Sarah BretzMy friends and I recently got back from a girls’ cruise, and the experience was one I’d highly recommend. We were a group of three, sailing aboard MSC Seaside on a four-night Bahamas cruise out of Miami. While I’ve cruised with my significant other, each of my parents, and friends before, this was my first time experiencing more than two people in a cabin — and the first time I was cruising as part of a “friend group.”
Since one friend had only cruised once before (with me) and the other was brand-new to cruising, I fell into the roles of “cruise educator” and “ship tour guide” throughout most of the sailing. It’s a role I’m very happy to take, as it means I’m getting to share my expertise and love of all things cruise! But even for me, the “girls’ cruise” aspect was new — and I learned a lot along the way. So to help you with your own friends’ cruise, I’ve put together a list of 11 girls trip cruise tips based on my firsthand experience.
1. Pick a ship and itinerary that suits everyone
Once my friends and I stopped saying “we should take a cruise together sometime!” and actually got serious about planning one, the first order of business was deciding on the timeframe, itinerary, and ship. For us, the itinerary was quite easy: we wanted something short and relatively inexpensive out of Florida — which in most cases means a voyage to the Bahamas.
When you’re in the very beginning stage of planning a cruise together, gather everyone’s preferences on things like the cost (how much are you willing to spend per night?), the homeport (since you’ll need to travel there to board the ship), must-visit ports of call, and onboard amenities. From there, you’ll have a good framework to begin searching for specific ships and itineraries.
2. Consider the varying budgets of the group
Beyond just the upfront cost of the cruise fare, it’s important to be mindful of everyone’s vacation budget in other areas of the trip, too. For example, if you’re staying for a night (or more) in a hotel before/after your cruise, be mindful of what everyone’s willing to spend and choose a hotel that works for everyone.
If you’ve got some foodies in the group that want to try all the specialty restaurants on board while others want to enjoy the included dining each night, compromise with a mix of each or split off into smaller groups based on preference so that no one feels pressured to have (and potentially pay for) a dinner they aren’t comfortable with. This advice also applies to things like shore excursions where the price of various tours and experiences can add up quickly — and not everyone may be prepared to spend that kind of money.
3. Make sure the cabin you’re booking can comfortably fit everyone
While the cruise line won’t let you book a stateroom that can’t technically fit everyone, whether or not it will be a comfortable experience might be another story. If you have more than two people in a cabin, there are several possibilities to accommodate the additional people. There might be a pull-down bed that’s anchored to the wall, or a pull-out couch that converts into a bed that can accommodate one or two people. Some staterooms even have bunk beds.
On our cruise, the stateroom attendant made up the couch AS a bed, taking off the back cushions and putting a sheet over the sitting cushions. Surprisingly, it was about as comfy as the actual bed! Of course, if you’re booking a suite with multiple beds/bedrooms, this question might not even come up.
To be sure you know — and are okay with — the sleeping arrangements ahead of time, we recommend using a travel agent who will be well versed in the types of accommodations available. You can also search for reviews of different cabin categories from other groups who have cruised your ship to see how the beds are arranged. If you can’t find accommodations for 3+ people that your group is happy with, you can always book multiple staterooms as well.
Bonus: connecting cabins are available and in adjoining balcony cabins (even those that aren’t connected), the balcony partition can usually be opened to create one large outdoor space for everyone to share.
4. Designate one person to pay upfront for shared expenses
This tip will not work for every group, so keep in mind that your mileage may vary. But for my recent girls’ cruise, it worked out well for me to pay for just about every shared expense and for my friends to pay me their share — once it was all added up — at the end of the trip. I recommend breaking this up though — particularly into pre-cruise and post-cruise expenses. For example, be sure everyone has squared up on pre-trip expenses prior to leaving, on things such as the cruise fare, hotels, and transportation to the cruise port. During the trip, one person can pay for shared expenses such as rideshares, luggage storage, onboard expenses, etc. and then those costs can be added up and divided out to be paid back at the end.
This tip won’t work for every group — friends may each want to pick up expenses for the group as a gift, or to each receive some credit card points from the trip. Others may want to be paid back immediately so there is never a running tally and no one has to think about it again. But for my friends and I, this method worked out well and I would do it this way again in the future.
5. Know each other’s travel styles ahead of time
When one person thinks of the word “vacation,” it may look completely different from how another person envisions a vacation. Many cruisers forget this fact. So, before you set sail on your girls’ cruise, it may be helpful to talk about how each of you envision spending your time during the cruise.
