Having racked up 40-odd countries and more than a decade in the travel industry, the last six months of that at a cruise publication, you'd think I'd have cruised by now. Until a few weeks ago, I hadn't.
To be honest, it wasn’t until recently that I started to consider it. I liked the idea of visiting different places, plus the convenience of not catching multiple planes, trains or buses and not having to repack several times in one trip, but I had my reservations and preconceptions about cruising, too.
Before we made any decisions, my partner and I needed to do our research and find the right cruise line and itinerary for us.
Without further ado, here’s everything we learned along the way, from the booking stage to our post-cruise stay.
1. Pick the itinerary, not the ship
For some people, the ship is the point. They’re after total relaxation, the endless activities on board and the family-friendly kids’ clubs, and the destinations come second. That’s a perfectly good approach to cruising.
For us though, it was the other way round. Our motivation was led by the destinations and the chance to visit multiple new countries in a single trip. Central America ranked high on our wish list, and we ultimately chose an itinerary from Norwegian Cruise Line that visited some incredible countries including Mexico, Honduras and Belize.
What really sealed the deal for us was the departure port, New Orleans. More on this in a bit, but we loved the idea of combining our first cruise with the chance to explore one of the most colourful cities in the world. It felt like the perfect match.
2. Make the experience your own
One thing that stood out to us was how much you can tailor a cruise to suit your priorities. Although we were set on the itinerary, I hadn’t appreciated how many decisions we’d need to make before booking.
Do we book with the cruise line direct or use a travel agent to package it up? What stateroom do we want? Do we need one of NCL’s Free at Sea packages, which bundle in premium drinks? And that’s before we even started looking at shore excursions.
It was definitely worth doing some research and price comparisons. Ultimately, we booked our cruise directly through NCL and the flights separately so we could make the most of our Avios points.
We also decided not to upgrade to Free at Sea, since my partner doesn’t drink so the value wasn’t there for us.
Instead, we put our budget towards upgrading our stateroom to a balcony cabin, and we were so glad we did. We spent a lot of time sitting out there, enjoying the fresh ocean air, and it was really nice to have an outside space that was exclusively ours.
3. Not all travel insurance is created equal
Taking out travel insurance is a must, and for those who travel often an annual policy can provide the best value and peace of mind. However, you do need to make sure your insurance has cruise cover, too, as it isn’t standard for many policies.
Pay attention to what is actually included as well. Onboard medical costs can be expensive, so you want a good level of coverage that extends to emergency evacuation if necessary.
Some policies also provide compensation if you’re confined to your cabin due to illness. The very best ones even account for cases where guests miss the ship altogether, or where itineraries are changed because of unforeseen circumstances and key ports are skipped.
4. Know what to expect from embarkation day
When you should head to the cruise terminal depends on the allocated boarding time you’ve been assigned. Ours was 1.30pm. When we arrived, there was quite a big queue through customs, but it moved quickly.
Something that catches some passengers out during embarkation are the rules about what you bring on board, so be sure you check your cruise line’s guidance before packing. NCL has restrictions on beverages, for example. If you do want to bring your favourite bottle of wine or champagne with you, there’s a corkage fee.
Once on board our ship, Norwegian Escape, we found our stateroom and made ourselves at home. The convenience of only unpacking once and not having to live out of a suitcase was immediately a clear benefit.
It was then time to head to our muster station, which is a meeting point used in emergencies. It’s required for all guests to check in at their designated station for safety reasons.
Once that was done, it was time to explore the ship. I really couldn’t believe its size and scale, and how much was on offer.
5. You don’t have to follow the crowd
On larger ships, don’t be afraid to seek out your own space. When we set sail from New Orleans, we headed up to the main pool area on Deck 18 where the sailaway party drew crowds. The vibe was good, but we wanted somewhere quieter, so we made our way to Spice H2O, the adults-only escape at the back of the ship, and found two sun loungers with an unobstructed view.
Cruising down the Mississippi felt pretty iconic, taking in farmland and grand houses and wondering if we’d spot an alligator or two. It gave us a taste of river cruising while we were still on an ocean ship. Ultimately, watching the incredible scenery suited us far better than the party we’d left behind.
Scoping out the quieter spots was something we kept doing on our sea days throughout the trip. We learned the best loungers tended to go early, so it paid to get up and grab one before the rush.
6. The free dining holds its own
We didn’t upgrade to Free at Sea, so we were intrigued to see what the complimentary onboard dining would be like. Would there be enough choice or would we feel the need to book some of the speciality restaurants?
When we went to test out the complimentary à la carte restaurants, we were pleased to find the food was great and the onboard service was genuinely on par with an upscale restaurant. Our only minor critique would be the menus across the three main dining venues, Taste, Savor and the Manhattan Room, were very similar. There were, however, daily specials to mix things up.
Also, if you wanted something less formal, you could head to the Garden Café, which serves up a buffet. Whatever you’re craving, chances are you’d find it there. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we were spoiled for choice. There were multiple stations with different cuisines, so it really felt like there was something for everyone. It did feel understandably busy at times, but sitting towards the back was significantly quieter.
