruise management took a look at how the airports assist handicapped passenger. Miami, Charlotte, and Chicago Amtrak meet passengers at terminal entrance, wheel or drive to checkin, TSA, a central place for disabled to congregate (hub) while waiting and porters come in time to board at your gate. They communicate using computers, walkee talkees, and phone. Charlotte in particular is a well oiled operation based on airport (hub and spoke model). 3. We loved the VIP and relaxing lunch. We have ordered it for our October cruise. 4. In another RCBlog, it was mentioned that there was a need for more free-food finger food kiosk like Carnival = pizza slices, popcorn, nachos, wraps and such. It is a long-time between 1pm lunch & 7/8 pm dinner. On Carnival we ordered a welcome snack plate of chips & cookies. It's a vacation so I don't want to pack snacks like the train or drive. 5. RC should do an embark/first day walk through on several different size ships. GEMBA Walk is a management/leadership technique for continuous process improvement advocated by Bezo (Amazon) & late Mike Dell (Dell Computers). 🔗www.leanblog.org/2009/03/jeff-bezos-at-gemba/ We Baby Boomers are aging and more likely to need assistance. 6. Warning: if you want the early VIP checkin, don't use the RC shuttle. It starts after VIP lunch or RC arrange with the shuttle company to run a mid-morning not early afternoon. 7. FYI: The bar heights don't have part of the counter that is ♿ height; you have to yell to get the bartender's attention. Thank you. 🐦
Agree 100%! I recently sailed on RCL out of Port Canaveral. It had been many years since I had been on a cruise and things had changed as far as embarkation. I had no idea that there would be such a long walk to actually get on the ship. This is something that should be conveyed to travelers early on so arrangements can be made if a wheelchair is needed. I witnessed quite a few older people who were struggling to make the long walk to actually board the ship. Also departing the ship and locating assistance for obtain a wheelchair was mass chaos. Even though I started asking about it 3 days prior to departure. Now I am better informed but through trial and error. However, I am sure there are other older and/or disabled passengers who could benefit from better pre-cruise information. Thanks for addressing this issue.
Great suggestions and I agree with all of them. The only tip I would add is if you board before 1:00pm, your stateroom will likely not be ready yet. Learned this last week on our 5th cruise on the Anthem. Previously we always boarded late like after 2:00. This time we boarded at 11:30 am, and not only was the terminal way more crowded, but we were disappointed that our stateroom wasn’t ready until 1:00, so we needed to bring our carry one with us to lunch. No big deal, but something to be aware of. As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
@@yashiracruz804 every video I have watched says to not fly in the same day but I have heard the latest check in time would be 2 hrs before taking off. So if the cruise sets sail at 4pm then check in 2pm but I would be too nervous about possible delays with flying in the same day ❤❤Have fun and hope this helps. 😊
@@kissy7121 I was scheduled to fly in the same day. I would of gotten in at 11 am and the port was 30 minutes away. I am so glad I changed my flight to the day before. It gave me time to relax, otherwise I would of been ready for bed by time my room was ready. And you never know what is going on with airlines. My SIL just got off a RC cruise the same day we went on an NCL. We flew Southwest and she flew American. We both went a day early, but we were an hour late getting home (disembarkation was exhausting...shuttles were late and we waited over 2 hours before taking a taxi). My SIL missed their connecting flight on the way home, had to get a hotel for the night and had to drive from FL to NY the next day because all flights were booked. I felt alot more at ease leaving the day before.
@@yashiracruz804 That’s way too risky. If you flight was delayed even by an hour or two you could’ve missed it. Always fly in the day before as an insurance.
If I ever get the chance to splurge on a Star Class suite, I will definitely do so. I was on the fence about it, but after seeing this video, I must double my efforts at winning the lottery! 😁😁
1. What is the closest covered parking deck when leaving out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando) and is there like a parking time we need to consider or can you bring your car early before we consider a checkin time? 2. Can you bring an empty container for to do your own water refills onboard? Is there a size limitation?
