What's your routine after boarding the ship?

We try to board between 11:00 and 12:00. Getting our first mimosa upon boarding sets the mood.

First stop - Café Bachio for one of their fabulous coffee concoctions. Then over to Bistro on 5 for lunch. Never crowded and always delicious.

After lunch we check out our dinner table - we like to sit with a group at late seating. Have to see what's for dinner. Could be a good opportunity to reserve a specialty restaurant. (First night often has discounts). Once that checks out, it's on to the Spa. They have drawings sometimes. DH won a free acupuncture session one year.

The rooms should be open so we take our carryon to our rooms. Sometimes the other luggage is there too. I like to unpack ASAP. We meet the room steward and express our wishes (ice, egg carton mattress, pillows, empty refrigerator, etc).

Going out again to the muster drill. (Stop to get a drink first to make it go faster). Finally, it's to the back of the ship for sailaway. (Sometimes DH goes to take a nap at this point). .

We have some time after sailaway to explore, visit the shops/specials being offered before our late dinner. I think at 6:00 I can go get Sushi. No need to dress up on the first night.

I like to go to the first show as it previews many of the shows during the week. Maybe a little blackjack before ending first day. Got to get up for lox and bagels; eggs benedict for first sea day. Gosh I need a cruise. :D

I'm getting a lot of suggestions for Bistro on Five for lunch here —*did not stop to consider that, and I might do for my next trip!

We like to use a embarkation day similar to a day at sea. For us it is all about relaxing and enjoying. On Celebrity we are often among the first to board (we get priority embarkation) and will usually opt to have lunch at the Cafe on Five (assuming its on our ship). So once aboard we head over to this venue and either make a reservation for a later lunch or just sit at that time. After lunch we head to our cabin and change into swim wear (if in a warm weather climate we put swim suits in our carry-on) and then head to the pool area. We then find a comfy lounger and relax with our Kindles and a lot of People Watching. It is fascinating to just sit back and watch what folks do and wear during their first few hours on a ship. If the boat drill is in late afternoon we will head back to our cabin around an hour before the drill. If our luggage has arrived we will quickly unpack before the boat drill, otherwise we usually spend that time on our balcony with a glass of vino.

Hank

I try to arrive at about 11am. Hopefully my wait isn't too long.

Once onboard the ship, we head for Bistro on % for a leisurely lunch, and perhaps an adult beverage. After that, we split up and head for our cabins.

If my luggage has arrived, I begin unpacking. If I am hosting a sailaway, I throw the luggage in a closet and search for the butler, and wait for help from other cruisers to arrive. We set up the conference table, deliver the invites, and have a couple cocktails as we await Muster. After that, we come back to the cabin to await the guests.

In Nov 2014 we had over 100 folks from our roll call attend my PIPH sailaway on Constellation. I think I can honestly say that a good time was had by most of them....

For the past several years we just go to the Cafe al Bacio to enjoy specialty coffees while we wait for the staterooms to be ready.

On our first (and only so far) cruise, which was on Equinox, we were so excited that we arrived for check-in at the earliest time and then we went exploring all over the ship as soon as we got on it. This was still quite early, but even so, when we got to the pool deck we came across a family who were already enjoying the hot tub!

 

We're on the Equinox again next February and I'm planning what to do when we board so this thread is great!

We are long time cruisers and we arrive really early as well. Head up to the empty buffet, grab a table outside and have a leisurely lunch. By the time the hordes have arrived, we are happily into our prem pkg.

Love to get on the ship early, especially when we have a suite. Last cruise we were #2. Eating is our first priority(we love the back of the ship on deck 14), along with our itinerary of things to do. Sometimes the list is very short. If time, we hit the gym for at least a cardio before the sail-away and dinner. That way we can really enjoy dinner!!! I know we are far from the norm, but that is what works best for us.:cool:

We will be sailing on our second Celebrity Cruise in December. We are arriving a day early, and like to treat that as a vacation day. So I'm not going to get up too early on embarkation day. I hate lugging my luggage around, so we will arrive around 1pm.

I hope to grab a welcome glass of champagne, then head to my cabin.

I didn't make it to Bistro of Five last time, so that's going to be our lunch .

Will upgrade our beverage package and make dinner reservations for the speciality restaurants. OBC well used up.

