It’s the day that you’ve been waiting for, maybe for months or even for more than a year. You’ve planned, plotted and packed with precision. It’s the first day of your cruise.

However, after you’ve waited in that long line to get onto the cruise ship and you’re actually there, what do you do? As the ship leaves port and sets out onto the open ocean, where should you turn your attention first? Here’s how to make your first day on a cruise ship count.

Attend the Sail Away Party

Head to the pool deck, which is where many cruise ships host their sail away parties, a celebration to kick off the beginning of a great vacation and that starts as soon as the ship sets sail.

While long-time cruisers may be disenchanted with the classic sail away party, and may prefer to fill their first day of a cruise in another way, newer cruisers won’t want to miss this novel experience.

Carnival Cruise Line is definitely known for throwing some of the best sail away parties in the industry, with lots of music, dancing and drinks.

Read Also: Boarding a Cruise Ship – All You Should Know

However, other cruise lines host notable sail away parties as well, such as the family-friendly sail away party offered by Disney Cruise Line and the Champagne-centric sail away party on Virgin Voyages.

Take in the Receding Shoreline from a Different Angle

If you don’t prefer the loud crowds of the sail away party, you can enjoy a sail away experience of your own creation. Find a quieter spot to watch the shoreline fade into the distance.

Good options for stellar views include the promenade deck, the bow of the ship or the highest public point on your ship (which is sometimes a lounge or bar). If you’re lucky, though, you can watch the ship set sail from the comfort of your very own balcony!

Get Your Lay of the Land

You may have diligently studied your cruise ship’s layout and deck plans online, before your arrival, but it’s entirely different seeing it all in person. So, take a moment to walk around the ship and really get a feel for where everything is and how you need to get around.

Determine need-to-know information such as where the nearest elevator is, relevant to your stateroom (and not just the nearest elevator, but also the most convenient elevator — you may find that it’s worth walking a bit further to get to another elevator with fewer crowds).

Make Dining Reservations, if Needed

Some cruise lines will allow you to make some dining reservations in advance of your cruise, but in other instances, you’ll need to make your dining reservations once you’re aboard the ship. If you really have certain restaurants in mind for your trip, do this ASAP.

As an example, Royal Caribbean will allow you to make reservations for specialty restaurants online, up to two days before your cruise begins.

However, if you have a dining package, with preferred dining times, if you want to make any changes to your reservations or make reservations at specialty restaurants, Royal Caribbean requires you to wait to do so until you’re on the ship.

Dine at One of the Specialty Restaurants

Along these lines, you may want to make plans to dine at one of the ship’s specialty restaurants during the first day of your cruise. This is because there’s one place in particular that everyone seems to want to eat, on Day 1: the buffet.

Yes, there’s a lot to love about a cruise ship buffet. All the options! The casual atmosphere! However, a crowded cruise ship buffet can be on the annoying side. You’ll find yourself waiting in line at the carving station or weaving around groups or kids as you’re just trying to grab another slice of pizza.

So, to avoid the headache, save the buffet for later in your cruise.

Get the Party Started with a Vacation-Worthy Drink

Of course, you have to kick off your vacation with a tropical drink, particularly if you’re sailing to a popular tropical locale. You’ll easily be able to find a drink at the sail away party, but if that’s not your scene, head to one of the bars for your boozy beverage of choice.

Better yet, opt for a bar that offers a great view, so you can watch the water and waves as you sip.

Start Taking Lots of Pictures

You want lots of memories of your vacation, all captured on camera. However, it can be easy during any vacation to take fewer and fewer photos, the longer the trip goes on. You’re too busy enjoying yourself to stop and savor the moment with a snapshot or two.

So, the first day of your cruise, start taking lots of pictures of everything you and your fellow cruisers are doing.

Grab that photo by the deck railing. Grab photos of your suite or stateroom (before it becomes covered in all your stuff). Take photos while you’re out at dinner or having drinks, or by the pool or enjoying one of the cruise ship’s cool features, whether that’s a surfing simulator, a ropes course or a rollercoaster at sea.

Book your Spa Treatments

Just as is the case with restaurant reservations on a cruise ship, spa treatments also book up quickly. You can book spa treatments in advance of your cruise, but if you didn’t, do so on your first day of the cruise.

You can book these appointments through your concierge, if you have one, but you can also just stop by the spa and check it out, along with all the spa’s offerings.

Go to the Pool

While certain areas of a ship are super-busy during the first day of a cruise, like the buffet, there’s one area of the ship that you’d probably expect to be crowded, but that actually isn’t. That place is the main pool.

Everyone’s getting their lay of the land, unpacking, attending the sail away party, etc., and most are probably thinking that everyone else is going to the pool, so no one does.