Matt said it best to have LUNCH!!!!! If you have the ultimate dining package hit up a specialty restaurant. I just started cruising with me Fiancee (our first cruise was an 11 night southern Caribbean cruise on Anthem), you have to go to Jaime's. The pasta is so good and then hit up chops for dinner. We both are so excited for our nest cruise in 2024, another 11 nighter :D Try the Solarium Bistro also for a quieter place.
I went on a 4 day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on Jan 6, 2023. On the second day, a flier was place in everyone’s cabin stating some folks didn’t get their luggage and to please help if we have them. SO I WILL NEVER CHECK MY LUGGAGE!!! What a nightmare! Not having your clothes on a cruise!?!?! They just took my luggage without a receipt or any kind of proof. This can welcome theft and zero accountability .
Thank you so much! You answered all my questions. Even my question about ice for our room. I am going on a cruise next month and I can’t live without my ice lol great video thanks again
Matt you’re tips are so helpful . This is our first time on the oasis. We’ve been watching your vedio’s trying to learn as possible. Now my wife just downloaded royal ‘s app last night. We have carnival’s app and the helped. Where taking our two daughters on their first cruise. This will be my wife’s and I 3rd cruise.
Heading on LotS in 2 weeks! We're definitely going to take advantage of the waterslides on embarkation day!! Also definitely going to book the kids some time at Adventure Ocean and Royal Tots! We have a reservation at Sabor 🥰🥰
With this list, especially when trying to board early, it sort of feels like there’s never a right time to get into the pool. Especially if you need to go to an open house mid-day. If I’m on at 10:30 do all of the things you suggested, reservations, shows, muster drill checkin, eat, it feels hard to imagine getting into the pool only to jump out and dry off for the open house. Wishing it was more of a relaxing time once on board.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but if you kow you're going to book another cruise, head to the next cruise desk on the first day and book it. Not only do they give you an incredible amount of OBC for the cruise, my wife and I did that and we received a free bottle of champaign because we did it on embarkation day.
@@LP2488 The cruises are not discounted just because you bought it on the ship. The closer you get to a sailing date, you may be able to get the same cruise for a reduced price from one of many discount cruise websites. The value is the $200 in OBC they give you for booking on the ship, to be used on your next cruise.
My wife and I are sailing on oasis this September. With our two daughters there first cruise. My wife and I are planning on doing Alaska cruise for our first our first time. That’s too soon late to book for our cruise plus I don’t think you’ll get much of a difference
@Geno The cruises are not discounted when purchasing them onboard. The value is in the reduced deposits, and the $200 in OBC Royal gives you. On top of that, we transferred our reservation to our travel agent, and they gave us $100 in OBC. That's $300 we can use towards drink or dining packages, or excursions.
Are you making a deposit for the next cruise
@@shalawnrivers4125 Yes. The OBC is also for that cruise.
The advice I share most often is to have a fully stocked carry on bag. We are going on our 14th cruise, in 4 weeks. Of all the cruises, our honeymoon, they lost our bags for almost the entire day. They didn't locate them until after 11pm. It really ruined that whole day because we had no change of clothes, nothing really. This was a long time ago, and how we learned. We spent the day becoming more convinced that our bags didn't make it on the ship. And as much as I like RC, they failed to respond accordingly. They just kept downplaying it, and gave us a bottle of wine. Me and my wife don't drink wine. So it did nothing. A bottle of Jack Daniel's maybe would have been more appropriate.
So have travel bags that have bathing suit, change of clothes, toiletries, etc. Anything important. Imagine a day with nothing, what would you need or want? Pack that.
Arrive to your cruise port a day early. Embarkation is so much more relaxed if you aren't trying to get to port on embarkation day.
Amen!
1:24 I agree completely about early check-in. Yesterday’s date was 46 days in advance of my cruise. I stayed up until midnight to do my check-in. At 12:15 am ET, check-in was available to me so I completed it. We snagged the first check-in time (10:30am for this particular sailing) and are very excited to have that time slot. We fly in a day or two prior to our cruise, so early embarkation is easy for us (and desired!).
I checked in at 9am EST and still got an 11am check in time. Not necessary to do it at midnight!
@@tduck828 I debated waiting until morning. Sounds like I could have and still get a great time. Thanks.
