There are a few common, but avoidable, mistakes that new cruisers tend to make and I bet if you ever did them, you'd never make the same one again.
There are so many lists of travel mistakes people make during the cruise, from minor gaffes to major problems.
As an example, getting sun burned is something that happens to the best of us, no matter how many times you swear it will never happen again.
However, I think there are a few blunders that if you made them, you'd almost certainly never make again.
Fly in same day your cruise sets sail
The worst mistake you can make is never making it to your cruise ship at all because you were delayed arriving.
A lot of travelers will fly to the city their cruise ship departs from, but unfortunately flights get cancelled or delayed. If that happens to you and you miss the ship, you paid for a cruise you won't actually go on.
The boarding window on the first day is limited, and the ship will not wait for you if your flight plans cause you to be late.
Moreover, you're not entitled to a refund from the cruise line because of that situation.
On the Royal Caribbean message boards, twangster illustrated how recently two separate groups at the Seattle airport missed their cruise because they tried to fly in the same day it began.
"Yesterday as I was in the process of working with a gate agent to find new alternatives for a delayed Seattle flight I saw two separate groups explaining to other gate agents they are going on an Alaskan cruise and now they were going to miss their cruise. There was nothing the gate agents could do, there was no alternative flights to put them on. "
What you should do to avoid this mistake is never fly in the same day your cruise begins.
Always plan to arrive at least one day before your cruise so that a travel delay doesn't mean you can't make the ship. If you're flying overseas for a cruise, I'd make it at least two days before the cruise.
Yes, there's the added cost of an extra hotel night, but the peace of mind it comes with is completely worth it.
Overpaying for things onboard
It's eye opening how much more cruise add-ons cost once onboard the ship versus if you pre-purchased them at home.
Whether it's a shore excursion, drink package, or WiFi plan, it all costs more onboard.
The best example is the Royal Caribbean drink package, which routinely costs more than $100 per person, per day when purchased on the ship. At home, it's regularly $20-$30 cheaper per person, per day.
Read more: Drink package guide and advice
Internet packages are another easy place to save money, because there are no discounts once you get onboard.
I bought a 1 device internet package for my upcoming Utopia of the Seas cruise, I would only pay $23.99 per day, saving $4 per day.
There are sales and discounts on pre-cruise purchases all the time, which means you could easily save hundreds of dollars if you bought it before the cruise.
Even if you're late to the game and check to buy these things just a few days before your cruise begins, you will save money instead of buying it onboard.
Being late back to the ship
Every time I've seen a video of a cruise ship passenger frantically running back to the cruise ship because they're late, I always swear it won't ever be me.
Your cruise ship is in port for a set few hours, and the all aboard time is a set time for you to be back onboard. Or else.
The cruise ship might wait a few minutes, but the Captain has to adhere to their schedule and depart on time. There's very little wiggle room for delays.
Passengers returning late could be from a variety of reasons: lost track of time, traffic delays, injury, got lost. Regardless, if you venture off the ship on your own, then it's your responsibility to make it back to the ship on time.
If you go on a Royal Caribbean shore excursion that was purchased through the cruise line, then the ship will wait for that tour.
I wouldn't go as far as to say not to venture off the ship without a cruise line excursion, but you do need to manage your time.
I recommend planning to arrive back to the ship about 2 hours before the all aboard time. That way, if there is some crazy delay, you'll likely be back with time to spare.
Not putting phone into airplane mode
The silent cruise mistake you won't know about until you get home is probably in your pocket.
Everyone has a cell phone, and if you bring your phone onboard without putting it into airplane mode, you can bet you'll end up with a giant bill.
A woman in the UK went on a Caribbean cruise and ended up with a £1186.59 bill because her phone was roaming for the entire trip.
When your phone is out of it's normal operational area, it tries to use other carrier's networks, and that comes with very high roaming rates.
Even if you aren't actively using your phone, you could get a big bill because most phones use the network even while idle to check for updates or messages.
There's a very simple way to avoid this costly cruise mistake, and that's to put your phone into airplane mode as soon as you get onboard.
Once your phone is in airplane mode, it cannot use other cellular networks (but you can still use WiFi).
Needing travel insurance when you don't have it
No matter how cautious you are, eventually everyone gets sick, hurt, or encounters unforeseen circumstances.
There are all sorts of reasons you might need to cancel your cruise at the last minute: sudden onset of an illness, loss of employment, major accident, death of a family member, and more.
Once you're past the final payment date, there are major penalties for canceling your cruise. If you want to cancel just a few days before the cruise, there's not going to be any money returned to you, other than port fees and taxes.
Travel insurance is an affordable add-on cost that protects you against many common reasons people want to cancel a cruise.
You can buy it through Royal Caribbean, through your travel agent, or even shop for it on your own.
