Mistakes to avoid on the first day of your cruise

The first day of your cruise means your vacation is finally here and you're probably super excited to start it off in the best way possible. With that in mind, we've got six embarkation day mistakes to totally avoid up next. Hey everyone, it's Matt from RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com and we've got some really common mistakes we see first timers make on the first day of their cruise and you definitely don't want to do the same. They say starting off on the right foot is important, so here are a few pitfalls to avoid on the first day of your cruise. First one is flying in the same day of your cruise. One of the most common mistakes we see here and then talk about later is people that plan their flights to get into the airport the same day their cruise is supposed to leave. The reason why this is such a big mistake is if there's any kind of travel delays, whether your car breaks down, your flight is delayed, your flight is canceled, there's weather issues, and a variety of other factors that get in the way, you're putting your entire vacation in jeopardy in order to fly in the same day of your cruise. What you should do instead is fly in at least one day ahead of time. That way, if you run into any travel delays, you've got buffer in order to not put your cruise in jeopardy. Moreover, it all starts your vacation a little earlier, which is always better. The next mistake to avoid is buying your drink package or internet package while on board the ship on the first day. Yeah, you can buy it on board the ship, but you're wasting money and time. By waiting to buy these packages on board the ship, it's going to cost you more money. What you should be doing is pre-purchasing drink packages and internet packages via Royal Caribbean's website in the weeks, months, and maybe even years leading up to your cruise. This will not only save you time because that means less time in line trying to set it all up and get it all sorted out. Another really common first day mistake is assuming that the wind jammer buffet is the only option for lunch or the default option for lunch. While it is a compelling choice, there are other places on board your ship to enjoy a great lunch on board. There are especially restaurants if you want to pay a little bit extra, but there's also other complimentary venues that offer some great dining choices, whether it is Park Cafe, Sorrento's, Cafe Promenade. Don't overlook these other options because not only will they offer you some great food, but also you could get in and out a lot faster and with less crowds. A big mistake we see a lot of first timers doing is over-drinking as soon as they board. Look, you're on vacation. Maybe you got the drink package. Hey, enjoy it, right? What you don't want to do is drink so much that by the afternoon you're already out of it. Not only do you need to be present and coherent for the mustard drill, there's so many other things going on later in the day and evening that would be a shame to miss it all by sleeping off the fun earlier in the day. Another first day mistake to avoid is stopping at the first place you see on board and staying there. You walk on board the ship. It's your first taste of a cruise and man, it looks awesome. And hey, look, there's a great bar or venue you want to go check out and that's awesome, but don't linger there. There's lots of things to see all around the ship. And in fact, what you really want to be doing on the first day of your cruise is exploring the ship, get your bearings, see what else is around and get a great idea of what the ship can offer you because of course you're gonna have plenty of time later on the cruise to visit each and every one of these venues. And the last thing you want to avoid on the first day of your cruise is skipping the sail away party. I know you're thinking, all right, do I really want to do the electric slide? It is more than that. It is about celebrating the start of your vacation and the amazing views you get while you depart your port. Sail away is one of the most enjoyable aspects of a cruise vacation because you get to wave goodbye, literally and figuratively to where you're leaving from and taking some fantastic views while yes, some people will go down and start dancing, the electric slide and the wobble. The bottom line is you don't have to do it. And it's kind of nice to be part of the fun and enjoy the ambiance of the sail away. It's one of those cruise ship activities that makes cruising so much fun and enjoyable. So there you go. A number of first day cruise mistakes to completely avoid. Don't do any of these instead, have a great cruise. And if you avoid these pitfalls, I think you're really going to set yourself up for an amazing cruise vacation. Hope you enjoyed this video. If you did hit that like button down below, subscribe to our channel and turn on your notifications. So that way YouTube will let you know when I post a brand new video here, this has been Matt and we'll talk again real soon.