First time cruiser tips

AcesCruisetalk

Lifestyle • Travel

This is a place for people to talk about travel and cruising hosted by your favorite travel agent!

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Show me more content first

Tom@Acescruising

June 07, 2026

First time cruiser tips

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been talking to a lot of first time cruisers. I know many of you on this page are cruise vets and know all this stuff, but what are some of your tips for first time cruisers? Here are my main tips and tricks:

1. Arrive to the port or destination city one day in advance. This will save you trouble if your flights are cancelled or changed! You wouldnt believe how many people chance this.

2. A passport is best. Even though you may not 100% need a passport for your cruise, it will make your life much less stressful if anything were to change or go wrong while traveling. Be sure to take a picture of your passport and your bags before dropping them off.

3. Embarkation day: Try to stick to your boarding time. Sure, you can try going early, however, some cruise lines are strict when it comes to your boarding time. Early arrivals sometimes have to wait. If you want some pre cruise memories, be sure to wear your preferred clothing to take a picture at the photo station before boarding.

4. Embarkation day cont: Consider a private car or van for your ride to the port. It may be a bit more money, but your pick up time and vehicle type will be guaranteed. This will prevent any delays or issues with your transport.

5. Depending on which ship you are on, you may have other options on where to eat after boarding. Lots of people will flood the buffet. Lots of ships will have burgers and pizza around the pool, if you are just looking for a snack, that may be the way to go.

6. Bags: Keep your passport and other personal items on your person. Pack a day bag to carry on the ship with a change of clothes and anything you can't be without while your bigger bags are being delivered to your room later that afternoon.

7. Download the cruise line app. This will not only help you before boarding, it will be a help while on board, even with getting around the ship!

8. Consider travel insurance. Lots of first time cruisers think insurance is not essential. Insurance will protect you before your trip and while traveling!

9. DO NOT attempt to bring anything CBD or other illicit/illegal items. Cruise lines strictly forbid any drugs, weapons or anything flammable. Depending on the item, you could be denied boarding, banned on future trips, detained or arrested. Be sure to familiarize yourself with what is allowed. Most cruise lines do not allow you to bring on any outside food or drink.

Post your questions or thoughts below!

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Show me more content first

What else you may like…

Videos

Posts

Articles

Tom@Acescruising

September 26, 2025

Seattle days

Message from seattle

00:01:00

Tom@Acescruising

January 07, 2025

Silversea cruises

Silver moon luxury cruising

00:00:49

Tom@Acescruising

June 22, 2024

Pulpit Rock

Norwegian Fjords

00:01:04

Tom@Acescruising

October 26, 2026

Winter MADNESS with acescruising

Hey All! Lots of fun stuff happening starting Nov 1 on this page. I need to see lots of posts and lots of activity on this page so we have a lot of momentum for 2027!

First things first - Most new posts - $50 gift card of your choice!

Random giveaway - $10 coffee cards at random times on random days!

Refer a new subscriber? $500 on board credit on your next cruise (must book a new cruise and after they book a cruise as well. (Must subscribe for 3 years Other restrictions apply) (all rules will be posted by Nov 5.)

Write a new article - $100 on board credit on your next cruise (min 250 words with picture)

Book on the 2028 Hosted cruise and bring a friend (new cabin new guest of acescruising)? (announcement coming) $1000 on board credit (restrictions apply)

More to come!!!

Tom@Acescruising

October 29, 2026

power bank info

MOST AIRLINES WILL SAY THIS NOT JUST BA - At British Airways your safety and security are always our top priority.
As a reminder, all power banks (portable charging devices) and spare batteries must be carried in your hand baggage and must not be packed in checked baggage. This requirement helps ensure the safety of everyone on board and supports the safe transportation of lithium battery-powered devices.
We recommend checking your baggage before you travel to ensure any power banks or spare batteries are packed in your cabin bag.
For further information on travelling with batteries and electronic devices, please visit ba.com/liquids-and-restrictions.
Once on board, power banks must not be stored in overhead lockers. Please keep your power bank with you at your seat, where it remains easily accessible throughout the flight.
Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to welcoming you on board.
British Airways

Tom@Acescruising

October 27, 2026

China

Cool times

Tom@Acescruising

September 26, 2026

Switzerland 2026

Quick Summary of Switzerland

Acescruising

On Aug 31, I flew out of Jacksonville connecting in Atlanta to Geneva.

