When I get in my cruise ship cabin, the first thing I look to do is prep it to be my temporary home by making important changes.
Not only do these changes personalize the room more, but I think it makes things feel more like I'd want it if it were my bedroom at home.
Because I cruise a lot, I've come up with my routine when I get into my room. Some of it is personalization, and other aspects are about setting up the rest of the cruise to be as I want it.
Plus, I prefer to get it all done on embarkation day so I can enjoy the rest of the cruise without worrying about needing to still do something.
Here's my list of 16 things everyone should do when they get to their cabin on a cruise.
Make my room colder
Whether I'm in a giant suite or a small inside room, my eye immediately latches onto the thermostat when I first walk in.
It seems every time the cabins are prepped for the next sailing, the thermostats get reset to a neutral setting of hot vs cold, but in my opinion, it's almost always too warm.
Unless it's the middle of winter, I always crank the air conditioning back down to its coldest setting.
Part of why I do this is because cruise ship cabins tend to run hot, especially if you have a balcony or window, because the sun radiates heat in.
Plus, I find it easier to sleep if the room is cold instead of hot. Not to mention it's faster to raise the room temperature than try to cool it down later.
Look around the room for anything that's broken
My next step is to visually inspect my room to verify it's what I expected.
Most of the time, the room is exactly as I imagined, and things are in place and it's how it should be.
I rarely encounter any issues, but if there was one, I'd immediately pick up the stateroom phone and call the maintenance department so they can fix it.
Royal Caribbean has a team of maintenance workers that live on the cruise ship. They can be dispatched to deal with issues, large or small.
Put all of my travel documents, cash, and valuables in the safe
It's a good idea to collect anything valuable and put it in the stateroom safe.
You'll find the safe almost always in your closet, although on some ships it can be located in drawers.
I'll put my wallet, passports, cash, and any jewelry I don't need at the time away in the safe.
This might be a hot take, but I don't know why anyone would carry their wallet around the ship. The ship is cashless (Seapass card pays for everything) and I'll keep my tip money or casino cash in a pocket. My car keys, driver's license, Macy's charge card, and George Costanza exploding wallet in my safe.
Unpack so I can be done with it
I've tried unpacking and living out of a suitcase, and unpacking feels more like living at home. But it's extra work.
I feel like unpacking all my clothes reduces clutter in the room and it feels more "normal" than just grabbing things from a suitcase. Plus, it's definitely easier to find specific clothing if I unpacked.
There's an impressive amount of storage space in your stateroom. Drawers, closets, and hangers are all available to use and most of the time there is more storage space than I can use.
On older ships, I recommend trying to keep your clothes away from the life jackets that are probably in your closet. The life jackets have a tendency to smell a little bit, and that odor could get onto nearby clothes.
Hang up dresses, suits, and anything I don't want wrinkled
While I'm unpacking, I'll try to get my formal wear out of my suitcase immediately and onto hangers.
Royal Caribbean has "Dress Your Best" nights, which are better known as "formal nights".
Plus, there are other themed nights where you might have packed a special outfit for it.
Your closet comes with an assortment of hangers, but if you need more, your stateroom attendant can provide them.
Hide my luggage
With unpacking complete, it's time to get those bags out of the way.
Don't leave luggage in your room or closet. Instead, you can fit it under your bed.
This cruise tip reduces clutter, takes advantage of under-utilized space, and frees up valuable closet space.
Put decorations on my stateroom door
Another fun cruise trend to adopt is decorating your cabin door.
It might seem silly, but I've found it's a fun way to celebrate being on vacation and sharing part of your personality with others.
You can put up practically anything, but you cannot use any adhesives. Instead, magnets are suitable for arranging things on your door without damaging the door or paint job.
You could put up your names, battery-powered LED lights, a whiteboard, or "I'm on vacation" signs. Some cruisers get very creating with all of this.
Check out my balcony
Another area to check is the balcony and door to it.
I think if you're in a balcony room, you'll probably instinctively head out to see what it's like anyway, but verify the door opens and closes as you expect.
The top issue I run into is a door that feels like a bank safe to try to open or close. Once you sail, I've had balcony doors have a loud whistling sound. In either case, a call to maintenance can usually remedy the issue.