We found that just dining in the complimentary restaurants worked well for us, and we didn’t feel the need to splurge on speciality restaurants. That said, perhaps on a longer cruise we would have been interested in exploring the 11 venues that required a premium.
7. Pay attention to the daily newsletter
There’s no chance of getting bored on Norwegian Escape. You’ll find pools, an aqua park with waterslides, a ropes course, mini golf, a sports court, shuffleboard and ping pong tables, as well as an arcade, casino, fitness centre and spa.
In the afternoons and evenings there’s also a lot of entertainment to choose from, including theatre, comedy, karaoke, game shows and even art auctions at the onboard gallery. We tried our luck at bingo and Deal or No Deal without success; however, we did win a piece of art at an auction.
My favourite evening show was The Choir of Man, which I’d seen a few years ago on the West End, so it was a privilege to watch again on board without paying anything extra.
With so much on offer, the Freestyle Daily newsletter is very useful. Each evening, it’s delivered to your stateroom, with details of the programme for the following day. It outlines the ship’s schedule, including when you’ll arrive and depart from each port, as well as the evening’s entertainment and the weather forecast. It’s also available on the NCL app and accessing it doesn’t use up any of your Wi-Fi minutes.
8. Weigh up how to book your shore excursions
Shore excursions can be an excellent way to make the most of your time in port, and there are many benefits to booking directly through your cruise line. If you run late, there’s a greater possibility of the ship waiting for you, and local operators are vetted by the cruise line.
That said, there are also benefits to booking independently, including price. We decided to go through Shore Excursions Group, which provides options mapped onto your itinerary; in other words, all the tour guides are well aware of when your ship is due to leave and make sure you get back to port in good time.
Excursions we took with them included a small-group snorkelling tour of Cozumel’s turquoise waters via a 42-foot catamaran, which afforded us opportunities to see colourful fish, reef sharks, starfish and stingrays.
The next day in Roatan (Bay Islands), Honduras, we visited Daniel Johnson’s Monkey & Sloth Hangout, a sanctuary providing a home for rescued wildlife. It was amazing to see the animals, from sleepy sloths to mischievous capuchin monkeys, up close in such a respectful environment. It was complemented by a visit to Arch’s Iguana and Marine Park, and I’ve never seen so many iguanas in my life, all roaming freely in a protected haven.
9. Escape the crowds on a private island
Popular ports can get extremely busy. When we visited Roatan, we docked right beside Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas. The other port, meanwhile, was hosting Carnival Paradise, meaning that there were approximately 15,000 passengers on the small island, which has a population of just 110,000.
Stops like these were still incredible, but they did make us very glad we’d booked our itinerary; around halfway through the cruise, we called at Harvest Caye, NCL’s 75-acre private island off the coast of Belize. I was really surprised by how much space there was. It was refreshing to have plenty of choice of sun loungers, both on the seven-acre sandy beach and the 15,000-square-foot lagoon-style pool. You can read the full run-down of my impressions of the island here.
10. Don’t rush home after the cruise
We were so glad we decided to tack on a post-cruise stay in New Orleans, and it’s definitely something we recommend. It added a completely different dimension to our holiday, offering a whirlwind of history, culture, Creole food and eclectic jazz. We also joined an airboat tour of the swamps, during which we were lucky enough to get up close and personal with the alligators and learn about their unique ecosystem.
When it came time to catch our flight home, we reflected on our truly unique adventure. Not all holidays include a city break, alligator swamp tour, a cruise down the Mississippi and across the Gulf of Mexico, snorkelling with sharks and stingrays and visiting Mayan temples.
11. Consider an e-SIM
Since we were travelling outside Europe and my regular plan didn’t cover data in the countries we were visiting, I opted for an e-SIM. These are essentially digital SIMs you download straight to your phone, and they’re a great way to get affordable data abroad. You can read our full guide to them here.
I went for an e-SIM from Airalo, which gave me coverage in both the US and Mexico. I’m really glad I did, because it came in handy whenever we were in port, from checking maps to messaging home.
Wi-Fi at sea doesn’t come cheap, so I also committed to a bit of a digital detox for some of the time on the ship. I wasn’t sure about going off grid at first, but it was actually really nice to switch off for parts of the trip.
12. Watch and learn
No matter how much research you do, trying something new will always come with a learning curve, whether it’s getting to grips with the lingo or picking up a new hack.
Case in point? I could never have predicted I’d regret leaving pegs off my packing list. Until our first sea day, I hadn’t realised that strong winds might make it hard to keep your towel from flying off your sun lounger, and I was envious of passengers who’d brought their own. I’ll be packing some for my next cruise, and paying closer attention to seasoned cruisers for the kind of tips I might not have thought of myself.
Got a question about cruising?
Ask us anything, and our team of experts will steer you right. Whether you’re looking for the perfect itinerary, curious about a particular ship, or wondering what a port has in store, we’re here to help. Submit your question on the ship, cruise line or destination page of your choice, and we’ll get back to you before you can say anchors aweigh.
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