5 Tips on Surviving Your First Cruise

One of my goals this year as I'm sure plenty of your's might be was to travel more. Unsure of how I was going to do it, the universe and my bestie presented me with the perfect opportunity to do just that. When my bestie invited me on a 9 day cruise with her and her family I jumped at the opportunity. Being that this was going to be my first real vacation on my own I made sure I was well prepared.

Which leads to my first tip.

1. Be Prepared.

Being away from home for almost 10 days means that I had to do some strategic packing. I would advise be prepared for the unexpected, which means pack extra medications such as dummamean. Although I had my outfits pre planned according to what activities I might be doing, I reccomend packing clothes that can be used for more than one look. If you're anything like me sometimes I like to switch it up depending on how I'm feeling at the moment.

2. Be organized.

Going along with being prepared comes being organized. I can now say that I am a believer in packing cubes. Packing cubes defiantly helped me stay organized while packing and also made it a very easy unpacking experience. Defiantly make yourself at home on the first day your there make sure everything has a place to live for the week. Another big help in staying organized was bringing an over the door shoe hanger, which helped be organized all my little nick- nacks like my hair products, and my toiletries. Also a big yes! to magnetic hooks for your bags or towels. Since all the walls in your cabin will be magnetic you can use that to your advantage.

3. Do Your Research.

When traveling to forgien places you always want to do a little research to be more aware of your surroundings. learn things like what's the weather there around the time you'll be traveling there, or what things are considered offensive in the culture there?

4. Be Adventurous.

Be open to adventure on your trip. Don't let fear hold you back from experiencing what the world has to offer. My worst fear was being kidnapped by one of the local cab drivers who claimed to go to excursions, but without pushing aside my fear I would have never experienced half of the great things I did on my trip. Even the bestie was pushing boundaries by going jet skiing shy of the fact that she can't swim.

5. Plan Ahead and Save.

Planning a cruise adds up quickly so I definitely recommend planning and paying as far in advance as possible. Also pay for whatever you can in advance before you even touch the boat. If your a heavy drinker and plan on "driving the boat" meg the stallion style you can't be without the unlimited drink package. One huge benefit of planning far in advance is taking advantage of the sales the cruise advertises pre boarding. One app that was a big help with keeping track of cruise deals was Shipmate.

Go ahead and start booking the trip! Cruising can be a great expierience whether you're a family with small children, a couple, or a group of girls who just wanna have fun. So I challenge you to start checking goals off your list before the year ends.

"Travel far enough to meet yourself."