I’m on a cruise right now with many disappointed or frustrated passengers,
while everything is going to great for me with no unpleasant surprises,
and it’s all down to some checks I did in the weeks before the cruise.
Welcome aboard I am Gary Bembridge and I’m on a Holland America 2-week
cruise from Valparaiso Chile to Buenos Aires and here’s what I do
in the weeks before every cruise you should too, starting with this one.
On this cruise, there are incredible sights and things to do. But so many
people are missing out as they did not do this first check. They’ve
missed a stunning volcano at Lake Todos Santos Lake, Petrohue falls,
Falkland penguins, a heritage train through Tierra del Fuego National Park in Ushuaia.
I always check excursions as soon as the cruise line opens them, and again
a month before cruising. For this cruise, excursions opened 100 days before sailing,
but on others like my Regent Seven Seas Japan cruise it was nine months before.
As most passengers wait until they are on board,
I was able to get every excursion I wanted. I made a note of the cancellation policy,
which was 48 hours with no penalty before the excursion, and so after going to the port talks,
I cancelled one as I saw self-exploring would be better in one port with no loss.
Doing the excursion check early also means I know what I need to budget. On this trip,
excursions added $1,200 to my cruise. By checking early, I knew how much I needed,
and gave me time to save up or look at less costly alternatives with independent providers.
But there’s another check I recommend also doing at least a month before.
On this trip I keep seeing people having to fit their dining around
other people’s plans, not set their own.
Around four weeks before the cruise I check and make dining reservations. On some lines,
though not on here, I book my anytime dining slots as well as specialty dining.
By doing it then, I got the days and times I wanted. If I had waited until on board,
I could see my favoured times were fully booked.
Again, as there is no penalty for cancelling,
I could adjust during the cruise which I did to join some people I met on the cruise for dinner.
On this cruise the check in was a bit chaotic. Partly as the port
agents were a bit disorganised, but I saw many guests were not ready either.
Let me talk about the checks and things I do that made boarding smooth for me.
First, I check if there is a cruise line App and download it while on home Wi-Fi and get familiar
with it. On Holland America their Navigator App is critical for boarding and once on board.
It’s used to do the pre-boarding process like check in,
health screen questionnaire and add a credit card.
It then held my boarding pass bar code which is scanned to enable faster boarding. Once on
board it has the daily program, tour tickets, ability to book dining and excursions, check my
on-board statement, chat with guest services and emergency contact details for the ship.
But also, for this trip, Holland America used the Verifly App
where I could upload the required vaccination proof and Covid test for pre-screening,
which then gave a green “good to cruise” pass so could use
the express lane at check in instead of lining up to have them checked.
So, checking for the cruise line app and doing online check well before the trip is key.
As soon as check in has been done online, the baggage tags are generated. I print those out
rather than wait until checking in at the port and attach them before getting to the port.
This sped up my check in as the baggage drop off was some distance from the check
in area. I saw people arriving without their baggage tags printed and attached and having
to wait while someone had to find and confirm their cabin and manually prepare baggage tags.
I also saw some confusion at check in and when first on board as people did
not follow my next check, which is to carefully read every single email that
the line sends in the run up to the cruise. Even if they look repetitive.
On this trip for example, there were many changes
which if missed could mean not making the cruise or being denied boarding.
For example, the port we were departing from changed from San Antonio to Valparaiso. They
are far apart and arriving at the wrong one would have been disastrous.
Next, as I've mentioned this cruise added specific requirements for vaccine booster,
a COVID test within a set time period and then a close to the cruise rule that if
I had been in China it had to be a PCR test. Not having these would mean denied boarding.
Also close to the cruise, they advised masks were going to be
required for the first couple of days, so I could make sure that I packed them.
Then an update came with an allocated check-in time of 11:00am which they were
enforcing so arriving at a different time would mean hanging around.
So keep reading and carefully checking every email update.
On this cruise, I also saw some getting stressed out as after handing in our passports,
as the line retained them to handle the immigration in the multiple countries,
we were told authorities in Chile and Argentina required us to have a copy
of our passports and proof of vaccine when out in port.
Many people didn't have that. But I have copies of everything. I
create a folder for every cruise that has everything from leaving home to returning,
it means I have everything I may need to check along the way.
In my folder, I have copies of my passport, vaccination,
COVID test, insurance, my booking confirmation, itinerary, transfers,
excursions and flight confirmations, and emergency contacts of my travel agent.
I also have a digital version, stored in a Dropbox folder which
I set on my phone to be downloaded so it's on my phone even with no signal.
I have easy access to any documents I could possibly need if anything goes wrong and for
checking like if, as happened on my last cruise, the transfer was not there at the airport,
I could easily check in the folder and get their contact number and sort it out.
Another area I saw people stumbling over was cash and paying for things in port.
While on many itineraries, tourist places accept US dollars this is something I always
check. I saw in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and The Falklands, the US dollar is not widely accepted
nor are cards everywhere, and local currency is required by many venues, traders, and taxis.
However, knowing that would not need too much, as just for tips and souvenirs, I didn't buy
it in advance, and checked if I could exchange money on board. They do and in small amounts too.
I also though checked I had US dollars in a range of bills that
I could use for tipping and gratuities on board.
It’s also worth letting your credit card company know you will be travelling internationally.
The other thing I've seen on this cruise, is quite a few people being unprepared
clothes and packing wise. It's been cold, wet, and windy. And I’ve seen people in
the onboard shops scrambling around buying warmer or waterproof clothing.
Before I go on a cruise, I check four things before I even start packing. First,
I download a cruise packing list to remind me. I have one if you want that,
but I also check online if someone has done one specific to the itinerary.
Next, I check the latest on the dress code. On Holland America,
I know although they have dressy nights, it's not particularly strongly adhered to,
and I can get away with at most a collared shirt and smartish trousers.
They also often have an Orange-themed night, so I brought something for that.
Thirdly, I review my excursions to see if I need anything like
hiking boots or other gear I may not usually take.
Then I put all the ports on my phone weather app to see what I need. It
was clear temperatures would vary so needed layers, waterproof outer layer, and warm hat.
One other thing I check is are there any first aid kit items I should stock up on.
I've been surprised how many people have not appreciated this itinerary has pretty
rough seas. Even from the minute we left Chile, it's been pretty bumpy and we're
going round the Cape Horn, and so many people had not brought seasickness options.
On other trips, like my recent Galapagos it was insect repellant and sunscreen.
I have a whole video about packing and things to think
about but checking well before you start actual packing is key.
Another key check is your home arrangements.
On this itinerary I am in remote places,
and as always let friends and family know where I'm going and how to get hold of me.
I check on the best way to do that. For example, I found my mobile phone plan only gave me roaming
with no fees in Chile, but in none of the other countries, and there are many sea days.
So, I have had my phone in airplane mode most of the trip. So, I told my partner,
sister, and friends to contact me through chat like WhatsApp. I downloaded Skype and
added credit so I can phone my mum, who only has a landline, using Wi-Fi.
On this trip, as I am travelling solo, there are people at home,
so I don't have to let the neighbours know to keep an eye on the house. They
have a set of keys and know the alarm codes though if issues.
One other thing I did was check the week before the Cruise Critic roll call
for the cruise. It’s a great last-minute catch all for anything that I’ve missed.
For example, for this trip people arriving in Chile warned of random COVID tests at the
airport, with quarantine if failed. So, I was prepared for that and knew how they worked.
If you found this interesting, why not watch this video where I talk about the must pack
things for a cruise starting with something most people forget. See you over there.