First day on board

[mammy175]

What suggestions do you have for managing the first few hours on board?  I am expecting mass chaos.  Thanks!

 

[9tee2Sea]

ask if you can drop off your hand luggage in your cabin ( do not stay, just drop off and go).  Have lunch, then find a place to sit and just watch.  You will pay local sales tax for any drinks in US port.  

[GTO-Girl]

1 hour ago, mammy175 said:

What suggestions do you have for managing the first few hours on board?  I am expecting mass chaos.  Thanks!

 

please do not try to go to your cabin to drop off luggage as another poster suggested!!  The doors are closed until the rooms are ready around 1:30-2:00 for a reason!!  
 

They probably wouldn’t tell you no because they don’t want to make a passenger mad but if several thousand passengers tried to “just drop off luggage” they would never get finished with their tasks!!

 

Please just follow the rules and don’t go to your room until the announcement is made they are open and ready….

Edited April 3, 2023 by GTO-Girl

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, mammy175 said:

What suggestions do you have for managing the first few hours on board?  I am expecting mass chaos.  Thanks!

 

You didn’t mention the ship, but try to avoid the buffet. Everybody seems to go there. Check and see if there are other venues open for lunch. Picking a later arrival time will also help with crowds, and possibly going straight to your cabin. I am over thinking I need to be the first one on the ship 😉

It will be a bit hectic the first day, since people aren’t really sure which way, or where they are going. Just try and be patient and enjoy yourself. With most cruise lines using apps now, now try to plan what you want to do. That will help.

[mom says]

It may depend on the line and how well they manage embarkation, but we've never encountered chaos. Certainly the central public areas will be crowded. You don't mention the ship, but some lines DO permit guests dropping off their carry on in their cabin (and then immediately leaving). Otherwise you need to keep it with you til the announcement is made that cabins are available.

 

We avoid lunch in the buffet, and eat in one of the other open venues; preferably the MDR. Then we find seating near one of the outside bars and enjoy a libation. If the ship is new to us, we like to explore the public areas, doing a casual tour starting on the top deck and working our way down. We also like to get our unpacking done before sailaway. And dont forget the muster drill.

[ldubs]

We boarded Enchanted Princess in Barcelona a couple weeks ago at about 11 am.  We were surprised that the Lido deck buffet had a very light load -- like maybe a quarter of the tables unused.  That was unusual.  

 

Unlike many who have posted, we typically do go to the buffet.  It is crowded, but we always are able to find a place to sit and eat.  

 

Check large luggage so you don't have to lug it around while waiting for your cabin.  We have found the easiest most peaceful boarding times to be about noonish after all the frantic jostling early crowds are gone.   At that time you can almost walk right onto the gangway.   Do your muster station check-in to get it out of the way.  Eat, chill, explore, enjoy.     

[shipgeeks]

We hand carry as little as possible, with the big stuff sent through. That also allows us to use the stairs, instead of waiting for packed elevators, when we want to go to another deck.

We don't try to arrive early.

If muster drill can be done singly, we do it as soon as convenient.

We try to have a concept, in advance, of what is on which deck, and forward or aft, so we can go there (eatery or open deck) as easily as possible. This also applies to our cabin, so we can go there when the announcement comes.

 

[slidergirl]

I go later to avoid the "gotta get on FIRST" herd.  Go to room, open my wine, relax until the muster drill.  

[TheOldBear]

It varies with the ship/cruise line - for example on QM2 the cabins are available when you board, even if your checked baggage arrives later.

 

The only 'must do' activity is following the ship's current emergency muster requirements. Some may have you watch a video, and then check in at your muster location. Others may do a full in person muster drill [everyone goes to their designated muster location, possibly with their life jacket, at a designated time for in person instruction]

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, slidergirl said:

I go later to avoid the "gotta get on FIRST" herd.  Go to room, open my wine, relax until the muster drill.  

 

No more mustard drill.   Now you just check in at your mustard station then watch the video on your TV.  I don't think it is as effective as the old system from a life safety perspective but it is easy peasy.  

[57redbird]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

No more mustard drill.   Now you just check in at your mustard station then watch the video on your TV.  I don't think it is as effective as the old system from a life safety perspective but it is easy peasy.  

On HAL, you need to go to the muster station shown on your key card, somebody scans it, then at some point before sailaway you need to watch the video on your tv....you can't change the channel until you do.

[ldubs]

16 minutes ago, 57redbird said:

On HAL, you need to go to the muster station shown on your key card, somebody scans it, then at some point before sailaway you need to watch the video on your tv....you can't change the channel until you do.

 

Oh shoot. I forgot I was on the generic forum.   Thanks for the save!  

[donaldsc]

Mass Chaos???  Some confusion - maybe.  Go w the flow and don't worry about it.  

 

DON

[Mum2Mercury]

Random thoughts on the first day of a cruise: 

 

- Crowds feel heavy for the first couple hours, but chaos is too strong a word.  

- We like to hit our muster station right away /take care of that requirement. 

- I understand why people are saying "Avoid the buffet", but we've never had any problem finding a chair -- maybe not a prime window seat, but we've always been able to find a seat.  

- We like to get a seat out by the pool, get a drink and enjoy seeing the people coming /going, boats going by. 

