Episode 78: Top Things to Avoid on a Cruise

In this engaging episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast, host Alessia Tenebruso delves into her favorite way to travel—cruising. Alessia, a certified life and travel coach, shares invaluable tips on the top things to avoid when embarking on a cruise to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.

She begins by emphasizing the importance of adhering to safety protocols, such as attending the mandatory muster drill. Alessia also highlights the necessity of frequent handwashing, especially at buffets, to avoid illness. She advises against overindulging in alcohol and offers tips for staying hydrated and safe, particularly for solo travelers.

Alessia discusses the importance of making reservations and planning excursions in advance to avoid disappointments and long lines. She stresses the significance of being mindful of the ship’s times and schedules to prevent the risk of being left behind at ports.

The episode also covers etiquette onboard, such as avoiding saving poolside chairs indefinitely and keeping noise levels down in hallways. Alessia shares tips for managing your onboard account to prevent unexpected expenses and insists on the importance of recognizing and tipping the hardworking crew.

For health-conscious travelers, she recommends bringing a reusable water bottle and being prepared with motion sickness remedies. Finally, she underscores the importance of respecting the ship’s rules and policies to avoid fines and penalties.

Alessia wraps up by sharing her excitement for an upcoming cruise on a Virgin Voyage and invites listeners to join her on a magical trip to Germany’s Christmas markets this December.

Listeners are encouraged to follow Alessia on social media for more travel tips and updates.

Travel to Germany with Alessia: https://trovatrip.com/trip/europe/germany/germany-with-alessia-tenebruso-dec-2024

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Chapters

• 0:00 Top Cruise Ship Travel Tips
• 15:22 Cruise Ship Etiquette and Health

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, episode number 78.

Speaker 2: 0:05

Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, your passport to the world of solo travel with certified life and travel coach, alessia Tenebruso. Join Alessia as she shares her own journey of self-discovery through solo travel, while also focusing on topics such as life coaching insights and travel tips along the way. Now here's your host, alessia Tenebruso.

Speaker 1: 0:31

Hello, my friends, and welcome to episode number 78 of the One Girl Travel Podcast. Today, I want to talk to you about something that I absolutely love doing. It's my favorite way to travel and I'll be doing it soon travel, and I'll be doing it soon, and I'll be sharing it with all of you over on my social media and my YouTube page. So if you're not already following me, be sure to do so. One Girl Travel on pretty much any platform you can find, I'll be there and I'll be sharing all of my travels with you. But let me talk about it.

Speaker 1: 1:03

So today we're going to talk about the top things to avoid doing when you're on a cruise. So, as you may know, like I said, I love cruising. I think cruising is such a great way to experience the world and have a very leisurely experience while doing it, because when you get on a cruise ship, you're on, you unpack, and then you just wake up in a different country or a different island, and it's great. It's hassle-free, you have your transportation taken care of and it's like the cruise ship itself is a vacation, and then your destination is a vacation, so you really can't beat it. So I want to talk to you about the things to avoid when you are on a cruise. That way you don't make any rookie mistakes and any big mistakes, because you don't want to get banned from cruising or any fines or penalties or jail time. So let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 1:58

The first topic I want to talk about is ignoring the safety protocols on a cruise ship. So if you have not been on a cruise ship before, you might not realize that when you board a cruise ship, you have to go to your muster station for a muster drill and basically that is your location on the ship that you would go in case of emergency. So you have to go, when you board the ship, to your muster station and check in because they will do a muster drill where they go over the fact that this is where you go when you're on a cruise. If there's an emergency, this is the location you go here. And then you have to follow along with the procedures. So they show you how to put on a life jacket, along with the procedures. So they show you how to put on a life jacket. They'll tell you where you go and it's a serious drill, like you can't bring any cocktails to this. So just keep that in mind. And also, you can't avoid it either. I know you might want to get your vacation started, you want to go have drinks. You can't. You have to go and do the muster drill. It is mandatory. If you miss it they'll be calling your name over the loudspeaker and you're going to hold up the rest of the experience. So just get it over with. Since COVID they have made the muster drill easier by doing it virtually. So some cruise lines will let you watch it before you get on the ship. Some will display it in your cruise cabin and you watch it there. So there are other ways to do it. Sometimes you don't have to sit through like the whole presentation, because you watch it on the screen and you just check in so that way you know where that location is on the cruise ship. But no matter what, you have to do this. So do not avoid your muster drill. But you have to do this, so do not avoid your muster drill.

