Once you book a cruise, you have really just started the journey. For a land-based vacation, aside from checking in for your flights, there's not much prep work you need to do before you leave.
You might want to make dinner reservations or reserve other aspects of your trip that could sell out, but you generally don't have to. When you book a cruise, it's important to take care of a number of things ahead of time.
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Most purchases, for example, are cheaper if you book them in advance. Everything from drink packages to shore excursions, specialty dining, and internet access almost always costs less if you book it before your cruise.
In addition, you should be vigilant for sales, which are often offered around major holidays. In general, on major cruise lines, you can cancel a booked item and rebook it if the price drops.
Some popular excursions can also sell out, as can certain limited-capacity experiences like the Royal Caribbean Empire Supper Club on Icon of the Seas and the new Royal Railway on Utopia of the Seas.
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald recently found a subtle way to offer passengers from every cruise line a tip that can enhance your vacation which many cruisers may not have known about.
Image source: Royal Caribbean
Do this and you get more cruise
Both Carnival (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) offer slightly different schedules for check-in for your cruise, but both use midnight eastern as the time when check-in begins.
"You can check in on the app beginning 45 days in advance and up to the morning of your sailing," Royal Caribbean shared on its website. "In the app, you will scan your passport, upload your security photo, and answer the required health questions to receive your mobile boarding pass."
The health questions are not available until 24 hours before your sailing.
Carnival has a tighter timeline.
"Online Check-in can be accessed within 14 days prior to sailing and no later than midnight (eastern time) prior to the sailing date," Carnival posted on its website.
Heald offered a subtle hint about check-in on his Facebook page which was met with over 5,600 comments — essentially an awful lot of people sharing their own advice.
"Have you ever stayed awake until midnight to check in for your cruise?" Heald wrote.
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Why checking into your cruise early matters
While it can vary by port and sailing, both Royal Caribbean and Carnival allow passengers to pick a boarding time. The earlier your time, the sooner you get on the ship, and that can mean a couple extra hours of vacation.
Boarding on many sailings begins around 10:30 a.m. with the last appointments coming a 3 p.m. That's a 3 1/2 hour difference, and many respondents to Heald's post think it's a good idea to make sure you get an early boarding appointment.
Most of the comments were simple with many simply saying "every time," or "yes." Others showed how important they think checking in as soon as possible is.
"Yes. Even set an alarm just in case I fell asleep," wrote Karen Hollinger.
Ellen Monaghan Rios has become a recent convert to checking in at midnight.
"Yes, just did for the first time for our cruise last week and I’ll be doing it every time! We got 10:30 check-in, hardly had to wait in each line (and this was NY), got on in time to eat in a not-crowded Lido, get the extra keys we needed, muster, and check out the entire ship before we could get into our cabins at 1:30," she shared.
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There were, however, a few people who suggested a different strategy rather than getting on the ship as early as possible.
"Not anymore, I like late check-in, then you walk right on the ship and cabins are ready at 1:30," posted Lu Anne Paquin.
Related: Get the best cruise tips, deals, and news on the ships from our expert cruiser
