Go through this 90-minute, 16-point checklist of overlooked embarkation essentials. Use it immediately after boarding your cruise ship.
Last week, I discussed the problem of cruisers missing their sailings because of poor planning and flight delays. This week, it’s time to discuss what to do during the first 90 minutes after boarding your cruise ship. Here is your overlooked embarkation essentials checklist.
Upon boarding, go to your cabin immediately. Even if your checked luggage hasn’t yet arrived in your cabin, start the below checklist. The earlier you try to get issues resolved, the more likely they will be satisfactorily fixed and not linger for days.
Once you have your cruise key card, make sure it’s yours, then test that it works in your cabin. Then make a smartphone video of your room to document its condition.
1. Cruise key card:
Cruise key cards are used as your cruise ID, the key to unlock your cabin door and may be required to run your room’s HVAC, lights and outlets. When you receive it, make sure it’s yours and upon arriving at your room make sure it works.
2. Document:
Assuming the cabin is neat and clean, document its condition. Make a smartphone video. If there are any problems such as burns in furniture, stains in the carpet or anything broken, catch them on video and report them. Document everything including the closet , bathroom and balcony. You want proof to squash a damage charge if you are assessed one.
Inspect your mattress for bedbugs, be sure the bed configuration matches your reservation, then disinfect your cabin’s high touch areas.
3. Mattress inspection:
Before unpacking, check the mattress. Strip the bed and look for black spots or rust colored stains, signs of bedbugs. If you find any, go to the hotel director’s office and ask to be moved.
4. Bed configuration:
Make sure your bed(s) is configured properly. If you ordered a king, the cabin shouldn’t have twin beds. Get it changed immediately. Be sure the bed is comfortable. You don’t want to be uncomfortable for the cruise’s duration. If too hard, cruise ships generally have a limited number of mattress toppers. If you need one, get it immediately, before they run out of them.
5. Disinfect high touch areas:
No matter how thorough cabins are cleaned between cruises, there’s so little time and the cabin attendants/stewards can’t get everything. I bring and use disinfectant wipes to clean the “high touch” TV remote, phones, door handles and light switches in my cabin. You never know what illness the prior cabin guests might have had.
In your cabin, fully test your bathroom fixtures, cabin thermostat, lights, outlets and doors.
6. Test the bathroom:
Test all bathroom fixtures. Flush the toilet, turn on the faucets and turn on the shower. In the shower pay attention to both the shower head and its drain. On a cruise a number of years ago, the drain was clogged for days. While clogged it unhappily shortened our showers during a brutal summer. Make sure that bathroom supplies such as soap and shampoo are there.
7. Check the thermostat:
According to the season, set the thermostat to its highest or lowest setting and make sure that it works quickly. HVAC problems can take days to get fixed. If it’s not working well, go to the hotel director’s office and asked to be moved.
8. Check lights, outlets and doors:
Turn on every light and locate and test every outlet in the cabin to make sure that each one works. Check every door including the bathroom, closet and balcony doors to make sure that they shut tight and lock. Try the cabin’s phone, too, as you need it to contact ship’s personnel. If anything doesn’t work right, report it at once.
Listen for unusual annoying sounds. Check your cabin refrigerator, TV, WiFi, safe and amenities.
9. Cabin noise:
On my first cruise, as we were unpacking we heard an awful noise. As we finished unpacking, we heard it again. We were on a lower deck and the noise was a pump with bad bearings. We were moved to the other end of the ship where it was quiet. That pump would have kept us up all night. Before unpacking, be quiet in your room for a few minutes and listen. If you hear disruptive sounds, try to identify it. Explain what you heard to hotel management and ask to change cabins if they can’t fix it immediately.
10. Check your cabin fridge:
See if your mini-fridge is stocked and determine if the contents are pay-as-you-use-them or if they are included in the cruise fare. If you have to pay for them and don’t want them, have the cabin attendant remove them, particularly if the fridge has sensors to detect what’s removed.
11. TV and WiFi:
Check your TV and WiFi in the cabin. The TV is a link to the ship’s schedule, location and your bill. It’s used to make reservations and provide entertainment. While you’re on the TV, check your account to make sure that any loyalty perks, service or amenity purchases, packages, excursions and other reservations previously made are all in order. If you’re like most cruisers, you’ll want to be able to check your email and other items on the Internet during your cruise. Make sure WiFi works in your cabin.
12. Safe:
Test the cabin safe to be sure it fully works and is empty. You don’t want to put your valuables in it and find that you can’t get them quickly out as needed.
13: Amenities:
If amenities aren’t there, make sure you ask for them to be brought to the cabin immediately. This may include such items as robes, hangers and extra towels.
Go into the hallway. Seek out and meet your cabin attendant/steward. Then it’s time to unpack.
14. Meet your cabin attendant/steward:
This is the perfect time to meet your cabin attendant with a friendly hello. Cabin attendants can make or break cruises. They ensure that all the little things that can make a large difference in your cabin are done well. This is a good time to arrange for ice service and find out about the ship’s laundry/cleaner services.
At this point, if your luggage hasn’t made it to your cabin, ask about it. Then, if appropriate, have lunch or a snack while exploring the ship for a short time, then check for your luggage again. If it’s not in the cabin, press the hotel management office to immediately locate it and get it to your cabin. On my last cruise, they had to send out almost 40 crew members to locate my bag to be sure I had it before sailing. I helped narrow the search with the Apple AirTag in the bag.
15. Unpack:
After locating all the storage spaces and drawers in the cabin, it’s time to unpack. I have a few magnetic hangers I use on the metal walls of the cabin. Stow your bags under the bed(s). Don’t clutter the cabin by leaving them out. If necessary, nest them.
Now that you’re set in your cabin, it’s time to explore the ship and start enjoying its great food.
16. Explore and eat:
We boarded our last few cruises in mid-morning. Other than the last one, when it took forever to get my checked bag, we finished the checklist in about 90 minutes. With the checklist complete, we left the cabin to explore the ship and find every location that could be important to us. We then went to lunch and began to have great cruises.
By diligently reviewing each checklist item and resolving any issues you find immediately, you’ll make the cruise better, as minor annoyances can escalate into major problems and ruin it.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
