All Things Travel Podcast

Cruising 101: Expert Answers to Your Top Cruise Questions

• Ryan Hedstrom & Julie Shaffer • Season 1 • Episode 225

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In this episode of All Things Travel, cruise experts Ryan and Julie answer common questions to help you prepare for your next cruise vacation:

  • What's the recommended time to get back to the ship on port days?
  • Should you book excursions through the cruise line or third parties?
  • Tips for the boarding process and what to pack in your carry-on
  • Is Royal Caribbean's Coco Cay worth it?
  • Dining options and schedules on cruises
  • Best cruise lines for a girls' trip
  • Tips for solo cruisers
  • Safety on cruise ships - can you really fall overboard?
  • Managing family schedules and naps with kids on a cruise
  • Is the drink package worth it? A detailed cost breakdown

Plus, hear about where listeners are tuning in from and get recommendations for Schenectady, NY.

Whether you're a first-time cruiser or experienced sailor, this episode covers key information to help you make the most of your cruise vacation. Tune in for expert advice from travel advisors Ryan and Julie!

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Julie:

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. While taking our cruise last month, our listeners had a lot of common cruise questions. And today, Julie and I will answer them all to make sure you're ready to go for your next cruise vacation. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts, Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. And she's a Disney loving, Maryland mom of three, and specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel. All right, Julie, how are you today?

Ryan:

Doing well? Another Sunday night spent

Julie:

Another Sunday night. How was your weekend? What happened this weekend in the Schaefer household?

Ryan:

That's a good question.

Julie:

You don't remember?

Ryan:

You know, there's a lot that goes on in my house, so I guess I just don't commit a lot of it to memory. We definitely played outside because it is hot in Maryland. It is so hot in Maryland. To the point that nobody's air conditioning can keep up with the heat. So we

Julie:

you and I have very different weekends.

Ryan:

we do, we do. So that, yeah, that's how my week has been going. I am at that point in the summer.

Julie:

Yeah. Yesterday. Went to the Botanical Gardens to see a glass exhibit, went and got a nice coffee afterwards, did some light shopping, came home and cooked dinner, slept in a little bit, fixed breakfast. I mean, it was very much like the chaos in your house.

Ryan:

very much like me taping my hose to my playground.

Julie:

Oh

Ryan:

Anyways,

Julie:

Each stage is fun, right?

Ryan:

and to think that just a couple of weeks ago we were on a nice

Julie:

Oh, I know it is. We're getting close to two months from our cruise. It was so much fun. The first day we were on the cruise, we hit our socials, right? And we said, what questions do you have? people came up with some really good questions, didn't they?

Ryan:

Yeah, I'm excited to answer these for everyone because I think a lot of people have the same questions. And this is a great way for you to know more and be more prepared for your cruise.

Julie:

Absolutely. So along with that, if you have not listened to last week's episode Julia and Michelle and I actually sat down in the Miami airport the day that we got off the ship and had some takeaways about cruising in general and cruising on Royal Caribbean specifically. So make sure you check out that episode.

Ryan:

And make sure you're following along with us on our new Facebook page, the All Things Travel Podcast. Go ahead and type in your search bar, All Things Travel Podcast. Like and follow us to stay up to date with everything and interact with us.

Julie:

All right. So our first question, Julie, is what's the recommended time to get back to the ship? If you're on a port day,

Ryan:

So that's going to depend on the port, right? And the ship and your itinerary. But don't worry, it will be Well known.

Julie:

You will definitely know when you need to be back on the ship. There will be no question about that.

Ryan:

I would say it's mostly around four or five, depending on what port you're in and what kind of cruise you're on. But typically it's like five ish in the Bahamas, right?

Julie:

yeah

Ryan:

You do not want to be that person running. I know

Julie:

because that happens right that

Ryan:

It does happen. It does happen. You have your cruise card and you scan it to get off, you scan it to get back on. And so that's how the cruise knows if everyone is back on the ship or not. And you will hear those announcements for, So if so and so was on the ship, please go here so that we can check you in. And I remember that happens on our cruise and I was sharing a state room with our obviously very good friend, Michelle, and she's like, Oh, I wonder if there's some runners let's go out on the balcony.

