Why does a cruise make me decide everything in advance when a resort lets me sort it out on the day?
A cruise settles most of the week before you leave home. Dinner, documents, check-in, and any packages are arranged in advance, and the daily schedule is published in the ship's app rather than announced on board. The fixed times, including the muster drill, exist because a ship has to feed and move several thousand people at once. Reading the app and finishing the paperwork before you sail is what makes the timetable feel manageable.
The booking form asks what time you'd like dinner. Not tonight: the whole week, months out, before the bags are anywhere near the door. A resort never asked that. There, dinner is a decision you make at six, standing in front of a buffet you can smell. On a ship it's settled at home, in the same sitting as the cabin and the flights.
How a ship plans your week
The week is published, and none of it is announced
Nothing on board interrupts you to say an event is starting. The whole week lives in the ship's app and a daily program left in your cabin. Hundreds of things happen across seven days, and a running commentary for all of them would drown out the one you wanted to catch.
Fly in with a day in hand
A ship leaves on a slot it can't move, with a pilot guiding it out on a fixed window and the berth booked by the hour. Landing the same morning leaves no room if a flight slips, because the airport, the city, and the berth can sit far apart from one another.
The paperwork is due before you leave home
Online check-in, a health questionnaire, and your travel documents are all wanted well before the sailing date. The ship files a manifest of everyone aboard before boarding opens, so the details it needs are collected while you're still at home rather than at the terminal desk.
Tips are a set daily amount, and the account is in USD
A daily gratuity goes onto your onboard account for each guest, and it's customary rather than something you add yourself. The account runs in US dollars, because a ship sails between countries. Prepaying before you go usually settles it in your own currency instead.
A drinks package is priced by the cabin, not the person
Buy the package and every adult sharing the cabin has to buy it too, with a soft-drink version for children that still carries a charge. The price is built around the cabin rather than the drinker. On some lines you can order wine a bottle at a time, which works out better when only one of you drinks slowly.
A tender is a small boat to shore
Where a port has no berth big enough, the ship anchors offshore and ferries guests in on a small boat called a tender. These boats vary in how easy they are to board, and the port decides whether one is used at all, so the line flags which stops are tender ports before you sail.
A sea day is the busiest day on the ship
With no port to empty the ship, a day at sea usually carries more on its schedule than a day in port, not less. The program fills because everyone is aboard at once, and the ship plans for that, so the quiet empty day some people brace for rarely arrives.
- Set your dining preference when you book, at the same time as the cabin.
- Complete the online check-in, the health questionnaire, and the document upload as soon as they open.
- Book flights that land the day before you sail, not the morning of departure.
- If you'd rather settle in Canadian dollars, prepay the gratuities and any package before you go.
- Download the ship's app and read the first daily program the day you board.
- When the flight is long-haul, a night either side is worth having, since the flight is already paid for.
Common questions
What happens if my flight is delayed and I reach the port after the ship has sailed?
The ship won't wait, which is the real reason to arrive a day early. Where recovery differs is who booked the flights. If the cruise line arranged your air as part of the booking, it takes on getting you to the next port. If you booked the flights yourself, sorting out the missed connection is yours to manage. Ask which applies before you decide how to book the air.
I don't want to eat at the same fixed time every night. Am I locked in?
Not necessarily. Many lines offer a flexible or anytime dining option you select when you book, alongside the set early and late turns. A large group is the exception, since a table for a dozen or more usually has to be reserved for one time. Choosing your preference early is what keeps the option open.
I use a wheelchair. Can I still do a cruise that has tender ports?
Yes, with planning. The line publishes which ports are tender ports before you sail, and the crew can tell you which tenders are step-free and which are not. Some guests choose to stay aboard on a tender day and enjoy a quieter ship, which on a sea-heavy itinerary is no great loss. Raise your needs when you book so the right cabin and the right ports are matched to them.
Do I have to prepay the gratuities and a drinks package, or can I sort it all on board?
You can leave both until you're aboard. Gratuities can be added to the account during the sailing instead of before it, and drinks can be bought one at a time with no package at all. Prepaying only helps if you'd rather lock the amounts in and settle in Canadian dollars before the account switches to US dollars. It's a currency choice.
