10 things I wish I'd done differently on my first cruise, from booking a better room to avoiding specialty restaurants

Cruises can be as short as two nights or as long as several months. When booking my cruise, I thought one week would be a good amount of time to get used to the lifestyle.

While initially in awe of the ship and the journey ahead, I struggled with sleep and motion sickness every day. I was grateful to be out in the ocean, but by the fourth day, I felt ready to go home and overwhelmed by the remaining time I had on the ship.

Since cruising was a new form of vacation and transportation for me, I wish I had booked a shorter trip for the first time.

The length of the trip would have been more bearable if I hadn't traveled solo.

While there were many social activities and friendly cruisers who loved chatting with random strangers like me, I still felt lonely on the ship. I longed to talk with someone who knew me or share my experiences in new places with a loved one. Being surrounded by so many families and groups of friends made me wish I could be with mine.

When I cruise again, I'll bring a crew.

For $2,000, I slept in a 179-square-foot stateroom on deck eight. My cabin had a private bathroom, a king-size bed, and an ocean view.

It was a mid-tier room — a step above interior staterooms with no window, a step below staterooms with a balcony, and two steps below a suite. I quickly realized this was the wrong room to book.

Since it was at the very front of deck eight, I felt constant motion in my room. This made sense to me after talking to seasoned cruisers on the ship, several of whom told me that the front of the ship was one of the worst places to feel motion. They said that higher decks in the middle of the ship feel calmer and more stable.

Some nights were rockier than others. On the roughest nights, I heard and felt a similar sensation to thunder beneath me every few minutes. Loud thumps and heavy vibrations in my room sounded like large pieces of furniture falling. The first night this happened, I feared the worst, but over time, I realized that this was a normal aspect of cruising — but one I would likely never get used to.

Next time, I'd choose a room in the middle of the ship.

Because I heard sounds that reminded me of thunder every few minutes some nights, it was nearly impossible for me to sleep. 

If I had earplugs with me, I may have been able to rest more during my trip. One night, it was so loud that I decided to sleep with my earbuds in, but since I sleep on my side, I woke up with one earbud painfully pushed too far into my ear.

Cash is a must on cruises, I learned. While you can tip the cruise ship members with a credit card at the end of your trip, you need cash to tip the bus drivers and tour guides during excursions at the ports.

There are ATMs on the ship, but they have withdrawal fees.

I hate dressing formally, but I knew cruises had formal nights going into the trip, so I brought one nice dress with me to wear whenever I needed it. However, after the first formal night, I learned that the dress code wasn't strictly enforced. People wore a variety of outfits, from evening gowns to T-shirts. 

I relaxed my look on the other two formal nights but felt like I wasted the limited space in my suitcase with the dress. Next time, I won't bring it with me.

The cruise ship was full of activities and restaurants that I could go to, but some restaurants, like the specialty ones, as well as all the shows on board, required reservations that I made through the Royal Caribbean app.

I found that it was often hard to get day-of reservations for many shows I wanted to attend. Waiting until the last minute to plan for these events was a mistake. 

For example, the circus-like acrobatic water show in the AquaTheater seemed to be the most popular and hardest reservation to get. I tried to get one on the day of the event but couldn't find any availability until a show two nights later.

Next time, I'll make all my show reservations as soon as possible.

One of the unique things about cruising is that most meals, snacks, and drinks are included in the cruise rate.

But on large ships like Wonder of the Seas, more than a dozen restaurants with specialty offerings, like sushi, are not included and incur additional charges, either as a one-time fee or by the dish.

While show reservations aren't available until you board the ship, specialty restaurants can be reserved as soon as you book your trip. I booked specialty restaurants for nearly every night of the cruise.

I was surprised that some of my most delicious and satisfying meals were in the restaurants included for guests. There were a handful of buffets with different types of food, and the main dining room served a three-course meal with varying menu items each night.

Every single one of my cravings was satisfied by these complimentary options. One of the best meals I had was in the main dining room.

Since I booked so many specialty restaurants, I didn't have time to try all the buffets or eat in the main dining room more than once. Next time, I'll save money and eat more included meals.

At each port stop, guests have the option of booking excursions through the cruise line for an additional cost. These include tours and activities like hiking or zip-lining. At two of the port stops, Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico, I booked excursions that included a few hours of beach time, where guests got access to a beach club with lounge chairs.

In Cozumel, I went to a beach club in Tulum after a long tour of Mayan ruins. It was nice to relax and enjoy some of the clearest ocean water I had ever seen.

The next day in Costa Maya, I went on a very brief tour of the island before going to the beach. Since I felt like I got my beach fix the day before, I found myself wishing I could spend the time exploring more of the island.

Next time, I'll book only one excursion with beach time. 

At the end of the cruise, passengers disembarked in the morning upon returning to port. But when booking my cruise, I learned that the scheduled port arrival time wasn't the exact time I'd be off the ship.

A cruise ship's scheduled arrival time is when it docks at the port. Before passengers can get off, there's an inspection that can take 20 minutes to an hour or more.

To be safe, I booked a night flight since I'd rather wait at the airport all day than miss my flight home.

I definitely overdid it. I arrived at the airport at 9 a.m. for my 9 p.m. flight, which ended up being delayed two hours. 

Next time, to avoid spending 14 hours in an airport, I'll book an afternoon flight for the end of my cruise.

I don't think cruising is my preferred form of travel, but a lot of these mistakes had a huge influence on my experience.