Julie:

you see any

Ryan:

I did not see

Julie:

okay, but we've seen those videos right of people running to to get on there I would say, and this is my opinion, but give yourself one hour cushion. So if the ship is leaving at five, you want to be back on the ship, not walking to the ship, back on the ship at four. What I will say is if you're at a private island where it's just the ship, you can be a little closer if you want to be to that hour. But if you're at Nassau, or you're at Cozumel. Make sure to give yourself a good hour cushion to be back at the ship to make sure that you're all good to go.

Ryan:

One thing I want to mention in relation to this is, the ship is not going to leave you because they don't care or because they want to leave you. The ship will leave without you because they have to pay to be in that port for a certain amount of time. It's not up to the ship. It's up to the port. The port is the one that is It's not like, it's not like they're just leaving because they want to be mean.

Julie:

Question number two. Should we book excursions through the cruise line or use a reputable company? Do you have a preference?

Ryan:

Hmm. preference is through the cruise line because there's going to be a guarantee to get back to the ship on time. A lot of reputable companies will also have a guarantee to get back to the ship. So I'm going to go with that. But it still makes me just a little bit nervous.

Julie:

I have no problem with a third party company as long as they have that guarantee. If you get into a taxi and say, I want to have a tour of the island, or take me to a cool beach, or take me to a cool bar area, you have lost all control over the time of getting back to the ship. So make sure if you're doing an excursion and it's not through the cruise line, you're working with a company that guarantees you'll get back on the ship and you know what you're going to do to make sure that you're back on time.

Ryan:

Yeah. I would agree with that. And it also really just depends on the port, that you're going to. Obviously if you're going to a private island, the only option is through the cruise

Julie:

Yeah

Ryan:

if you are going to somewhere like Alaska, there are a lot of reputable companies that

Julie:

Oh,

Ryan:

and that may offer you a smaller tour group as well, which can be nice.

Julie:

Absolutely. I have no problem. Working with a reputable tour company as long as I can be guaranteed I'm gonna be back to the port and on board the time that I need to also For those of you specifically who have not cruised before, you do not have to have an excursion at every port. You can get off, enjoy the space around the port, have a more leisurely day, then go back and spend more time on the ship while people are off at the port. You don't have to plan something for every day.

Ryan:

Absolutely.

Julie:

So tips for the boarding process, Julie.

Ryan:

Yes. This obviously depends on what port you're leaving out of, but I will say that when we boarded our Royal Caribbean cruise down

Julie:

Out of

Ryan:

it was, it was the easiest boarding process I've ever dealt with before. Would you agree?

Julie:

Yes, so you're gonna want to have access to your passport or your birth certificate Whatever you're using as your official form of ID because you will do that you will want to have the app Up open with your check in Ready to be shown as far as your your boarding time

Ryan:

Yeah. And that is different for each cruise

Julie:

It is so I'm so I'm just making a general statement. Yeah, and also to Every cruise line that I've traveled with you can have access to boarding documents You may want to print those off if you're a little more old school so that you have access to To that also to this sounds like a duh thing But know where the port is and know what ship you're on Because Norwegian and celebrity and Royal Caribbean leave from completely different places in Seattle. So where is your port and it's not unlikely that Royal Caribbean may have four or five ships there. Know the ship you're going to be on. I know that sounds silly, but trust me, I've heard this before. I've had people have this, like know where you're going know when you're supposed to be there.

Ryan:

Can we back up a little bit and just talk about getting to the port itself? Because there's a couple of different options. The 1st option is that I live close to a port. So I do have clients who drive to a port, whether it's Baltimore, New Jersey, or Norfolk. Those are within driving distance. And if you're driving, you can definitely leave the morning of, but give yourself a Couple hour cushion to get there. You're going to pay to park. So just understand that and then you're just going to leave your luggage with your porter and follow the instructions to board the ship, but it's kind of cool to drive to a port You're driving through the city and then you just see the ship. If you are flying to a port, then you generally have 2 options for getting to the port. 1 is going to be like an uber ride share or private transportation. And 1 is the other is going to be transportation booked through the cruise line. So the 1 that comes up to me the most is Disney cruise line. Booking their transportation

Julie:

Canaveral or Miami, and now even Fort Lauderdale.

Ryan:

at Lauderdale. Yep. Booking one of those. So when you're taking an uber, there's going to be a designated drop off spot. They're going to drop you off. You're going to get out. You're going to the Porter is going to come find you and take your luggage and if you are taking the cruise line transportation, they're dropping you off again in their designated location. The Porter will find you take your luggage. And go from there.

