Choosing Your Cruise
Your first considerations will be the length of cruise, budget, destination and choice of cruise lines and actual ship, all of which a good travel agent can help you with. Next you’ll need to decide on an itinerary. The most common cruises travelers from the U.S. take are to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico and the Panama Canal. The length of these cruises are generally from 3-14 days. World cruises can last up to a year. Before going to your travel agent, have the answers to these questions ready: 1. Who will be traveling? Different cruises cater to different groups of travelers, i.e., families, singles, seniors, etc. 2. What is your budget? In general you can count on about $100 per person, per day (not including airfare)for a typical cruise. 3. How long will your vacation be? Normal time frames for cruises are 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, and 14 days. 4. When will you be traveling? You can save money by going in the "off" season of your destination. For example, cruises to the Caribbean are usually cheaper in the Fall since school is back in and you have the possibility of incelement weather. When you do have dangerous weather, the cruise line will alter their itinerary, so you're never in danger, but you may miss a port of call you really wanted to see. 5. Where do you want to cruise? Every cruise destination has it's own distinct flavor. You can cruise to almost every corner of the world, so your choices are almost endless. Of course the number of days you will be traveling will dictate how far you can go. For U.S. citizens, the majority of cruises are taken to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Bermuda, the Atlantic N.E., and the Panama Canal. This is a good area to do a lot of homework on prior to meeting with your travel agent. 6. What types of things do you like to do? Would you prefer to go to beaches and engage in water sports? Or would you rather go to larger cities and tour museums and the like? You will be able to see a list of shore excursions offered by the cruise lines to get an idea of what is being offered. Also keep in mind you can book excursions the sites like Shore Trips. This is also a good site to see what there is to do at different ports of call. 7. What kind of cabin do you want? This may be dictated by cost, but other than that you can have an interior cabin with no windows, an outside cabin with port hole or window, a balcony cabin with a private balcony, or a suite with private butler. Your travel agent will have deck plans for you to see the location of all the cabins. 8. When do you want to eat dinner? Different cruise lines offer different choices for dining. Early dining is around 6:00pm. Late dining is around 8:30pm. And some ships allow open seating to dine when you want. You will also need to tell how large a table you would like, from a table for 2 to a table for 8. 9. What kind of attire do you want to be wearing? There are ships with more formal nights, and those that you may remain fairly casual throughout the cruise. Again, your travel agent will be able to help you with this information. 10. How will you get to your cruise ship? Is the port close enough to drive to? Or will you be flying? If you are flying, be sure to compare the cruise line's airfare with one you purchase independently from the cruise line. I always suggest going in a day early and spending the night in the port city before the cruise. With the airlines in the mess they're in today, not to mention weather problems, this way you'll be sure you won't "miss the boat". Once you have done all your homework on the above 10 questions, you will be well prepared to talk to your travel agent. Use cruise websites (as listed on this site), Shore Trips web site, and other cruise blogs to gain information and help you narrow down you search for the perfect cruise for you and your family.
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