Boarding for your cruise – What to expect on your first day
What I find is such a nice thing about going on a cruise is that most of them sail from Southampton, which for me is only about a 45 minute drive!
Then as soon as you’ve gone through security and checked in, your holiday has started, there's no waiting for flights no early starts and long journeys to the airport. On the day we got up, we just packed everything we had left to pack and made our way down to the port.
This is my guide on what to expect on the first day of your cruise holiday, as it can feel daunting not knowing what’s what.
A guide to check in and embarkation
- Complete online check-in up to 21 days before departure. Once this is done, you’ll be given a boarding time, which is when you need to arrive ready to board the ship.
- Print your luggage tags in advance (these are provided during online check-in) and attach them to your suitcases before arriving at the port.
- Arrive at the port around your allocated boarding time. If you’re driving, you can pre-book parking for the duration of your trip.
- On arrival at the port, follow directions to pull up at the side and remain in your car.
- A member of staff will come to you, carry out checks around the vehicle, and explain where to collect your car when you return.
- You’ll then get out of the car, hand over your keys, and staff will park the car for you.
- Walk across the port where staff will guide you to the correct luggage conveyor belt.
- At the conveyor belt, hand over your luggage. It will be loaded onto the ship and delivered directly to your cabin.
- Make your way to the check-in area.
- If you arrive before your allocated boarding time, you may be asked to wait until your slot.
- Once called forward, check-in works in the same way as an airport, with staff checking your documents and details.
- You’ll then pass through security, which also follows airport-style procedures.
This is where the holiday begins
Once check-in is complete you are ready to walk on board for your first time cruise experience! Head through a winding tunnel where you can see the boat – this is definitely the point where I get very excited as the holiday is officially beginning!
Scan your boarding pass when you step onto the boat and you’re directed to your muster station. This is where you would need to go in case of an emergency. After checking in there (there will be a member of staff there to scan your boarding pass so they know you’ve been there) you are free to go and explore!
We like to go to find our cabins after going to our muster station. When booking a cruise you have the option to choose your own cabin or have it randomly assigned to you. I personally like to choose my own as I like to be near the lifts as the corridors can all look the same and it can be hard to find your room!
All your room information will be on your boarding pass and there are crew members around to point you in the right direction if you do need help!
When we got to our room it was all ready for us. Our key cards were in a slot next to our door. The key card lets you into your room and also acts as your credit card too. All food is included in the holiday (some things are extra but these are labelled) but drinks are charged. This slot is used for any information that you may need to be given throughout your trip, also where you will find any tickets for excursions you have booked. Every day you are given a ‘Horizon’ this it P&O’s version of a daily newsletter, it details the activities that are on offer that day and what entertainment is on in the evening. It also provides what the dress code is for the evening in the restaurants too.
Whilst we were looking at our room and seeing what it was like our steward knocked on our door, he had our suitcases and also introduced himself to us. His role is to look after the guest on the floor, he will clean the room each day if needed and is also there to help if we need anything, and also runs through a few safety things too.
Meal planning
Next up – we decided to head to the buffet for some lunch. The buffet had a range of foods, it had premade sandwiches, salad bits, hot food and a range of puddings too. I decided to go for a few prawn sandwiches with marie-rose sauce which tasted so fresh and light it was lovely!
A post-lunch walk around the ship – the perfect chance to see what was around and where all the facilities are. First we went to find our restaurant where we would be having dinner each night. You have three options for dinner in the evening, you can go to the buffet or you can choose to go to the restaurants for dinner which have two options; freedom dining where you can go to the restaurant and ask for a table and they will either seat you straight away or they will give you a pager that will buzz when your table is ready. Then the last option is set timings for the restaurant, you can choose a set time either 6:30 or 8:30. These are selected when booking your cruise which is called club dining.
Having secured our table for dinner at the restaurant and looking at the menu for tonight we headed to one of the bars to have a drink and start discussing what we were going to choose! Each bar onboard the ship has a range of drinks on offer. I personally don’t drink so I enjoyed some of the mocktails and also the 0% prosecco. There was a range of non-alcoholic beers and gins to choose from alongside soft drinks and alcohol as well.
After a drink, we returned to our cabin to unpack and get ready for dinner. We opted for Freedom Dining, so we requested a table and were given a pager. While we waited, we headed to the nearest bar along the corridor for a drink, which was a relaxed way to start the evening.
Once our table was ready, we were shown to the restaurant, ordered drinks and were served fresh bread while we looked over the menu. We then chose our starters and mains. Portions on board aren’t always the largest, but with a three-course meal, you certainly don’t leave feeling hungry. After our mains, we went on to order dessert.
The food throughout the evening was consistently good, we were travelling as a group of four and not one of us had a disappointing meal. After dinner, we stopped for a drink at one of the bars before calling it a night, ready for an early start the following morning and a day of exploring.
That was our first day on board, I hope it’s given you an good idea of what to expect!
By Emily Brown
Image credits, Emily Brown