Julie:

The luggage is going to go with the porter. It's going to go on the ship. You're not going to see it till later that afternoon. Even after your stateroom is open, you may not see it. So anything you're not comfortable, just like at the airport, anything you're not comfortable having somebody else take care of, this may be computers. This may be CPAP machines. This may be purses. Things that you want to have control of, you need to have. And when the porter takes your bags, this is a tipping situation. These porters work for the port. I would say, Two to five dollars a bag is completely normal. And appreciated.

Ryan:

Yeah, and they, they will also let you know that it is normal. I will also add into things to keep with you if you have kids, snacks drinks

Julie:

Swimsuit. So if you want to go, you know, grab lunch real quick and then head right to the pool or head right to the pool to avoid the mad rush in the afternoon, either wear your swimsuit or have your swimsuit ready to change into. Ha

Ryan:

that and then also your dinner clothes.

Julie:

ha

Ryan:

If you have an early dining, there's no guarantee you're going to get your luggage before that point. You likely will, but fun fact, when we boarded our cruise Ryan's luggage was not there when we got to our room.

Julie:

It got there eventually and it got there in plenty of time for me to get ready for dinner, but it was not there.

Ryan:

Like all of our luggage was there except for one piece of Ryan's luggage. And we were kind of like,

Julie:

I would say with the boarding process, it's similar to going to boarding at the airport, but it's easier than boarding at the airport. So, you will go through, you will go through a security screen, you will have to show your ID they will check it several times, but there will be plenty of people there to help you through the process. don't stress about the boarding process.

Ryan:

You're going to stress about it and you're going to get there and be like, wow, this was really easy. The one thing I will say is just like Ryan mentioned earlier, make sure those documents are out. And

Julie:

For everyone. For

Ryan:

everyone, for every single person in your party, If you're kind of debating, do I get a passport or do I just use birth certificates? The passport line is going to be so much shorter.

Julie:

Especially when you get off the ship. It's laughable, the difference in the line size.

Ryan:

Just something to consider.

Julie:

Next question. And this was Royal Caribbean specific. Is Coco Cay worth it? And talk about the dining.

Ryan:

Is Coco Cay worth it? I think what this listener meant was, if you needed to book any excursions, like, was it worth it to pay for extra things to do on Coco Cay? And I would say it really depends on the makeup of your family and what ship you're on. If you have teenagers and they really love water parks, go ahead and get Thrill Island, but it's not a cheap add on.

Julie:

If you are on the newer ships that have a water park on it, I wouldn't pay the extra money for Thrill Island.

Ryan:

exactly, that was my next point. Consider what ship you're on. So it's kind of like if you are plussing up your ship, you don't need to pluss up your CoCoK experience.

Julie:

I

Ryan:

Take that time. Yeah. Isn't that nice? Isn't that nice, Ryan? If you're on an older ship, a smaller ship that doesn't have the water park, maybe that's what you spend your money on. That is upgrading to Thrill Island. I don't think you have to upgrade anything on Coco Cay. I think there's so much you can do without upgrading. And that was one of the biggest things that surprised me about Coco Cay. And like Ryan said, we talked a lot about it in another

Julie:

Yeah. Yep. Yep. What about dining? Anything there?

Ryan:

It's included, which I think is great, except for a couple things, and it will be obvious if something is not included. Let's keep it specific to Royal Caribbean, the way that dining works for Royal Caribbean, and a lot of cruise lines are very similar, is that you can choose early dining, late dining, or my time dining. I kind of prefer early dining, and by early it's usually like 545, 530,

Julie:

It felt like six ish.

Ryan:

Yeah, I prefer early dining. I don't think it cuts into the day. I think you still have enough time to get whatever you want to do done during the day and kind of come back from excursions but I think it gives you your evening. I think if you do late dining, dinner is your evening. Late dining is usually like eight ish, 8. 15, something like that. Every cruise line is a little bit different. But basically with Royal Caribbean, you pick one of those and you show up to the main dining room and they take you to your table, you'll have the same table every evening the same servers every evening in the main dining room. Just check on, it's actually on your your key card of where your table is. So

Julie:

and and menus every night will be on your app so you can look and say, What might I want to order or is this a night where i'd rather go to the buffet or schedule specialty dining. So again last week we went and talked a lot about dining So if you have more questions about that, I would say go back and listen to that episode Good cruise lines for a girls trip answered this person specifically when they asked it and I said either Virgin Voyage or Royal Caribbean. Would be my two options.

