Whether you are embarking on your first cruise or you are a veteran cruiser, it is hard to beat a cruising vacation. Being a virgin cruiser is exciting but a little bit daunting; there is room for error but, for the most part, you want to hit the high points to make your trip as stress-free and fun as you can. The first job at hand is, of course, to choose an itinerary because there are several routes to choose from and, naturally, each cruise line has its own standard ports of call and many have exclusive docking privileges in a particular place that no other lines are allowed to use, so it gives you the feeling of being one of the privileged few.

The last thing you want to worry about while you are gone is parking and you don’t want to come home to an outrageous bill for allowing your car to sit and do nothing for days. Naturally, you want to find safe Miami cruise parking that won’t break the bank. Safe Cruise Parking offers close port of Miami parking with 24/7 security in a gated lot so you can have peace of mind that your car is safe and the bill won’t ruin your vacation when you get back.

Miami cruise parking

What to Wear?

One of essential decisions you will have to make after deciding where to go is what to pack. With airlines now charging fees for more than one bag that must be under a set weight, packing is more crucial than ever before. Many people tend to over-pack with the excuse of “I don’t know what I might want to wear daily (mostly women)” and while this is a fine practice under many traveling situations, imagine being on a seven-day cruise and, unless you are traveling solo, having to pack for two.

In addition, this includes not only clothes but also toiletries, make up, hair styling tools, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, perfume, and more so paring down the clothes is imperative and it really does entail a lot of planning because you will need casual clothes, bathing suits, and perhaps some type of workout wear if you plan to take advantage of the onboard gym to offset all that food that is everywhere you go. There will also be some type of formal dinner at least one night and some ships have upscale restaurants that passengers can choose to frequent multiple nights that will require a more formal style of clothing so you will want to pack for these events as well. You will also need to take into account the climate of where you will be going and pack accordingly.

Where to Go

There are many choices of ports and multiple itineraries combining various islands to visit and, frankly, all are great, but a few stand out. The beach is a popular destination on all the islands, but there plenty of things to do and see for everyone; so don’t be put off if you are not a beach lover. You will love the beautiful warm weather, turquoise waters, and lovely islands.

Haiti is a popular destination for cruise ships, but Royal Caribbean boasts a private stop in beautiful Labadee which offers gorgeous, secluded, white-sand beaches, a 500-foot zip line, beautiful mountains, kayak tours, snorkeling, parasailing and more exclusively for RC cruisers.

Cozumel is another popular Caribbean destination and, due to its lack of development, it is more of a tourist destination than some other places in Mexico. Cozumel is a great place to shop and you can get very good deals on many items, especially jewelry. For those interested in exploring the past, a trip to the Mayan ruins of San Gervasio is a must see. Other popular places in the Caribbean include Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, where several of the shore excursions recommended are horseback riding, shopping in George Town, swimming with stingrays in Stingray City, the dolphin or turtle swim, and 7 Mile Beach. It’s truly paradise.

There is so much to see and do it’s impossible to do and see it all in one trip, but that is no hardship. There is no way to get bored even if you never leave the ship. You will find plenty of activities onboard to keep you busy and happy all day and into the night. You won’t be disappointed by the Caribbean.

Bon Voyage!