Speaker 1: 3:45

Next up is washing your hands. So at every buffet there are going to be many sinks available to you and there'll probably be a personnel, an employee of the cruise ship, singing a washy-washy song to you. So they remind you to wash your hands before you enter the buffet. The buffet, of course, is a very high-traffic area. There's a lot of hands before you enter the buffet. The buffet, of course, is a very high traffic area. There's a lot of hands, a lot of people. You don't want to get sick, and especially with stomach issues on a cruise. You don't want that. So you avoid it by washing your hands as much as possible. And then, of course, in front of the restaurants, they'll be sanitizing kiosks where you can sanitize your hands before you enter the restaurants. But you want to make sure that you are on top of your hand washing game. You want to stay as clean as possible, because every railing you touch, every elevator button, everything is just touched by lots of people. So you want to limit your exposure to getting sick. So wash your hands.

Speaker 1: 4:45

Next up is overindulging. So when you're on a cruise ship, cruises are known for drinking and eating, along with other things, of course, but drinking and eating are two of the main attractions of cruise ships. The food's really good and most likely you'll get a beverage package where your drinks are unlimited, and unlimited drinks can lead to getting kind of drunk. So if you're a drinker, and especially if you're a solo traveler, you want to be mindful of how much alcohol you indulge in. Especially as a solo traveler, you want to have your wits about you at all times. You want to make sure that you're aware of your surroundings. You know what you're doing. You have to take care of yourself when you're solo traveling and drinking can lead to just not knowing what's going on. It could lead to dangerous things happening, especially on a cruise ship. You don't want to lean over a rail or anything. You don't want to get involved with the wrong people. You want to make sure that you know everything that's going on around you.

Speaker 1: 5:48

So what I recommend is, with every cocktail you order, order a cup of water, because they're going to be small cups. You could just chug it quick. That way you stay hydrated and you kind of just balance out between the alcohol and hydrating, especially if you're out by the pool and you're drinking. You know frozen cocktails, you get hot, the alcohol hits you harder and you don't want to get sick. So just make sure you don't overindulge. And you know it's cool to party, have fun, but just know what you're doing, stay responsible and be careful and, of course, like, don't take drinks from strangers. I tell all my solo travelers that all the time I know our parents told us that since we were teenagers. But like, don't take drinks from strangers, do not leave your drinks unattended, make sure that you are getting your drinks from the bartender and just be safe, all right.

Speaker 1: 6:44

Next up is neglecting reservations and plans. So you want to make sure that you are booking your reservations in advance. So reservations for dining, for excursions or shows, those are all things that you can book before you even go on the cruise ship. So what I recommend is to book whatever you can as early as possible, and not all reservations are going to be available pre-cruise. They open small slots for, you know, depending on the quantity of people and the time and the restaurant. They open up a limited amount of reservations pre-cruise. So if you can grab a reservation before you get on the cruise ship, that's great. Try to do that. Try to get the shows booked.

Speaker 1: 7:33

If you can't, at least get your excursions booked in advance, because the more popular ones will sell out and you don't want to get left without having an excursion and then you're booking a random excursion at the destination and then you might risk not making it to the cruise line on time. So you don't want to mess around with that. You want to make sure that you book what you can upfront and things like the comedy show that tends to sell out because those are hosted in a smaller venue. The specialty dining, you know, the six o'clock, seven o'clock reservations are more popular so those might book up before you even get on the ship. So you want to just try to book as much as possible. It's easier to plan in advance rather than worrying about planning it when you're on the ship. That's my personal opinion. I think it's less stressful personal opinion. I think it's less stressful. So do what you will with that.

Speaker 1: 8:28

Next up is disregarding the time, the ship's times and schedules. So One of the things you probably heard on the news recently I feel like it's been coming up a lot lately are cruise passengers being left behind on islands and in different countries, and the reason for that is because they book private excursions and they didn't get back to the ship on time before the all aboard time was called. Which means that if you book an excursion through the cruise ship, that it's if you're on Norwegian Cruise Line. You book a Norwegian Cruise Line excursion, the ship will wait for you. If you're running late, it will make sure you get back on that ship. You are accounted for.