I try unpack as soon as possible then I feel like I can vacation. Muster drill and Roll Call Sai.laway,

And then....all bets are off.....

martini bar

bistro on five

grab a specialty coffee and unpack

bar at the back of the ship

G

Usually head to whichever AFT bar happens to be open and have a

"Yes, I am on the ship drink":D

Then my Wife wakes me up and give me the orders we shall unpack first then sort everything out thennnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

In Nov 2014 we had over 100 folks from our roll call attend my PIPH sailaway on Constellation. I think I can honestly say that a good time was had by most of them....

By the time the hordes have arrived, we are happily into our prem pkg.

And then....all bets are off.....

You guys are your stories... are the best.

I thought about if I should write this post but there have been lots of questions recently on if travelling in a high end suite is worth the money...so I thought some of you may be interested in how being in a suite changes this aspect of cruising.

 

 

 

One of the best things about the suite perks is how pleasant boarding is. We get to the port as it is time to leave the hotel....on all three cruises since the Suite Life started and in three different ports we have then had the same greeting.

 

 

 

No queue for security or check in. As our documents are checked a staff member will approach us, present me with a red rose, my husband with a blue documents wallet and then escort us on board. As we board we are then handed to another staff member who will take us down to Michael's to meet the conceirge and that key member of staff the Michael's waiter.

 

 

 

We will relax, have our first drink and some really yummy little nibbles and begin to chat with fellow passengers. On our last cruise Luminae was open so we did have lunch there. Our rooms are always ready quickly and the suite cases usually arrive before we do. My unpacking takes minutes as although we tend to have a lot of luggage I am a really strategic packer with items for each draw being packed in separate bags, and hang up clothes already being on lightweight hangers! Whilst this is going on the butler and room attendant will have popped in to say hello, discussed bar and minibar requests, evening snacks.....

 

 

 

After muster it depends on sailaway time what we do. In recent years some of our older family members have loved to watch our saiaways on the live port cam. So we bring our English flag out onto the balcony, and our bottle of champagne and toast our loved ones at home, knowing they also have a drink in hand to wish us happy cruising! By bed time if we check emails we will usually have been posted a picture of ourselves leaving port.

 

 

 

First night for us is usually Tuscan although last cruise we dined in Luminae as it was its official opening night. We will return to Tuscan again next cruise as seeing the wake of the ship tailing away into the distance really makes me feel I am on holiday!

 

 

 

Great idea for a post. Eight months until next cruise, is there a name for when you feel homesick for a cruise?

I feel the same way.... We Enjoy the pampering and Suite Life! And I'm always secretly wishing I were cruising. We need a name for it. [emoji1]

We go to Cafe Al Baccio to have a pot of tea and a slice of whatever looks tasty. The wallpaper on my phone is a picture of this to remind me of pleasant times.

We can also usually watch all the other cruisers boarding from this spot. Everyone looks so excited, it's a lot of fun to watch.

Salty Doge, What date are you sailing in March? we are on the Silli in March as well, March 27.

Salty Doge, What date are you sailing in March? we are on the Silli in March as well, March 27.

We'll be missing each other I'm afraid. I'll be sailing on March 6 — doing the Cozumel, Cayman Islands, Falmouth, Labadee itinerary.

Welcome to Cruise Critic saltydoge!

On embarkation day we generally grab a caramel macchiato at Café al Bacio, tour the ship and then head out to grab lunch.

We generally eat on the back patio of the Oceanview Café or the Mast Grill. The Mast Grill is usually much less crowded and they serve tasty and outstanding burgers!

We then sit back, enjoy the beautiful sunny day and relax until our room is ready, which is usually after 1 pm.

After unpacking, we head to the muster drill before going to our sail away party!

We hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise!

I run to the pool area and throw down towels and books to hog the chairs, then I head to the buffet line and plop down at a table and hog it for hours until my cabin is ready. At the muster station (usually in the dining room) I sit with others at a table and brag about how many previous cruises I've been on completely ignoring the video being shown on the wall.

 

Happy Sailing

LOL!

I assume you forgot to tell them - loudly and ad nauseum - how much better safety drills were in the old days.