Also, there should be two chairs and a table, at the very least.
If you booked connecting balconies, double check the balcony divider is open, and if it's not, ask your stateroom attendant to open it for you.
Check the power outlets work
Typically there aren't many power outlets in your room, but it's a good idea to verify the outlets all work.
To be honest, I can't think of a time when an outlet didn't work, but better safe than sorry. I would hate to be getting ready for sleep only to realize I can't charge my phone.
Inspect the bathroom and shower
Perhaps the part of my cruise ship room I've had the most maintenance problems is the bathroom.
Clogged toilets and backed up showers are problems I've run into over the years. The good news is it's not common, and when it does occur, can be fixed quickly.
Here is my checklist for things in the bathroom to look at:
- Verify the toilet flushes
- Verify there is hot water
- Verify the sink works
- Verify the shower door/curtain works
- Verify the shower drains properly
If you have more than 340 points in Royal Caribbean's loyalty program, you're supposed to get upgraded toiletries in the room.
Meet my stateroom attendant
The crew member you're likely to encounter the most on your cruise is your cabin attendant, and they can be really helpful.
Cabin attendants won't be around when you first get to your room. They usually start their shift around 3pm, and will go door to door and try to say hello.
When you meet them, they'll ask if everything is acceptable in the room or if you have any preferences. They usually will have you their card with their name and phone number. I'll stick the card on the vanity so I can easily find it if I need it later.
Besides alerting them to any issues you identified earlier, this is when you'll want to make certain requests:
- If you want your room cleaned in the morning or evening (Junior Suites and higher rooms get twice a day cleaning)
- If you need more towels
- Requests for buckets of ice
- Ask to open balcony dividers or connecting room doors
If you ever have any issues or concerns about your stateroom, this is the crew member to talk to.
Change the bed configuration
Did you know every bed can be split or combined?
You can specify this ahead of time in your cruise reservation, but perhaps you changed your mind or the request never got fulfilled. Don't worry, you don't have to move any furniture around.
Ask your cabin attendant to make the change.
They can also set up a bed on the couch, or opt to leave it in "bed mode" if you prefer.
When my kids are using a couch as a bed, they prefer to leave it as a bed because it's better for lounging and ensures if they want a nap, we don't have to track down the cabin attendant.
Read my "cruise mail"
As you enter your room, there should be paperwork on your vanity. Just like your mail at home, some of it goes right in the garbage, but some of it is important.
A list of Royal Caribbean benefits you're entitled to as part of Crown and Anchor Society is listed there, which is a good reminder to take advantage of them later. These include discounts on beer, spa treatments, photo packages, and more.
If you booked any shore excursions through the cruise line, your tickets should be in an envelope on your vanity.
You may also find invitations to events, welcome letters, and more.
I'll sift through it all, toss anything I don't need, and then stash the important stuff so I know where it is.
Place drinks in the cooler
Every cabin has a fridge, but it's more of a cooler than a true refrigerator. Nonetheless, it works great at keeping drinks cold.
Whether you have complimentary beverages from Crown and Anchor Society or brought 12 bottles of water or any non-alcoholic beverage onto the ship, I'll put them in the "fridge" so I can enjoy them later.
Not only do I do this so the drinks are ready, but it clears up space.
Take a nap
With cabins usually ready by 1pm, I'm ready for a quick recharge by this point on embarkation day.
The first day is busy, and there's lots more fun waiting for me in the evening. So a strategic nap in the early afternoon allows me to sleep off my welcome aboard lunch and be refreshed for the rest of the day.
If I do it right, I'm awake and ready for more afternoon fun well before sailaway.
Do the safety drill
I've gotten in the habit of completing the safety drill as soon as I board the ship, but sometimes it doesn't happen.
In case I didn't do it earlier, now is the time to quickly take care of eMuster.
The drill consists of three parts. The first two, watching a lifejacket safety video and listening to the emergency horn, can be done via the Royal Caribbean app.
You can actually do these two steps even before you're on the ship the morning of embarkation day. We usually do it on the drive to the cruise terminal.
The final step is to go to your muster station to check-in. On the back of the cabin door is a sign indicating where your muster station is. It's also located within the "Safety" section of the Royal Caribbean app.
