After Action Report: D20 Cruise

On April 26, 2024, I boarded a plane from my native Salt Lake City, UT to Orlando, FL. I had applied and been accepted to run two 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons games aboard a cruise ship bound for Mexico, for a D20 Cruise event.
Thankfully, a good friend of mine had applied and been accepted as well. This was convenient, because I did not have to share a cabin with a stranger and some of the DMs on this cruise were pretty strange. Neither one of us had ever been on cruise, but we both had decades of experience running games.
My largest concern was my players. I was worried that my players would not like me, or like my game. Basically, I was afraid I would not be good enough.

When we arrived at the ship, on April 27th, we were amazed at the sheer size of the thing. We were aboard the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas. The thing was huge. Then, we got aboard and, for the height, I expected it to be quite wide and was surprised it was thinner than I anticipated.
I'll not be discussing much more about the ship, except to say these four things: The crew was friendly every interaction with them was pleasant. The food was okay, but a little bland. You can feel the ship rocking and, finally, the water slides were fun.
The first night of the cruise, we had a welcoming ceremony and met our players. The welcoming ceremony was good, the highlight was a musical presentation by the Library Bards. Then, we got into groups and met our players.
My players seemed friendly and ready to have fun. I was nervous that I would live up to their expectations. It was too late, however, as the times were set and the characters were made. I had two groups, four players each, a morning game and an evening game.
The next day was my first morning game and the players showed up on time and ready to play. Their characters were tenth level and already knew each other, so they introduced themselves and named their group. The Kraken's Kin were ready for adventure. The game began and my nervousness melted away.
 It was like playing with old friends, in my living room. Laughter and fun was had by all. That first game ended too soon and I was looking forward to the second. I prayed that my evening game would go just as well. Sadly, it did not.
My first evening game was a little more bumpy than the morning game had been. A couple of the players hadn't played in awhile and seemed frustrated, not just with the rules, but with the game itself. In addition, another player had fallen ill and was unable to make it to the game. While far from a disaster, it was not as good as I had hoped.
I asked for feedback and, thankfully, my players were honest. Their biggest difficulty was that they felt they had no direction. It wasn't clear what I wanted them to do. I was blown away by this feedback. The problem was my hands off approach. They wanted me to give them some guidance.
I had a hard time wrapping my head around that idea. I've played in numerous games with a railroad DM and it drove me mad. So, I gave it some thought and discussed it with my DM friend. I decided that I could offer guidance, without railroading, but it would have to be subtle.

One of the PCs had a pet cat and that cat would be the players guiding light. If I sensed that they were getting lost, the cat would guide them. They still had agency, they could ignore the cat, but this way, they could have the guidance they desired. Happily, it worked like a charm. When the players did not know what to do, the cat would chase a mouse, or some other cat antic, and, upon retrieving the cat, the players would get back on track. Even with my players fear of not making the correct decision, I only used this cat trick twice.
Now, both groups were having a good time and the games reached their conclusion. The groups hooted and hollered, as they succeeded in their quests. It was a fantastic experience and turned into two really great games. When I was not running games, I was able to get off the ship for a bit and enjoy the ships amenities. In addition, there were a plethora of board and card games to play with everyone. 
Nearly everyone I met was a good person looking for fun. The only person I did not care for was some guy who said Eberron was better than Dark Sun. What an absurd notion!
All in all, the cruise was a positive experience and I hope to be invited back next year. Which, it appears they are already planning. If you are willing and able to join the cruise, contact me first and I'll do everything I can to get you a discount. One of the organizers said he loved me. Of course, this was after he had many cocktails, but I will hold him to it.