Weddingbee Blog

Thank you for all your advice. Unfortunately I can’t dive nor can I swim, but yes, I do snorkel (with a life jacket of course)… and I’ve snorkled twice. The best experience I’ve had snorkeling was in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It was seriously unreal. I should really get back to wedding planning, but vacation planning sounds more fun, doesn’t it?

Since we’re going on a cruise for our honeymoon and this will be our third one, I thought I’d share some cruising tips.

1. Before you book a cruise, a good way to get a feel for the ship is by googling reviews of it. Tons of people have cruised and many write detailed reports. I’m not one of them, but you’ll find plenty of worthwhile reads.

2. If you care about your weight, try to eat very healthy prior to the trip because let me tell you - no matter how good you try to be, you will most likely gain weight after the cruise. It’s just too hard not to with breakfast, snacks, buffet lunches, afternoon tea, 4 course dinners and midnight desserts. If you have a no gain plan please tell me!

3. Luckily there is a gym!

4. If you plan on booking any spa treatments, do so as soon as you can… because they go really fast!

5. Make sure your BF/SO/FI packs a suit. On our first cruise, Mr. Violet did not bring his suit (even though I reminded him several times to) and we actually got turned away from the restaurant we chose for formal night. It was a bit embarrassing but we did end up eating, in our room.

6. Don’t worry about getting seasick. Huge cruise ships feel really stable and you probably won’t feel a thing, but if you do, just head over to the medical center on board. Seasick pills are free. We grabbed a whole bunch!

7. Book tours and excursions as soon as you can too because those go fairly quickly as well.

8. Ocean view with balcony is a must in our book. (Trust me, it’s worth the extra money) I’ve never stayed in an inside stateroom, but I’ve seen it, and it looks claustrophobic. Plus, if you don’t get a room with a balcony, you won’t get to hear the ocean sounds at night or see it in pitch black at your leisure. It’s really beautiful!

9. The usual boarding time is around 4 or 5pm. However, you can board early, even as early as lunchtime. If you board around lunch time, you can get free lunch for that day. If not, you can always order snacks which are available all day long. We didn’t know that on our first cruise, but we’ve learned!

Cruising is really fun and when I was younger, I thought cruises were exclusively for the retired elderly, but I was so wrong. There’s really something for everyone. You can do whatever you want and eat whenever you want. The best deal I think is not having to pack and change hotels and still getting to see at least a few destinations! How cool is that? And if you don’t feel like spending money at the port you’re in, hop back on the ship and eat there. Once you are docked, you are free to go back and forth, but of course some destinations are worth trying out their local specialities. (I will definitely get some vanilla extract from Mexico. I don’t bake but Mr. Violet does!)

Feel free to add your own tips, especially if you have any for my trip!

Before I go, I need some help. Mr. Violet told me that I won’t be able to change my last name until after our trip. He booked our trip under my last name. Our trip is two months after our wedding. I don’t really mind waiting to change my name, but do any of you have the same problem I do? When does name changing typically happen?