5 Ways to Make Your Cruise Extra Festive

I’m currently on a cruise ship. Wahoo, my favorite place to be! Even though this cruise is only 4 nights, there are things my family does before and during our cruises to make them extra festive.

Door Magnets

Cruise ship doors are made of metal. I like putting magnets on our doors not only so they look more festive, but so that I can easily recognize our doors when we walk down the hallway. I’ve made my own door magnets using magnetic printer paper, and I’ve also ordered cruise door magnets from etsy. (I’ve ordered from this etsy shop several times).

Matching Family Shirts

Oh yes, we do! There are two places you can get away with matching family shirts: Disney parks and cruise ships. Every time we’ve worn matching shirts, we get a lot of compliments. Plus, they look great in photos. I’ve made my own shirts with a Cricut machine and ordered them from Amazon/Etsy in the past.

Believe it or not, my family agreed to matching shirts for our current cruise! Ha! I got these on Etsy.

Pre-cruise Pep Rally

This really just applies to Royal Caribbean cruises. Matt at Royal Caribbean Blog has two Facebook Live sessions a week, usually Tuesday and Saturday nights. He is so upbeat and positive about cruising on Royal Caribbean that I consider these sessions pep rallies. Matt always starts each session by asking how many days until your next cruise. You can ask questions, or just sit back and listen to questions and answers from other people. I’m always more excited about my next cruise after attending one of these sessions.

Social Media Group Meet-up

Just about every sailing has a group on Facebook. Just search for your ship and date to connect with others on your same cruise. On my last cruise in January, members of the group met up for dinner the night before our cruise. In the past, we’ve met up with group members on the first day of the cruise and later in the cruise. It’s fun to meet other people and introduce kids to others in their age group.

Gift Exchange

Disney Cruise Line has its Fish Extender exchange, but other cruise groups sometimes organize informal gift exchanges between families. Gifts range from home-made crafts to local candy.

Readers, do you do any of these things before or during your cruise?

Note: I’m currently traveling with limited internet access. My replies to your comments will be delayed.