Here is a breakdown of the trip so far!

Geneva: (Hotel Cornavin) A great city! I was really surprised by the beauty and excitement of the city. Not only is it centered on a gorgeous lake, its surrounded by snow covered mountains and scenic greenery from pine trees to sequoia. Enjoy the outdoors for walking, biking and exploring!

There are many things to do in Geneva, you can go to the border of france, take a lake cruise, visit old town, see the UN complex, CERN science museum, great foods from all over the region and an abundant nightlife! I would go back to Geneva in a heartbeat.

Zermatt - From Geneva I made my way into the swiss alps to Zermatt! Zermatt is a town that does not allow cars, which is really cool, but you still have to look out for electric buggies and horse drawn carriage! Famous for skiing, Zermatt is small and expensive, but surely worth the trip. Lots of hiking, biking, outdoorsing and of course the Matterhorn! You will love it.

St. Moritz - I did the Glacier express to St. Moritz, honestly, if you arent a skier, as much as I liked the little village, its a skip. Not much going on! Great hotel though.

Zurich/Basel - Central Plaza Hotel in Zurich, Hotel Victoria in Basel. Here I met up with a friend from Japan, he was visiting Switzerland for work. We were able to grab lunch at the museum and watch some of the locals swim from one end of town to the other, a local tradition! After we parted ways I did a walking tour through Zurich with a guide. She pointed out some pretty neat historical sights and some local foods. I enjoyed a nice walk around the old town with a mixture of nature and city life. On my final day in Zurich, I took the direct train to Basel, Basel is a slower type of city, but I did a walking tour and a beer tour with some locals which I really enjoyed. Perfect before the start of a week of biking! I met up with Backroads and my group going from Basel to Amsterdam, stay tuned for more on that!

Read full Article

Tom@Acescruising

February 16, 2026

2025 year in Travel

Reflecting back on an unreal 2025

Acescruising

2025 was one of my most memorable years for my travel adventures. And really, thats what they are, true adventures. I really try my best to step out of my comfort zone a little bit, try new things, meet new people from all walks of life and of course take as many pictures as possible without going overboard.

January through March is often pretty slow for me travel wise. I like to be in the office and meeting the high popularity energy of cruising and travel. This is always the busiest time of year. I did manage to take a two night cruise with a friend of mine on Norwegian Joy.

The Joy was lively and fun, with great food and service. Some places felt a bit crowded, but not too bad. I would say the main pool deck is kind of strange the way it is laid out, but its alright. A giant hot tub in the back of the ship. This ship has a lot of great areas to relax indoors and watch the scenery. This ship normally doesn't do 2 night cruises, but it had a charter that week so they had to fill the space somehow. Look for this ship doing 9 night cruises this year in Alaska!

In April, I went to Boston for what was supposed to be two nights on a Norwegian ship visit of the VIVA. However, it was cancelled due to weather issues on its way from Europe. I ended up touring Boston and going to a Red Sox game for opening weekend! An amazing experience. After that, I took a 5 night cruise from Miami on Virgin Voyages. The ship visited one of my favorite ports, Puerto Plata, Dominican republic. There, I spent the day with my friend and driver, Santiago. We went to Cabarete and just relaxed and visited some of the local bars and restaurants. The DR is quickly becoming an expat paradise, new condos, houses and investments from all corners of the world. The other port was Bimini, really a beach day or a stay on the ship day. I like Virgin Voyages. They have great food, a really unique vibe and fun approach to cruising. The ship layout has some issues, but some of the little nooks and crannies add to the charm of the ships.

The Second half of the year really started to take off in late May. I made my way to Greece for a Signature hosted cruise on Explora Journeys. This was truly an honor as I was selected to host a cruise for guests who booked through Signature, our premier partner in cruising and travel. I stayed for 3 nights pre cruise in Athens downtown at Hotel Stanley. This is a great hotel for anyone to stay, but is often used for tours such as Tauck, Globus, Trafalgar and others. I was really happy with my room and the staff was absolutely top notch. In Athens, I did a few food tours, a bike ride and a guided tour back up to the Acropolis. That will be the last time I head up to the site, it looks the same as it did ten years ago. Its much more fascinating to look up at it from the town. On the last night before I went to the ship, I had an evening food tour that included a couple from England, the states and myself. We all ended up going to a local bar and met up with some girls from Philadelphia! A really fun and one of a kind time in Athens! Enjoy the food, people and energy of Greece!

