Tips on what to do as soon as you board for beginners

Hi my wife and two kids (14 and 16) are taking our first cruise next June on the Bellissima in the med. Any tips on what we should do as soon as we board the ship? Book kids into clubs, book spa treatments(we're booked on the aurea experience) etc? We are complete numbers so any info would be very helpful.

Thanks

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The first thing to do is to register your credit card at the kiosk , then walk around and appreciate the ship. Lunch will be available in the dining room as well as the two buffets.,signup for any activities you are interested in; a drink at the bar and sit poolside.

The jungle pool is a great area for the kids and there are chairs for you seat on as well. THe experience you have, affords you the opportunity to go up to a special area , but with the kids you may prefer to stay closer " to the action". We were on thenSeaside in April and will be back on in a few weeks . Lots to do. Enjoy

You may have the OP's ship wrong. OP is asking about the Bellissima, not Seaside. There isn't a Jungle Pool on that ship, although there are some very nice pools.

The first thing to do is to register your credit card at the kiosk , then walk around and appreciate the ship. Lunch will be available in the dining room as well as the two buffets.,signup for any activities you are interested in; a drink at the bar and sit poolside.

The jungle pool is a great area for the kids and there are chairs for you seat on as well. THe experience you have, affords you the opportunity to go up to a special area , but with the kids you may prefer to stay closer " to the action". We were on thenSeaside in April and will be back on in a few weeks . Lots to do. Enjoy

Before boarding (and possibly before booking), learn what is on the ship, where those things are, and the best ways to get there from your stateroom. It will save you the trouble of wandering aimlessly around the ship on embarkation day...like the rest of the passengers. ;)

Hi my wife and two kids (14 and 16) are taking our first cruise next June on the Bellissima in the med. Any tips on what we should do as soon as we board the ship? Book kids into clubs, book spa treatments(we're booked on the aurea experience) etc? We are complete numbers so any info would be very helpful.

Thanks

 

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Go for lunch.

The first thing my family does is tour the ship from end to end while everyone else is at the buffet. It's almost like having the ship to yourself!!!

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Definitely go and book your massage, it needs to be booked within the first 2 days and they do get booked up quickly.

Explore the ship and relax.

The first thing to do is to register your credit card at the kiosk , then walk around and appreciate the ship.

What? Is this not done via online prior to sailing or by the agent at check-in??

No, it's done once you have embarked. There are lots of small terminals to do it at and only takes a minute. It's not necessary to do immediately. We always do it as part of exploring the ship.

No, it's done once you have embarked. There are lots of small terminals to do it at and only takes a minute. It's not necessary to do immediately. We always do it as part of exploring the ship.

Are we required to do this at a kiosk? How do we get our cards for the ship?

Sorry if these sound like stupid questions. We're booked on MSC for the first time next year and even though we are very experienced cruisers, I've never heard of doing this at a kiosk.

Are we required to do this at a kiosk? How do we get our cards for the ship?

 

Sorry if these sound like stupid questions. We're booked on MSC for the first time next year and even though we are very experienced cruisers, I've never heard of doing this at a kiosk.

You get your cards and have your picture taken during check-in.

You then board the ship. You can setup your onboard account via kiosk or at the service desk. Most people will rush to either one in order to do it immediately but you can do it later in the day if the lines are too long.

If using cash, I believe that setup must be done at the desk. Cards can be used at either type of location.

As another first time cruiser I'm going to jump in here with a follow up question. I'm going on the Armonia in May with a departure time of 7 PM. We must be on the ship two hours prior, so 5 PM, but I can't find anything that states how early we may board (embark?) as we wont receive e-tickets until just 20 days out. Several comments here mention going for lunch right away, do you expect we could get on the ship as early as lunch time or is this suggestion based on an earlier departure for the OPs ship?

Thank you

^^

Your earliest boarding time isn't really related to departure time. Boarding will probably begin sometime after 11am.

Are we required to do this at a kiosk? How do we get our cards for the ship?

 

Sorry if these sound like stupid questions. We're booked on MSC for the first time next year and even though we are very experienced cruisers, I've never heard of doing this at a kiosk.

There're absolutely not, we were all first timers somewhere once and this is the place to ask and learn :)

They aren't kiosks really, just machines, a square column about waist height with a touch screen and you swipe your credit card. There are lots of them around, no need to rush or queue as you have 24 hours to do it.

Your cruise cards will be in your cabin. If your cabin isn't ready and you have a drinks package included, your paperwork/booking documents will suffice for you to be able to obtain drinks until you have your cruise cards.

You get your cards and have your picture taken during check-in.

 

You then board the ship. You can setup your onboard account via kiosk or at the service desk. Most people will rush to either one in order to do it immediately but you can do it later in the day if the lines are too long.

 

If using cash, I believe that setup must be done at the desk. Cards can be used at either type of location.

Ok, thank you!!! :)

There're absolutely not, we were all first timers somewhere once and this is the place to ask and learn :)

 

They aren't kiosks really, just machines, a square column about waist height with a touch screen and you swipe your credit card. There are lots of them around, no need to rush or queue as you have 24 hours to do it.

 

Your cruise cards will be in your cabin. If your cabin isn't ready and you have a drinks package included, your paperwork/booking documents will suffice for you to be able to obtain drinks until you have your cruise cards.

Thank you! So glad I'm taking the time to read up on MSC since it appears to be very different than the other lines we've sailed. :):)

What week are you sailing on Bellissima? We sail out of Genoa May 26th, My  kids are 11 and 9.

When sailing seaside last May we got our cruise cards at check-in before we boarded the ship. We didn't set our account up for about 3 days. It was super easy. We also boarded at 11:00. I first used the app and booked all the shows right away. Then went to eat lunch at the buffet. After lunch went straight to the spa and booked massages, we were aurea as well. I was able to give my massage to my husband with no big deal. After that our room was ready so we checked it out, luggage arrived later. Headed to the pool, kids wore suits under cloths and we started our trip!

Not sure how Bellissima will be but hopefully we'll start seeing some reviews once the ship starts to sail. Can not wait, so excited!!!

We sail from barcelona on the 28th June.we can't wait, although it all sounds a bit daunting since we are newbies!! I'm sure we'll be fine.

Pack carry on bag with swimsuits so you can use the pool before luggage arrives.

Remember when posting and giving advice to check where the ship/poster is sailing from, European ports tend to be different than Miami and may not start boarding at the times some have mentioned.

We did not register our card on our two Seaside sailings until the third day and had no issues. Some ships have cards in the cabins while others receive them at check in.

On 10/18/2018 at 12:22 PM, Nuggy23 said:

We sail from barcelona on the 28th June.we can't wait, although it all sounds a bit daunting since we are newbies!! I'm sure we'll be fine.

How exciting!!!  They are used to lots of newbies on board, and are very gracious with answering question.  They will guide you through the embarktion routine.  Our first European cruise on MSC was a dream!  It's different than how we do things in the USA, but different isn't wrong!  

I  can't remember who asked when boarding begins...  In our experience, they begin boarding as soon as the previous passengers that are disembarking do so (our cruise had multiple boarding stops).  We arrived at 9am to the port in Kiel, Germany, and were allowed to check our baggage, but were encouraged to explore the town until 11.  We returned at 11 after a delightful couple hours of "touristing" and were in one of the first boarding groups.  Other ports may be different. 

Bon Voyage!