Ten of Our Top Cruising Tips

Those of you who have booked cruises with us, know that we provide first-time LGBT cruisers with a lot of information about how best to enjoy their cruise. Here are some tips to enjoy any cruise that you might choose to take:

1. Don’t Arrive on the Day your Cruise Leaves-Why it may seem to save you money by avoiding paying for a hotel room, airline travel is too inconsistent these days for you to plan to arrive on the same day your cruise is leaving, without some risk. Also, frequently the port of embarkation is worthwhile and by pinching pennies on a hotel room you are depriving yourself of a real opportunity to explore that port. At a minimum, we suggest buying travel insurance if you are going to cut things that close

2. Learn Your Forward from your Aft-Of the Ship that is. If you do this early on in your cruise, you will find you get from one event to another much more quickly. Otherwise you can spend a bunch of time just wandering around aimlessly. That can be “fun” too, but we will leave that for another article.

3. “Here’s to the Cruisers Who Brunch”-On many cruise ships, the brunch that they will have one or more times on the cruise in the main dining room is the best pre-dinner meal on the ship.

4. “Bar-none”-Check out the ship’s signature bar. On many Celebrity ships that is the Martini Bar that offers great drinks and presentation at prices better than certain other spots on ship. On Royal Caribbean’s spanking new Anthem of the Seas, check out the Bionic Bar where robots make you cocktails to your specifications.

5. Tour in Private or on Your Own-While the ship’s tours allow you to meet other passengers and be assured that the ship will not leave without you, private tours and/or touring on your own is more intimate, special and gives you more flexibility. When you book with us, you receive port destination insights that will help you to make the most of every minute you have in port.

6. Order What You Want-On the ship, and in the Main Dining Room in particular, don’t feel constrained by the pre-printed menus. If you want no appetizer and two entrees, just ask and they will accommodate. You are on vacation after all and the gym is just a few decks above you to work it off

7. Take Time to Unpack-One of the great things about cruising, is that you only have to unpack once. So, take the time to get organized.

8. Go See the Entertainers-This is especially true if you are on a LGBT cruise  since they have hired special entertainers for your cruise that generally exceed all reasonable expectations. Even normal cruises however in recent years are mounting better shows including full-fledged Broadway productions that are free to you and would not be cheap on land.

9. Consider Staying on Board for One Port-Sometimes your cruise itinerary is so full of interesting ports that this is the main reason you are on the cruise. However, if you are going to a port you have been to recently and/or repeatedly, don’t feel ashamed to stay on ship. You will get reduced prices in the spa, get into use the gym without waiting and just have a day to relax and chill out.

10. Don’t Try to Do Everything-Especially on the LGBT cruises and/or the large ships, you cannot do everything. You cannot see every show, gamble in the casino every night and close every dance party, especially if you are getting up for early morning tours. Make choices and pace yourself!