One thing you should 'absolutely not' do if you're heading on a cruise, say regulars
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One of the greatest benefits of cruising from Australia is that you don't have to fly.
If you live in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide or Melbourne you can get on board a ship at the port, because they all have cruises which set off from there.
However, if you have to fly to a destination to cruise, there's an unwritten rule seasoned cruisers stick to.
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Here's an important tip for getting on a cruise. Supplied
Never fly in on the day your cruise departs.
In some cases, like if you've booked flights via the cruise company, the ship will wait if you're delayed. But most of the time it will set sail without you if you're not there.
One American cruiser was met by a barrage of comments on Reddit when they asked the question.
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The traveller was taking a cruise which departed Miami at 5pm. They could save $150 by flying into the city and arriving at 11am, instead of arriving the night before.
"Would you still go the day before knowing it was a flight with a layover?"
One commenter replied: "Absolutely not", adding that even though the ship might not sail until 5pm, formalities like embarking have to be finished hours before that.
"Are you willing to risk missing your cruise to save $150?" they added.
Ovation of the Seas, docked in Sydney Harbour. Getty
"Always go in the day before, if not two days before," another said.
Indeed, if you're flying from overseas you should even allow a couple of days before you get on board.
If your flight is delayed, you could miss connections which set you back even more.
Not all cruise ports are actually close to the city either; for example, in Rome, ships actually leave from Civitavecchia, which is an hour away.
Meanwhile, once on board, don't make this suitcase mistake.
If you're not familiar with cruises, while you can take on small bags yourself, larger suitcases are generally handed to crew as you check in at the port.
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Flight delays could cause you to miss your cruise ship if you leave it too late. Getty
They are then all loaded on and delivered to outside your cabin in a few hours.
Obviously, with thousands of passengers to cater for, it can take some time.
But they usually appear within an hour or so. Except this time.
One cruiser was left embarrassed as they'd failed to pack a change of clothes in their hand luggage.
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