To celebrate my kids' graduations, my family and I went on our first cruise. Although we had a great time, I wish we had known a few things before getting on board. For example, turning our phones on airplane mode would have saved us a lot of money. All three kids were graduating β our oldest from high school and our twins from junior high. When it came time to celebrate these achievements, we gave them an option.
We could throw a party or use the money for an awesome family vacation instead. So, before our oldest left for college, we came together one last time for a seven-day trip to Alaska on our first-ever cruise. We were all excited about the idea, and honestly, everyone had a fantastic time. However, I don't think any of us were completely prepared our first cruising experience.
Here are four things I wish we had known before boarding the Celebrity Cruise ship. Our phones are such an important part of our lives that it's almost unheard of to go without them for minutes, let alone days.
However, we purposely didn't purchase the ship's WiFi package because we wanted a chance to disconnect and enjoy Alaska's beauty. What we were unaware of, however, is that once we got away from land, we should have put our phones on airplane mode.
Since we didn't, they switched to a service called Cellular at Sea, which uses satellites to keep the phones connected. However, this can be expensive. However, this was a costly lesson. Next time, we'll be sure to turn on airplane mode and call our cellular provider to talk about cruise packages. Typically, we're a jeans and T-shirt family. It's not that we don't clean up well; it's just that we don't do it often, so a formal night wasn't even on our radar.
