10 things I wish I'd done differently on my first cruise, from choosing a better room to reserving shows in advance

I've traveled by car, bus, train, and plane, but boats of any kind were completely new to me until April 2022, when I went on my first cruise to the Caribbean for a reporting trip.

I embarked on a seven-night voyage onboard the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas. We sailed to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; as well as Royal Caribbean's own private island in the Bahamas.

While it felt surreal to be on such a large vessel in the middle of the ocean, I made some mistakes that made my trip more expensive and less enjoyable than it could have been. While I learned that cruising isn't really my preferred vacation style, if I had avoided these mistakes, I think I would have had a better time. Here's what I'll do differently should I find myself on a cruise ship again.

Read more: Step aboard the world's largest cruise ship, which is so big it has 8 'neighborhoods' spread across 18 stories

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

While I was initially in awe of the ship and the journey ahead of me, 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 like I was 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 my first time.

The length of the trip would have been more bearable if I had a friend with me, in my opinion.

While there were many social activities and friendly cruisers who loved to chat with random strangers like me, I still found myself feeling lonely on the ship. I longed to have a conversation with someone who knows 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.

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

For $2,000, I spent seven nights in a 179-square-foot ocean-view stateroom on deck 8. Insider paid for my cabin, per our reporting standards.

My cabin came with a private bathroom, a king-size bed, and an ocean view.

It was a midtier room — a step above interior staterooms, which have no window, a step below staterooms with a balcony, and two steps below a suite.

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, who several told me that the front of the ship is one of the worst places to be for feeling motion. Higher decks in the middle of the ship feel calmer and more stable, they said.

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 down. 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.

Read more: I spent 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on the world's largest cruise ship. Take a look inside my cabin.

During rough nights at sea, I heard sounds that reminded me of thunder every few minutes, which made it 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. Although 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 board the ship, but they have withdrawal fees, according to the Royal Caribbean website.

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 anytime I needed it. But I learned after the first formal night that the dress code wasn't strictly enforced. People wore a range of outfits from evening gowns to t-shirts.

I relaxed my look on the other two formal nights, but I 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 any time, but some restaurants, like the specialty ones, and all the shows onboard, required reservations that I made through the Royal Caribbean app.

However, I found that it was often hard to get day-of reservations for many shows I wanted. 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 wasn't able to find any availability until a show that was two nights later.

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

One of the most unique things about cruising is that most meals, snacks, and drinks are all-inclusive as part of the cruise rate.

However, 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.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the most delicious and satisfying meals I had were in the restaurants that were included for guests. There were a handful of buffets with all 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 range from tours to activities like hiking or ziplining. At two of the 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, where 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 instead.

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

Read more: I went to the Caribbean for the first time on the world's largest cruise ship and wish I had more time in these 2 ports

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 isn't the exact time I'd be off the ship.

As Insider previously reported, a cruise ship's scheduled arrival time is when the ship docks at the port. Before passengers can get off, there's an inspection that can take "anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour or more," according to the article.

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

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

Next time, to avoid spending 14 hours in an airport, I'll book an afternoon flight at 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 impact on my experience. To really know if I could be a cruiser, I'd have to take another trip that takes these lessons learned into greater consideration.

Read more: I just went on my first cruise — here are 15 things that surprised me the most about this type of travel