- OR, if we're more in the mood to walk, we go to the top of the ship and "circle our way down", seeing everything on the ship.  

- Some people like to hit the water slides and Flowrider before they get busy.  

- Rooms tend to open shortly after 1:00, though with the changes to housekeeping that might be later soon.  Because we board early, our suitcases are always in the hall as soon as we get into our rooms.  

- We always eat in the MDR on the first night.  Just seems like the thing to do.

[LoungingMcCoy]

I'll echo what the others have said about later check in times.  I always wanted to get on the ship as soon as possible, which usually meant sitting in the dock waiting area forever, then grabbing lunch at the least crowded spot on the ship, then sitting there with our carry-ons until our room was ready.  On our last cruise we had a later check in time.  We checked in, went straight to the ship, straight to E-muster, and sat for less than half an hour until the rooms were ready.

 

Maybe we're boring, but we usually spend the first few hours of our cruise relaxing in our cabin.  We always get a balcony and we enjoy watching sail away from there. 

[motherof2]

More of the cruise lines are giving passengers a choice of embarkation times and it has really managed the process. They monitor those times, you don’t get in ahead of your designated time( but you get in if you are late for your scheduled time) .On our last 3 cruises our room was ready when we got on board, so we drop off our carryons. We are not elite class and just have regular veranda, no suite. We watch the muster video and then go to the muster station to check in, then find lunch. We eat in the buffet, then go wander about the ship or do as so many have already suggested and find a comfortable seat in a public place and read, make last minute phone calls, make dinner arrangements if not already made. A ready room does not mean your luggage will be there. But there really isn’t chaos anywhere. We tip our room attendant when we meet them ( above the stated daily amount) and ask that we have one additional bath towel in our bathroom. It creates good rapport and gets me an extra towel for hair drying. Have a great cruise- it’s a great way to vacation. 

[shorne]

3 hours ago, 57redbird said:

On HAL, you need to go to the muster station shown on your key card, somebody scans it, then at some point before sailaway you need to watch the video on your tv....you can't change the channel until you do.

 

That wouldn't bother me at all: I haven't watched television since 1987.

 

But I shall still turn the set on long enough to watch the video.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

No more mustard drill.   Now you just check in at your mustard station then watch the video on your TV.  I don't think it is as effective as the old system from a life safety perspective but it is easy peasy.  

Not having an actual practice muster is ridiculous.

[DarrenM]

12 hours ago, mammy175 said:

What suggestions do you have for managing the first few hours on board?  I am expecting mass chaos.  Thanks!

 

On the cruises I have been on our cases were out in our room for us.

 

We head straight to our room, open the balcony door and sit and chill and be amazed we are actually there.

 

I then usually head off to a bar for a bottle of champagne and one glass.

 

She doesn't share.

[sparks1093]

Shortly after boarding we grab a drink from the Atrium bar (as mentioned, tax is charged in many ports and this applies even if you have the drink package and until you are in waters not controlled by the state you are sailing from). We usually sit for a bit with our drink and then we might grab a bite at the buffet. If the new muster procedure is still in use then we'll go to our muster station and get that done, then to the cabin once it's ready for us. If our luggage is there we will unpack everything after reviewing the receipts for our pre-cruise purchases. Then it's up to the top deck to watch sail away.

[DarrenM]

I prefer to view the sail away from the balcony of our cabin.

 

I never unpack either.

 

Case goes under bed, and I pull it out when needed to grab a clean shirt of whatever.

 

Life, the cruise, is too short to spend time unpacking, only to have to repack 10 days or so later.

[MBP&O2/O]

I have no interest whatsoever in a sailaway ..... if I am free I may amble out onto the balcony but thereagain I might not.

A late sailaway is a good time for dining ... loads of people outside and minimal people in the restaurants.... 🙂

[hallux]

17 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

ask if you can drop off your hand luggage in your cabin ( do not stay, just drop off and go).

 

15 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

We hand carry as little as possible, with the big stuff sent through.

I don't carry on anything I'm not comfortable carrying for a little while.  This is the bag I carry on - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L675RJW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1  It carries a water bottle, my camera and misc. stuff I wouldn't want to put in my checked luggage.

 

12 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

though with the changes to housekeeping that might be later soon.

NCL used to have them ready between 1 and 2 but on my cruise last month they told us not to expect rooms to be ready until 3, and the last batch of rooms to be ready was right around 3.  My luggage arrived around 4 or 5.

[ldubs]

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not having an actual practice muster is ridiculous.

 

One of those changes made during COVID that is probably here to stay.  

[Honolulu Blue]

8 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Life, the cruise, is too short to spend time unpacking, only to have to repack 10 days or so later.

I do things a different way.  I don't pack much, so it's not a big deal for me to unpack everything whenever.  I'd rather do that than dig in my bags every time I need something or every time I need to put something away.  But that's just me.

23 hours ago, mammy175 said:

What suggestions do you have for managing the first few hours on board?  I am expecting mass chaos.  Thanks!

Cruise ships can be chaotic in the first few hours, especially in certain locations.  If you can avoid the elevators and the buffet area (easier said than done, I know 😆), then you'll avoid most of the chaos.