During a sea day, some people want to lay out in the sun all day, while others want to hit up the water slides, do a bar crawl, or participate in organized activities and game shows. Of course, you don’t always have to stick together for every single activity. The beauty of a cruise is that there’s something for everyone, but you can’t really get lost and you’re never far from your friends!
6. Come to an agreement on whether a drink package is worth it (for everyone in the cabin!)
After booking a cruise, one of the first things most people decide is whether or not they’re going to want to purchase a drink package. This is not an individual decision, as most lines require everyone in the same cabin to purchase a package if one person does. Thus, one of my top girls trip cruise tips is to decide early on if you’ll be going with a package or buying drinks a la carte.
The first order of business to help decide? Do the math! Determine whether you think you’ll at least break even based on your drinking habits, how many port days you have, and the cost of beverages on board. If it will end up being cost-effective for everyone to have a package, go for it. If some in the group would benefit but others would not, you’ll need to decide — together — one way or the other. Larger groups who have multiple staterooms may want to have the drink package girls stay in one cabin and the non-drink package girls stay in the other. That way, only those in one cabin will need to purchase a package.
7. Bring coordinating outfits for themed parties
Who doesn’t love a good themed party!? It’s made even more fun when you have friends to coordinate and plan outfits with! Cruises are one of the best times to have fun with matching outfits, and you’ll see plenty of groups doing it on board.
While each cruise line and ship will not have the same themed nights and parties, some common examples include retro nights (usually 70s and 80s), glow parties, white nights, and tropical parties. Some cruise lines offer parties that are very specific to them, such as Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Night (wear red!) and Disney’s Pirate Night festivities (dress in your best pirate gear!). So hop on a video call or send photos back and forth with your friends to find fun coordinating outfits that’ll have you the best dressed group at the party!
8. Travel together if possible
If it works out for everyone, try to travel to your embarkation port and back home together — especially if you’re a larger group. Doing this ensures that you’ll be able to share shuttles/rideshares, travel together in the airport, have friends to hang out with on the plane, and never have to do any of it alone. If an issue arises, it can be figured out and handled together. Sometimes the travel it takes to GET to your cruise ship can be quite stressful, and it’s often easier (and more fun!) to travel with others rather than by yourself.
9. Stay in touch on board, and pick meeting spots
If possible, stay in touch with each other while onboard either using your favorite messaging app or the chat function in the cruise line’s app (if available). On our cruise, we used the free chat function on the MSC Cruises app, which is designed for guests to use to talk to each other (you can’t message anyone that isn’t on your ship). That was especially helpful since we did not purchase wifi at all during our sailing.
Another helpful girls cruise trip tip is to designate meeting spots. My friends and I often lost each other in the buffet as we loaded up our plates, so we started picking a certain spot to meet back up so we could find a table together. Or, we chose a table first and then took turns grabbing lunch. If we had to go to entirely separate areas of the ship for some reason, same thing: we chose a spot to convene afterwards. Anytime you’ve got a cruising companion and wind up doing different things — even if it’s your significant other — communication is key. Let them know where you’re going and make a plan on where to meet up later.
10. Don’t go off on your own in port
It’s a good rule of thumb no matter who you’re cruising with: it’s best to explore ports together. This is especially true in areas like the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America. While I think we already knew in our heads that we’d stick together and keep an eye out for each other in Nassau, we made sure to voice it: we aren’t going to walk away from or lose each other while in port. If you’re a small group like us, it’s easy to all stay together. If you’re on a trip with four or five people or more and want to do different things, you could split off into smaller groups. But there’s safety in numbers, especially in situations such as a girls’ cruise where you’re in new and unfamiliar places.
11. Try not to overpack
I know, much easier said than done! However, if you’re sharing a cabin with multiple people, it becomes even more important to consolidate your clothes and shoes. Cruise ship cabins are generally quite a bit smaller than hotel rooms, and while there is closet and drawer space, it’s limited.
If you’re anything like me, you often use the couch/chair in your room as extra storage space — especially for things like clothes you’ve already worn but might wear again. But on this cruise, we were using the couch as a bed. That meant everything I’d normally just toss there had to go somewhere else. Overall my friends and I packed pretty lightly for this cruise, and doing daily life in the cabin with three people made me really thankful we did.
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Have you ever taken a girls’ cruise? What other girls trip cruise tips would you add to this list? Drop us an anchor below to share your helpful tips, tricks, and hacks for traveling as a group.