@Jackie Byers yep but like anything else guess depends on if others do it early or not as well!
@@tduck828 Yes, getting 11am is easy the next day but if you want 10:30 or even 10:00 on some sailings, you need to do it exactly at midnight (I was late few min because of the glitch on the website and all those slots were taken and I had to bear with 11am.
@@Gybing guess I don't see the need to board at exactly 10 or 1030.
I stressed so bad pre-cruise last year about not having an iron in my room and my clothes being wrinkled. (It had been several years since I’d cruised. Lol). I was thrilled to get on the ship and see the ironing special for the first day. I had all of my dresses ironed for less than $20!
The ship doesn't have an in bedroom iron??! What about a hair dryer?
@@miamigirl247 no bedroom iron and you can’t bring one! They are banned. The first day ironing deal was well worth $20 though. This time I don’t plan to pre-iron anything. I’m just gonna pack it and have it ironed there. 😜
@@miamigirl247 I imagine they have a hairdryer but I bring my own.
@@miamigirl247 they have a hairdryer in every room. You don’t have to bring one.
Great video, One update I would say is many of the reservations you speak of doing on the first day after you board the ship can be done on the app prior to boarding. Some several days to several months. For example, my cruise on Allure is 4 months away, and I have already reserved my time for my time dining.
Also, on my last cruise in December, I was able to book all my shows several days before sailing on the app.
We got on the Oasis before 10:30am. We were one of the first couple dozen people on the ship. It was like getting an extra at sea day.
Also, we couldn't believe the number of idiots sitting on the Promenade with all of their luggage waiting till 1:00 p.m.
If you board that early. Are the bars and restaurants open yet? I've never boarded that early before, but my next cruise I will be there at Port early
@@reenakemp9132 Yes, they are. Your drinks package doesn't cover those drinks as you are technically in whatever city the port is in, but you can get drinks. Board in your swimsuit and hit a pool. Your carry on luggage will be fine next to you at the pool. The buffet is rocking early too.
We set sail Saturday on the Wonder and it’s our group’s first time cruising. The amount of tips and advice online for first timers is overwhelming, however, your channel has helped me a great deal. Upbeat and straight to the point. Thank you! ☺️
Read my comment above.
How did it go?!
On Oasis OTS, they directed us to our muster station immediately as we boarded. It was just off the Royal Promenade. We spent about 10 minutes there talking to the staff, who demonstrated the life jacket and the alerts, and checked us off. We were done within 15 minutes of being on board, except for the repeated announcements begging others to finish up so we could leave.
They actually escorted us to our muster station, it was nice to have the e-muster out of the way.
Yeah, I don't get why people just don't get it done as soon as they board. 15 minutes is not bad. I've heard of others taking less time than that. Grab a beer on your way.
I would say ours took less than 5 minutes
That was also the muster process we went through on Oasis last Spring. It was so quick and easy!
Once you finish your virtual muster drill check in and you are finished in 30 seconds
Thank you!
Thank you for the great tips I cruise in February I will make sure to check in late December
I'm a retired travel agent and a seasoned cruiser. I appreciate the tips. It's great information for first time cruisers.
Agreed, My family is going on a cruise around the first or second week of summer
I'm going on a group trip, I was told I don't need a passport? Have you ever heard of this, and what should I bring just in case. ( I don't have a passport at all)
My wife and I sail on Independence of the Seas in April. The first thing we do after getting on a Royal Caribbean ship is head to the Schooner Bar for a cocktail 🍷🥃then off to the Windjammer for lunch. A tradition of our for over 20 years.
HI Tom! My name is Diane & 4 of us will be traveling 5.5.23 on Independence of the Seas. Thanks for the embarkation day recommendation. Question for you: Do we need to reserve to watch any shows on a 3-day cruise? When & how should we do that? Don't want to miss anything on such a short cruise. Thanks so much! Also, did you go to Nassau? We want to steer away from crowds... suggestions? Thanks again, Diane C.
We haven't been on Royal Caribbean in a few years. We appreciate the tips, in particular to obtain a check in time through the app about 45 days before our departure date.