Ryan:

Absolutely.

Julie:

saying based on whichever one fits them the best.

Ryan:

Oh, yeah.

Julie:

Virgin Voyages adults only is fantastic. The food is fantastic. The entertainment is fantastic, especially if you are a foodie or a fitness person. There's no better cruise line.

Ryan:

Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Julie:

Before we answer some more questions, Julie, including the most common question I get about a cruise, I want to talk about where in the world does all things travel?

Ryan:

Okay.

Julie:

A new location that popped up for us this week is Schenectady, New York in eastern New York State. Have you been to Schenectady or in that area, Julie?

Ryan:

No.

Julie:

So Schenectady is obviously a well known city in New York. It was here where Thomas Edison founded what would become General Electric, where George Westinghouse invented the rotary engine and air brakes, and where American Locomotive Works once made virtually every steam and diesel locomotive to pull passengers and freight across the country. So lots of Americana history innovation here. So I thought the best place to meet our listener is at the Michie museum, the museum of innovation and science in Schenectady, New York at Michie, all exhibits programs and events are designed, are designed with its mission in mind to inspire people, to celebrate and explore science and technology past, present and future. So I think that would be a great place to meet our listener. There's lots of displays and history when it comes to science and innovation. As always, super excited that a place like Schenectady, New York is listening to all things travel. Reach out to Julie or I via Facebook or email because I would love to send a thank you gift to Schenectady for being featured on today's show.

Ryan:

And I would love to know how to pronounce the name of the town.

Julie:

Schenectady,

Ryan:

Are you sure?

Julie:

Yeah. Fun fact, when I lived in Vermont, one of our PBS stations was out of Schenectady, New York.

Ryan:

Oh, that's kind of cool.

Julie:

Next question, Julie. Cruising as a solo traveler, suggestions,

Ryan:

A couple of caveats you need to know if you're planning to go on a cruise by yourself. The first being that most cruise lines do not honor a solo traveler rate.

Julie:

That is a biggie.

Ryan:

Yeah, you will be paying as if there are two people in the room and that is because the cruise line would lose money if they let you always book one person in a room for a reduced rate.,one of the most well known exceptions is Norwegian. They do have solo cabins, but they are small.

Julie:

Cruise lines are accommodating this more and more Especially when I was at the river cruise conference We were seeing this more as far as having either programs for solo travelers or solo traveler rooms I would say as far as tips Use your app to your advantage, whatever interests you go to it there are specific meetups for solo travelers or Single travelers or special interest groups use that to your advantage to meet people if you're comfortable with it This is the time to request that you sit at a table at dining with other people But don't feel like you have to meet other people either. I there's Enough to do on a cruise ship that you can be as integrated with other people or have your own space as much as you want

Ryan:

Yeah. Yeah.

Julie:

So really, I think a lot of the same tips for solo vacations play out here. you find what you want to do, and you're able to do it. The cool thing is, since you're traveling by yourself, you can do anything you want. If you want to go have a specialty dining meal, you can do that. If you want to spend extra time at the port, you can do that. Absolutely.

Ryan:

The one thing that I would caution is that since you are by yourself, depending on what type of a cruise itinerary you're doing, so say you're going on a Mediterranean cruise and you want to go walk around one of the port cities alone, maybe like let someone else know that you're doing that.

Julie:

Good tip. Yeah, good tip. All right, this next question falling off the boat or safety and and I will say, I know the person that says, and they were being serious because they're like, it does kind of freak me out. This idea of being on a cruise ship. Can I fall off?

Ryan:

And can your kids fall off? I hear that a lot.

Julie:

fall off? The short answer at least is obviously you can just like in any place you can, but there are so many safety procedures in place, Julie.

Ryan:

Mm hmm.

Julie:

Honestly, when we see this in the news, it's kind of, it's sad to say the people that fall from the boat are wanting to fall from the boat.

Ryan:

My spiel that I give clients about safety and the ship is that Obviously always keep your eye on little ones because for my clients It's always concerned about their kids falling off the boat. My kids a climber. My kids a jumper. My kids a runner How can I protect them?

