My First Cruise?

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Nancy P

You have to be 21 to cruise, but you can definitely start planning at this point.

I suggest visiting one of the cruise message boards. I frequest cruisecritic.com which can answer many questions and possibly hook you up with other young cruisers.

As far as your questions:
1) Would like to go somewhere like Australia or New Zealand. -- don't know where you live. Be sure to include airfare in your $$ plans.

2) Just curious, how does a cruise work? When they dock, do they let you wander off on your own? Or do they tour around with you? -- You choose. You can do it either way. You dock at "x" time and need to be back on ship by "x" time (don't be late, they WILL leave without you)

3) Do you need to book hotels at the docking points or just get back on the ship at the end of the day? No need for hotels - your stateroom is your hotel for the cruise. Usually your stop in port is from (for example) 8am-5pm.

FYI: your food is paid for; your alcohol and soda is not.

That'll get you going for now. Have a great time!

Tivogal

you need to be 21 to book a cruise. you can travel around many places in the world if you wanted to . you can wander on your own but the cruiselines also sell tours in a city. You dont' book hotels at the "ports" you get back on the ship

talk to a travel agent they will be able to answer your questions.
you might think about a short cruise up to 3 days to see if you like that type of travel
cruiseclues.com

FLmom3

You will absolutely LOVE cruising! 1st of all, all your meals and activities aboard the ship are usually included. Any extra activities while at the various ports are not included, but you can sign up for them right on the ship. There are so many different things for everyone to do! But you are not required to sign up for anything! You can just wander around on your own and do your own tour, or you can even just stay on the ship if you want. I would suggest going on a guided tour though- they really are informative and the tour guides are experienced and know where to take you. You get an itinerary under your door each day that tells you all the different things going on about the ship each day, as well as about the ports of call and what time you will be docking and what time you must be back on board. I would just start thinking about exactly where you want to go, how long you would like to go for, and what cruiseline you would like to use. Do a lot of research. We have always used Expedia.com to book our cruises and have never been disappointed. Good luck! Cruises are so much fun!

Dusie

First you need to be 21 on most cruiselines to book a cruise. Second, You reboard the ship in the evening and there is no need for a hotel room in your port. Next, the cost is per person but they are conditional on 2 people being in each cabin. There are a few lines that will give you a small discount but unless you get a travel buddy you will be paying close to the price of the whole cabin. Lastly, you can just wander around or do a ship sponsered excursion, or you can arrange your own. Check out cruisecritic.com for more info.

copestir

You embark at a port. when you go to the destinations you can either get a tour or rent a cab or something. when I went ot Rome I stayed in a hotel for three days prior to the embarkation and took a bus arrange by the cruise company to get there. I did some cruise tours and some on my own. I love the tours the best!

wnc007

It depends on what type of cruise, but all of them offer tours at their ports of call. You do not have to go on any, and can just get off the ship-or not. You use your ship as your hotel in every port. Now, if you are doing a freighter cruise, like on a container ship where they take a few passengers, but, I wouldn;t advise that for your first cruise. Once you go to the cruise line web site, you can see all their itineraries and the tours they offer.

Joe P

Cruising is a great way to see the world. I have been on 14 cruises and have loved everyone of them. Answers to your questions...
1. when the ship docks you can go on your own or you can join a cruise excursion for a fee. The fee varies depending on the excursion.
2. you do not book hotels. You go back to the ship at the end of the day. That's the beauty of cruising -- unpack once and let the ship take you to the different destinations.

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