You're going on a Royal Caribbean cruise with your neighbor, the family of your kids' friend, or a coworker. This will either be a great vacation to enjoy together or an exercise in awkwardness.
It seemed like a good idea when you proposed booking the same cruise with friends, but suddenly you realize you don't know them very well and have no clue what they're like for more than a couple hours at a time. Plus, you don't want to ruin your friendship.
I've certainly had these types of cruises, where people I know from my everyday life want to come on a cruise and as the sailing approaches, I'm unsure what to expect in terms of the overall dynamic we will have.
The good news is I think with the right approach, you can have a great vacation, spend time with them, and not put your entire relationship in jeopardy afterwards.
Don't treat the cruise like a group project
I think the biggest mistake you can make when cruising with friends is to act like you have to do everything together.
The beauty of a cruise vacation is you're together on the ship, but you don't have to do the same things all the time. Unlike visiting a city together, a cruise allows for more independence while still feeling like you're experiencing the same things.
One mantra of all the advice in this article is you shouldn't feel guilty about doing your own thing.
You'll likely pick up on your friends cruise differently than you. They might wake up at 6am to go to the gym, or they might sleep until 10am. You might want to try all the trivia events, but they want to hang out at the pool all day.
That's completely normal, and you should avoid the temptation to over plan how you spend your days together.
You don't have to book every excursion together
Sometimes the best idea is to split up.
I think sharing a group excursion is actually a great idea, especially to lower the costs. But you shouldn't feel obligated to always do every tour together.
When I cruised to Alaska with friends, I had a different idea of a fun excursion than my friends. While I did look to see if there was something else we could do, ultimately we chose to do our own tours and meet up later in town.
We split up, but then met back onboard and shared stories about it.
I would start by looking for excursions you can enjoy together, but don't be afraid to say "we'll do our thing, and you do yours" if tours don't line up.
Give each other permission to say "no"
Before I book a cruise with casual friends, the first thing I'll say is they don't have to do everything with us all the time.
It's important to normalize phrases like, "I'm going to skip this one" or "You guys go ahead".
There shouldn't be any guilt if you'd rather not participate in something.
For example, I can't stand magic shows or the Battle of the Sexes game shows, but it seems like a lot of first-time cruisers really enjoy it. So when they bring up the idea of going to that, I'll politely decline.
The important thing is not to guilt anyone who opts not to try something, but still invite them to join you. I find everyone is happier when there's less regiment and more freedom to join in or not.
Buy an internet package to make communicating easy
I think if there's one thing to buy for your cruise, it's an internet package to make it simpler to be able to message each other.
Royal Caribbean's app has a free messaging feature, but notifications can be tricky. Moreover, using the texting app you're used to at home is just plain easier.
Being able to easily and quickly message each other is essential to avoid the problem of feeling like someone disappeared.
I've cruised with friends and then realized after a day or two no one has heard from them. Then you start playing the game of do they want to be left alone? Or are they waiting for you to contact them?
Agree on a messaging app before the cruise and check-in regularly to keep the lines of communication open. You cannot rely on the idea you'll run into each other when cruising together.
Book the cruise with the same travel agent
There are a lot of good reasons to use the same travel agent when booking a cruise with friends.
You do not want to be your friends' personal reminder to make final payment, help them solve payment issues, or assist with getting your dining times coordinated. Let a travel agent do all of that, especially the billing issues.
If you are traveling with a large group, using the same travel agent could get everyone group benefits if there are enough of you sailing together. You'd need at least 6 cabins, but speak to your travel agent about further details on this idea.
Ultimately, I'll recommend my friends use a travel agent so when they have changes, questions, or issues to deal with, the travel agent can handle it all. Those are the sort of issues that people get frustrated with, and I don't want to be the "middle man" in that.
