Working on cruise ships for 20 years, you stop being surprised by the mistakes first-time passengers make. Not because they are careless, but because no one tells them what to expect before they board.
The couple who spend three days feeling queasy because they waited until the ship was moving to take seasickness medication. The family paying £180 for a ship excursion they could have done for £45 on their own. The solo traveller who gets a shock at disembarkation because they never checked their onboard account.
Nearly all of it is avoidable. Here is the advice crew pass to friends and family before they take their first cruise, along with the one or two things most cruise guides still get wrong.
1. Choose your cabin location as carefully as the cruise itself
Where you sleep on a cruise ship has more impact on your experience than almost any other decision. A poorly positioned cabin can mean three nights of motion sickness, noise from the nightclub below, or 5am wake-ups from the crew scrubbing the pool deck directly above your head.
The steadiest position on any ship is midship, on a lower or middle deck. The vessel pivots around its centre, so the further you are from the bow or stern, and the lower down the ship, the less movement you feel. Decks five to eight, in the middle third of the ship, are where crew tend to book when they are travelling as passengers.
Avoid cabins directly below the pool deck if you are a light sleeper. Crew clean those decks very early in the morning, and both the scraping and the water drainage are audible below. Avoid anything next to a lift lobby, a stairwell, or a venue that runs until midnight.
On the question of interior versus balcony: an interior cabin saves you £200 to £500 on a typical week-long Mediterranean cruise. If you spend most of your time ashore or at the ship’s pool, that is a clear saving. If you want fresh air in the morning without walking to a public deck, or you are travelling with someone who gets up early, the balcony earns its cost.
Crew tip: if the ship is sailing at less than full capacity, go to guest services on day two and ask about an upgrade. Cabins that were empty on departure are sometimes reallocated at no charge once it is clear they will not be sold.
2. Beat seasickness before it starts
The most common mistake is waiting until you feel ill before taking medication. Once you are seasick, tablets have very little effect. They need to be in your system before the ship sails.
Stugeron (cinnarizine) is available over the counter at UK pharmacies and is effective for most people. Take it two hours before boarding. If you know you are prone to motion sickness, ask your GP about a scopolamine patch before you travel. Applied behind the ear six to eight hours before departure, it delivers a steady dose over 72 hours and is generally more effective than oral medication.
Acupressure wristbands (Sea-Bands) are worth having in your bag. A large Cochrane review covering 59 trials found they reduced nausea incidence by around 32 per cent compared with a sham treatment. They are not guaranteed, but they have no side effects and cost under £10.
Once on board: look at the horizon when you are outside, eat small amounts regularly, and stay hydrated. Ginger, whether in tablets, candies, or ginger ale, has the strongest evidence of any natural remedy for motion sickness. The ship’s medical centre can administer an injection in severe cases. Most passengers are fine once the ship settles into open water, which takes a few hours out of port.
3. Know exactly what is included in your fare
Many first-time cruisers arrive expecting something close to an all-inclusive holiday. The reality depends on the cruise line and the package, but broadly speaking: accommodation, meals in the main dining room, the buffet, and most entertainment are included. Almost everything else costs extra.
Drinks (including soft drinks and bottled water at restaurants), specialist dining venues, Wi-Fi, spa treatments, shore excursions, and photographs taken by the ship’s photographers are all charged separately. On most cruise lines popular with UK passengers, daily gratuities are also added to your onboard account automatically, typically between £10 and £15 per person. P&O Cruises and Cunard include gratuities in their UK-facing headline prices, which simplifies the total cost significantly.
Work out your full expected spend before you board by adding your gratuities, any shore excursion budget, and estimated drinks spend to the base fare. It avoids the shock that many first-timers get at disembarkation when the final bill is considerably higher than the price they paid at booking.
4. Do the maths on drinks packages
Drinks packages are sold hard by cruise lines and generate significant revenue. That does not make them bad value, but the calculation is not as simple as “it pays for itself after a few drinks.”