But seriously....we were always "get there as early as possible" people. On our very first cruise (Carnival Inspiration in 2004) we arrived mid-afternoon and waited forever. We always assumed earlier was better so adjusted out schedules accordingly. Then when sailing on the Silhouette out of FLL in February we were delayed in traffic by some sort of sports event. It was closed to 2 p.m. when we got there. Given that we still had three hours of leeway, we weren't concerned about missing our ship, but assumed boarding would take up much of our time.

Much to our pleasant surprise the terminal was almost empty and the whole boarding procedure took maybe 15 minutes, if that. Now perhaps the event that made us late was making other people even later, and maybe 2 p.m. boarding is normally crowded.

Regardless, our cabin was ready so we immediately dropped off our carry-ons. We then rushed to the buffet which still had plenty of food, but not plenty of passengers, so lunch was leisurely and uncrowded.

After, as we always do (along with, it seems, everyone else) we explore the ship, looking for specials in the gym and shops. We might have a drink.

Of course we attend the muster drill and then get on to the pool deck to watch the sailaway. As the lights of FLL and Miami grow dimmer the pleasant reality that I'm on a cruise sinks in.

We then hope our suitcases have arrived and unpack and stow clothing in record time, fast enough to be at the first show and then at the late dinner. If there's a night life after, we're there.

We don't like to arrive until the rooms are ready so we can drop off any carry on bags. We then head to the buffet which is was empty last trip. Everyone who arrived when the doors opened have already eaten and are headed to their room. We have some lunch and if it's a new ship we will explore. If we have been on the ship before then we just get a drink and relax on deck.

When we drive to Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) we arrive early because the later we leave the house the more likely hood is we will be stuck in traffic for 2 hours. I'd rather be stuck on the ship laying in a lounge chair than sitting in the car on the I-95 trying to get over the George Washington Bridge.

We normally arrive early, get on board and grab the sparkling wine. We then head to grab a bite to eat (it has never been crowded), although our next trip we may try Bistro on Five. When we have been in the Oceanview Café we like to people watch.

Once they announce that we can go to our rooms - we go and drop off our carry on - sometimes we have been lucky and found our luggage waiting and then will unload that first.

Next, explore the ship - I always have to take a tour of the spa and have found some specials that day.

As I am hearing that there may be dinner specials (pricing deals) for the specialty restaurants - this time around I will check on those as well that first day - this next cruise is 17 days and we may want to vary our venues a little. DH will be checking on any deals for the upgrading to the premium drink package. I'll probably stick with the regular one that we are getting under the old 123 promotion.

I also like the idea of going to Café Baccio on that first day - may have to do that as well.

And we do like to explore the ship even if we have been on it before.

Arrive around 2 pm

Enjoy the refreshments served after boarding the ship

Check MDR for table assignment & early dinning

Find stateroom & drop-off our carry-ons

Then it's time for lunch, because we arrive later it is easier to find outside tables available on deck 14 for lunch. If weather is poor we head to Bistro on Five

Check-back at stateroom for luggage. If available unpack & get organized for the trip

Find a bar that is open, use our drink package, & head outside

Never miss a sail-a-way with photos

Return to stateroom, shower for dinner, enjoy a glass of wine from our veranda, check the daily menu, head out by 5:00pm for cocktails before dinner.

After dinner to the theatre to enjoy the show

Old habits are difficult to break...

Our first stop is usually MDR early to check our table assignment. We always request a table for 2 but are invariably assigned to a large table. Maitre 'D has always been able to remedy this if we see him early. After lunch we head to cabin where dw stresses until luggage arrives. They've never lost a piece on us yet, but she just doesn't trust them. :eek:

Last year , our first free drinks package, walked on board straight into the gastrol bar and ordered a beer :D

Freaking out when the ship sails and we still haven't received the luggage in our room.

Michael

Just booked my next cruise (third) on X for March on the Silhouette, and it made think about the experience of boarding the ship on the first day.

 

It got me wondering what everyone else does when they first come on board? Do you explore the ship? Make sure your bags got to your room? Book any dining or shore excursions? Get a little too-tipsy too-fast?

 

I know we all view the safety video, but what else do you get up to? Tell me about your routine! I'm new to cruising so I want to hear it from the experienced folks here! :) Thanks!

We usually grab lunch in the Ocean View Cafe(Eclipse)Though I think we'll do Bistro on 5, which was suggested by another poster. Less crowds.Afterwards we go top side & check the other ships nearby. Since it's now in Miami, you see less ships,but get a great view of the city scape.