Julie:

They're more likely to get hurt running around the ship and climbing on stuff around the ship than having any chance of climbing up onto the edge.

Ryan:

Absolutely. And I would say that when I've been on the cruise with my kids or even by myself and just taking notice of surroundings, there's not a ton of places on the ship where you're getting right up against the, railing, it's not like a bunch of things are going on right up against the railing. You're mostly in the center of the ship and most of the things you're doing are. inside on the ship. A lot of the dining is inside. The shows are inside most of the time. It's not a huge concern when you're walking around the ship. If it is something you're really concerned about, just let me know. Keep them contained

Julie:

Could somebody technically climb over the balcony of their stateroom? Yes, they could. So, but it's very, it's very difficult, but obviously if you're used to dealing with your kids, doing that at a park, at a shopping mall, at a wherever, it's kind of the same mentality there. I honestly feel safer on a cruise ship than I do at a lot of resorts, and I feel safe at resorts. So, I'm not going to worry about that, because I know they've put so many safety features in place.

Ryan:

will also mention that this comes up a lot when clients are choosing their type of state room. They'll say, I don't want a balcony room because I don't want to risk my kid falling off the balcony. I will say I was more concerned about my kid dropping toys off the balcony than my kid falling off. There was a difference between Royal and Disney as far as this goes, kids are very in the forefront of Disney's mind. On our veranda room, on Disney Cruise line, there was two different ways to lock the door. And one of them was so high up that I could barely reach it. And so you had to do that, and then you had to move the handle to a certain position to open the door, there was no way my kid was opening that door with if I locked it, could they open it if you left it unlocked? Absolutely. But the other thing that happens if you leave your door unlocked is the air conditioning doesn't work as

Julie:

So, you're going to know very quickly if the door is

Ryan:

Yeah, you're going to know if the door is open and unlocked on Royal. They did have a pretty good lock on the handle that I thought was like high enough, but they did not have that extra Lock up top. So just something to know And if you're that worried, just book an ocean view room where you don't have a balcony.

Julie:

There are lots of places that will even have very, large windows that you're going to have great sunlight. You're going to have great views of the ocean. All right. Next question, Julie, sticking with the family flow here, naps, family schedules, dealing with all that. I know that you address Facebook during the cruise. What are your key points here?

Ryan:

I have a couple of thoughts. the biggest thing when you're thinking about taking your little kids and taking a family on a cruise is to be conscious of what ship you're picking and what cruise line you're picking, because they are not all created equal. They do not all have equal kids clubs. Some of them don't have kids clubs. If you are planning on taking a child who is under the age of three, not all cruise lines have a kids club to accommodate that child. So if you are thinking, Oh, I'll just take them to the kids club for a nap. You can't do that on all the cruise lines. Make sure you pick one that is going to fit your needs as far as what your kid can do. For naps and family schedules. I loved using the Disney Cruise Line nursery for my youngest to nap. She napped twice a day at the time that we went on that cruise and we took her to the nursery. Both times. Now they might not be getting the two hour nap they're getting at home, but she got a solid hour

Julie:

Well, they're not going to get that on vacation anyway.

Ryan:

Typically when my kids are on vacation, they don't get their regular naps as they would at home, but this is still a really great option. And a lot of people think, Oh, I'm going to be trapped in the room while my kid is napping. To me, that's the benefit of having a balcony room because I can enjoy that space while the child is napping.

Julie:

idea.

Ryan:

But, especially for that morning nap, I like to put my youngest in the nursery. I know she's safe. I know where she is. They text me they need anything, and I can go enjoy time with my older two kids. Be flexible. It's not always going to work out perfectly. So just give them some grace and maybe on the days that they really skip their naps, you go to bed a little bit early. And again, a bonus of having a balcony is that they can go to bed and you can sit out on the balcony if you want. The other thing that we did a lot that helped our family schedule was my husband and I would trade off in the evenings. So if my youngest two were going to bed early because they were tired or that was just their bedtime, but my oldest still wanted to do stuff, maybe my husband stayed in the room with the younger two. And I took my oldest elsewhere. Some nights she wanted to go to the kids club with a friend. My younger two would go back to the room with my husband, they'd go to bed, maybe he would read or something while they were sleeping, and I could go to the rainforest room or just sit quietly on the deck for a moment. We also utilize the kids club after dinner a lot and they all would go play for about an hour, hour and a half. That gave time for me and my husband to have some time together, too. So there's a lot of different ways you can work it. I definitely recommend that if you don't want to put them in the kids club that you at least switch off so that you can enjoy Different parts of the ship

Julie:

really like that idea. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. So the biggest question, Julie, and I was very intentional on this cruise to

Ryan:

you were

Julie:

I get this question all the time. And so one of the first questions we got is, is the drink package worth it?