One more day until Wonder OTS! We are checked in and ready to go. Thank you Matt for all the great tips.
Thanks for info. As for the first two things to do after boarding, we think you have them reversed. We try to avoid specialty dining on a day we want to see a show. Sometimes shows occur once a cruise, so we head to the box office first to see if/which shows need reservations and when they occur to make our show reservations. With our show schedule in hand, we then work on the specialty restaurants.
Harmony on the seas on March 25th!!! Excited for my first oasis class 🔥
Thank you, value, added!
Can't until my cruise 6/30/23 🎉 yahoo.
3 months til my Harmony cruise. Thanks for the tips! Definitely excited that the whole pre-cruise covid test stressor is gone.
Excited for my first cruise 9/11/23 🎉😊
Thank you this was so helpful! We leave in 73 days for our first cruise and this video answered a lot of my questions.
Glad it was helpful!
This was SO incredibly helpful! We haven't cruised since pre-Covid so I'm glad to have the reminders as well as updates. We're booked on Oasis in May! And the porters must love us as this Canadian typically tips far more than what you recommended. I still will as it's part of what I budget for cruises. :)
Glad it was helpful!
Hi 👋 We’re going on our first cruise. How much do you tip? Do you recommend to pre-pay gratuities or pay them as you go? 😊
@@kissy7121 Hi Kissy! I'm not sure if the questions were meant for me or the Royal Caribbean folk. I like to pre-pay gratuities so they're taken care of. Otherwise, it's my understanding that they're added to the daily expenses so a big chunk to pay last day of cruise. I do tend to tip a couple of extra dollars here and there for great service at the bar, etc. And I usually leave an extra $20+ for my room attendant in the little envelope provided for passengers on the last night of the cruise. For porters, I typically tip about $5 per bag. Again, I'm Canadian and we tend to be generous tippers. It's all part of my budget as I plan. It sounds as though some people just tip $1 here and there so please do what makes you feel most comfortable so you can fully enjoy your cruise. I hope you have a fabulous time!! :)
@@kissy7121 my wife and I have sailed on 3 cruise’s With Mardi Gras including. We just booked on the oasis with our two daughters for there first cruise .anyway my wife and I always book our cruise’s with tips including.I hope this helps you?? Where sailing this sailing this fall.
I think US travellers must have far more money to spend on their cruises. These people working on the cruises aren’t forced to do so. They choose to do so and agree to the salary. Having looked at industry standard salaries they have reasonable pay plus board lodging and travel around the world, in many cases for unskilled labour. I’m glad they are there and appreciate what they do but we all work and most people don’t get gratuities for doing their job. And having spoken to several, most of their money goes home, in some cases,to very poor countries where the money is worth far, far more. We just need to get some perspective
Cursing tomorrow. Health check: done. Thanks for the reminder ✅
Thank you! Good information. My very first cruise is coming up with my teenager-great tip regarding check-in. I just did it.
Going on my first cruise ever in February. Harmony of the seas western caribbean.
Have a great time!
Always Book with your travel agent! Happy cruising😊
We just did a last minute cruise in Dec. Your tips were right on. The only issue that I had and most will probably won't experience this was the check-in. My passport was expired and was in process (online) before I booked the cruise. I have Global Entry which is a valid document you can put under your profile via the App and web site during check in. I brought my expired passport anyway assuming my Global Entry was just as good. Well they did not accept my expired passport and told me that they would not accept Global Entry as a valid form of ID. They asked if I can get a photo of my birth certificate. Luckily my daughter was home and was quickly able to text it to us. Once I received it, I connected to their WiFi and sent the photo of my birth certificate to their printer. Once it was printed, they approved it and allowed me on my way
So they accept a print out of a "photo" of my birth certificate. They couldn't tell if it was valid or in the format of the state I was born in. But they would not take a Government ID in which I had to go through a background check and finger printing for? That did not make sense.
And guess what I used when we returned to port and going through customs; my Global Entry :)
Thanks for sharing what happened with your passport situation!
