I want to go on a cruise for the first time but have no idea where to start..?

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sunshineee

I think that you should go on a caribbean cruise. Maybe eastern caribbean because its slightly cheaper than the western caribbean. There are many great cruise lines. I enjoyed Royal Caribbean. Carnival cruises are cheaper also although i've never been on a carnival cruise. Most ships that go to the caribbean depart from florida. Eastern Caribbean cruises can go to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, bermuda, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Turk and Caicos islands. There might be a few others but those are the ones i went on during my cruise. Western caribbean destinations include Caymen island, Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti for royal caribbean. It can go to other islands too. Southern caribbean is a great cruise too although ive never been on one. I do know people who have been on it and i heard its a lot of fun. But you would have to fly to San Juan to go on a southern caribbean cruise. Southern caribbean cruises can go to Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, st croix, St Lucia, Antigua, Dominica, and St. Thomas.

As your first cruise, I recommend a Eastern Caribbean and if you enjoy it then go on western and southern caribbean cruises. And most of these places are touristy. The caribbean is a great destination for warm weather and beautiful beaches. And I usually book like 6 months in advance because I just want to make sure I can get the week that I want because people in my family work and can only get certain weeks off. But since it doesnt matter when you book it, then you can do it anytimes you want. But i don't recommend doing it in less than a month. Im sure you'll have fun because there is always something to do on the ship.

Have fun=]

SUZY

The best place to start is by researching cruises online on a site that can offer you all of the option that are out there. Check out CruisesOnly at: http://www.cruisesonly.com/ this is Amerias Largest Cruise Agency.

Word of advice: Once you know what cruise you'd like to book, look into getting an oceanview or balcony cabin instead on an inside. While the inside may be less expensive than the other two, if you've never cruises, you run the risk of feeling like you are in a closet if you book an inside.

Best of luck!

marek

Check out this website: http://cs.cruisebase.com/cs/forms/cruiseresultspage.aspx?CD=-1&DF=06/01/2009&CL=&CV=&CP=&CSP=-1&SN=false&MT=false&phone=&home=http://www.ytbtravel.com/&EO=false&AG=256&REF=BS&PIN=YTB418748&LID=. You can play there with Destination, Departure Port, Cruiseline, Ship, Date, # of Days, etc.

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been on about 20 cruises on several different cruise lines and can give you some advice/help based on my experiences. The cruise lines I went on are good cruise lines. However, there are some differences.

- Princess, Celebrity and Holland America have great ships are more classy and reserved. They are just a little more upscale and luxurious than the other cruise lines. Passengers tend to be middle aged and up and have cruised multiple times. Holland America has mostly senior citizens cruising on its ships.

-Norwegian cruise line is good, they cater to families and have mostly passengers in the range of age 35-40 and up. Its the line that you want to go on if you want to be informal for pretty much your whole cruise. They have formal nights like other cruise lines but they do not stress dressing up; they call it "dress up if you want to" night.

Carnival is the budget cruise line that generally has the lowest prices. They cater to young people, first time cruiser and families. The best of their ships are their newer ships so do pay attention to when the ship was launched is you find a good and really cheap cruise.

Royal Caribbean is also a cruise line that caters to young cruiser and families. It has the advantage of having the most on-board activities. Things like ice skating, roller blade skating, mini-golf course, a full sized basketball/tennis court, the rock climbing wall, and on the new Freedom Class ships the surfing simulator, the Flowrider. The RC ships that you should look for cruises on are the RC's Freedom Class and Voyager Class ships.

Its always better to book early and you will usually always get the best price for early bookings a year or more in advance. In addition, cruises do sell out and the "last minute" cruise is now usually within a month or so of the cruise date and definitely not a few days before it. And at that time you are likely to get the worse cabins on the ship or a suite.

My advice is to get the best cabin that you can afford. Some people will say just get an inside cabin because you will not be in it much. What's true is that if you do get an inside cabin you will not want to be in it much; its like sitting in a closet with no windows. But if you get a balcony cabin you WILL be in it more and you will enjoy your cruise more by for example, being able to go/sit outside at night, or first thing in the morning as you approach a new port stop. Cabins mid ship are considered premium/better because there is less motion there and its also easier to go to activities on ship from there, i.e. pools are generally always mid ship, dining rooms generally aft or midship; the show room and gym and always on the front of the ship. Pools, hot tubs, gyms, and buffets are always on the upper decks so a cabin up higher puts you closer to them. On the other hand, cabins mid-ship and on lower levels have less motion than higher levels.

Cruises to the Caribbean or Mexico are generally the best for fun and sun. My suggestion would be a Caribbean cruise and more specifically to the Western Caribbean cruise because they leave from several ports and offer great beaches as well as the opportunity to visit Mayan ruins.

Western Caribbean cruises typically go to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and a private cruise line island. If you go to Cozumel there is the opportunity to buy a tour to see Mayan ruins. Its considered the best place to go for scuba and snorkeling. If you go to Jamaica the two main attractions are a river raft float trip (not rapids) and the Dunn's River Falls climb. If you go to Grand Cayman you will likely want to go to 7-Mile Beach ( a short taxi/mini-van ride ($4-$5 per person each way), or do a swim with the dolphins/stingrays tour.

Cruises to the Eastern Caribbean typically go to St Thomas, St Maarten, a private cruise line island and maybe another island like Tortola or Puerto Rico. If you want to do a lot of shopping then pick a cruise with St Thomas as one of the port stops. St Maarten is also mainly a beach and shopping stop.

The Southern Caribbean cruise itineraries typically start in Puerto Rico and go either to Aruba, Curacao, and St Thomas and St Maarten, OR they go to the southern Caribbean islands like Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St Lucia and maybe St Thomas and/or St Maarten. For the most part these latter islands are very much alike but nice to see. The main difference between these two Southern Caribbean itineraries, aside from the different islands, is the Aruba cruise has two "at sea" days with no port stops, while the other has a port stop about each day.

There is one big difference between Mexico and the Caribbean and that is the beaches are much prettier in the Caribbean. And, the Caribbean gives you many more options for itineraries, and for departure ports.

If you know what you want you can book yourself right on line. If not then use a travel agent; their services are free.

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