Advice & Tips

Packing for any trip can be a stressful endeavor. You are, after all, leaving your home with only a limited amount of your belongings. 

While there are those things that you should always bring with you (i.e., undergarments, toothbrush and toothpaste, appropriate clothing, etc.), there are certain "good to have" items that are not as obvious. 

Before you leave for your vacation, make sure that you pack these 20 things that will make your cruise better. 

Located in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean and to the east Florida, you will find the Bahamas, an archipelago compromised of just about 700 different islands!

Congratulations on booking your very first cruise! Whether your sailing is two months from now or over a year away, we are sure that you are already beaming with excitement!

Now that the official countdown has begun, you are probably wondering what needs to be done before you leave for your trip. You do not want to get to the terminal unprepared! 

There are some universal things you should do to get ready for any cruise, no matter if you are escaping to the tropics or embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime Alaskan or Europe sailing.

Once you have decided on the best cruise line, ship, and itinerary for your upcoming vacation, you can begin to think about shore excursions!

Shore excursions are meant to enhance your time in each port of call. With only about eight hours in each place, it is impossible to see and do everything. 

Do you have an upcoming cruise and you’re looking to board your cruise ship as fast as possible? We can’t blame you - we always eagerly await starting our cruise vacations too!

There’s nothing worse than painstakingly waiting in a crowded cruise terminal. It can be frustrating to see everyone on the pool deck already having fun while you’re stuck in a barely-moving line, which is the opposite of fun.

Like with planning any vacation, you will benefit from learning a few things about cruises prior to booking one.

With over seven cruise lines and 100 ships sailing across the world, picking the right cruise as a first-time cruiser can seem overwhelming. 

You will first need to decide what cruise line is the right fit for you and your travel party. Once you at least narrow that down, you can start to look at what ports of call you would like to visit and on what ship. 

It’s every cruiser’s worst nightmare - arriving late to the port and missing the cruise ship's departure. You might frantically wonder if the cruise ship will wait for you when you’re late to a port.

Longtime cruisers will tell you they’ve undoubtedly seen instances of cruise ships leaving late passengers behind. If you go up to the top deck at departure time, you might catch a glimpse of passengers running back to the ship.

There's also plenty of footage online of passengers running to the end of the dock and begging for the cruise ship to let them back onboard.

Even though many of the pandemic-related cruise restrictions have been reversed, utilizing a travel agent's service today is just as important!  

With over 100 different ships across seven mainstream cruise lines to choose from, you will benefit from a travel agent's expert advice regardless of whether you are preparing for your first cruise or an experienced cruiser climbing the loyalty ranks. Working with a good travel agent provides so much value and service, and they are an invaluable asset to all cruisers.