After a particularly bad embarkation day on
a cruise a while ago, I decided it was time to sit back, and think about how to make an
embarkation day successful and stress-free. I spoke to a bunch of experienced and smart
cruisers to check my approach was right, tested it out on a series of recent cruises and I
am sure now I have come up with THE definitive way on how you can make a massive difference
to your embarkation day, setting you up for an incredible cruise. By the way, if you are new here, I'm Gary
Bembridge. And it's my goal to make it more fun and easy
to discover, plan and enjoy unforgettable cruise vacations. Including, on how to ensure a totally phenomenal
embarkation day. I realised as I thought things through that
the reason that embarkation day did not go well, had all been created by me. It's all about preparation. It's not sexy. It doesn't sound fun, but it absolutely makes
all the difference. There are seven key things I do before embarkation
day that make for a successful day. First, when booking a cruise, I schedule and
budget to arrive at least the day before, and longer if long haul. This has paid off frequently. For example, on my recent Oceania Panama Canal
cruise there was a storm passing through Europe and my flight was cancelled with just 10 hours
to go before the flight. As I had built in getting there early, there
was time to find new flights and routings arriving still the day before boarding. Second, and this is even more important post
shutdown, is I book as early a time to check in as possible. Before the whole Covid shutdown, most smart
cruisers just got to the port as early as they could, as the check in and boarding was
first-come first-served. Things have changed. Now you either book a time to check-in, or
you are allocated at a time if you don’t. Lines usually turn you away if you arrive
before your allocated time As soon as the system allows you, book your
time. I've been able to get a check in time and
be on board as early as 11 o'clock in the morning, giving me lots of time to max out
embarkation day. Thirdly I download the cruise line app at
home while I have good Wi-Fi. These have become fundamental to the cruise. Often, I must use the app to check in and
complete the pre-boarding health checks on there. Fourth, and this is also more important today,
is well before embarkation day I check exactly what I’m going to need to have to check
in. And I have digital and paper copies of all
the documents. The mistake I made a couple of cruises ago
is, I had all the documents I needed. In this case, proof of vaccine, test results,
Country Passenger Locator Forms, and check-in QR code. I had them all digitally, but the cruise terminal
Wi-Fi was rubbish and were hard to retrieve. So now I have paper copies but also, I put
all those digital files in a folder that works offline. I use Dropbox and set to make available offline,
but you can use Google or the file section on your phone. Fifth, I pre-book everything I can. Drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining, Excursions,
the spa and so on. They're normally cheaper booking them in advance,
I’m usually get exactly what I want and frees up time on the day to do some other
important things, as I will discuss. Six, when it comes to packing, there's a couple
of preparations I find makes embarkation day much easier and less stressful. I pack a carry-on bag and deciding what goes
in here I ask, “what do I absolutely need, or would hate to lose, if I don’t get my
main bag?”. For me, it's medication, passport, credit
cards and money, cameras, phone, and chargers for those. I could wing the rest of the cruise with those. I can buy clothes, toiletries and so on. I use that same rule when flying to the cruise. The other packing rule to make embarkation
day smooth is I make sure that I’m not including in my bags, anything that I’m not allowed
to. I've a whole video around what you can't bring
on a board ship. But, where I see most people fall foul is
they pack extension cords, which most lines do not allow, and pack more alcohol than they
are allowed to. For me it’s around checking if I can bring
a drone or not, as most lines will not permit them If prohibited items get picked up when your
luggage is screened, you're going to be called to security, and it's going to disrupt your
embarkation day. With this preparation in place getting on
board is now smooth and stress-free. But then once on board is where I see so many
people slip up. So, what should you do once on board? Early on in my cruising life I would rush
around the ship with great excitement, until I discovered I was missing out on putting
things in place and setting the rest of my cruise up perfectly. This is what I find works best. First, I go to my cabin to check everything,
and do a few key tasks. If I’ve booked a guaranteed cabin, I check
I am okay with the location? If I’ve got a balcony, I check outside,
and see if there’s anything likely to trouble me like an obstructed view, or potentially
noisy areas? Are the beds in the right layout? Does everything work? I check the lights, the safe and the air-conditioning. Is the cabin set up for my quirks? For me, I check the pillows because, I like