Some countries require an actual passport; a conveyance like an airplane or cruise ship is supposed to ensure that the document is valid per the individua country. If a passenger is caught without , the carrier could be fined up to $10,000. (I know because I was refused boarding a flight to a country with a passport that expired within 6 month of my travel.) Each country could require them upon departing the ship if they want to. BTW Global Entry is a trusted passenger program in the United States but not in other countries, but if you are someone selected for inspection which they do randomly, and you don’t have your passport it could be troublesome. (I worked with CBP for 15 years. We randomly pulled over passengers all of the time for inspection.) Definitely ask before traveling about the documents required. I’ve seen people lose their GE status. Have a great vacation.
I am heading on the Symphony of the Seas in 8 days... super excited! Thanks for all the helpful tips
We are boarding Sympony on the 21st. Hope you had a good time.
Izumi Hibachi you have to go there and make the reservation. Also you have to do Chops directly to book as well. Learned that the hard way. So so Izumi first, then run over to Chops to do them and the other restaurants
i board next week on the navigator of the seas, this was much needed, thank you!
Have fun 🍾🍾
Me too!!! So excited!!!
She’s a great ship! Enjoy!🎉
My husband sent me this video this morning. We’ve been on 5 other cruises but being reminded of thing since we haven’t sailed since September 2019 in Europe, it was great.
Being partially deaf, in Europe, muster drill was fun where we went to the mdr and sat with people we didn’t know and made “friends” prior to sailing. The closed captioning on the tv’s was great for me!! Now I’m excited I can just watch a video that has closed captioning for muster!
It would be amazing if RC actually emailed this video after bookings are made. I’ve had a few friends who didn’t research anything and ended up disappointed over many things.
This will be my very first cruise. Mack thank you soo much. I got tired just watching all the fun and exciting things that are available and included. Thanks again. I've Subscribed and shared with my cruising party.
This video was very helpful this will be on first cruise on Royal so this helped I got everything done but this video helped me double check everything
For me the first day is a whirlwind of a day and rest Is needed.
So helpful! Finally booked my first ever cruise. Will be going in June! I’ve been watching your videos nonstop to prepare myself! Lol
You’ll have a great time! Keep watching Matt’s vlogs. He does a great job!
Just booked my first ever cruise as well. Also going in June! We are excited and ready to cruise 🛳. These videos with Matt have been extremely helpful 😀
@@diamonddiva8376 how exciting! Which cruise will you be going on!? ☺️ I’ll be on oasis June 2nd to the Bahamas! ☺️
@Chelseaaliciaa freedom of the seas. Birthday weekend June 9th 😊
I didn't kno we had make reservations for shows...when me and mom went because she elderly we went right in and sat at the end and it was a great show. Nobody asked wat time or if we was sitting in some spot. Which me and both found great because we can't walk up down stairs
Yes we were shocked and caught off guard when we had my time dining for our last cruise. Thought that my time dining was simply we showed up at say 5:15 5:30 and we could get a table possibly shortly. No not the case you had to have a reservation the matri took care of that for us for the entire cruise after our first day. But when you hear my time I would assume that it show up when you're hungry and or buddy to eat. Otherwise it's still like going to the main dining room where you have an assigned time and table. Because we had the same table every night at the same time.
After my last cruise, I'm done with Mytime. They not only wanted to give me the same time, but also the same wait staff. I showed up at my reserved time, was told it would be 5-10 minutes, and they'd get me when my table was ready. 45 minutes later, no table, and the place was about to close.
@@jeffreyclinard2002 Agreed. We went with MyTime when it started becoming common pre-pandemic. It was often more hassle/wait than it was worth. We had a real pain with it on Allure of the Seas last October, particularly; three different dining room staffers over at least 2 (if not 3) evenings told us they would fix our situation but none did. Back to Early Seating like we did when we first started cruising decades ago.
My last cruise I left my luggage with the porters @ 11am and boarded the ship. I walked back to my cabin at 4pm and noticed other luggage was dropped off for other passengers but my luggage was missing. I finally went walking around and found my luggage about 10 cabins down sitting outside door. Always makes me nervous
I just can't wait to get on my ship. I'm so excited.
I have 2.
