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First Time Cruise Tips: What to Expect on a Cruise

The first day of a cruise is the confusing one. You board at a time you were assigned, your luggage arrives hours later, everyone stampedes the buffet, and there is a safety drill you cannot skip. Once you know the rhythm it all makes sense. Here is what actually happens, in order, and the mistakes first-timers make.

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By James8 min readPublished
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The pool deck of a large cruise ship on a sunny day
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0

In Brief

What should you expect on your first cruise?

Expect a staggered boarding time, a wait for your luggage, and a mandatory safety drill within 24 hours of sailing. Bring a carry-on with medication, swimwear and a change of clothes because checked bags can take hours to reach your cabin. Meals, entertainment and the pools are included; drinks, wifi, speciality restaurants and excursions are not, and gratuities are added automatically per person per night.

Key takeaways

  • Pack a day bag with medication, swimwear and sun cream - checked luggage often arrives hours after you board.
  • The muster drill is legally required within 24 hours of departure and you cannot skip it.
  • Arrive in the embarkation city the day before. A delayed flight means a missed ship and no refund.
  • Book the popular shore excursions and speciality restaurants before you sail, not on board.
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Your first day on a cruise, hour by hour

Embarkation day has a shape, and knowing it removes most of the stress. Times vary by line and ship, but the sequence is consistent.

WhenWhat happensWhat to do
Before you travelOnline check-in opensCheck in as early as it opens and pick the earliest boarding slot you want. Print or download the boarding pass and luggage tags.
Arrival at the portDrop luggage, clear securityPorters take checked bags at the kerb - tip them. Keep medication, documents and valuables with you, never in checked bags.
BoardingStaggered by assigned timeGo straight to your cabin if it is ready, then explore. Do not queue at the buffet at 12.30 with everyone else.
First few hoursCabin ready, luggage in transitThis is why you need a day bag. Bags can arrive any time up to dinner. Book speciality dining and spa now if you have not.
Before sailingMandatory muster drillRequired by maritime law within 24 hours. On most lines you watch a safety video in the app then check in at your muster station.
EveningSail away, first dinnerMain dining is included. Dress code on the first night is usually casual - formal nights come later in the sailing.

Cruise etiquette: the unwritten rules

The one that causes the most friction is deck chairs. Leaving a towel on a lounger to reserve it while you go elsewhere for two hours is against the rules on most ships, and crew increasingly clear unattended chairs. Take the chair when you want to use it.

Elevators fill fast on a big ship. If you are going one or two decks, take the stairs - you will often be quicker and the people with mobility problems will thank you. In the buffet, use the hand sanitiser stations at the entrance every time; norovirus outbreaks on ships spread through exactly that gap in habit.

Be on time for the ship, not for the tour. All-aboard is usually 30 to 60 minutes before departure, and the ship genuinely will sail without you if you booked an independent excursion that ran late. Set your phone to ship time, which does not always match the port's local time, and check the daily programme for the day's all-aboard.

  • Do not reserve deck chairs with towels - crew clear unattended loungers on most lines.
  • Use the hand sanitiser at every buffet entrance, every time.
  • Set your phone to ship time, which can differ from local port time.
  • Be back on board 30 to 60 minutes before departure, earlier if the tour was independent.

How to avoid seasickness on a cruise

Most people on a modern cruise ship feel nothing at all. Ships are large and carry stabilisers, and the sheltered routes - the Caribbean, the Inside Passage, the Mediterranean in summer - are usually calm. The routes that move are open-ocean crossings, the Bay of Biscay, the Drake Passage to Antarctica and the North Sea in shoulder season.

If you are prone to motion sickness, cabin choice does most of the work. A midship cabin on a lower deck moves least, because it sits closest to the ship's centre of gravity; a forward cabin high up moves most. That single decision matters more than any remedy.

Beyond that: take medication before you feel unwell rather than after, because it works poorly once nausea starts. Fresh air and a look at the horizon settle things faster than lying in an inside cabin. Ginger, acupressure bands and over-the-counter tablets all help some people, and the ship's medical centre carries remedies if you are caught out - at a price.

  • Book a midship cabin on a lower deck if you are prone to motion sickness.
  • Take any medication before sailing, not once you feel unwell.
  • Go on deck and look at the horizon - fresh air beats lying down in an inside cabin.