Ryan:

and just clarify that this is for royal.

Julie:

correct. Yes. So the examples I'm going to give with row, but I think some of my ideas play out here regardless for cruise lines that have the drink package, not all cruise lines have a drink package. So a couple of things to consider with this. On Royal and on Celebrity, there is a gratuity that's automatically included with all drink purchases, and that's 18%. So when you're looking at drink prices, you have to figure in that 18 percent gratuity. That won't be on the menu, but it'll be added to the drink when you have the drink package that's factored in you've automatically already paid that so if you order a beer or a glass of wine and you have the drink package You're not paying that gratuity as extra. It's already included Another thing to consider is

Ryan:

and that's beyond the prepaid Gratuities

Julie:

Yes, correct. That is a separate gratuity just for the the bar staff And also remember, at least on Celebrity and Royal, if one person in the state room gets the drink package, all the people have to get the drink package that are in the state rooms. So for instance, if I was traveling with another adult, they would have to get the same drink package that I did. If I was traveling with just my kids, they wouldn't necessarily have to get a drink package if I do, but if they get a drink package, they each have to get a drink package.

Ryan:

Okay. And I will say the one caveat to this is, and this is like super specific to my client population, is if husband wants the drink package, but wife is pregnant, trying to get pregnant or nursing, you can very much just call the cruise line and say that. And they will allow you to get a regular drink package that's non alcoholic for the wife and the husband. Get the drink package with the alcohol.

Julie:

And what I will say is, before I talk about the specifics of the drink package that we have, there's a lot of variations in drink packages. You can get a drink package that just includes soda and water you don't have to get one that includes alcohol, but that's what we're going to be talking

Ryan:

Yeah, but that soda and water one typically also includes like smoothies milkshakes,

Julie:

Specialty coffees. Yeah. Yeah. Remember we were on a three night cruise out of miami So you basically have half a day two full days and then a morning in which to use the drink package And can you go in the morning and get a clue in your coffee or get a mimosa julie?

Ryan:

Absolutely.

Julie:

you can. So don't forget about those breakfast drinks. So this is how it, so this is how it broke down for me. The drink

Ryan:

drink all day if you don't start in the

Julie:

the drink package was 304. 38 or 101. 46 per day. That price varies based on the cruise. So it's not necessarily that price all the time. And there is almost always a promotion before the cruise online. And this price reflects that. So let me ask you this, Julie. You Have traveled with me before you've been to disney with me. You've been to resorts with me You've been on cruises with me now Did we have a good time as far as drinking did you feel like I overindulged in drinking? So I had what I would consider normal vacation drinking habits. It wasn't like i'm going to keep track of You my drinking and So i'm gonna drink more I guess is what i'm saying.

Ryan:

See, I felt the opposite. I felt like I Did order more drinks because we could because we had the drink package And it wasn't even like oh, let me make it feel worth it. It was more just the convenience

Julie:

I mean, it's it's the all inclusive mindset, right? What i'm saying is

Ryan:

You were not trying to beat the

Julie:

Yes, I was trying to drink how I normally would At an all inclusive resort on vacation stuff like that. I wasn't trying to Maximize the margin if you will You

Ryan:

Yeah and in your situation Absolutely. That was how you would normally behave on a cruise for me. Absolutely not because of my kids I probably would have ordered maybe a glass of wine at dinner.

Julie:

Day one on the cruise. This was our embarkation day and Then all the way through dinner and the evening.

Ryan:

And we boarded around 1130. So

Julie:

boarded around 1130 I had on that first day six cocktails several bottles of water, one beer, one whiskey on the rocks, and wine at dinner. My total for that day, Julie, was 123. 50, including gratuities.

Ryan:

Really?

Julie:

So, day one, drink package, worth it.

Ryan:

And that's actually a lot lower than what I thought it would be.

