As mentioned in previous posts regarding our Honeymoon, we wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been and have an experience that neither of us had had before. We floated (no pun intended) the idea of a cruise for a while but was a little put off due to the stories you hear about the weather at this time of year. After speaking with a travel agent the reassured us that we would be fine so we went for it! My parents had previously been on a European cruise and said we would really enjoy it so we thought why not!! I spent a long time deciding which one would work for us but it sort of all came down to what date would be appropriate for us. We knew we wanted to go on Honeymoon pretty quickly after the wedding and we knew we wanted to go to Miami too so we found one that allowed us a few days after the wedding to head to Miami for 4 days then travel to Orlando to board our cruise.
I read SOOOO many blogs about what to pack, what to book in
advance, cruise tips etc. I visited the cruise website a million times to have
a look what activities where available, what the menus where in the different
websites and what excursions we could book. Despite the advice we didn’t book
any excursions in advance we waited until we were on board which wasn’t a problem
for us as the activity we choose wasn’t fully booked (luckily) I would say if
you are a family or a group I would book to make sure you all have a space. I
also would take the ‘cruise tips’ with a pinch of salt as not all where applicable
for us!
Cruise tips I
actually took on board: (Again with the puns!)
Pack a highlighter
– this is actually helpful to highlight what activities you want to do each day
Book a speciality
restaurant – we loved the speciality restaurants we only ate the regular one
twice!
Watch the parade –
we actually saw this by accident as we had not planned to see it but it was
actually really good!
Include your tips
– especially for us English folk who aren’t used to it, it’s far easier to pay
them upfront so you don’t have to while on board.
Order as many dishes as you want! - We didn't actually even have to do this as our waiter one night was like oh wow your English, you love curry! So we said year sure, and with that we had a full new plate of food on our table, it was great!
Buy the drinks package - It made our lives so much easier as we didnt have to worry about racking up a huge bill at the end. We tried loads of different cocktails, had champagne some nights and it was all unlimited! Worth the money for sure.
Don’t bother with the Wi-Fi – Unless you actually need it why would you bother! You’re on holiday take a break from social media and the outside world! Plus its really expensive!
Stay on the ship / Come back early - There is nothing to say you cant stay on the ship you don't have to disembark. One of our days we decided to head back early and it was bliss! Plus they usually have discounts in the spa's etc!
Wait for the Deals/Sales - This applies to being on the ship and pre-cruise. We got an email prior to the cruise to say if we booked within 24 hours we could get our drinks package discounted! This goes for on the ship too, we booked the speciality restaurant package once on board for a cheaper price. The shops on board have 'sales' too.
Make any reservations early for the best times - we selected any time dining and then booked a slot on the day, this was better as we preferred to be flexible however it is risky as you may miss out on something with it not being available at the time you require so prioritise your bookings!
Cheers, have the best time!
