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Cruising ABCs
Everything You Need to Know to Take a Cruise
By Crystal Patriarche
There is typically a formal night, so men really need a suit or tux, Estridge says. "I would recommend looking at the cruise brochure to determine what you should be wearing at night for dinner," she says. "There are formal, semi-formal and casual nights."
It depends on what you like to do, but there is something for everyone on board. "We went to the bingo every evening and that was great fun!" Baumann says.
"For all cruises, despite how many people tell you how small the rooms are, you really have no idea until you see it," says Susan Yearley of Phoenix, Ariz. "If you can stretch your budget and get the suite, do it!"
Kindra Miller of Gilbert, Ariz., agrees about the cabin size. Even though you are not in your cabin very much, you still want to make sure you have enough room to move around in it when you're in there, she says. "The cabin my husband and I had was so small that only one of us could get ready at a time; the other one had to be sitting down, out of the way," Miller says. "It was quite comical at times. The next time, I'll spend a little more money to have more room."
Yearley also says a cabin with a window that opens is a must at the very least. "Cabins on cruise ships smell like a gym locker," Yearley says.
There is a chance you will run into choppy water or bad weather, so just be prepared. "The worst part of our cruise would be the 5-meter swell that we experienced on one of the days back to Sydney. We didn't leave the cabin," Baumann says.