Tips and Suggestions for Cruise Travel

1. Sea Sickness and Ways to Prevent

So this is one of the things that I wasn’t overly concerned about – big mistake. I was actually more focused on the ship capsizing or disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle. So what I should have done was look into Sea Bands (another style here) and motion sickness preventatives. Sea Bands are these little bracelets that are drug-free and use acupuncture pressure points that are effective and reusable. I thankfully, picked up some Bonine chewables which I took regularly while on the boat. (This is the anti-drowsy option over Dramamine.)

2. The Atlantic Ocean is more rough than the Gulf of Mexico.

Whoa. I mean I knew that I’d feel the boat moving while I was on it, but I was NOT expecting the constant rocking back and forth. On night one, we were swaying so much that the hangers were knocking together in the closet. Turns out – after some casual convos with a few regular cruisers – the Atlantic waters are much rougher than say leaving out of Miami or in New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. So if you’re planning on leaving from New Jersey, plan on some real movement!

3. Go with the beverage package.

I went back and forth about purchasing a beverage package on the first day, but I ultimately decided to go with it. Why? Water, juices and the standard coffee choices are all free, but if you want the specialty coffee, sodas or liquor, you’re going to be charging it on your Sea Pass each time. Trust me, you’ll want to have the option to get whatever you want on the drink menus! 

4. The Zoom wifi is legit.

One of my main fears of going on this cruise was the thought of not having wifi. Sure unplugging is great – but not having the option to plug back in – pretty scary! The Zoom wifi package on Royal Caribbean was actually very reliable. I was super impressed with the internet situation, and it only got spotty on Day 5 when we were going through a rain storm. I was able to post on social media at all of my normal times with no issue at all while on the boat!

5.  Pack More Casual Clothes

I got so cozy and comfy on the boat that I almost ran out of loungewear and pajamas! Sure I packed a ton of cute swimsuits and rompers and dresses for dinner, but I sort of overlooked comfy clothes too! I started re-purposing my coverups for tops (check it out on Instagram for examples) which luckily turned out super cute too. See what I packed in this post.

Do you guys have any helpful cruise tips for me to add to my list? Shoot me an email at apinchoflovely@gmail.com.