Speaker 1: 9:46

If you decide to book a private tour, wherever you are, and you're running late, the cruise ship does not have to wait for you and that could lead you to being left in an island or in another country with a limited amount of things on you, because what are you really taking off the ship with you? Hopefully you have your wallet, your passport, but if you're on a beach somewhere, you're going to be in your bathing suit with barely anything. You don't want to be left behind and you don't want to be one of those people running down the pier trying to catch the ship. You're going to hold up everybody else. You really want to make sure that you're mindful of the all aboard times. When you get back to the ship very, very important.

Speaker 1: 10:30

And then and then, secondly, at night usually it's the night before or the morning of you will get a newsletter and you don't want to disregard these newsletters, because these newsletters are going to tell you the temperature of the location, the all aboard time, the disembark time and the all aboard time. It's going to tell you what you can or cannot bring off the ship with you. There might be some rules about taking food off the ship or whatever. It might tell you what areas to avoid. So it's really important to pay attention to those newsletters. Also, those newsletters are great because they give you so much information about the activities that are going on that day, so that way you're informed. You can plan your day as however you want. There is just a limited amount of things to do on a cruise ship, which is amazing, but you want to pay attention to those newsletters. I like to bring a highlighter with me. That way I can highlight the activities that I want to do that day on the cruise and I don't miss anything that I really really want to do that day on the cruise. And I don't miss anything that I really really want to do.

Speaker 1: 11:33

The next thing you want to avoid is being inconsiderate to your fellow passengers. Now, the big way that people are super inconsiderate on cruise ships are the chair savers. Now they are waking up with the sunrise and they're going out on the pool deck and they're finding that ideal spot right next to the pool and they're putting like a towel and a book on that chair and then they're going off to breakfast, they're going back to their room, they're going rock climbing I don't know what they're doing, but they're not sitting in that chair. So they are hoarding this chair from people that could actually be using it and just leaving random stuff on it and like saving it for when they do come back, which is really frowned upon. The cruise line does not like you doing this. They will take your stuff. If they see that the chair is unattended for a long period of time, they'll just take your stuff and put it somewhere. So don't be one of those people. Just sit in the chair when you're there, take your stuff when you leave. Do not hold a chair for hours and not use it. It's not cool. I mean, there's plenty of seating around the ship, but there's a limited amount of seats around the pool and you really shouldn't just hoard your stuff on the chair.

Speaker 1: 12:48

The next thing is also being loud in hallways On a cruise ship. The walls are very thin and I feel like you can hear everything from your cruise cabin. I always bring earplugs with me when I am going to sleep on a cruise, because you hear everything and at night people are drunk. They're talking so loud, they're screaming, they're laughing, they're running, they're doing all crazy things and you can hear them. So be mindful, when you're in the elevator and when you're in the hallway, to not talk loudly, to not yell, sing, scream, laugh really loud. Just be mindful of those who are sleeping, because they can hear you and it's annoying to be woken up out of your sleep when there's noisy people in the hallway. Also, the same goes for music. You want to be careful of loud music on your balconies in your room. Just noise carries. So just be considerate of your passengers.

Speaker 1: 13:42

Next up is mismanaging your onboard accounts. So it is very easy to spend money when you're cruising because your wristband or your room card is basically like your credit card. All you have to do is tap it, the charge goes through and you don't worry about it. There's no money actually being exchanged until the very end of your cruise and then, at the end of the cruise, you're going to have this whole printout of what you spent and you don't want to be shocked by that number because things add up. So be mindful. You can check on your screen, on your television in your room cabin, you could check on the app, or you can go to customer service and ask them for a printout of all of your spending that you've done. You want to check it to make sure that there was nothing charged on your account that did not belong to you. I've had that happen to make sure that there was nothing charged on your account that did not belong to you. I've had that happen to me where I got charged for cocktails even though I had a beverage package, so they put somebody else's drinks on my account and I had to fight it. But the main thing is so you want to check it as much as possible because you don't want to wait until the last day when you're trying to get off the ship and then you find these errors and then you need to fight the errors with customer service and there's a huge line of people, so that's going to delay your process with getting off the ship. It's going to be a pain in the neck. So avoid it by just being mindful, reviewing what you've spent, and also that's a great way of limiting how much you spend on the in the future. So that way you're not like spending over and over again. You're like okay, I spent enough, now I can take it easy in the next few days.

