What are some good things to know before booking a cruise?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have been on more than 20 cruises on Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ships and can vouch that they are good cruise lines. I do recommend all of these but you need to know that there are some differences that you need to be aware of in making your selection.

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 (65 and up) 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. Norwegian does have the most alternative eating places, but you will have to pay a fee of $10 to $20 per person per visit to eat at some of them. All other cruise lines also have these alternatives but usually only two such places.

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, like ice skating, roller skating, mini-golf course, a 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.

There are a lot of factors that affect what cruise you should select. All cruises are priced based on double occupancy (2 people per cabin). The cruise lines give the best price for early bookings that are a year or more in advance. Cruise lines also list specials on their web sites so do look for those. The specials can many times save you a couple hundred per person over the price for the exact same cruise on a different date.

The price you pay will depend mostly on the type cabin/accommodations that you choose.

There are 4 basic types of cabins on ships;
- inside (no window),................................... least expensive
- outside (a window or porthole),
- balcony/veranda, and
- suites and penthouses.......................... most expensive.

The "FROM" prices you see will always be for an inside cabin. You can reserve a cruise by booking on line; by calling the cruise line, or through a travel agent. You will pay at booking the minimum deposit which will be between $250 and $350 per person for a 7 day cruise, depending upon the cruise line. The balance will be due approximately 65 days before the cruise departure date.

You'll also find the best price options on cruises leaving from Florida. And Port Canaveral, Ft Lauderdale and Miami have all of the best and newest ships.

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. You'll enjoy pulling into and leaving port from your private balcony and the sunsets and moonlight siting on your balcony. 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 mid-ship; the show room and gym and always on the front of the ship.

When you pay your cruise fare all taxes and port charges are included in that total fare. Regardless of the cruise line the price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service), free admissions to all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship like the pools, hot tubs, gym, rock climbing wall, ice skating, roller blade, mini-golf, water slide and other recreation activities, except spa services. The things that you will have to pay for are:

GRATUITIES: They will amount to about $10 to $11.50 per person in your cabin per day ( depending upon the cruise line); about $70 to $80 each for a 7 day cruise.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND SOFT DRINKS: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided FREE but you must pay for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
PHOTOGRAPHS: These will cost about $15 to $25 for most .

TOURS/EXCURSIONS: You are not required to book any tours and you can get off and on in the ports as much as you want.

SOUVENIRS:

CASINO:

OTHER: All ships have what they call "specialty" restaurants where there IS a gratuity/service charge of between $10 and $20. All other food on board is free; you cannot eat all of the FREE FOOD that will be available

SPA SERVICES: If you want/need to have your hair done, a massage or wrap, you will have to pay for them. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks.

INTERNET SVCS: Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (about $50 an hour).

ROOM SERVICE/MINI-BAR: You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for anything you take out of the mini-bar.

Julie T

The fees you see advertised on the web are teaser rates...usually for the smallest interior cabins and do not include the port fees.

Each ship has a different layout, even among the same cruise lines.

Interior cabins are OK since you really only shower, change and sleep in your cabin.

In choosing a cabin, avoid cabins under any of the high traffic areas such as the theater, casino, Lido deck and dining rooms. Avoid cabin directly next to elevators and stairwells. If you book on the lowest level deck in the economy cabins, avoid the back of the ship where you sometimes get some engine noise.

I second the suggestion of arriving in the departure port the day before you sail. There are so many travel issues these days that a delayed flight or traffic jam could cause you to miss your departure.

To help you budget...here are a few of the "extra costs"-
- Bar drinks - $4-12 each plus 15% gratuity
- Soda - by the can - $1.75 plus 15% gratuity
- Soda fountain card - $38.50 plus 15% gratuity
- Photos - $7.99 to $21.99 (depending on size and style)
- Shore excursions - $50-200 per person per excursion.
- Spa treatments - $50-200 per treatment (but there were many specials on this last trip as many people were skipping the spa...)
- Casino. Use cash in the casino to avoid 3% fee for using card.
- Bingo cards - $5-20...depending on day and games
- Gourmet coffee - $3.75 and up
- Internet - 75 cents per minute
- Ship to shore phone - $7.99 per minute
- Parking at the port
- Tips for luggage porters - $1 per bag

Most of the items above are optional...

You pay higher fares for high season, early summer and holidays. You can get some great deals if you can sail during Jan or Feb. Spring Break cruises are full of families with young kids.

www.vacationstogo.com has a great search engine to narrow down your options.