You, however, can be one of the lucky few to head there first, enjoying the pool and other water attractions before they do truly become crowded, on the second day of the cruise.

Check out the Kids Club Introductory Activities

If you’re traveling with kids in tow, then you should consider visiting the kids clubs on the first day of the cruise. However, do note that not all cruise lines open up their kids clubs on embarkation day, so check your cruise line’s kids clubs’ hours beforehand (for example, Disney Cruise Line kids clubs usually are open, but Carnival’s kids clubs may have limited hours on embarkation day).

The first day is a great time for you all, as a family, to get acquainted with the offerings and Mom and/or Dad can meet the crew working in the kids’ clubs, which can sometimes put their minds at ease.

Some cruise lines, like Disney and Royal Caribbean, also offer special introductory sessions on embarkation day, specifically for this purpose.

Book or Change Your Excursions

If you didn’t book shore excursions before your cruise, then, just as is the case with booking spa treatments and reserving dinner times, the first day of your cruise is the time to do it. Head to your cruise ship’s guest services’ desk and make sure you’re on the list for those in-demand excursions.

Likewise, if you did book excursions in advance, but you now have questions or need to make some changes, you can do that as well.

Get to Know Your Cabin Steward or Butler

If you have a cabin steward or are lucky enough to be staying in a cruise ship suite with butler service, then make a point to get to know that individual on the first day of your cruise. Let them know if you need any special accommodations or if you have any particular requests.

This will help ensure that the rest of your sailing is as smooth as possible, and that you have everything you need for a great time. You don’t want to spend precious vacation hours chasing down your butler for this or that request!

Worth Reading: What a Cruise Ship Cabin Steward Really Does

Participate in the Muster Drill

Before all the fun can go down, though, you do need to make sure that you participate in one mandatory cruise ship Day 1 activity: the muster drill. This is basically a safety briefing, but every cruise passenger must participate in it, before the cruise ship sets sail, by law.

In years past, cruise passengers would have to show up in person to watch a safety demonstration given by the crew members. However, many cruise lines have upgraded the experience to make it more convenient for the huge number of cruisers that they’re accommodating.

For example, if you’re sailing on Royal Caribbean, you can watch a life jacket instruction video and become acquainted with the sound of the ship’s emergency horn either in the cruise line’s app or on your stateroom television.

Then, the only thing you have to do in person is visit your assigned muster station (found in the app and on your Seapass card) to confirm that you’ve done both.

Pack a Small Bag to Get you Through the First Day

Another must that you should keep in mind for your first day at sea, and that’s a little more practical than fun (but still necessary!)? Bring a small bag to get you through your first day.

Unless you have special privileges on the ship, such as a Carnival Faster to the Fun pass, which fast-tracks your luggage to your stateroom, you’ll likely be waiting a while to get your checked luggage.

Similar to airlines, cruise ships check larger luggage at the cruise terminal, and then deliver your bags to you once everyone’s on board and past security. Having a smaller bag with necessary items in it can make your first day easier and fun.

This small bag should contain any “must have” items like medication, but also think of what you want to do during your first day and pack accordingly. Maybe you want a change of clothes before dinner.

Maybe you want your swimsuit  and sunscreen so you can hit the pool immediately. Whatever the case may be, pack this bag with everything you’ll need.

You can expect to usually receive your larger luggage within a few hours of boarding.

Make Entertainment Reservations, if you Haven’t Yet

Yes, even more reservations!

If you haven’t made them yet, check out what’s playing in the ship’s theater (or theaters) during your cruise, and see if you can reserve your spot.

While many cruisers do snag their tickets well in advance of the first day of the cruise, you may still be able to get a seat if you address this during your first cruise day.

Otherwise, if you can’t, don’t worry. Not all hope is lost. While it’s not ideal, you can still show up to the shows at show time and wait for any available seats.

It’s very often the case that some cruisers with show tickets simply won’t show up, and those newly free seats go to the waiting cruisers who didn’t book in advance.

More than Anything, Have Fun!

The first day of a cruise can, admittedly, be pretty hectic, especially if you’re a newer cruiser who hasn’t figured out your preferred boarding time or your ideal itinerary for the day.

Read Also: How Early Can You Board a Cruise Ship?

However, once you take care of all the “must haves,” like visiting the muster station and making any last-minute reservations, it’s really just time to have a great time! So, whatever you’re looking most forward to doing during your cruise, do it! There’s no reason to wait for the fun to begin!

If you think of cruising as just the same thing every single trip… well, you couldn’t be more wrong. Cruising can always be an exciting adventure, with something new and fresh every cruise!

