Top Thing To Consider When Preparing for a Cruise
We have been anticipating this cruise since September when we first booked it. Since this is our first cruise ever, Mary was stressing out about a few things like:
Do we need visas?
One of the main things to consider before getting on a cruise and traveling to a foreign country is having the right paperwork on hand so that you will have no problems entering or departing. In this instance, since we have valid passports, we wanted to know if we would need any visas. Mary contacted the number referred to us for Royal Caribbean International who handles visas etc. Visas were not required for either country. Supposedly. Just to make sure, we wanted to have that in writing, and handy for when we do board the boat. The documents showed:
VISA MAY BE REQUIRED (Vietnam)
- No visa is required for a stay of up to 21 days. Please keep in mind that even if you are staying less than 21 days, you must:
- Hold a passport valid for at least six months with at least one blank visa page
- Hold proof of onward and return flights
- Hold all documents required for the next destination
- Hold proof of sufficient funds relative to your intended length of stay
- Confirm with your airline prior to your travel date that boarding will be permitted without a visa
VISA MAY BE REQUIRED (Thailand)
- No visa is required for a stay of up to 30 days. Please keep in mind that if you are staying less than 30 days, you must:
- Hold a passport valid for at least six months with at least one blank visa page
- Hold proof of onward and return flights
- Hold all documents required for the next destination
- Hold proof of sufficient funds relative to your intended length of stay
- Confirm with your airline prior to your travel date that boarding will be permitted without a visa
When you go through the cruise welcome packet/contract, though, there you will find different information. In there you shall find that you do require a visa to visit Vietnam, but if you don’t have it, the crew will take care of it for you when you get on board. You will be charged $6 per person for the credit card you have on file. Thailand visas are already taken care of by them as well, so you don’t need to worry about that either.
What kind of things do we need to bring on a Cruise?
Depends on you and what keeps you and your family entertained. On this cruise, every morning you will find a daily itinerary of things to happen throughout the day. This Includes what times the restaurants are open for specific meals, dress code, special shows, movie showings, etc. There is an arcade on board right outside the children and youth center called Aquanauts! The Aquanauts is a complimentary child care center found on the 12th level of the ship where kids are entertained with different activities. If you go on the 11th floor, this is where the buffet-style restaurant Windjammers is found. Also, the level where pools, hot tubs, and plenty of lounge chairs are located to relax on as you watch the scheduled movies of the day. If you want to make sure to get a workout in on this cruise, the gym is located past the pools.
What should we wear during the cruise?
Since we were going to Singapore, to then go to Thailand and Vietnam, we knew that the weather would be a bit on the hot side. So, we wore summer clothes! The only times you need to worry about the dress code are during dinner in the main dining, and if you just wanted to dress up. Otherwise, wear something comfortable!
What shore excursions should we do as a family?
Mary was not comfortable in trying to book a tour through a local company since we did not know how far these places would be from the port, or how bad traffic would be at different times. Since we did not want to take the chance of missing the boat, we decided to book our tours through Royal Caribbean. On our last day in Thailand for example, we were supposed to cast off at 6:30 p.m. but didn’t leave until almost an hour later. Right after the last passengers came running on board. The only reason they were not left behind I was informed later, was because they booked their tour through the cruise. If they had not, they would have to go through the hassle of finding their way home. Just trying to imagine that… what a nightmare that would be!
How much cash should we bring?
The amount of money you wish to have on hand is entirely up to you. Since our shore excursions, hotels, and all other expenses were pre-paid, we only brought about $1000 to use for cabs, souvenirs, and anything else. Other than that, we had cards on hand as necessary. If you can get a great exchange rate somewhere near you, then it would behoove you to do so. In our case, we had changed just what we needed at the airport in Singapore. Unfortunately, in Thailand and Vietnam, we were not able to go anywhere that had a currency exchange other than right at the port from the mini shops that pop up when ships dock. We can’t complain though because their rates were not too bad, and we were still able to get some souvenirs.
How much clothes do we need to bring?
