For Thanksgiving weekend, some of my family and I decided to go on a cruise. We were set to sail from the port of Miami to the Cayman Islands, Mahogany Bay, Belize and finally to Cozumel. The only problem was that I had never been on a cruise and I had never done any excursions before, therefore I had no idea what exactly to pack.

For anybody that’s planning to go on a cruise and/or excursions, here are a few things you should know beforehand.

1. Bring fancy clothes

I know it’s your vacation and you’ll want to relax, but if you plan on eating dinner in an actual dining room instead of just the buffet, make sure to bust out the dresses and ties. A majority of the time, it’s required that you wear nice clothes in the dining room instead of just a bathing suit coverup and flip flops.

2. Don’t spend too much on excursions

This one might have been our biggest lesson learned since it was our first cruise ever. We didn’t realize that instead of spending $150-$200 on one excursion, we would’ve been able to just tour the cities or towns that we docked at for less than $50. Unless you know for certain that you’ll want to do a listed excursion, don’t book too many. We booked 4 excursions and out of all 4, only 2 were actually worth it in my opinion. Sometimes it is better to just wing it once you dock!

3. ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE IF THINGS ARE INCLUDED!

Sometimes different restaurants on the ship or even "complimentary water" that they leave aren't included or really complementary. Always ask and make sure that nothing costs extra, or else you're going to be shocked when that bill comes back to your room!

4. Take advantage of everything

Go to every show you want to see on the boat, order however many things you want off the menu at dinner, take as many pictures as humanly possible, sing karaoke, etc. Cruises are amazing and typically have fantastic singing and theatrical shows, stand up comedy acts, game shows... but they also have amazing food. The dinner menu on our cruise offered weird and different things every night such as rabbit, escargot, ox tongue and frog legs (all of which I tried).

Dance and sing your heart out because nobody knows who you are and you’ll never see these people ever again, so just go for it!

5. You’ll survive without WiFi

While we did decide to get the cheapest WiFi plan (which only included a select few apps), WiFi isn’t completely necessary. When you’re on the islands or wherever you dock at, you’re not going to have service anyway so if you can go almost 7 hours without WiFi, you can last 7 days without it.

I know cruises are super expensive, but in my opinion, they really are worth it. You get to travel the world and see things that you probably never would’ve imagined you’d see before. They offer great live entertainment, fun casinos, high-fashion stores and amazing cuisine. If you ever get the opportunity to go on a cruise, don’t pass it up!