Hey guys! It’s yet again another rainy day here in Dallas, but I am trying to remain optimistic because I’m telling myself that there will be perfect temps on the other side of this. I just got back from my whirlwind of a trip in Miami/ The Bahamas. I recently went on a cruise with Royal Caribbean for my friend Jordan’s Bach party. It was a blast. I am really proud of how our group (all eleven of us including myself) all came together hungover or not and made it to all of the events in a timely manner on the ship.

This was my very first cruise, so I had no expectations coming in…. and I wanted to make a point of listing a few things that I wish I knew before boarding our vessel, Mariner of the Seas. To give a cliff notes version of our trip it was three days and we went from the Port of Miami to Royal Caribbean’s private island CoCo Cay in the Bahamas. Then we went to Nassau, Bahamas which is right across from Atlantis… then we went back to the Port of Miami.

1. DOWNLOAD THE ROAYAL CARIBBEAN APP/ (your Cruise app) BEFORE YOU BOARD THE SHIP

Here you can view your “set sail pass” (which is basically just like a boarding pass for a flight) which is used to get past security getting on and off the ship. On the app you can keep track of all the events going on that day on the boat, additionally you could also keep track of your spending of  your drink package… which leads me to my next point…

2. PURCHASE A DRINK PACKAGE BEFORE YOUR TRIP WITH THE WIFI/STREAMING OPTION 

Don’t even get me started with the drink package. Our Royal Caribbean travel agent did not make it clear that there were three options. He just kept asking for my credit card information via email and was going to pick one for me. You can pick yours yourself online on the website. You and your roommate have to purchase it together at the same time. I purchased the higher package because I don’t want to be limited. Keep in mind before you board the ship the wifi isn’t going to be the greatest… you are in the middle of the ocean with thousands of people trying to use the same network. I would check your app daily on the cruise and your bank account because there were girls on my trip that were accidentally charged for things… like accidentally charged for a drink package twice, even if they bought it before the trip.

3. GET A ROOM WITH A BALCONY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

I don’t really get motion sickness, but if I was confined to a room without fresh air I would go nuts. The rooms are small enough as it is. To give you guys an idea of how big the rooms/bathrooms are I would compare it to like a room in a motorhome/trailer. It’s worth the price trust me. I also love watching the sun set/rise when I’m by an ocean and the views are incredible.

4. GET TO KNOW YOUR FLOOR ADVISOR 

I was on a first name basis with mine from the gate. He was my buddy. Some of the staff who work there are pretty cool… and if you ever have a problem with anything meaning air conditioning, service, other boat questions they are the closest person to help you out. They give you their card information from the beginning and every night taped to our chocolate covered strawberries plate in our room so it is there to use.

5. BRING A SUITCASE WITH A TSA LOCK ON IT

Your suitcase is loaded before you board the ship with many others on a luggage cart. I never had any worry in my mind that anyone would get into it because I had a TSA lock on mine. Our rooms didn’t have a safe in them and staff is in and out of your room in the morning to clean your room and at night.  (They set up the towel animals and chocolate strawberries with it every night. I had cash, my passport, my purse and jewelry locked in my bag whenever I left my room just in case.

Just wanted to leave a couple of my tips. If I ranked my cruise I would give it a 8 out of 10 score. Some of the service was lacking, but I would definitely cruise again with Royal Caribbean.  If you’ve been on a cruise what would you suggest?