Michael

Before booking a cruise, you should

- Decide whether you want a ship experience or a destination experience

- Consider using a travel agent

- Don't judge a line by its sister ships

- Don't expect the expenses to end when you pay the last of your fare

- When you're budgeting, factor in the cost of shore excursions

- Look for incentives for booking early, which can defray some of the cost of your trip: The best way to get the best discounts and the cabin you like is to book as far ahead as possible, six to 12 months

-Michael

Well, first you have to know where you want to go. If you like warmth and beaches, the Caribbean, Bahamas or Bermuda, and Hawaii. If you like vast scenery and wildlife, Alaska and/or pacific northwest and Australia/New Zealand. If you like beautiful cities and gorgeous foiliage, New England and Canada. If you're into history a Mediterranian or european. Want exotic, Panama Canal or Far East. And if you just want days on end at sea, a Transatlantic.

This year and into 2010, I have seen deep discounted deals on Alaska, nearly all Caribbean, and Mediteranian cruises.

I would have to disagree with the assessment that you only shower and sleep in your cabin. It depends on the person. My hubby and I have high-stress jobs and we really enjoy being able to spend alone time in our cabin, sitting on our balcony in whatever comfortable frock we feel like wearing, having a drink or reading a book.

And I cannot even explain how relaxing it is to sit out on our balcony at night, with the wind in my hair and not another ship or strip of land in sight. It's like leaving all your troubles and stress on the pier and the negative ions just suck the tightness out of your muscles.

And you'll never sleep as good as on a cruise cause you get rocked to sleep. So don't lay down unless you're prepared to sleep...teehee!

I would not cruise the Caribbean or to Alaska without a balcony. Really, the views alone are worth it. The med cruise, not so much. I could do with an ocean view.

If you tend to get seasick (if you don't know, do you get carsick?) try to get a cabin closer to the middle of the ship. Also, while you don't want to have the cabins you can see the stairs and elevators from, you DO want to not have to trek to your room every time. Get it close to the elevators, just not right on em.

If you're a first-time cruiser, I would suggest going to a travel agent, especially one that specializes in cruises. The cruise lines pay them, not you. And they are priceless on catching mistakes and making sure you have everything you need. On our med cruise, ours put all our stuff in a zipper bag for us. Our friends who booked online were missing luggage tags and several other pieces of importent stuff. I find the deal I want online, print it out and take it to her, and mine meets the deal. Even if you do this by phone, please, just for the first time. Here's the site for mine if you need to see what I mean....these people have a physical office here in Virginia Beach but they work with peeps around the world http://www.shiptrip.com/

Also, make sure you buy trip insurance. It's usually like a couple hundred dollars for a $5000 total trip (you can include anything you pay for on the trip including airfare and excursions). If for some reason you miss a flight or get cancelled, they will get you to the next port to meet the ship. We had to stay overnight in NYC on the way home from the Med. Trip insurance paid for the hotel and our meals. They also give you tags for your bags and $$ to replace clotheing etc if your bags get lost. You get medical insurance even in foreign countries. And if someone gets sick or you can't go on your trip, you get your money back. Total piece of mind. Hubby and I are in public safety and if a hurricane hits or is headed for us here, we couldn't go, so it's a necessity for us. It has always paid for itself. It's also how you save big bucks by buying your own airfare yet knowing you're okay if you miss something.

We always go the day before unless the ship is leaving late like 10 PM in San Juan. (Most leave by 5 PM) However, if you miss the ship, you just have to get to the next port, usually by air, to meet it. If you do the airfare thru the ship, they do take care of it, but you will pay an average of $200 - $400 more pp. If you do your own, you save and you can spend part of the savings on protecting your ENTIRE trip which will also take care of catching the boat and hotel till then.

Unless you have 8 to 10 peeps total, sit at a large table in the dining room. It's fun to meet people and every night you all tell about what you each did that day. Have yet to have bad seatmates.

Talk to the staff and ask them about themselves. Most are from countries you've never met people from before and it's fascinating.

Hope all this helps! A cruise is really the most economical way to visit several places without having to unpack and repack several times. You'll love it!

Penny B

Extra fees? = supper club, alcoholic drinks, extra tips, 10$ per day per person tip and gratuity added to sign and sail card, gifts, photos, water, sodas.

The way the Decks are set up? depends on the ship

Where would you recommend the room be? between 2 decks of cabins, or on the lower decks. NOT under the bar's.

Any things else? have fun

boredatwork

I have been told that when taking a cruise it is best to arrive at your port the day before you are scheduled to leave and pay for a hotel rather than take same-day flight. If the flight is delayed or cancelled for any reason, the boat won't wait and you'll miss the cruise. (this probably excludes when the cruise line and the air line are doing a package thing - but always check the details!!)

Have fun!!!!!

please help

just go, and enjoy, stop worrying

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