That said, it is easy for some cruisers to fall into a routine of doing the same thing every single trip. Without thinking about it, they end up taking the same cruises, with the same lines, on the same ships, to the same places and spending their days doing the same things.

While this is all well and good for some travelers who do enjoy a familiar, stress-free routine, to others, it can feel like a bit of snore fest. If this is you, we have a solution.

You can avoid even a hint of boredom by actively trying to make each cruise you take, a unique experience. Here are our best tips for how to go about it.

Take a Spur-of-the-Moment Cruise

While many cruisers may book their cruise well in advance, planning out their shore excursions and dinner reservations up to a year ahead of time, you don’t have to do this. In fact, taking a spur-of-the-moment cruise can make your cruise far more exciting, as well as even more affordable.

The key to having a great experience booking a spur-of-the-moment cruise, though, is to remain flexible and to have an open mind. When you’re booking last minute, you won’t have a wealth of options to choose from, so you’ll have to take what you can get.

Again, though, this can be part of the fun and excitement, as you may find yourself trying things you normally wouldn’t, when you have an array of options to choose from. You may find yourself in a cabin you’d never book, or on a ship or itinerary you’ve never considered before.

You can book last-minute cruises that sail in as little as a few days to a few weeks from booking, and find deals starting at under $350 per person through cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival (Carnival refers to its last-minute cruise deals as “Pack & Go” cruise deals). In some cases, you can save as much as 80% on your cruise fare!

Leave From a New-to-you Cruise Port (and consider staying there a few days!)

If you’re lucky enough to live close to a particular, large cruise port in Florida, such as PortMiami or Port Canaveral, then you probably just cruise from that port every time, for convenience’s sake.

However, if you’re hoping to shake things up a bit and make your next cruise a brand-new experience, consider sailing from a new-to-you port.

Not only will sailing from a new port give you access to cruise itineraries you might not have considered otherwise. It can also add a new travel experience to your itinerary, especially if you stick around in the port city for a few days before or after your cruise (which will come with the added bonus of leaving you some wiggle room between your cruise dates and your flights, if you’re flying in).

There are some truly cool port cities that are worth vacations all on their own, such as New Orleans and New York City. So, arrive early, enjoy a few days of fun, then head out onto your cruise, come back, enjoy a few more fun days and then head home.

Seek out Cruises to off-the-Beaten-Path Places

There are some destinations that it seems like every single cruise line visits and that, if you’ve taken a few cruises in your life, you’ve probably been to at least once, if not more. Cozumel, Nassau, St. Thomas, Jamaica — they’re among some of the busiest cruise ports by passenger volume in the entire world.

So, to make your next cruise far from ordinary, make an effort to seek out cruises to off-the-beaten-path places. No, you don’t necessarily have to spend big bucks to go to far-flung destinations.

For example, if you want a Caribbean cruise, opt to bypass Jamaica and St. Thomas and, instead, try St. Maarten, which is served by major cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Holland America and Carnival. Or, try the Grenadines, accessible via Silversea.

Read Also: Jamaica Cruise Ports – Full List and Overview

Want to cruise around Europe? Forget the Nordic fjords and the Greek Isles. Head for the coast of Turkey instead, with cruise lines like Oceania or MSC Cruises.

Look for Cruises of Differing Lengths

While you can often expect a cruise to last about five days to a week, consider taking a cruise that’s either far shorter or far longer than what you might normally book.

For shorter cruises, you may find that just being on the cruise ship for two or three nights (like the cruises that Royal Caribbean offers out of Florida, with stops at CocoCay) gives you enough time to have a fun time, without getting bored.

On the flip side, taking a longer cruise may allow you to really slow down and relax, and truly enjoy the cruise experience. Sometimes, especially when you’re on mega cruise ships with potentially dozens of things to do and enjoy (and that’s just the restaurants and bars!), it can feel overwhelming.

You might feel stressed and pressured to pack as much into your days as possible. With a longer cruise, you can slow down and go at a more enjoyable pace.

There are cruise lines — like Princess Cruises — that offer world cruises that last over three months, but you don’t need to be gone from home that long if you don’t want to be. Many cruise lines offer multi-week cruises, including Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.

Go on a Themed or Specialty Cruise

Themed and specialty cruises are sure to offer you a unique time, and if you’ve never been on a themed cruise before, it’s definitely one of the types of cruises you must experience at least once in your life.

Themed cruises really range in theme. If there’s a fandom or something similar you’re passionate about, you can find a themed cruise for you.

Have a favorite sports team? There are themed cruises for sports fans. Can’t get enough of Taylor Swift? There’s a themed cruise for that. A beloved television show like The Golden Girls? Yeah, there’s a themed cruise for that, too.

