The most popular places throughout the Cruise and the time to avoid them

With hundreds to thousands of guests on board, even the largest cruise ships can feel crowded at times.

Certain areas and activities tend to be particularly popular, creating potential aisle problems, tight seats and long lines. Travelers who have eaten the buffet at 9 am may have to avoid busy traffic while browsing the options.

“Breakfast is always a busy time, because people wake up at different times,” says Alisa Myatt, a vlogger who runs the EECC Travels YouTube channel with her husband, Jason.

However, with a little extra planning — and flexibility — travelers can enjoy many of those spaces when they’re empty. Here’s what you need to know.

The buffet

Buffets can get busy when the cruise starts. “Definitely, everyone seems to go to the buffet on the first day,” Myatt said. As soon as they get on the ship, it’s like, get on, go get something to go to the ship, and the buffet is always full and it’s hard to find a place to sit.

While not all restaurants are open for lunch while passengers board, he said guests can eat in the larger dining room instead. Depending on the ship, some special dining options may be open, too.

On other days, “peak meal times” such as lunch or 6:30 pm or 7 pm for dinner tend to be very busy. “If you can wait, if you’re a late eater, like 1:30, 2 o’clock, it’s still open, but not as busy as it is,” Myatt said. In the evening, going to the buffet as soon as the dinner service starts – usually around 5pm – can also help passengers beat the rush.

swimming pool

Myatt said lounges near the pool tend to go “very, very quickly,” and some guests wake up early to secure a spot. As an alternative, he recommended finding a place at a tanning salon far away.

“There are usually open upper floors with lots of lounge chairs,” she said. “You might not be able to see the pool, but it’s very easy to get a lounge chair upstairs if you don’t want to go into the pool.

Line-in-a-ship cruise ship concepts such as MSC Cruises’ MSC Yacht Club also offer a private desk area. Some ships have adult-only pools, which can be very crowded.

That said, Myatt noted that cruise lines are making more of an effort to monitor loungers by the pool. “So if they see that the chair has been empty for a while and there is just a towel on it or something, they will come and remove it,” he said. Passengers may find it worth checking back from time to time to see if a place is open.

Port days are also generally calmer throughout the ship, and can be a great time to stay poolside for guests who don’t mind staying on board. I did just that when I boarded Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas last year when it docked in Costa Maya, Mexico. I had been to the harbor before so I decided to stay then, and I chose the loungers for most of the day.

Rides and activities

The harbor and days offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy popular attractions – from rock climbing walls to tumbling slides – with short waiting times. In general, throughout the trip, Myatt suggested that you arrive when the attractions open (operating times should be included in the cruise line’s daily schedule or app).

Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Drop free-fall slide on the Norwegian Viva was at the top of my list of things to do during my November 2023 cruise, so I went that way one day as soon as it opened and was the first passenger there.

Myatt noted that ships with fewer attractions can see longer lines than those with more variety of amenities. He recently sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas with a Category 6 water park and “didn’t see huge lines even on sea days … because there are six (water) slides, which is good, because it spreads people out.”

Exhibitions

Myatt said early and late shows are usually equally busy on cruise ships (although late-night shows, such as after-hours comedy, can be more crowded). However, passengers must be able to fold the seats.

“If you don’t care where you sit, get there, I’d say, 10 minutes before the show starts, and you’ll get a seat,” he said. “It might not be the best seat, but you’ll get a seat 10 to 15 minutes (before). But if you want a specific seat, (get there) 45 minutes before the doors open.”

When I arrived for the Broadway-style show of “Disney Hercules” aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Destiny about 20 minutes early in November, there was a line almost halfway down the ship. However, by arriving early I got a reserved seat.

That window can be extended as needed, however.

Pick-up and drop-off

For the more difficult boarding process, Myatt recommended trying to hit the early or late times. Cruise lines often alert guests via email or their app that they can check in and choose from several arrival windows.

Most passengers usually board between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., he said, so check for availability outside of those hours. I arrived at Port Canaveral in Florida around 2 pm for my August cruise and found the terminal empty. I got through security and boarded the ship within 10 minutes.

The same thing happens when leaving the ship. “If you don’t want to wait in line, get up early,” he said. “Get up, get ready and get off that ship, or take another route: sleep in the middle.”

Guests should be out of their homes by about 8 am, but waiting until later allows them to eat breakfast and come down after most of the other guests have done so.

Getting on and off the ship can lead to crowds at times, too. Myatt noted that tender ports – where visitors board a small boat for rides to and from the shore – can lead to more traffic.

“So if there is a tender involved, I recommend that you book an excursion, because they will prioritize you when you are not on the ship because they don’t want you to miss your trip that you book through the cruise line,” he said. So they’ll have a meeting place, usually a theater or something like that, and they’ll take the people who have the tour first.

Booking a tour that meets later in the day, when many other guests have already made their trips, can also be more convenient.

The spa

The spa is often in high demand on beach days, so booking appointments on port days will usually result in greater availability. “Regarding the thermal suite, they are limiting the number of people who can buy that week pass,” Myatt said. “So, it’s not overcrowded.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can find him at [email protected].

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: The most popular spots on every cruise and when to avoid them

Reporting by Nathan Diller, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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