Speaker 1: 15:22

The next thing is ignoring gratuities. So one of the options you have, depending on the cruise ship or the cruise line, of the options you have, depending on the cruise ship or the cruise line, I should say is putting gratuities on your account in advance, so like paying in advance for gratuities, and these gratuities go to all of, like the back of house workers, all of the people, but also you want to keep in mind that you have a room steward who is looking after you the whole time. Depending on the ship, you might have a waiter or multiple waiters with you the whole time. You want to take care of these people, the bartenders, all these people. They live on the ship full time, like this is where they're living and working and you want to show your appreciation. So just be mindful of the gratuities, make sure that you're tipping them. Well, I like to bring cash with me, small bills, you know, singles, fives, tens, twenties. Like that way I can, you know, give it as I want as I interact with certain people, and then, of course, take care of your room steward at the end of the cruise. You can also do like half in the beginning, to try to like get more pillows or hangers or whatever you need, and then the other half at the end. But, of course, base it on the service you receive. But just be generous when it comes to tipping Next up.

Speaker 1: 16:48

We have not taking care of your health. So health is very important when you're on a cruise, because you're floating in the middle of the ocean and you don't have access to the things that you would have access to on land. So you want to make sure, again, you're washing your hands, you're staying hydrated. Hydration is very important on a cruise ship, especially with those unlimited beverage packages. So my main recommendation for this is to bring a reusable water bottle with you. That way you can fill your water and ice at the drink stations. Bottled water is not included in your cruise price and it is not included in the beverage package. You have to actually upgrade to a specialty beverage package to get bottles of water. So if you're in your room and you're ready to go to bed and then you realize there's no water to be found, it sucks.

Speaker 1: 17:44

You want to make sure that you have water on hand at all times. So bring a Yeti or Stanley whatever a nice insulated water bottle that you can put ice and water in that you can carry it around the ship with you, you can leave it in your room. I've seen people bring the full-size Brita filtered pitchers and then they just like fill it up in their sink and then they filter it and then drink that. I personally don't like to drink from the taps on cruises. I like to get it from the fountains or from bottles or from the bars, whatever. But that's an option for you. Or you can also get the like water bottle package where they deliver a case of water to your room. But the most important thing here is to stay hydrated. You can also bring those liquid IVs or electrolyte packets and dump it in your water. That way you get that boost of hydration.

Speaker 1: 18:36

Especially being out in the sun and drinking, you want to make sure that you are hydrated and then next up, if you have any seasickness, if you're motion sick, you want to make sure you're taking care of yourself. So you want to get some medication before you get on the ship, just as a precaution. Even if you think you don't need it, it's always good to have it. So I recommend bonine and dramamine. Those are two great medications that are over the counter to bring with you. They do not recommend mixing that with alcohol, so please use your discretion when using those. You can also go to the doctor and get a prescription for those in back of ear patches for motion sickness. Those help some people. And then there's also those acupressure bands, so they look like those like retro sweat bands on your wrists. And then there's also those acupressure bands, so they look like those retro sweat bands on your wrists. And then there's this plastic nub that pushes against your skin and it gives you acupressure and it's supposed to help alleviate the motion sickness. So that is a good option as well.

Speaker 1: 19:36

Also, sometimes you're told to keep your eyes on the horizon. If it's rocky water and you're looking out and the horizon's here and then it's here and then there, it's not a good feeling. So go inside, try to find something that does not move and keep your eye on that rather than moving things. Also, if you do get seasick or motion sick, you want a cabin that is in the center of the ship, at a lower deck, because that's going to alleviate a lot of the motion, because you're centered on the ship and that's where the stabilizers are located. So keep that in mind when choosing a cabin. If you are all the way forward or all the way in the back, you're going to feel it. So just be mindful. Especially at the top, the upper decks, you're going to feel it more. And finally, the last thing that I want to make sure you avoid doing when you're cruising is breaking the ship's rules and policies. So there are some things that you need to pay attention to before you get on the ship.