1. Wear really comfortable shoes! No matter if you are new on a cruise ship. Or if you've been on 100s, like Matt XD, You will always be doing a LOT! of walking and exploring. Trust me.
2. If you spend a lot of time on the deck and outside. MAKE SURE YOU PUT ON SUNSCREEN! On every cruise I've been on (except for my Alaska cruise) I have seen at least 3 people so sunburn. They make the cooked lobster look pink. No one would want to miss out on a fun filled cruise cause they got heavily sunburned on the first day
My two things were: take comfortable shoes!! There will be A LOT of walking. Please do not forget the sunscreen! I take organic shea butter(no chemicals). After 5 cruises, these items will help you tremendously!
Doing your online check-in at work😂😂😂
Great info on the E-muster station! I will definitely knock that out the morning before we board!
Thanks, Matt - great tips! I've added these to my cruise preparation folder. We leave January 29th on Allure. First time on this ship & first time leaving from the new Galveston terminal. Excited for both!
Glad it was helpful!
She’s an amazing ship!❤
Hope you’re enjoying your cruise now. We leave two weeks after you on Feb 12, Super Bowl Sunday. Our first time at the new terminal as well. So excited to see the bigger Royal ship.
@@tinagorski9 Great so far! Cozumel today so it's almost over. The ship is very nice & the size absorbs the number of people so you don’t feel crowded (except for entering & leaving the aqua show). The food has been very good. We had a great meal at 150 Central Park last night and were pleasantly surprised by Sabor. Have fun on your cruise!
thanks for many information!
My experience was I got my check-in time 45 days ahead, but when I went back to complete the check-in, I had to pick a new time, and it was way later than my original time.
I noticed you can just pick a time in the app and submit but on the website the entire check in needed to be completed to check in
Very helpful, thanks
Very Helpful suggestions. Downloaded the app while watching and awaiting the 45 day check-in date. Easy to watch and understand.
Omg this video is so good
Thank you so much! I’m getting ready to book are first cruise! Single mom with two teenager girls. You just helped me so much with that information!!!!!
You are so welcome!
Super helpful! My family and I are going on the Oasis of the Seas next January and can’t wait!
Thank you. This is very helpful ❤
These are great tips, thank you. I'm looking at going on my first cruise with my son this summer. This has been very helpful. So many things to think about.
We are sailing Royal Caribbean for the first time and found this video and all of your other ones to be Very helpful!!! Thank you for taking the time to do them!
We need an updated version of this video!!
Thank you!!!! I will be planning a cruise soon!!! You have some of the best tips to use to ensure the best cruise vacation!!!!!
Thanks for watching!
Super helpful. We are cruising for the first time next week on MSC meragvilia.. I am glad we are going with our kids who have cruised before. There is a lot of information out there and this was really helpful.
Very good video. So many good reminders for that first day. 6 months until our Alaskan cruise with several first-time cruisers. This will be so useful. Thanks again 🛳️
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Matt! Not sure if you've ever done a video explaining the differences of the classes of ships. People have asked me which ships have this and which ships have that? Maybe an explanation of what the differences between the classes are would be helpful. Such as which ships have toddler pools, Promenades, private suite areas, MDR dining lunch only on sea days, and complimentary breakfast at JR, etc. Just a thought if you haven't already done that! Cheers!
th-cam.com/video/FvJUPREG7n0/w-d-xo.html
Here’s a better tip. GET TO THE PORT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, in Miami the Royal parking garage fills to capacity before 1 pm. You get routed to another garage which is a long walk away, if it’s not full!!!
have you ever made a video explaining dining with an allergy and how the restaurants on board accommodate, Especially gluten free/celiac accommodations?
Check out the Celiac Cruise! I am so excited to not have to worry about food for a week!
Thank you ..great tips
2023 Critical Things RC should do on the first day
1. How do you make sure there is a wheelchair there when you arrive at the ground-level terminal entrance? Last cruise in November, lots of confusion and I was no longer to walk even with rollater. My scooter was at the room that was not available until 1pm.
2.The drop off cruise terminal was chaotic if you needed assistance. Can you leave your bags with any porter in front of your ship?
