After months of planning and preparing to take my grandbaby on her very first cruise, embarkation day is HERE! We packed our car and headed to New Orleans, LA to board Carnival Triumph in hopes of giving my baby a cruise that will last in her memory forever and instill the love of cruising in her heart.
The thing about first time cruisers, they ALWAYS have a million and one questions and my grandbaby definitely had her fair share of questions.
Embarkation day is that long (sometimes stressful) but exciting day because that’s the day your cruise vacation starts.If you take precautions, you can eliminate some embarkation day stressors and instead focus more on the first drink you will have once you board the ship. To help you, here are 5 of my top tips for a smooth and stressfree embarkation day with kids.
5 Tips for a Stress free Embarkation Day with Kids
1.Know when embarkation starts and ends. It’s important that you understand the window of time dedicated for cruisers to board the ship. This will help you plan your departure and travel time to the cruise port.
2. CHECK IN ONLINE and PRINT YOUR BOARDING PASS. I’m sorry to scream at you but this is such an important step. Take the time to check in before you leave home and print your boarding pass and health document. This will save you time and frustration at the port if you have your documents in hand and ready to show.
3. Pack a change of clothes or your child’s swimsuit in your carry on luggage. You will not receive your checked luggage for several hours after boarding the ship. This will help eliminate the whining or meltdowns about not having the luggage and can’t go swimming.
4. Tour the ship. Once on board, take time to walk the ship and get familiar with where everything is located. Don’t worry, the food line will still be there after you give yourself a tour of the ship.
5. Check in at the kids club. Look, the kids been up all day traveling and they are antsy. Take them to see the “exclusive club” just for them and their new friends for the week. This will excite the kids + you will know exactly where to drop them off and when. This is important…trust me on this one.
Bonus tip: turn your phone off or place in airplane mode. First, you are on vacation so don’t keep checking your phone like you do on a normal day plus the roaming international charges are no joke.
A little planning will help make the start of your cruise vacation on Carnival an enjoyable one instead of a stressful start.
I’ll keep these tips in mind if we ever go on a cruise. I really hope we can one day. My husband gets sea sick though, so he’s worried about that. I told him to take Dramamine or I’ll just go without him 😉
I haven’t been on a cruise in years. We usually just pick our favorite island and fly there for a couple of weeks. However, the grandkids are begging to go on a Disney cruise and these tips will come in handy when we take them.
the swimsuit idea is wonderful, I could just see the kids saying this to us. We have never done a cruise so all of your tips are wonderful. Makes for a happier stress free trip.
Packing a bathing suit in my carry on was the BEST piece of advice anyone ever gave me about a cruise. A friend who learned the hard way told me to do it.
Oh my gosh we’re going on a cruise this summer so this is perfect. I love the fact that you mention printing the boarding passes at a time! It’s saves so much time when you do this
I still haven’t been on a cruise and I’ve found your tips so helpful. Looking forward to the day that I can experience what cruises have to offer with the kiddos.
We went on a cruise many years ago, and we’d love to take the kids on a cruise some time. Thanks for the useful tips!
I’ve stood in those long lines you definitely have to plan for it. Make sure you have headphones and sun screen if checking in has some outdoor lines. But cruising is so fun! I’ve done it twice and sooo want to go again.
It’s been so long since I last went on a cruise. It’s such an awesome experience. I don’t have kids so I’m not sure how it goes when you have the kids with you but these are great tips for parents!
Would you believe that I have never been on a cruise? My husband and I have talked about going but have never done so.
Oh Melanie, you guys should go on one this year! Let me know if you have any questions about planning a cruise.
Cruising is so much fun, isn’t it?
Thanks
Yes it only takes one time to not be prepared to learn you need that swimsuit handy lol
Cruise, that’s the one thing we have never done yet as a family. But I am taking all of this in so I know what to do when we go on one.
Touring the ship right away is probably something our family would do. That way we could get to know what we’re aboard and see where all the key areas are.
Good call on the international roaming charges! I didn’t think of that. Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic tips here. Havent done a cruise yet, but when I do, will take this onboard with me (get it?) 😀
I want to go on a cruise so badly! I think we want to do just a couple one but take the kids the next time!
I absolutely LOVE going on cruises! It never fails though, no matter how prepared I think I am or how many checklists… I forget something important lol
Definitely bringing clothes in your handcarry is one of the most important tip. This is to make sure you have an extra one when some messy things happened.