On most mainstream cruise lines, a drinks package costs between £30 and £60 per person, per day. To break even on alcohol alone, you need to consume five to eight drinks daily. For most passengers, that is more than they will actually drink across a full day that includes shore time, travel, and sea days.
The case for a package becomes stronger once you include non-alcoholic drinks. On many ships, specialty coffee, smoothies, juice, and bottled water in restaurants are not included in the base fare. If you drink two coffees, a smoothie, and water at lunch and dinner each day, that alone adds up to £12 to £20 in individual purchases. Factor in a cocktail before dinner and a wine with the meal, and the package starts looking more reasonable.
Buy any package before you sail. Cruise lines typically offer them at 10 to 30 per cent below the onboard rate during online check-in, in the months before departure. Once on board, the price increases.
5. Shore excursions: when to book through the ship and when not to
Ship-organised excursions cost roughly twice what you would pay booking locally. A four-hour city tour priced at £85 through the cruise line is often available for £35 to £45 through a local guide or tour company, for an identical or better experience.
The trade-off is this: if you book through the ship and the tour runs late, they will not sail without you. The ship leaves on time regardless of whether independent passengers are back. This is not an abstract risk. Ships depart at the scheduled time, and catching up with the vessel at the next port means your own cost and stress.
The practical rule: in well-connected European ports with good public transport, such as Valletta, Barcelona, or Dubrovnik, booking independently or using local buses is easy and significantly cheaper. In more remote or logistically complex ports, or anywhere with limited English-language options, the ship excursion removes risk for a premium that is often worth paying.
Wherever you go independently, be back at the ship at least 90 minutes before departure. Cruise terminals are often further from city centres than they appear on a map, and traffic near ports in summer can be severe. Find destination inspiration for your ports of call in our destination guides.
6. Watch your onboard account daily
Your onboard account is a running tab tied to your cabin card, and small charges accumulate quickly across a week. Most cruise ships let you view your balance on the cabin television or through the ship’s app. Check it every day, not just at the end of the cruise.
Billing errors are not uncommon. A drink served to the wrong table, a duplicate charge at the spa, or a gratuity added when it was already included in your package are all things crew regularly see corrected at guest services. Catching them on day three is simpler than disputing five days of charges at 6am on disembarkation morning.
7. Wi-Fi, roaming, and staying connected
Wi-Fi on cruise ships is expensive and slow. Satellite connectivity at sea is inherently limited, and even premium packages typically offer speeds comparable to a 3G phone signal. For basic messaging and email it is functional; for video calls and large file transfers it is frustrating.
If you are travelling within Europe, your UK mobile roaming allowance covers you in port in most EU and European countries. Switch data roaming off when you leave port and back on when you arrive at the next one. This gives you fast, cheap connectivity for a few hours at each stop without the ship’s daily Wi-Fi charge.
If you need to stay in contact for work, buy the ship’s lowest-tier messaging package rather than the full browsing tier. Apps like WhatsApp and iMessage work on the basic tier on many cruise lines.
8. Staying healthy on board
Norovirus spreads rapidly in enclosed group environments, and cruise ships are no exception. The main transmission route is contaminated hands touching food or surfaces. The ship’s protocol is hand sanitiser at every restaurant and buffet entrance, and you should use it every time without exception.
Avoid touching the serving utensils at the buffet when possible. If a crew member is serving, let them dish up for you. Wash your hands before eating even when sanitiser is available at the entrance.
Bring your own pharmacy. Paracetamol, antihistamines, any prescription medication, and over-the-counter seasickness tablets are cheaper from home than from the ship’s medical centre, which charges private rates for everything. The onboard pharmacy carries basics, but the range is limited and prices are high.
9. What to pack (and what to leave at home)
Cruise cabins are small. Storage is roughly equivalent to a modest hotel room, sometimes less on older ships. Bringing more luggage than you can fit under the bed or in the wardrobe means it sits in the middle of the floor for the week.
