How do you plan a cruise ship vacation,without worrying ?

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yomera

Do yourself and your mom a favor: go to a beach resort instead.
This is my personal experience:
I went on the Carnival Ecstasy departing from Galveston about a month ago.
The ship was old and it looked like it had not been updated in 25 years. It was like a trip back to the 80's.
The food was very good.
The staff was friendly and the service was great.
The little bars were always half empty and sometimes I felt sorry for the musicians (they were good, but they were playing in an empty place)
The casino was nice, but I tried to stay away from it because I didn't want to keep losing my money.
The shows were just OK, the dancers need to learn more international dances. They just dance like plain cheerleaders. The singers were great. One night they had the guests perform. Unless you are related to them or friends with them, this really sucked. I could care less about some high school girls playing the flute or this other girl singing country music out of tune. Some people in the audience were very loud and I did not know if they were supporting the guests or making fun of them. The big theater felt like a huge low class family reunion. I left after a little while.
The pool was tiny and packed with people (yuck). I guess since it's on a ship it can't have a large heavy pool.
The ship was full of pre-teens.
Some of the activities were kind of dumb (I guess it's just not my type of fun) and at other activities that were kind of interesting they were always trying to sell you something.
The destinations were AWESOME. I went to Chichen Itza and one of the beaches in Cozumel and I loved it!!!! Mexican people are the friendliest people in the world!!!!!!! The guide in Chichen Itza was VERY knowledgeable.
I usually go to beach resorts and I always have a BETTER experience than this cruise. Better shows, better food (alcohol is included), better service, friendly people everywhere and it's even cheaper!!!!
If you have never been to a beach resort or a similar vacation, you will think the cruise is great.... but in reality they are not giving you what your money is worth. Also, cruises are more for families with pre-teens or teenagers. Parents can have fun without worrying where their kids might be (they may be out of sight but they can't go anywhere, they are in the same ship!), and those teens can go to the little teen parties that they have on the cruise.
As you can see, I personally prefer beach resorts over cruises. They are more fun and you can do a lot more!

Time travler

Don't listen to all the bad stories about cruises. I find it the most relaxing way to vacation ever. The only stress you may encounter is getting to the ship. We like to fly in the day before if possible, but if our flight is a short 1 hour one, we do it all the same day. Of course you can pick a port close to home. Stories you hear about someone "falling overboard" are just crazy, because you can not just fall overboard. You actually have to climb up some sort of barrier in order to fall over. I suspect a lot of alcohol is involved when someone does something like this. Cruising is very safe, relaxing and enjoyable. Take your mom on a cruise. She deserves it and so do you. One warning though, you may become addicted to cruising, like me and want to do it again and again.

Marvelle

You need a good travel agent. Hopefully someone who is specifically Cruise only. I like Cruise ship centers. Have a great cruise.

Tell them what you want/need and your budget, they will give you options.

gone!

Book your cruise through a reputable cruise travel agent and you will have no problems, you can also book your shore trips through them too. then all you have to worry about is getting to the airport on time. Cruising is a wonderful way to have a holiday, you are catered to, pampered, treated with gentle kindness and respect, by all the crew, and made to feel like royalty the whole time. I have been on large ships and small ships, and every one of them has been outstanding. The food is good too even though there is always someone who will complain about the food or the service and I'm sure there have been horror stories too but the good outweighs the bad every time. Have a wonderful time. oh and by the way make sure the ship you choose is at least a 4 star or higher, pay the extra for the service, and don't forget to tip...

cruise junkie

BEST WAY TO HAVE NO WORRYS IS GET A TRAVEL AGENT , AND GO TO YOUR DEPARTURE PORT A DAY EARLY, SO EVEN IF THERE IS A PROBLEM YOU HAVE TIME TO MAKE IT TO THE SHIP.. A TRAVEL AGENT WILL HELP YOU WITH ALL YOUR OTHER CONCERNS AND WORRYS.. FIND THE TRIP YOU WANT TO TAKE ON LINE IF YOU WANT SO YOU KNOW WHAT THE ONLINE PRICE IS AND SEE IF THEY CAN GET YOU A BETTER PRICE...

sweetescapes_travel

Cruises are fantastatic and the bad stories are always made as headlines. If you got to hear all of the truly amazing stories on cruises, you would not even hesitate to go. The good stories just do not get the publicity. With that being said, I am a travel agent and I would love to help you with your cruise. I pride myself in making the reservation process personable, that way you don't feel like a number. I like to make sure all of your questions are answered and that you will have no doubts when it comes to cruising. All you will have to worry about is actually getting packed and I can work out all of the other details. I do not tack on any additional charges, therefore my prices will be the same or less than what you can get booking directly through the cruise line which can be scary. I have been a home based travel agent for 6 years and I love it. If you would like some pricing or have further questions, I would be happy to help. My e-mail address is sweetescapes_travel@yahoo.com

Rick T

Get a travel agent. Look for one that just does crusies. We go on crusies twice a year and we still have our travel agent do pretty much everything. If you are still in the maybe stage then look at some of the major cruise lines websites. Depending on your budget there are lots of diffrent cruise lines. Royal Caribbean is the best for first time crusiers but their ships are a lot bigger and more crowded. If you have the money then go on a smaller ship. Look at Crystal Crusies or Sliversea.

Tom Cruise

As a Travel pro I have never heard of a bad time on a cruise unless you are sick all the time because now days the cruise ships are meant to be fun and the staff is usually always nice and professional.If your mom is older,maybe holland or princess is better for her because they usually geared to the older more sophisticated croud.have fun

Kristina L

The same way you plan for any vacation. Things can go bad on any vacation. Things can go bad walking around the block. But it's rare. Usually you can walk around the block just fine. Usually a weeks vacation goes well. The thing about a cruise is that they are so on top of most of the things that could go wrong, that you don't have to worry about any of it. You concentrate on the things that you have control over. For instance: Is it possible that you could get drunk, fall down and break a tooth - Yes, so don't drink heavily. Is it possible that you get lost walking around one of the ports and miss the boat - Yes, so take a shore excursion instead, or don't wander to far and watch the time. Is it possible you don't like the people you are sitting with at dinner - Yes, but you can get moved or chose not to share a table. The rest of the things to worry about are minor. Could the chef have a bad day and overcook your steak - Yes, but seriously it's good steak anyway it's cooked, know what I mean? And you can send it back for one cooked your preference if that happens.
Cruising is a really great time. It's stressfree and fun. Really, there is so little to worry about, and most of the stories you hear are the rare and extreme exceptions to the rule. Take a bathing suit and a book and don't worry about anything :)

icen

first you have to check what type of cruise ship you will be in. most cruise ships has everything on it so make use of it.

Jiga D

this is a helpful site with advice from past cruisers - http://allcruiselines.info

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