During the cruise in Greece we visited a lot of amazing ports and sites including; Mykenos, Volos, Thessaloniki, Kavala and ended in Istanbul, Turkey. I spent 3 nights in Turkey exploring religious areas like the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque, hidden gems on a great walking tour and some beer and wine with cats at some local pubs near my hotel the Hagia Sofia mansions, highly recommended! However, the hotel does not have an elevator, so keep that in mind.

July I spent one month living in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. A boomtown on the North coast, which I lived in during college, has changed! A Lot more tourists, expats and hotels everywhere. It still has that Cabarete charm and is a great place to enjoy. My day to day life there, aside from working, was walking on the beach and in town, enjoying some fresh fish and local music. Fun times.

The end of September marked the start of an unbelievable two month journey. Starting in Seattle, I spent a couple days boating, walking, exploring and attending Mariners baseball versus the soon to be World Series champion Dodgers. A great weekend!

The afternoon of the 28th, I boarded the beautiful (and now refurbished) Westerdam of Holland America Line. This was a 14 night Pacific Ocean crossing cruise with a stop in Juneau, Alaska. I chose this cruise because it had two stops in Japan that I wanted to see before we reached Tokyo. The day to day life on the ship was fairly simple, work, gym, lunch. Lots of sea days on this cruise. In Juneau, I did a bike ride and short hike, it was really cool. the other two ports were Aomori, Japan and Kushiro, Japan. Aomori is a small town with nearby ski resorts and its famous for apples! Kushiro is an even smaller area, famous for marshes and bird watching.

On October 12, we reached the final destination of Tokyo! We had a walking tour set up for today with our lovely guide, Ken and Maru! Ken handled the day portion, took 5 of us to a restaurant in the Shibuya area after that we had stops at the Meiji shrine and some local Japan shops. In the evening, we went bar hopping including Tokyo Confidential (great views of Tokyo Tower) then onto Golden gai in Shinjuku! An amazing historical area for neat little bars and hideaways. I cant wait to go back!

The next day was the day most of the group was arriving at Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. In the morning, I had a bike ride and then planned on meeting up with the rest of the group for introductions. We met at a place near the hotel which I fondly called RED bar because the entire inside was red. Its open 24 hours if you need a nightcap at 3am!

For the next few days myself and the group got acquainted, and enjoyed the hotel and local sights of Tokyo. On the 17th, all of us converaged on Yokohama to board the Celebrity Millennium. For the next 12 nights, we are sailing Japan!

Port stops and highlights included; Mt. Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka, Hiroshima and South Korea, among others. Every single port has great sights and memories that I will think about for the rest of my life.

The next leg of the cruise was 14 nights from Tokyo to Singapore. This cruise had a few hiccups. Starting the cruise our first port was Kagoshima, I did a sand bath onsen excursion. FIrst, they bury you to your head in sand which is naturally warmed by the thermal spring below the ground, after that you go into the onsen for a nice shower and sauna. The Cruise was supposed to be Hong Kong overnight, which was one of the days I was supposed to spend in Macau, Celebrity botched the paperwork and I was not allowed to go to Macau! This was after those of us on a back to back were asked to visit a special room a week earlier to set up our back to back paperwork, Celebrity still botched the process. An awful job. After that, two stops in Vietnam on our way to Singapore. Sadly, we ended up missing Vietnam entirely. One port was cancelled due to flooding after a storm rolled through. After spending 3 nights in Hong Kong, that included horse racing, Buddah Visits, cable car ride and bar hopping with guide Ashley, the ship was supposed to sail to Ho Chi Min city. The port was full! Not sure how this happens as it seems the cruise line laid the fault on the local authorities in Vietnam, however, this wasn't announced until the morning we were going into Vietnam. I blame Celebrity for not being certain the port would have space for us to dock that day. They did give us another day in Singapore, I did elect to get off the ship the day before the cruise was to end. Celebrity tried to tell me if I was disembarking, that I MUST tell them, which was another point of contention. A really sloppy job on the part of the ship staff and Celebrity in general. Overall the ports we did go to were awesome! I loved all the stops and made the best of it when I could. The on board experience did leave something to be desired. The hot water in my room didn't work, the sliding glass door to my balcony was faulty and the wifi was spotty.