Packing cubes are worth using. They compress contents, keep categories separate, and make it easier to find things without emptying the whole suitcase. A multi-socket adapter is essential: cabins on most ships have one or two plug sockets, sometimes positioned awkwardly. Note that most cruise lines prohibit surge-protected power strips as a fire risk; a simple multi-socket adapter without surge protection is usually permitted, but check your cruise line’s policy.
Bring a carry-on bag with your day-one essentials: swimwear, medication, phone charger, and anything you cannot afford to be without. Checked luggage does not arrive at your cabin until the early evening of embarkation day. You could be boarding at midday and your bags might not appear until 6pm.
Magnetic hooks are useful and underrated. Cabin walls are metal, and hooks let you organise bags, hats, and lanyards without using up drawer space.
10. Make the most of embarkation day
Embarkation is the one day most first-time cruisers get wrong by trying to board as early as possible. The ship begins boarding from midday, but cabins are rarely ready before 2pm to 3pm. Boarding at noon means waiting in public areas with your bags for two hours.
Arriving at 1:30pm to 2pm gives you a shorter queue and a cabin that is ready or nearly ready. Head straight to the buffet or the main dining room for lunch, which is usually included and usually excellent on day one when the kitchens are at full production.
The mandatory muster drill (safety briefing) happens on the first day. On most modern cruise lines, you can complete the video portion through the ship’s app before boarding, which shortens the physical drill to a brief assembly at your muster station. It is worth doing this before you arrive at the port.
Spend the first evening exploring the ship rather than going ashore. The first port of call on most itineraries is usually a departure port rather than a scenic destination. You will have less competition for the best spots in the speciality restaurants, the spa, and the quieter bars on day one than at any other point in the voyage.
11. Disembarking without the queue
Self-disembarkation means carrying your own bags off the ship and is always the fastest option. If you have an early flight or a long drive, request the earliest possible self-disembarkation slot at guest services the evening before.
Settle your onboard account the evening before disembarkation to avoid the guest services queues that build on the final morning. Book your airport transfer in advance: taxis at cruise terminals cost significantly more than pre-booked transfers.
If your flight home is late in the day, most cruise ports offer paid luggage storage. Drop your bags at the terminal after disembarking, spend a few hours in the port city, and collect them before heading to the airport. For the best fares on your return flight, see how to get cheap flights in the UK and the cheapest day to book flights. Find your next cruise or holiday deal on our deals hub.
Frequently asked questions
How do you avoid seasickness on a cruise?
Take anti-nausea medication before you board, not after symptoms start. Stugeron (cinnarizine), available over the counter in UK pharmacies, is effective for most people when taken two hours before sailing.
Are drinks packages worth buying on a cruise?
They are worth it if you drink five or more alcoholic drinks per day and regularly buy specialty coffee, juice, or bottled water. Buy before you sail: most cruise lines price packages 10 to 30 per cent lower during pre-cruise check-in than on the ship.
How much are gratuities on a cruise from the UK?
Most cruise lines add £10 to £15 per person per day in gratuities to your onboard account. P&O and Cunard include gratuities in their UK headline fares.
What should I pack for my first cruise?
Pack a carry-on with day-one essentials (swimwear, medication, charger) as checked luggage arrives at your cabin in the early evening. Packing cubes, a multi-socket adapter, magnetic hooks, and over-the-counter seasickness medication are the most commonly forgotten items.
Is it better to book shore excursions through the ship or independently?
In well-connected European ports, independent tours typically cost half the ship rate and are easy to arrange. In remote or complex ports, the ship’s excursion is worth the premium because the vessel will not wait for independent passengers who are delayed.
What happens if I miss the ship?
If you booked an independent shore excursion and return late, the ship departs without you. You are responsible for travelling to the next port at your own expense, so always be back at the terminal at least 90 minutes before the published departure time.
Do cruise ships have enough power sockets in cabins?
Most cabins have one or two plug sockets, often positioned awkwardly near the desk or bed. Bring a simple multi-socket adapter without surge protection: surge-protected power strips are banned by most cruise lines as a fire risk.
