I love reading and sharing Royal Caribbean tips that help to have a better cruise experience, but some of them sound better than they perform when you try them out.
I've learned a lot of tricks for improving how I cruise, and there's no doubt many have saved me time, money, and sanity along the way.
However, some tricks sound great when I'm sitting at home on the couch and dreaming of my cruise, but when I apply them onboard, I instantly regret the decision.
The reality is no matter how sensible or logical a cruise tip might be, if it doesn't jive with your personality or travel style, it may end up being a hindrance rather than beneficial.
In thinking of my own experience, I wanted to share 8 cruise tips I've heard over the years that seemed like a great idea until I actually tried them.
Skipping buying WiFi on the ship
I'll often see skipping out on an internet package as a way to save money on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Cruise ship internet access isn't cheap, plus some people like to disconnect from the world while on a cruise vacation. So this leads to the advice to avoid purchasing an internet package completely.
While there's no doubt not buying an internet package will save money, I just don't find it practical at all.
Admittedly, I'm a geek and being on the internet is more important to me than perhaps other people.
I think it's only when you don't have internet access at all that you realize how many little things you rely on the internet for, besides email and web browsing.
Texting with family, checking weather forecasts before you leave the ship, and paying bills on time are all little things that are great to have the internet for on a cruise.
Plus, I don't equate internet access with being any more or less relaxed. There are plenty of distractions on a cruise ship beyond the internet, so besides not checking your work email, I think having WiFi provides another form of entertainment in addition to books, magazines, or movies.
I'm all for saving money, but I can't skimp on WiFi.
Staying on the ship instead of doing a shore excursion
Whether you've been to a port of call many times or haven't found any interesting shore excursions, I've often considered staying on the ship during a port visit.
There's a few different compelling reasons to stay on your ship during a port day: save money on shore excursions, have more time to enjoy onboard amenities, or avoid disappointment when excursions aren't interesting.
All of those rationales are perfectly good reasons to stay onboard, but I find after an hour or two I start getting "FOMO" (fear of missing out).
Maybe it's the sun shining, clear blue waters, or a bit of cabin fever, but I really enjoy walking off the ship and doing something in port. Even if I just walk around the port area for a little bit, I find enjoying what the port has to offer as a nice change of pace.
Read more: 7 ways to have a great time in port without a cruise ship shore excursion
Hot shore excursions in the summer
So many ideas seem great when you're resting comfortably in your climate controlled home, especially certain outdoor shore excursions.
I'm far from the most active person in the world, but I'll occasionally see an interesting tour that involves walking, hiking, kayaking, or just an active outdoor experience and think this might be perfect.
These tours are indeed great, but I really detest physically active excursions in uncomfortably hot and humid conditions, which primarily subsist in the Caribbean.
In short, getting really hot and sweaty isn't my thing and I end up being more uncomfortable from how hot it is rather than the tour itself.
Instead, I'll save those tours for taking a winter Caribbean cruise and double down on beach or pool-based excursions.
"I don't need a drink package because I won't drink that much"
File this under the "realities of cruising", but it's common to think you won't drink a lot on a cruise because of how much you drink at home.
A Royal Caribbean drink package has a big up front cost, but it provides unlimited beverages during your cruise. It's difficult to justify spending hundreds of dollars up front to buy a drink package.
I think there's a few reasons why I end up regretting not buying a drink package during the cruise.
First, you're on vacation and you drink differently on vacation compared to at home. Not only is going on a cruise more care-free, but there's far more opportunity to indulge.
In addition, Royal Caribbean drink prices aren't cheap, and after a three or so drinks each day, your bar bill is going to add up quickly.
Between the drink costs and enjoyment of being able to have a drink on the pool deck, dinner, and at Perfect Day at CocoCay, a drink package investment pays off in the long run more often than it may seem like initially.
Waiting to book your next cruise until you get onboard
Royal Caribbean rewards anyone that books a new cruise while still onboard their ship with extra benefits, but it's actually a mistake to wait to book your cruise until you get onboard.
The NextCruise office is where you can go to book a new Royal Caribbean cruise while onboard, and it offers extra onboard credit and reduced deposit as incentives to do so.
The problem with booking a cruise at NextCruise is if you know in the weeks or months leading up to your cruise which cruise to book. By waiting until you get onboard the ship to book it, the price may increase to the point it offsets the benefit of getting extra onboard credit.
Royal Caribbean cruise prices are fluid and can change at anytime. Over the course of days, weeks, or months, the price could definitely go up.
My advice is if you know there's a cruise you want to book now, go ahead and contact your travel agent to book it now.
Read more: Should you book your next cruise while onboard?
NextCruise is great for when you're on the ship and are struck with the motivation to suddenly book another cruise. In that case, you should definitely go and book the cruise at NextCruise.
Packing and wearing a poofy dress
This next tip comes from RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Evie, who shared a humorous story of why packing an over-the-top outfit may seem like a better idea until you actually do it.
Evie wanted to get some photos of herself dressed up in a dress that she picked out at home to bring on her cruise. Not only did she like the dress, but she thought it would look great to wear on the ship because she could take advantage of the backdrops and photo opportunities onboard.
When it came time to cruise, she then realized her large, poofy dress was more trouble than she thought.
Packing a dress that large in conventional luggage is no easy task, and then when she got it onboard, she had to contend with the strong breezes that can flare up onboard form doors opening around the ship.
She eventually got the photos she wanted, but it was a lesson for Evie in what not to pack for a cruise in the future.
"I'm going to the gym every day"
Royal Caribbean's fitness centers have lots of great equipment for a workout on your cruise, and so many cruisers plan on taking advantage of the gym during their cruise.
While many plan on hitting the gym every day, in reality, those plans fall to the wayside pretty quickly.
The second day of the cruise is usually busy in the fitness center, but as the cruise fun goes on, the motivation (and energy) to wake up early to hit the gym seems to falter quite quickly.
While there are some truly dedicated cruisers that make it to the gym again and again, a lot of others seem to give up and plan to resume their fitness routine after they get home.
Booking the cheapest cabin
Cutting corners and saving money where you can is definitely a sound financial strategy, but you also have to weigh the pros and cons of going cheap versus enjoying your well-deserved vacation.
It can be difficult to know if you should book the cheapest room on a cruise or spend extra for a nicer cabin.
Read more: Why you shouldn't book the cheapest cruise you can find
If you shop by price alone, you may end up with a cruise cabin that you're stuck with for the duration of the cruise. There's nothing inherently wrong with an small inside cruise ship cabin, but it may clash with what you're used to on land.
Cruise ship cabins are typically much smaller than hotel rooms on land, and the smallest rooms on a ship are really small, coming in at less than 300 square feet. If you're sharing this space with someone else, then the lack of space can really become problematic.
Read more: I tried the cheapest Royal Caribbean cabin I could find and here's how it went
Everyone has a vacation budget, but be realistic about your cabin choice so you don't end up walking into your room and then realize you've made a mistake.
Read more: We tried different cruise ship cabins to see how they compared
