What to Expect on The First Day of a Carnival Cruise

KristyB | September 20, 2016 | Cruises | 29 Comments

What to Expect on The First Day of a Carnival Cruise

Cruises are so much fun and they are so exciting. The cruise lines want the vacation to run smoothly for everyone. This means on the first day (Embarkation Day) of the cruise, passengers have to take care of some important business.

These tasks may seem boring and require some patience, but it all part of making sure that we have the best vacation possible. I wrote this based on our experiences with Carnival Cruise lines, but the procedures are basically the same for any cruise line/ship. Here’s What to Expect on The First Day of a Carnival Cruise:

CHECKING IN

After arriving at the cruise terminal, porters take our luggage from us before parking. Carnival provides labels for our luggage. I print them out online from the Carnival Website and attach them to our luggage before we leave home.

Luggage goes through security and then is delivered to our cabin. There is an option to carry our own luggage if it doesn’t exceed 16 inches high x 24 inches wide (read more HERE.)

Before getting on the ship itself, we walk to the terminal for check-in. We must show our boarding pass and passport as we enter the terminal lobby. Then we usually pose for a few pre-cruise “Welcome Aboard” photos and take a little trip through security. Sometimes the picture taking is before check-in, sometimes it is after check-in. The photos are available for purchase later on the ship.

If someone is bringing water, wine, or soda on board, then they will go through another little security area.

After going through security, we sit in the lobby and wait to be called for check-in. There have been times when we have gotten to the terminal really early and walked directly to check-in without waiting in line.

When we are called to check in, we show our information at the check-in desk.

Cruisers must have:

Proof of citizen ship and photo ID (we use our passport)
Boarding Pass (printed from online)
Sign & Sail application (we usually take care of this online before leaving for the cruise).

We have our photo taken and are be issued a Sign & Sail Card card. This card is linked to our credit card or bank account and is used for all of our on-board purchases. It is also used to enter our cabin, used in the casino, and also used when getting off and on the ship itself.

All of these things mean waiting in line or sitting and waiting to get in line. We try to bring a book or tablet with games to entertain the kids while we wait.

LUNCH AND EXPLORING THE SHIP

It is always exciting to walk on to the Cruise Ship. The Atrium is beautiful and feels larger than life. There is music playing and excitement in the air.

Depending on the time you are able to board the ship, the cabin may or may not be ready for you. We always bring a day bag or backpack with bathing suits, a change of clothes, medications, and other important items/valuables. We also bring our camera and cruise paperwork as well as our passports.

While waiting for our cabin to be ready, we like to grab some lunch since we usually check in early. The buffets tend to be a little crowded, so we sometimes check out the other dining options that are open on the first day.

We also like to take a little tour of the ship. This helps us to find our cabin and our assigned dining room. The kiddos like to find the mini golf area, the ping pong tables, and the location of the Camp Carnival club.

At this point the kids are beyond excited and are ready to get their vacation started. We usually take them to the pool or Water Works area. They can swim and play and slide down the water slides.

Sometimes, the hubs and I swim and ride the slides too. Sometimes, we are tuckered out and just want to relax in a deck chair and watch the kiddos laugh and play.

MAKING PLANS

Reservations

The first day is a great time to make reservations for the specialty dining rooms or for the spa or salon. Some of these appointments can be made online before the cruise. But, sometimes you forget or don’t realize these are things you really want to do until you are on board the ship.

Drink Packages

This is a great day to get your alcohol beverage package or soda package. These can end up saving you a lot of money, depending on how much soda or juice or alcohol you plan on drinking.

I’m a big coffee, tea, and water drinker, so I don’t get the soda package. My husband and the teens like to get the soda package since they like to drink sodas.

We’re not huge alcohol drinkers, and have never purchased the alcohol package. But, I can see how it could less expensive than purchasing individual drinks the entire trip.

WiFi Packages

This is also a good time to get a WIFI package, if you want. We love unplugging and not having internet. We don’t want to worry about emails and work problems while we’re on vacation. This is also when we call family and make all of our “We made it” and “Goodbye” phone calls (while we are in port and are near land based cell towers). There are usually areas with free WIFI once we get off the boat at ports. We usually check in with family or post social media pics there.

Register for Kid’s Camps

We also sign the kids up for the on-board camp activities. Carnival has a few camps for children, depending on their age. As we first enter the Atrium on the ship, someone from Carnival sees us with the kiddos and hands us the information we need to know about Camp Carnival.

There is usually a time and meeting place on the first day for signing the kiddos up. At this meeting, we meet the counselors, learn a little more about the camp, and are given an itinerary for camp activities for the entire cruise.

There is some paperwork involved, and the parents learn more about the special band the kiddos will wear for the duration of the cruise. This band helps the crew know where their muster station is (where they will go to meet their parents in case of emergency situation – read more below). The colored bands are given to them at the muster drill.

SETTLING IN

Once our room is ready for us, we unpack our suitcase. The rooms are usually ready in the early afternoon. I like to pack extra hangers and hang up as many clothes as I can and put the rest in drawers. After everything is put away, I like to slide our suitcases and/or duffle bags under the bed.

If we have clothing that needs ironing, I iron them in the laundry room on the first day. Otherwise, I will probably have to wait in line for the iron. The line for the iron is very long on Captain’s Night.

MUSTER DRILL

At some point, in the afternoon, there is a mandatory muster drill. This is where we learn the procedures case of an emergency or if there is a need for an evacuation of the ship.

There is a head count, some safety rules and guidelines are mentioned, and the crew shows you the small boats you will get in to case of evacuation.. The kiddos get their arm band so that they can be brought to their parents muster station if they are in an on board camp during an emergency situation.

Then after the muster drill, we are FREE!!!

You have signed up for everything you wanted to do, unpacked, toured the ship, learned all the safety guidelines. You’ve done all of the responsible things and now… it’s time to party!

Cruisers can go to the Sail Away Party, which includes lots of music and fun (and waving goodbye to the poor suckers on land as we leave port)…

Or, you can enjoy a nice dinner or fun activity that is going on the first night… Or, if you’re all tuckered out, we can simply relax on a deck chair and watch the sun set over the ocean…

That’s usually how we spend our first day on a Carnival Cruise. Do you and your family have other traditions on the first day? Any tips on making it run more smoothly?