Daily life on Board

1. Lifeboat drill

Your boarding pass usually doubles up as a sort of credit card when you purchase drinks from the bar or anything else while on board you give them your card and you usually have to sign something,the cost of your purchase is added to your onboard account you have to settle this account at the end of the cruise.

Every member of your party will have a card so be careful if you've got kids they soon learn they can get whatever they want from the shop without money, before you know it they have got big bars of chocolate, watches and other junk you will have to pay for at the end of the cruise.

3. Boarding pass/onboard account

Your cabin is usually cleaned twice daily and your beds made, information is usually left in your cabin such as a daily newspaper that give you information to the following days activities and shore excursions it should also tell you of the dress code for that particular day, your cabin should also include piped music through a speaker system announcements are also made over this system and a telephone that you can use to call reception

2. Your cabin

Before the ship leaves port or very soon after the ship gets under way there will be a lifeboat drill usually when the ships alarms are sounded you and members of your party will get your life jackets from you cabin and will go to a meeting point on the ship, you will be advised where your particular meeting point is for your section of the ship, once there members of staff will show you how to put on your life jackets, then you and your fellow passengers will be taken by a member of staff to the lifeboats as if there was a real emergency, photos maybe taken of you in your life jacket which you may purchase later

4. Tips and gratuities

These are usually added to your onboard account on a daily basis at a rate of a few pounds for each person in your party rates vary  depending on the cruise company that you are cruising with,as an example if the rate was £2.50 and there are 4 people in your party then £10 per day would be added to your onboard account, if you prefer you can ask for the tips to be removed from your account if you would rather give them out  in person, if this is the case you should do this on the first day of the cruise by going to reception they should be able to give you some envelopes to put your tips in, these are usually handed out at the end of the cruise the day before you are due to disembark.

5. Meals

All meals are usually included in the price of the cruise, your main meal will be at a set time each night and there are usually 2 sittings, you would have chosen your preferred sitting time when you booked the cruise