Regardless of the number of days, we want our cruise vacations to be fun. We may book at the last minute or plan years in advance. We might have qualified for a great deal, paid more than we anticipated or been someone else’s guest, paying nothing. To get there might have been a drive to the port or flying in to the embarkation city from far away. All that aside, once on the ship, we want it to be enjoyable. Here are some ways to add more quality time on board.

Book The Same Ship Again
There is a whole lot to be said for being on familiar turf; knowing your way around any travel destination. A cruise ship, especially big ones, are a destination of sorts and knowing our way around a ship or the general layout that seems to be common for a particular cruise line is helpful. There are no rules that say we must try different lines, ships or itineraries. We sailed Carnival Victory three times early in our cruise history, just because we liked the layout of the ship and the itinerary she sailed. If we saw familiar faces in the crewmembers, all the better, but don’t count on that; crew are contract employees and may be back home or on another ship when you return.

Memorize The Deck Plans
This is especially good advice for those sailing on mega-ships that take days just to explore, but also good advice for sailing even the smallest of ships. More important: the location of major venues in relation to other major venues. Once on the ship, things will look different, depending on what deck and which side of the ship we initially enter on. Still, if we know that the showroom is at the front of the ship on deck six, the same deck as the casino; two decks down from our cabin location, etc, we will find places much easier, increasing the quality time we have on board. The very first sentence out of my mouth on boarding any ship, to whoever is greeting us: What deck and what side of the ship am I on?

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