3. It would be helpful if cruise management took a look at how the airports assist handicapped passenger. Miami, Charlotte, and Chicago Amtrak meet passengers at terminal entrance, wheel or drive to checkin, TSA, a central place for disabled to congregate (hub) while waiting and porters come in time to board at your gate. They communicate using computers, walkee talkees, and phone. Charlotte in particular is a well oiled operation based on airport (hub and spoke model).
3. We loved the VIP and relaxing lunch. We have ordered it for our October cruise.
4. In another RCBlog, it was mentioned that there was a need for more free-food finger food kiosk like Carnival = pizza slices, popcorn, nachos, wraps and such. It is a long-time between 1pm lunch & 7/8 pm dinner. On Carnival we ordered a welcome snack plate of chips & cookies. It's a vacation so I don't want to pack snacks like the train or drive.
5. RC should do an embark/first day walk through on several different size ships. GEMBA Walk is a management/leadership technique for continuous process improvement advocated by Bezo (Amazon) & late Mike Dell (Dell Computers). 🔗www.leanblog.org/2009/03/jeff-bezos-at-gemba/
We Baby Boomers are aging and more likely to need assistance.
6. Warning: if you want the early VIP checkin, don't use the RC shuttle. It starts after VIP lunch or RC arrange with the shuttle company to run a mid-morning not early afternoon.
7. FYI: The bar heights don't have part of the counter that is ♿ height; you have to yell to get the bartender's attention.
Thank you. 🐦
Agree 100%! I recently sailed on RCL out of Port Canaveral. It had been many years since I had been on a cruise and things had changed as far as embarkation. I had no idea that there would be such a long walk to actually get on the ship. This is something that should be conveyed to travelers early on so arrangements can be made if a wheelchair is needed. I witnessed quite a few older people who were struggling to make the long walk to actually board the ship. Also departing the ship and locating assistance for obtain a wheelchair was mass chaos. Even though I started asking about it 3 days prior to departure. Now I am better informed but through trial and error. However, I am sure there are other older and/or disabled passengers who could benefit from better pre-cruise information. Thanks for addressing this issue.
Great Information thank you so very much!
My cruise is explorer of the seas for March 26 to april 1st , my first cruise trip and im so excited. This channel helped me a lot
First thing after all the site seeing is to get a drink and relax and enjoy your vacation.
Just two weeks left till I cruise on Odyssey…your videos are always very helpful
Me too...1/28, this is my second time on this ship!
Great suggestions and I agree with all of them. The only tip I would add is if you board before 1:00pm, your stateroom will likely not be ready yet. Learned this last week on our 5th cruise on the Anthem. Previously we always boarded late like after 2:00. This time we boarded at 11:30 am, and not only was the terminal way more crowded, but we were disappointed that our stateroom wasn’t ready until 1:00, so we needed to bring our carry one with us to lunch. No big deal, but something to be aware of. As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
Our flight gets in at 12:15 and airport is about 20mins to the port would you suggest a 2pm check in time? If we do 2pm will we miss anything special?
@@yashiracruz804 every video I have watched says to not fly in the same day but I have heard the latest check in time would be 2 hrs before taking off. So if the cruise sets sail at 4pm then check in 2pm but I would be too nervous about possible delays with flying in the same day ❤❤Have fun and hope this helps. 😊
@@kissy7121 thank you I’m not worried about being any delays as we will be going in the summer months and i have flown in same day before.
@@kissy7121 I was scheduled to fly in the same day. I would of gotten in at 11 am and the port was 30 minutes away. I am so glad I changed my flight to the day before. It gave me time to relax, otherwise I would of been ready for bed by time my room was ready. And you never know what is going on with airlines. My SIL just got off a RC cruise the same day we went on an NCL. We flew Southwest and she flew American. We both went a day early, but we were an hour late getting home (disembarkation was exhausting...shuttles were late and we waited over 2 hours before taking a taxi). My SIL missed their connecting flight on the way home, had to get a hotel for the night and had to drive from FL to NY the next day because all flights were booked. I felt alot more at ease leaving the day before.
@@yashiracruz804
That’s way too risky. If you flight was delayed even by an hour or two you could’ve missed it. Always fly in the day before as an insurance.
