Cruise Chores Best Done at the Dock

Admittedly I’m a little OCD, but over the years I’ve narrowed down a few pre-cruise chores that are much better carried out by me rather than leaving them to guests.

These are, of course, in addition to the standard pre-cruise safety checks (lights, fluid levels, etc.).

Here we go:

1) Slice Anything You’ll Need. I’m looking at you, lemons and limes. Whenever I see anybody walking around my boat with a sharp knife it freaks me out: Will we have to crack open the first aid kit? Is an unwanted upholstery repair coming up in the near future? Does he have the capacity to kill?

It’s a pre-cruise ritual for me: slice up a lemon and a lime, and keep them in a reusable container. 

2) Ice. I bloody hate the ritual of getting ice, but for most cruises it’s must-have. Only I know the right capacity and storage configuration for ice, so I just do this myself.

In the past when I’ve left it to guests, one of two things would happen, and neither are optimal: (1) we didn’t have enough ice or (2) we had too much.

The second scenario was actually worse than the first, because I found people wanting to make space for that precious $3.00 bag of frozen water by removing beverages that should only be enjoyed when cold.

3) Pull Any Safety Equipment That Will Be Needed. Depending on where your cruise is headed, it may be necessary to use certain safety gear such as life vests or fenders. Rather than try to direct guests to find them and use them properly, I’ve found it’s much easier to have everything set so you’re not giving a Mariner 101 class to Becky (who couldn’t care less).

For example, when I know I’ll be passing through a lock, I’ll pull the correct amount of life vests and just set them on a cabin bed. As well, I’ll secure the fenders so all a landlubber guest-helper needs to do is throw them over the side at my direction.

4) Activate All Necessary Systems. Going back to our friend Becky, it will take you 3x longer to explain how to switch on the toilet pump than if you were to have done it yourself.

Before a cruise, I always turn on the water, toilet, outlets, and microwave breakers.

Any pre-cruise rituals you have to make the experience less stressful?