What not to bring on a cruise

Every cruise line bans a similar list of items and will confiscate them at security, sometimes without returning them until the end of the sailing. Extension leads and power strips with surge protection are the ones that catch people out most often - they are a fire risk on a ship's electrical system, and only non-surge, cruise-approved versions are allowed. Irons, travel steamers, kettles and hotplates are banned outright on almost every line.

Alcohol policies vary but are stricter than people expect. Most lines allow a bottle or two of wine per cabin at embarkation, sometimes with a corkage fee, and prohibit spirits and beer entirely. Attempting to smuggle alcohol is the most common reason luggage gets pulled aside.

Also leave behind: candles and anything with a flame, drones on many lines, and hoverboards. Bring less clothing than you think and more than one power adapter of the right type, plus a small torch for finding things in a dark inside cabin.

  • Banned almost everywhere: surge-protected power strips, irons, steamers, kettles, candles, hoverboards.
  • Alcohol is limited - usually a bottle or two of wine per cabin, no spirits or beer.
  • Drones are prohibited on many lines and confiscated at security.

What to wear on a cruise

Daytime on any cruise is casual: shorts, swimwear by the pool, comfortable shoes for port days. The only rule most ships enforce during the day is no swimwear in the dining rooms, and a cover-up is expected between the pool and anywhere else.

Evenings split into three levels depending on the line. Casual nights are the norm and mean smart-casual - trousers or a dress, no beachwear. Most seven-night sailings include one or two formal or gala nights, where the main dining room expects a suit or cocktail dress, though the buffet stays casual for anyone who would rather skip it. Some lines have dropped formal nights entirely, so check yours before packing a dinner jacket you will not use.

The practical packing advice is to bring less than you think. Cabins are small, storage is limited, and laundry services exist on board. One smart outfit, a few casual evening changes, swimwear, and proper walking shoes for port days will cover a standard week.

Frequently asked questions

Four things save first-timers the most trouble. Fly into the embarkation city the day before, because a delayed flight means a missed ship and no refund. Pack a carry-on with medication, swimwear, sun cream and a change of clothes, since checked luggage often does not reach your cabin for several hours. Expect a mandatory safety drill within 24 hours of sailing that you cannot skip. And book the popular shore excursions and speciality restaurants before you sail rather than on board, because the good ones sell out.

Included: your cabin, main dining room and buffet meals, basic drinks like tea, coffee and water, the pools and gym, the shows and daytime entertainment, and transport between ports. Extra: alcohol and speciality coffee, speciality restaurants, shore excursions, wifi, the spa, laundry, the casino and gratuities. Gratuities are the surprise for most first-timers because they are added automatically to your account per person per night, for every night including sea days, and they apply to children on most lines too.

Start with the cabin, which matters more than any remedy: midship and on a lower deck moves least, forward and high moves most. Then take any medication before you sail rather than waiting until you feel unwell, because it works poorly once nausea has started. If you do feel it, go on deck, get fresh air and look at the horizon instead of lying down in an inside cabin. Most people on a big modern ship on a sheltered route - the Caribbean, the Inside Passage, the summer Mediterranean - never feel a thing.

It is the safety briefing that shows you where to go and what to do in an emergency, and no, you cannot skip it. Maritime law requires every passenger to complete it within 24 hours of departure, and ships track who has and has not - they will page you by name and can deny boarding for a future sailing over it. On most lines it is now quick: you watch a short safety video in the app or on your cabin TV, then check in briefly at your assigned muster station. It takes a few minutes rather than the old half-hour gathering on deck.

Anything that could start a fire or interfere with the ship's electrics. Surge-protected power strips and extension leads are confiscated routinely - only non-surge, cruise-approved versions are permitted. Irons, travel steamers, kettles and hotplates are banned on almost every line, as are candles and anything with a flame. Drones are prohibited on many ships. Alcohol is restricted rather than banned: most lines allow a bottle or two of wine per cabin at embarkation and prohibit spirits and beer, and trying to sneak more in is the usual reason a bag gets pulled aside.

It suits a lot of people well. You unpack once, the logistics between destinations are handled for you, meals and entertainment are included, and everything on board is in one language with familiar systems - which removes most of the friction that makes independent travel stressful. You also get a taste of several places to work out where you would like to return properly. The limits worth knowing: port days are short, usually eight to ten hours, so you see a slice of each destination rather than the whole thing, and the extras add up faster than the fare suggests.

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