OVER-RATED CRUISE ADVICE – OR IS IT?

By: Nicky De Lange
A month ago I wrote a column about smart cruising
tips. The information came from Cruise Critic, a popular
online source for all things concerning cruises.
It’s a favorite for me when I need unbiased and useful
information.
This past week I received a list of “Five Pieces Of
Overrated Cruise Advice.”
I agreed with two of them, disagreed with two and
couldn’t decide on the fifth one. I’ll share these tips
and my thoughts on them and let you figure it out.
The first bit of advice was whether or not to book
independent shore excursions. Cruise Critic says it’s
pretty safe to book with private tour providers after
carefully checking them out. This is the tip I couldn’t
decide about. The reason for booking through your
cruise line is that if your excursion is delayed returning
to the ship, the ship will wait for you. If you book
with an independent tour provider and return late,
your ship has sailed without you. You’ll be responsible
for rejoining it at its next port. Not a great way to
relax and enjoy your vacation. The plus side of booking
independent tours is that they’re usually cheaper.
Another tip considered overrated by Cruise Critic
is bringing an over-the-door organizer. This is sort of
like a hanging shoe bag. I found the perfect one at
a dollar store. It’s mesh, washable, and has plenty
of pockets for hair spray, makeup, toothpaste and
other items. I wouldn’t cruise without it. Best of all, it
folds totally flat in a suitcase. And did I mention it was
cheap? But Cruise Critic says cruise lines are instituting
stricter policies on what is can be hung on doors
(first I’ve heard about this) and that newer ships offer
more storage space. I say take the organizer if it’s
not bulky.
The next tip concerns when to arrive at the cruise
terminal. Cruise Critic says seasoned travelers like to
get there after the masses have boarded and lines
are shorter. The rest of us like to get there as early
as possible. This counts as the first day of your trip.
Get on, grab lunch (it’s included in your trip), and explore
the ship until you can access your cabin (usually
about 1 pm for a late afternoon departure.) Then
have a drink in one of the bars or pubs and RELAX.
The next tip is about using seasick patches. Cruise
Critic is dead wrong on this one. They say just take
the patches along “in case” and use them if needed.
That’s not how these patches work! You need to put
them on the night before or first thing in the morning.
The medication has to have time to be absorbed
into your system. It doesn’t work well if you’re already
nauseous. So if you’re prone to motion sickness, talk
to your doctor first. The patches work great for me,
and I’ve been through some rough seas.
The last tip, – “turn your phone on”, made good
sense to me. You can use it to take photos, set an
alarm time etc. without paying extra for international
rates. To be safe, check with your service provider
about what you can do without running up unnecessary
charges.
Stay tuned for more about Cruise Critic.