For us, we each packed a backpack and a suitcase. David was the only one that had a large suitcase because he had all the cameras etc with him. Everyone else had a carry-on suitcase packed to bursting! In hindsight, we should have all packed a large suitcase, or at least the adults. We wound up buying another suitcase during our brief stay in Singapore before we left due to buying too many souvenirs!
What is the best time to fly there?
This one is something that EVERYBODY needs to think about before booking tickets. I booked the cheapest and fastest one there with only a little over 1-hour layover in Beijing. Yes, the tickets were very attractive at the time, and from what I thought were a pretty good deal as well as right timing. We were supposed to get to Singapore at 10:50 p.m. which would give us time to get some sleep and head over to the pier well-rested and at our convenience. The reality was that we were very lucky to make the cruise at all. So, consider travel insurance!!!
As a family, we left our house about 7:45 in the morning so that we could have plenty of time to take the train with all of our luggage to the Non-stop airport express train. We had our tickets booked in advance for 9 a.m. that morning. We all reached the terminal with 30 minutes to wait and then reached the airport at 9:45 a.m. Our flight was at 1:05 p.m. Mary wanted to get there at least a couple of hours in advance so that we would have enough time to check-in and get through all of the other checkpoints before boarding. Wellllllll…. our flight proceeded to keep getting pushed back until 5:30 p.m.
Day 1
Travel days are some of the most stressful days ever! This is the reason we started SA, not all travel is what you see on YouTube (nothing going wrong, bikinis and beaches. We will not cut out the bad stuff.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GET TO THE PORT:
Before you left to go to the harbor, you should have gotten an email with information about your upcoming cruise. A welcome packet that includes your cruise contract. This packet will explain what you need to bring, what to expect, and other pertinent information that would be relevant to your trip. In this package, you will find a page close to the end that contains bag tags that you need to print out and have handy. It is critical because you need to put these on your luggage to be delivered to your cabin door.
Depending on where the port is in regards to your home, you might have to fly to another country. Be prepared to go through yet another checkpoint. This is because you are not allowed to bring food like fruits or bottles of drinks onto the boat. Read the contract and information packet very carefully, so that you just don’t miss anything.
Once you have gotten past the checkpoint, you will be handed a document verifying your health which you need to fill out and turn in at the next station. The last station before going through the final checkpoint officially leaving Singapore is the area where you show your passport, itinerary, turn over health certificate and present the credit card you wish to be charged onboard. You will be receiving your Sea-pass card here which is your room key/charge card/ID card/passport etc. In other words, everything you need on one card so doesn’t lose it!
You will have to go through an immigration checkpoint leaving Singapore before boarding the boat after you receive your Seapass card. Once on the ship, you will go through yet another line where your Seapass cards will be scanned, and your passports will be taken from you until the end of the trip. Finally, you are now checked in completely and have a little bit of time to get refreshed before you will go through mandatory evacuation drills.
EXTRA STUFF:
Royal Caribbean cruise planners are where you can go after setting up an account online. From this area, you can choose to add things like shore excursions at each of the ports you will be visiting, drink packages, Internet packages, spa treatments, character breakfast, etc.
- The Internet package was…okay. I feel like we spent most of the time trying to find a good connection than actually being online.
- Gratuities are something that you will be charged at $13.50 per person, per room, per day. I have to say that the crew staff well-earned this. They all treat you very nicely and do a phenomenal job at meeting your comfort. Our servers at our main dining table were incredible! My kids looked forward to going to dinner, because not only was the food delicious, but our interactions with Alberto were also very entertaining. Our stateroom attendant Roberto was always making sure our rooms were clean and that we had everything we needed. Without us asking, every morning he would move the bunk bed out of the way and have it ready by the time we come back for the night.
- Drink packages are something that should be considered. For about $55/day (charged at one time for the trip) adults can have any drink, alcoholic or nonalcoholic anytime. Every bar, at every meal, etc. you can have your favorite drink (David was getting his money’s worth). All you have to do once you have purchased this is show your Seapass card. There are also drink packages for kids if interested.