feather pillows, and what’s in the mini bar if that's included. I only drink alcohol-free, caffeine-free and
no sugar drinks. So, I know what I'm going to ask to be adjusted,
fixed, or changed when I see the cabin steward, or with Guest Services. The next key thing obviously is, I meet my
cabin steward and ask them to correct any of those things before they get busy and swamped
with all their other guests. If I am unhappy with the cabin, it also means
I can get to Guest Services early before the inevitable embarkation day lines. I put all my valuables in the safe now. And I also take photos – and video clips
- of the cabin while it's at its neatest and tidiest. I check the daily program to see what restaurants
are open for lunch. I avoid the buffet for embarkation lunch,
both because it's always the busiest and because I can get some other things that are essential
to do on this day done in either the Main Dining Room or one of the speciality restaurants,
as I will explain. Finally, before leaving the cabin, I now watch
the E- Muster video and then go to my Muster station. Very few lines now do the old-fashioned group
Muster Drill. So, I get all this over and done with. From there it’s to the restaurant. Over lunch there are some important things
I get out the way. I usually go for lunch in main dining room
as if on fixed dining I can check my allocated table and if unhappy with it can early on
ask the Maître d' to change while they still have flexibility Also, if you have any dietary issues or concerns,
you can then talk to them about these such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and they
can assist and make plans to address these. While at lunch, I put my phone into airplane
mode to avoid huge roaming costs if the phone connects to the ship satellite phone service. And I set the time zone manually, so I can
adjust myself as we change times and keep my phone on official ship time. I then log onto the ship Wi-Fi and open the
app so I can access things like the daily program and to complete any dining, excursions,
or spa bookings I did not do before. Another reason for going to the Main dining
room is if you have not booked speciality or anytime dining, want to change plans and
the App does not allow that, here are usually able to do all your restaurant bookings here,
or there will be a desk outside or close by set up to do that. One of my big tips for embarkation day is
I book a specialty restaurant for this first night. Because, it's normally much cheaper. And they are much quieter. After lunch, if you've got kids, now is the
time to register them at the Kids’ Club. Register them. If you want to book extra services, if they're
available, like babysitting you should do it now while there's lots of bookings still
open. Now with all that out the way, I explore the
ship. I recommend using the map often in the cruise
card holder, on the App or one of the tours run by the ship. So, there is some structure, and importantly,
you don’t miss the hidden and hard-to-find spots. I've been on a couple of cruises like, Celebrities
Silhouette where, I didn't get to the amazing Sky Lounge because I hadn't used the map properly,
until halfway through the cruise. On Virgin Scarlett lady I totally missed some
tucked away lounges and quiet deck spaces to relax and chill out on that my friends
did by not being systematic in my touring. I also ensure that I go look at things that
I may want to sign up for, like the Retreat or Sanctuary area., which have a fee to use. They are open on embarkation day to explore
but after that free access is closed so you don’t really know what they are like and
if worth it. I also take photos of the ship now as it’s
usually still quiet. As I'm touring the ship, I keep an eye out
for embarkation day deals and offers. The area I focus on is the Spa. They usually will have a raffle draw on embarkation
day with free treatments. You must be there for the draw, so check what
time you need to be back. Twice now I have won that draw and had a free
massages and treatments. It may sound a bit regimented approach to
embarkation day once on board, but I have found it really sets things up well for the
cruise. But what to do to make the day great once
you set sail? Go to the sail away party. I love it as it is exciting as I feel the
trip has really begun, I get a sense of the other people on the cruise, I see the entertainment
team for the first time, and I often meet people that will become friends or familiar
faces on the cruise. This is often where I get to meet a lot of
people who follow the channel, who come and introduce themselves. To make the most of my first evening, as I
mentioned, I go to a speciality restaurant and usually early, so I have time to check
out what venues are popular and buzzing and have time to go to the introduction show in
the theatre. This will showcase what's on, and what to
expect. And I get a sense of what shows I may want
to go to. That’s how to get embarkation right. If you want to know about how to get disembarkation
day right, look at this video where I start with the one big mistake that you absolutely
do not want to do, on disembarkation day. See you over there.