Julie:

Day two, was our day at Perfect Day at Coco Cay. And you have reminded people, your drink package transfers over. So when we went to Hideaway Beach, we were at the pool, at the pool bar, all that stuff. I I had five cocktails, a specialty coffee, Two glasses of wine and several bottles of water. That total for that day, including gratuities, was 126. 50.

Ryan:

some drinks on there, but all right.

Julie:

Well, anyway, is the drink package worth it on these first two days? Yes, absolutely the second full day was the one that we were concerned about right because we were off the ship for most of the day Am I going to get the bang for the buck on a port day? I had over the course of that day four cocktails a whiskey on the rocks Wine and beer and the total for that day was a hundred and three dollars and twenty cents

Ryan:

Wow.

Julie:

so even on a port day You At least when you break down the numbers the drink package made sense for that cost I will say where you make the most bang for your buck On a drink package is if you have a sea day and you're on the ship the entire day.

Ryan:

Yeah, I would agree. And I think it's also just like important to remember and remind listeners, like that drink package includes specialty coffees,

Julie:

Absolutely. Yeah, so

Ryan:

doesn't always mean a coffee with a Kahlua. It can just be a latte.

Julie:

I in fact on my notes. I have written down specialty coffee ten dollars So that specialty coffee, I don't remember exactly what I had, but it was ten dollars for a specialty coffee

Ryan:

the gratuity or without the gratuity?

Julie:

that's with the gratuity all all of this is with gratuity because I factored that 18 percent in

Ryan:

the bottles of water. So getting those to take off the ship if you're going to be in port for a little while and you're going to grab a couple bottles of water to take with you I don't want to be paying for those plus the gratuity.

Julie:

yeah, so for me on this cruise it was totally worth it. As far as that goes if I didn't have the drink package would I have drank that much? I don't know but I also love the all inclusive factor of now. I don't have to think about it Now I can just have that wine at dinner. I can have that cocktail on the pool deck. I can have whatever I want it's not mental math, during my vacation.

Ryan:

Or a bill at the

Julie:

Yeah, or a bill at the end. Absolutely. I love vacations where I get off and it's zero and Purchasing the drink package ahead of time gets me closer to that goal

Ryan:

Also, understand that there is a limit on the drink package. I think they cap you at what, 14 or something drinks per day?

Julie:

14 alcoholic drinks is is what i've heard. I've never run into that. I've never had anybody complain about that

Ryan:

Just something to know. That's partly also why Michelle and I in the same stateroom, Michelle gets the drink package and if for some reason I got around getting it. It's not like we could share it because you'd be over probably. So that's the other thing with that.

Julie:

I will say if you don't get the drink package. I feel like royal caribbean's Drinks are Very fairly priced. Definitely lower than Walt Disney World for drinks.

Ryan:

And Disney cruise

Julie:

It's very reasonable bar prices. A cocktail is, 12, 14 plus gratuity. That's what you're going to pay at your local bar. For an old fashioned or a pina colada

Ryan:

The one thing I'll also say about the drink package is it did allow us to like. try new

Julie:

oh yeah, that

Ryan:

we wouldn't have tried. And that was really fun.

Julie:

Absolutely. Honestly, to me, that's one of the advantages of a cruise is to say, I've never had this type of drink. I'm going to try it. I've never had this type of food. It's on the menu. I'm going to try it. Why not? You've already paid for it. I'm not advocating that you waste food, but the portions are small for a reason. you can try a variety of drinks. And one of the things I like too, is Lot of the drink menus are on the app. So if you know, hey, I'm looking for this specific type of drink I know I'm gonna go hang out at this bar for that.

Ryan:

Did you have a favorite drink?

Julie:

Oh

Ryan:

I did.

Julie:

The watermelon margarita that we had the very first day was very very good

Ryan:

that was good. The espresso martini.

Julie:

martini was good and I will say that Coco K has some specific drinks when you're on the island and those all tend to be really good as well

Ryan:

Absolutely.

Julie:

All right. There we go. Julie some burning cruise questions. I think we've helped people cruise better today. You

Ryan:

for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach out to me at julie at creatingmagicvacations. com.

Julie:

can reach out to me at Ryan at CreatingMagicVacations. com. We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel when we talk about our top tips for a multi generational trip to Disney.

Ryan:

It's a good one.

People on this episode

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Julie Shaffer

Co-host
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Ryan Hedstrom

Co-host