Cruising for the first time can be daunting. Especially when you don’t know what to expect. Here are 5 things you should know before you cruise for the first time.

1. They are full board!

Many people always wonder what is included with cruising. All of your basic meals are included, and this is one of the reasons I love cruising so much. As standard on most cruise lines, you will have a Main Dining Room, a Buffet Style restaurant and some other casual dining places. These are places that are included in the cruise fare, and you wouldn’t get charged any additional supplements to dine in these venues. The Main Dining Room is normally open for an evening meal each night, and for breakfast every morning. Your night time meal will normally be a 3 course meal that changes each evening, with the exception of a few dishes that are always on the menu.

The buffet area is open for breakfast, lunch and an evening meal and many cruise buffets open for late night snacks (usually ending around 11pm). Every cruise buffet I have been in has been very plentiful and I often dine in the buffet for my evening meal, as it is more casual and there is so much choice.

2. Most Cruise Lines Expect You To Pay Gratuities

Most cruise lines (especially the American cruise lines) don’t include pre-paid gratuities, and these can be quite costly. It is always better to check with us before you book to see if gratuities are included or not, however when booking the staff at Cruise365 would always advise if they’re not included. Gratuities are essentially tips for the workers, and are charged per person, per day. You can prepay your gratuities at the time of booking with cruise lines such as NCL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises but if you don’t, they will be automatically charged to your account when you get on board.

There can be some advantages to pre-paying tips, however. For example, with Royal Caribbean, if you prepay your tips then you can select ‘My Time Dining,’ which means you can dine at any time, not just at the allocated early or late dining slot.

Some cruise lines, such as P&O and MSC have their gratuities automatically included in their cruise fare, so it is important when you are summing up costs to think about gratuities.

3. Drinks Packages aren’t included (but teas, coffee & juices are!)

On most cruise lines, your drinks packages aren’t included, and sometimes they can be very expensive. Each cruise line offer a different drinks package, with different drinks included (I will do a separate blog which goes into more depth) but what a lot of people don’t know is that basic teas, coffees and juices are included in your cruise fare.

I normally always take the drinks package, just for the convenience of paying for everything before I go, so I can keep my spending money for shore excursions.

4. Entertainment & Activities are Included (and they are amazing)

The entertainment on board cruises is up there with some of the best entertainment around. On some cruise ships you even have Broadway Shows that are included in your fare! On board you will always have something going on, whether it be fun quizzes or theatre shows, you will always be entertained.

Every cruise line has different activities included and some of these include: waterslides, zip lining, dry slides, bumper cars, mini-golf & much more! It is always better off knowing however what is included and what isn’t. The cruise lines are very good at communicating which activities are included and which aren’t.

5. Make Sure You Check In Before You Arrive At The Port

Most cruise lines offer an online check in, which is usually on an app on your phone. By completing your online check-in before you go, this means that you will be have a smoother check in procedure at the port – and will be able to board the ship quicker! By having the cruise line app, you will also be able to book shore excursions, books drinks packages, spa packages and much more. Most of the apps also work as an information centre for what is happening around the ship, what is available in the main dining room that evening and comes with a map so you don’t get lost! Although it is only 5 tips, these five questions are asked to us almost daily when we speak to first time cruisers. Why not try a cruise for yourself? Check our website here https://www.cruise365.com/ for some amazing offers