Themed cruises are often overseen by a production company that puts all the activities together, from parties to expert-led seminars and beyond. However, they typically take place on just an average cruise ship, so you can expect all the normal cruise ship amenities.

If you don’t want to take a themed cruise that’s hyper-focused on one specific thing, you can also find specialty cruises that occur around the holidays. Cruise lines like Disney deck out their ships for Halloween and Christmas, with themed activities that are sure to get you into the seasonal spirit.

And if you can’t find an upcoming themed or specialty cruise that catches your eye or works for your schedule, there’s nothing stopping you from crafting your own themed cruise.

Worth Reading: What Are the Best Cruise Lines for Fitness?

Plan a cruise that’s all about relaxation and wellness, all the time, with a packed schedule of spa treatments, fitness classes and dining at the healthiest on-board eateries.

Plan a cruise that’s romance-focused by booking a luxe suite with a private hot tub, planning some couples’ spa experiences and spending every moment possible indulging in fine dining and date night-worthy fun.

Try a New Cruise Line Altogether

If you frequently cruise with the same one or two cruise lines, you may find that just trying a new-to-you cruise line will make your experience more unique and enjoyable.

Sometimes, you might find that switching things up from Carnival to Norwegian Cruise Line is enough to sate your craving for something new. However, other times, you might want to try something even more different.

For example, if you normally cruise with the entire family on multi-generational-friendly cruise lines like Norwegian, consider going on a cruise with just your significant other or some friends, on an adults-only cruise line like Virgin Voyages.

If you typically go for a budget cruise line like Carnival, try upgrading the experience and spring for something slightly more luxurious.

Change Who You Cruise With

Along these lines, consider changing who you cruise with. If your normal cruise experiences include lots of family-friendly fun, days by the pool with the kiddos and mini golf tournaments, you’ll find that your cruising experience changes drastically when you leave the kids behind and go on a couples or girls/guys trip.

Yes, you’ll still be soaking up the sun by the pool, but you might do so with a few more drinks in hand, and you won’t need to worry about staying out too late at the ship’s live music venues. Spa days take the place of character breakfasts and you’ll be attending the adults-only comedy sets instead of the family-friendly shows.

In short, sometimes, making a cruise unique is as simple as choosing new cruising companions!

Make a Point to Book Different Excursions

There are all sorts of excursions you could book to enjoy during your cruise’s port days. However, some are pretty par for the course. Everyone wants to go swimming with the pigs in the Bahamas, or they want to go for an ATV tour in Aruba.

If you’ve been there, done that, choose something a little different during your next cruise. Fill your port days with excursions that take you away from the crowds. Go for a submarine excursion, like those offered by Scenic Luxury Cruises. Take a behind-the-scenes museum tour, like those offered by Viking.

You can go about finding really interesting or out-of-the-ordinary cruise ship excursions a few ways. You can book a cruise with a cruise line known for its excursions (for example, luxury cruise lines like Regent Seven Seas Cruises offer unlimited shore excursions).

You could book a cruise that travels to destinations where there’s more to do than just the average snorkeling or hiking excursions. Aim to also book a cruise that stops in destinations where it’s easy to find interesting private tours, allowing you to bypass the cruise line’s offerings.

Go on a Bucket List Cruise

None of us are getting any younger. If you’ve thought about taking a bucket list cruise — whether that’s an ultra-luxury cruise, a round-the-world cruise or just a cruise to a difficult-to-reach destination — now’s the time.

Crossing something monumental like this off your bucket list can be just the thing to breathe new life into your stale travel routine.

Go on a River Cruise

If you’ve only ever cruised on the ocean, consider trying a river cruise on for size. These smaller, more intimate cruises won’t give you everything that a mega cruise ship will (there are no rollercoasters at sea here!), but they will, as a result, give you things that you’d never find on a mega ship, in return.

River cruises offer stellar views of passing cities, with the shore never far away. Because of this, river cruises can stop more often, and you may find that your cruise itinerary includes up to multiple stops every single day.

For example, a Grand European Tour cruise from Viking stops in more than a dozen ports over 15 days, as you travel the Rhine and Danube.

Read Also: River Cruise vs. Ocean Cruise – What’s the Difference?

River cruises often offer loads of excursions and some cruise lines include those excursions in the price of your cruise fare, automatically, as is the case with Scenic Cruises.

Plus, a river cruise can take you to tons of places you’d never get to go on a mega-ship. Think small European villages, rural America via the Mississippi, to the jungles of the Amazon or to the pyramids along the Nile. It’s altogether a different experience than ocean cruising. The only thing that’s the same is that you’re on the water!