In Singapore, I met up with Alina, a guide friend of mine I met in Tokyo a couple years prior. I stayed at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore, which was absolutely amazing. Incredible comfort, service and experience, worth every penny. We did a bike ride around Singapore, enjoyed the rooftop pool, had some great local foods and just enjoyed the city.

After a couple nights in Singapore, I went back to Tokyo for a week, spent some time with a guide I knew in Yokohama and had a birthday dinner with Alina at a local restaurant. After 54 days in Asia, I made my way back to Florida.

All in all, 2025 was my favorite year ever for Travel. Met so many kind and interesting people, awesome new experiences and places. Looking forward to the next adventure! Stay tuned!

Read full Article

Tom@Acescruising

December 10, 2025

Pre Japan Trip

Itinerary I wrote before leaving

Acescruising

I WROTE THIS BEFORE I LEFT

I always put together a pre trip itinerary for those who would like to review my travels.

Here is my trip starting Sept 26, 2025. Seattle to Japan through Asia.

Sept 26 - Flight from MCO to SEA. Staying at the W hotel near downtown Seattle. In the afternoon, Boating around Lake Washington.

Sept 27 - Nothing scheduled until later in the day, Mariners V Dodgers.

Sept 28 - Boarding the Westerdam at the Seattle port heading North to Alaska

Sept 30 - Juneau, Alaska. Bike RIde with beer tasting. Holland America excursion starting at 2p

Oct 1-8 - AT SEA (Office hours)

Oct 9 - Kushiro, Japan. (No activity Scheduled as of now.)

Oct 10 - Aomori, Japan. Walking tour booked via VIATOR

Oct 12 - Arrive in Tokyo, Check in at the Gracery hotel in Shinjuku

Oct 12-17 - Tokyo Sightseeing. No official agenda: On the dockett: Baseball game, good food, bike ride, bar hopping, temple bowing, onsen soaking.

- Oct 12 - Tour with Maru starting at 1. (3 hours) Perfect beer lab at 6:30 res for 6.)

- Oct 13 10am Biking with EDO museum, (coffee time with guests at hotel between) Private guided starting around 7pm with Alina

Oct 14 -

Oct 15 -

Oct 16 -

Oct 17 - Check out of hotel, transfer to Celebrity Millenium in Yokohama.

Oct 18 - Mt. FUji tour

Oct 19-20 Overnight in Osaka. First day is Kyoto private full day tour, second day is a bike ride around Osaka.

Oct 21 - Kochi - Private tour Shore Ex group

Oct 22 - Hiroshima Bike ride around the city

Oct 23 - At sea

Oct 24 Busan, South Korea. Private Guided tour

Oct 26 - Hakodate - Private guided

Oct 27 - Aomori - Private

Oct 29 - First cruise ends. Second cruise to Singapore begins, Same ship.

Oct 31 - Kagoshima. I have a tour with the cruise line to visit a hot spring with a sand bath.

Nov 2 - Taiwan - Cruise line tour small group Taiwan

Nov 4-5 - Overnight Hong Kong. private tour I found on tours by locals taking me to Macau. The next day I took a cruise line excursion to Lantau village.

Nov 7 - Chan Muy Vietnam - Ba Na hills and Golden Bridge with Celebrity

Nov 9 - Ho CHi Min city - Bike ride with Celebrity

Nov. 12-15 - Singapore

Nov 12 - 9am pick up at ship from Mozio services

Nov 12 - Tours by locals Food and sights walking tour 12:30PM

Nov 12 9am Pick up from cruise ship and we will all be dropped off at our hotels shortly after.

Nov 12 continued 12:30 Meet our guide for the food and walking tour. 56 Arab Street. There is a cafe called "% Arabica

Nov 12 Cont: 7pm Pub Crawl

Nov 13 - 8:30 am Historical Biking

Nov 13 - 2pm Biking tour with food and beverage

Nov 13 6pm - Street food walking tour

Nov 14 - 9am - Batam (Indonesia) day tour (return around 10pm)

Nov 15 - 5am - Sightseeing Day Trip to Johor Bahru Return around 3pm

Nov 15 4pm Airport

Nov 15 - 9pm flight.

Read full Article

Available on mobile and TV devices