Speaker 1: 20:38

Each cruise line will have their own rules of things that you cannot bring with you, such as surge protectors, irons, steamers. You want to make sure that you are not bringing any of the banned things, because they'll just take it away from you and then you lose out on that item. So for wrinkles, I recommend bringing downy spray like the wrinkle release spray. Bringing downy spray like the wrinkle release spray, that works great. Or just hanging your items in the bathroom and running a hot shower and the steam will help get rid of some of the wrinkles. As far as not bringing surge protectors, I recommend bringing the. They're like USB bars that you can just plug into a standard outlet and it has multiple ports for USB is. That way you can plug in a bunch of your electronics as at once. Also, I like to bring international universal plugs for the universal outlets that they have on there to maximize the things I can plug in. So those come in handy as well.

Speaker 1: 21:38

And then for my smokers you cannot just smoke anywhere on a cruise ship, even though it's considered like outdoors. You have to smoke only in designated areas. So on the pool deck there'll be like a little area where you can go smoke there. On the boardwalk area there'll be a designated area, there'll be a cigar lounge, but you cannot smoke openly. You have to be mindful of that and you want to make sure you're not breaking any rules. You can't smoke on balconies. So you know fire and cruise ships not a good mix. They want to make sure that they limit as much as possible, like precautions with fire. So be careful of that.

Speaker 1: 22:18

And then finally, with bringing alcohol on board. Some cruise lines will allow you to bring two bottles of wine with you, or maybe beer. It depends on the cruise line. You have to check and read their rules. Again, every cruise line is different. But you cannot bring liquor on board. They will confiscate it and then you're out, whatever. You paid for this. So you don't want to get in trouble. Just be mindful. Also, drones aren't allowed on some ships. Some personal fans aren't allowed on some ships. So, again, read the rules before you get on board to avoid any fines, penalties, being banned. You don't want to be banned from cruising, so just keep all that in mind for a great cruise.

Speaker 1: 23:03

Again, cruising is such a great way to experience the world. It's fun, it's relaxing. Honestly, cruising is anything you want it to be, because you can be as active as you want or as relaxing as you want. And I am actually going on a cruise in a few weeks on a Virgin Voyage cruise. Those are adult only cruises and I'm attending a conference. I'm very excited for it. I'll be sharing all that with you.

Speaker 1: 23:28

Again, follow me on YouTube One Girl Travel. On Instagram, tiktok, one Girl Travel, and I am so excited to share my travels with all of you. And, yeah, I hope these tips helped you. If you have any questions about cruising, let me know. I would love to create more content around cruising Because, again, I love it. I'm passionate about it. I hope every one of you decides to take a cruise and loves it. So until next time, my friends, I hope you have a great day and I'll talk to you next week day and I'll talk to you next week.

Speaker 1: 24:07

And one final reminder if you're ready to take a vacation this year, if you are ready to start solo traveling but you don't know how to go about it, you don't know how to book that first trip. Or maybe you don't feel comfortable, or maybe you just want a fun girl's trip, or maybe you just want to travel with me. That's cool too, but join me on my Germany trip this December, where we are going to experience the magic of Germany's Christmas markets. It is going to be incredible. The Italy trip was a dream come true and I can't wait to go on more trips with all of you. So this Germany trip is going to be so much fun.

Speaker 1: 24:39

If you have questions about it, reach out to me. Contact at onegirltravelcom. We can set up a call. I'll help you through whatever you need. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. But I would love for you to join this trip Right now. There are a few early bird spots left where you save $100. So go check it out. I'll have a link in my show notes for the trip. Or you can go to one girl travelcom and it will say travel with me up in the top and click that. I hope you join me on this journey and I am so excited to travel with you in the future. Bye.

Speaker 2: 25:13

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the one girl travel podcast. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can find out more about your host on our website, onegirltravelcom, or follow her on Instagram, facebook, pinterest and TikTok. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll catch you in the next episode.