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The majority of cruise holidays will stop at quite a few ports as part of their itinerary. Guests might also have a few days at sea while the ship travels between ports.

A cruise guest warned on Reddit: “Consider how you want to spend downtime, and make sure to plan for some.

“Shore days can be draining, as can late night shows and concerts!”

Although cruise holidays are often very relaxing, they can quickly become busy if guests want to take part in a lot of excursions.

It’s good to plan out some time for relaxation onboard, whether that’s sitting by the pool or reading in a cafe.

Another guest said: “As for spending your time, it really depends on what you like. Some people just want to hang by the pools and say that’s the best vacation they ever had.

“Others might just want to wander around constantly. The cruise will give you daily activities that are available.

“My suggestion is if you see an activity that requires reservation then register early or all the spots may be taken.”

Some activities will need reservations so guests should try to sign up for these in the first few days of the cruise.

“Excursions are expensive, but some of them are really worth it,” added another regular cruise guest.

They said: “You should think about what type of excursions you’ll like as it really varies from person to person.”

There’s usually a huge range of excursions on offer, from adventurous hikes to historical city tours.

Guests should take a look at the trips to see which ones will best suit their taste. However, they could also skip the excursions.

Another guest advised: “If you’re on a European cruise specifically, I wouldn’t go on any ship excursions.

“For Europe, since most of the ports are major metropolitan areas I usually either find a third party tour like Viator, or just wander off on my own on local transport with Google Maps.

“The caveat is that you’ll have to do a little research in advance to figure out exactly where you want to go, how the public transport system works and for more popular attractions whether you’ll need to buy tickets beforehand.

“It also depends on how comfortable you are with taking public transport in a foreign city, but you can save a ton of money.”

Guests will usually be able to save money if they explore the city by themselves using public transport.

They will need to check how far the port is from the city centre as in some cases it can be a fairly long journey.

Passengers will also need to manage their own return to the ship to make sure they don’t miss the departure.

They could also check online reviews for third party companies to find a reputable tour for cruise passengers.

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