Thanks Matt! You’re amazing with the information you give us. I’m looking forward to sailing on Harmony April 29th.
Have a great time. I’m going this summer.
How clean are the pools
Perfect timing! I board Wonder of the Seas in 2 days! Thanks for all of these tips!
Have fun
Hope you enjoy it!
Have fun 🍾🍾
If I ever get the chance to splurge on a Star Class suite, I will definitely do so. I was on the fence about it, but after seeing this video, I must double my efforts at winning the lottery! 😁😁
1. What is the closest covered parking deck when leaving out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando) and is there like a parking time we need to consider or can you bring your car early before we consider a checkin time?
2. Can you bring an empty container for to do your own water refills onboard? Is there a size limitation?
Matt said it best to have LUNCH!!!!! If you have the ultimate dining package hit up a specialty restaurant. I just started cruising with me Fiancee (our first cruise was an 11 night southern Caribbean cruise on Anthem), you have to go to Jaime's. The pasta is so good and then hit up chops for dinner. We both are so excited for our nest cruise in 2024, another 11 nighter :D Try the Solarium Bistro also for a quieter place.
Perfect! Just in time for my first cruise at the end of the month!!! I was starting to panic about boarding day 😅
Grateful for your tips! As we prepare to cruise Seas May 2023 incorporated many of your amazing tips! Thank you!
This is one of the most in depth video. I truly appreciate it the contents of your video will come in handy
Glad to hear it!
I went on a 4 day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on Jan 6, 2023. On the second day, a flier was place in everyone’s cabin stating some folks didn’t get their luggage and to please help if we have them. SO I WILL NEVER CHECK MY LUGGAGE!!! What a nightmare! Not having your clothes on a cruise!?!?! They just took my luggage without a receipt or any kind of proof. This can welcome theft and zero accountability .
Matt you are the man!
Brilliant advice! I've added some reminders on my phone.
Excellent!
Thank you for the tip. We are going on navigator of the sea in four months.. I need all the help and tips
Our trip on Navigator is April 2023 as well. These are good tips as well
You will enjoy Navigator!
Thank you 😊
Great tips TFS 😊
Thank you so much! You answered all my questions. Even my question about ice for our room. I am going on a cruise next month and I can’t live without my ice lol great video thanks again
I’m going on oasis this Friday and I’m so excited lol thank you so much
Thanks for the pertinent info.
So helpful! Thank you!!
Very informative video! I’ve cruised many times in the past, some things have changed.
Which Hotels In Tampa do people stay in the day before the cruise?
Was able to do vsafety, muster video and I’m going in 2 weeks. Saving time now only checkin at muster station!😊
Can’t wait till my next cruise trip to Australia/ New Zealand.!❤
Matt you’re tips are so helpful . This is our first time on the oasis. We’ve been watching your vedio’s trying to learn as possible. Now my wife just downloaded royal ‘s app last night. We have carnival’s app and the helped. Where taking our two daughters on their first cruise. This will be my wife’s and I 3rd cruise.
Glad it was helpful!
Leaving tomorrow Jan 6- for my first cruise. Thanks for the info
enjoy!!!!
Have fun🍾🍾
excited for our cruise on feb 11 - thanks for the tips
This is so helpful, thank you!
Heading on LotS in 2 weeks! We're definitely going to take advantage of the waterslides on embarkation day!! Also definitely going to book the kids some time at Adventure Ocean and Royal Tots! We have a reservation at Sabor 🥰🥰
Thanks ,that was very informative.
You're welcome
Great advice. I can’t wait to cruise again
Yeah get reservations for shows early except everything was sold out 90+ days before we leave.
With this list, especially when trying to board early, it sort of feels like there’s never a right time to get into the pool. Especially if you need to go to an open house mid-day.
If I’m on at 10:30 do all of the things you suggested, reservations, shows, muster drill checkin, eat, it feels hard to imagine getting into the pool only to jump out and dry off for the open house.
Wishing it was more of a relaxing time once on board.
What's an open house?
@@junedavis3997 AO has open house/registration on embarkation day.
Helpful tips
Glad to hear that