- Book early if you want to guarantee specific stateroom(s) - for example if you will need more than two rooms and want them to be interconnecting. Note that although interconnecting rooms are fairly scarce you *might* be able to get two rooms next to each other and - if they have balconies - have the barrier between the two balconies opened so you end up both with one long balcony as well as a way to move between the two rooms without having to go into the corridor. If you are willing & able to book well in advance, you should also get a significant discount.
- Book late if you are willing to gamble/compromise on what room you get. When there is less than a couple of months to go, significant price cuts are made plus you may also get other bonuses such as ship board credit. Given that most things are included in the base price, you might not think you will spend much - but you can use this credit to pay for souvenirs, photos, alcohol, etc.
- Look at the ship layout carefully when choosing a room - be aware that some locations are better than others. For example, if you like to go to sleep early then you may not want to be located on the deck under/near the areas where loud music might be played until late at night/early in the morning. The walls etc are very thick so noise does not travel a lot, but if you are a light sleeper and/or they are really cranking the volume up then it could be an issue.
- Sleeping on the ship is similar to sleeping on a plane - think of it like a better than first class cabin on a plane. Lots of room, a full size bed, your own bathroom, etc but a constant rumble from the engines and a small amount of movement. The ship is huge, and combined with stabilisers means that you may not even be aware of any movement unless it's quite rough outside, so sea sickness is unlikely.... but bags are available. If you are prone to air/travel sickness then might want to take some suitable medicine with you just in case.
- A window/balcony is great to have, in particular if you do suffer from travel sickness and might want some fresh air, although keep in mind you probably won't be spending much time in your room. In general, although there are a lot of people on board (ours had over 2,300 paying passengers - ie not including crew - including crew it would be well over 3,500 people with a ratio of about 1 crew for every two passengers) the ship is so big you can always find some areas that are clear of people.
- We found the rooms to actually be quite decent size - but you do need to try to tidy things away otherwise you may trip over stuff. You can shove bags under the beds or in the cupboards.
- The room safe in our rooms used *any* card with a magnetic stripe on it to lock - so good idea to use that to put passports and any other valuables away. In general I think that security was good, but best to be safe [sic]
- You may be given the choice of booking the first or second sitting for dinners, or for adhoc. For us, booking the early dinner (5:30pm) meant we were guaranteed a table, had finished dinner around 7:15pm, so could easily get to the first show (about 7:30pm) and thus able to get the kids to bed by 9pm or so.
- They will offer to arrange excursions - although this is handy, in general it is cheaper - sometimes significantly so - to simply arrange these when you get off the ship at each location.
- Consider boarding early - that way you have plenty of time to explore the boat on the first day, have lunch, and stake out a decent position on the deck to watch as you leave the harbor. You can also spend the time arranging things like booking the kids into the kids club(s).
- If you have kids, put them into the kids club sooner rather than later. If you got on the ship early then they will already have done some exploring. As much as they may want to do more, going into the club will enable them to meet kids of the same age group and possibly make some new friends! Keep in mind you will have plenty of time to spend with them on the days you are off the ship.
- We brought a couple of CB radios to communicate over the ship - they worked ok between rooms but struggled over greater distances because of the amount of metal in the ship. For the most part, we relied on having designated meeting areas/times as well as the occasional note left in the room(s)
- Internet is both horribly expensive and slow onboard. Best off avoiding the frustration and going cold turkey. If you can be bothered, when in port you can always try to get a local sim and use that - way faster and cheaper, although of course will only work for the short time you are there. Definitely *definitely* disable international roaming unless you know what you are doing. Call costs (both sending and receiving) are horrifying. Be aware that most ships have their own tower so even when in port in Sydney (for example) your mobile might switch over to the ship instead so those few minutes on the 'phone talking to your mum or uploading photos to facebook may end up hurting your wallet! (http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/07/global-roaming-bill-shock-can-strik...)
- As well as going to Duty Free stores, consider taking advantage of the TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme - http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4461.asp) - basically spend $300 or more at any one shop within 60 days of leaving (can be multiple separate purchases) on goods like electronics or clothing, then take the goods & receipt(s) with you and, after going through customs but before boarding the ship you will see a TRS counter. They will process the claim and you will get your GST back. To work out how much you will get back, just divide the amount you paid by eleven. The refund can go into your bank or a credit card (note it will take a month or two to process/appear).
- Take plastic bags (to put dirty clothes in, wet items from the beach, etc), as well as snorkels/goggles/flippers. Also consider bringing reef shoes rather than just thongs/sandals as some beaches can be more coral than sand and quite hard to walk on with thongs or bare feet. Also take medicines (band aids, panadol, nurofen, etc), as well as a small powerboard that does *not* have a surge protector (don't ask me why - but they do not like those). If you or your kids plan to have your hair braided, bring your own comb/brush (for hygiene) as well as some hair ties (the ones they provide may break so you can replace them if/as required).
- If travelling from interstate, try to get there the day before in particular if you are going to be checking luggage on a plane - saves panic in case the luggage goes missing plus enables a less rushed first day on board. In addition, make sure you carry with you enough items to cover you for that first night - underpants, toiletries, medicine, etc - again, just in case the luggage is misplaced.
- When packing, take into consideration that you may be buying clothes over there - why bring a stackload of t shirts if you are going to be buying some there? Also there is usually a self service laundry you can use or you can take advantage of 'wash & fold' service to clean clothes there - basically to minimise the amount of stuff you need to bring.
- Be careful on the decks - lots of kids running around from the pool can make the decks slippery
- On return, we arranged on the boat to be taken direct to the airport by bus - although this cost a little more than getting a taxi, it made sense for us (five people and a *lot* of luggage) as it was a lot easier than trying to hunt down a maxi taxi at the dock.
- Customs do not like some things being brought back in - we declared some wooden items as well as some shells the kids picked up on the beach. The wooden souvenirs had certificates, but the customs official was fairly dismissive of them ie don't bother. He basically checked the wood for insect damage.... ideally if they are varnished then it's ok. Any leather item needs to be properly cured as well. The shells amazingly were ok - their main concern was the giant snail that is over there so if you find one of those, definitely do not try to bring it home!
Edit: See the original thread here.