Most cruises are swimmingly. You board a ship and have fun. It is time to end the story. Things don't always go well on a cruise ship. They can go wrong for a reason. Sometimes they can go wrong due to mistakes made in advance of booking a sailing or in the middle of one.
We are not talking about the small mistakes that can ruin the cruise experience. The sort of mistakes that can ruin your vacation in an instant are what we are talking about.
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If you want to make sure you don't ruin your trip, here are the six cruise mistakes you don't want to make.
If you show up for a cruise without the right documents, you will be turned away before you even step foot on the vessel.
Most of the time the right documents begin with a passport. You can board a cruise ship if you have other government-issued identification and a certified copy of your birth certificate. A valid passport is required for most of the cruises around the world. You will be turned away if you don't have one or bring one with you. If you find yourself in this situation, don't expect to get a cruiseRefund
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You may need more than a passport. Depending on your itinerary, you may need visas to visit certain countries.
It is possible that you will need to show proof of vaccinations on your cruise. If you're travelling to parts of Africa, you may need a vaccine. In some parts of the world, proof of a COVID-19 vaccine is still required, though requirements have decreased over the last year.
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If you only follow one piece of advice, you should always plan to arrive at your departure port a day early. It is the only way to make sure you will not miss your ship.
It might be a good idea to fly or drive to a port on the morning of a cruise ship's departure. All you have to do is a flight delay or a pile-up on the highway. The ship will not wait for you if you are delayed at the port.
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If your ship leaves without you, you can catch up with it in a different port. You will still be facing lost days of vacation, extra costs and stress even in this case.
We recommend going to the port two or three days in advance for a cruise. You don't miss the ship, but this isn't just so. You have some time to recuperate from jet lag. European cruises have lots of touring so you want to be ready to go after the cruise ends.
You can ruin your cruise if you miss your ship's subsequent departures from ports that it visits during the voyage.
This can happen when you head off to a port on your own, but don't leave enough time to return to the ship before it leaves.
You would think that this would happen less than it does. I have seen a couple run down the pier and wave to the ship from there. They waited too long to return to the ship. Even if the ship is within shouting distance, it is unlikely to come back if it already has left the pier.
Don't start a fight on a cruise ship or act in other inappropriate ways that could get you flagged as a troublemaker. You could put the ship off at the next port, which is far away from home, if you misplace your judgement. In the case of the young Royal Caribbean cruiser who thought it would be funny to jump into the water from his balcony on a cruise and post a video of his jump on social media, it quickly became a meme. He was immediately removed from the ship and banned from the cruise line for the rest of his life.
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Fights with other cruisers, entering restricted areas on cruise ships, jumping into the water from a cruise ship balcony are some of the things that can get you kicked off a ship.
You could be fined a lot of money if you do things like that. If passengers are caught fighting on a ship, Carnival Cruise Line will fine them up to $500.
The captains of cruise ships have wide latitude to discipline passengers for inappropriate or unsafe behavior on ships by removing them from them.
If you are new to cruising, you may think the muster drill is unimportant. It may be something you can skip. Don't make thatMistake.
Cruise lines and regulatory agencies take the muster drill very seriously. It is likely that you will be in violation of local laws in the country where your ship is sailing if you don't attend. On the day after departure, you will be required to attend a muster drill that may overlap with one of your planned activities. You may be put off by the next port.
Illegal drugs can get you kicked off a cruise ship in a hurry. If you are found to have illegal drugs in your possession on a cruise ship, you could be taken to a local jail and charged with a serious crime.
Police in the popular cruise destination of Bermuda have been known to raid cruise ships docked at its Royal Naval Dockyard in search of drugs and passengers found in possession of them. Passengers who have legal prescriptions for cannabis in their home countries are included. In the past, boaters have been fined thousands of dollars for having small amounts of cannabis in their boat.
Marijuana can be brought on a cruise ship.
When it comes to drugs such as cannabis, the laws of the places you visit are the same as those of your home country. If you have cannabis on a cruise ship, you will not be allowed to stay in your home state to use it.
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