CHOOSING A CRUISE
so you not only have to choose a cruise line, but a ship within that line, and then an itinerary.
this is an extension of the cruise lines/ships page , we told you a little about cruise lines, now a little about ships and stops and the rest of the important stuff to consider.
–what is important to you–
cruise line brand– we went over the basics on the cruise lines page, so decide what style, age range, onboard activity level etc.
sticking with one brand to build loyalty points/status– each cruise line has a loyalty program, so far i have not seen one worth staying loyal to one line for, some of the more useful benefits you can get to are priority boarding (shorter lines- most cruise lines offer that to some level after 1 or 2 cruises) some free internet, each line has a list of what they offer, most of it is fluff.
small ship or big ship- smaller ships usually carry 2-3,000 people, newer ones 3- 4,500 and some of the newest up to 6,000 ish. what does that mean for you, usually a smaller ship with less people can feel a little less crowded, but at the same time a bigger ship has more room to spread people out, smaller ships will be limited on onboard activities, you may find a rock climbing wall or mini golf and swimming pools– on the big ships you will find activities like Flowrider (surf simulator) skydiving simulators, ziplines, carousel, big water slides, ice skating, ropes courses, bumper cars,etc
new ship or older ship-if you want a ship with newer beds, carpet and fresher feel one thing to look for is when a ship was “last refurbished” usually when they are refurbished they will get new things added to the ship, like water slides, rock climbing walls, etc. that they did not have from when they were first built.
a lot of things fall under small vs big, most newer ships are big, one other advantage to newer and bigger is stabilization technology (afraid you will get sea sick, go for new and big!) a good comparison–we took our kids on Princess Golden Princess in 2014 (built 2001, 951 ft long, 2600 passenger) then 2 weeks later my wife and i took our trip on Royal Caribbean Freedom of The Seas (built 2006, 1,112 ft long, 4,500 passenger) on both trips we encountered mild rolls at sea, maybe 8 ft, on the princess you could see water moving back and forth in the pool, standing on the front of the ship it was always moving up and down (as you would expect) on the Freedom of The Seas in similar water we were standing on the front of the ship watching the handrail against the horizon and it did not move at all (i was really surprised) there were times that the ship was moving some but overall it was a much smoother trip, if you get seasick easy a newer bigger ship could make your trip.
younger, middle age or older crowd-if you want younger crowd-Royal Caribbean, Norwegian & Carnival are good, you also get a good mix on Princess but a calmer crowd, Holland and Cunard are geared more towards more mature people(old).
super relaxed, casual, classy or really classy– (most 7 day cruises have 2 formal nights, 4 day cruises have 1, its a chance to dress up) Carnival is about as relaxed as it comes, on formal nights some people will wear golf shirts and slacks.
Norwegian does not have the traditional formal nights, they do have some optional dress up nights depending on the cruise.
Royal Caribbean and Princess, most will wear suits on formal nights, you see a few more tuxes on Princess, Celebrity will be nicer but if you are wanting to hang with the fancy crowd go for Cunard.
lots of activities on the ship or more of a classic cruise– kind of went over this before, some ships will have a lot of activities to keep you busy those days at sea, some don’t and it almost forces you to relax a little (that can be good sometimes)
what port it leaves from– choosing the right port can save you a few buck or just be a little easier, when you look at a base price for a cruise you will find that tax and port fees can vary by port you leave from (and your stops) on a 7 day cruise you may find one departure location you will pay $80-90 and another $150.
the other thing to look at is getting from the airport to the terminal, in Ft Lauderdale you can see the port from the airport, in Port Canaveral, Florida you fly into Orlando and need to rent car/ taxi/ shuttle about an hour to the port, same in Galveston, Texas its a 45min to hour from Houston.(more info on that under TRANSPORTATION)
what kind of weather (swimming, sightseeing, or parka)– if you plan on swimming/snorkeling, cruises from Ensenada and north are not ideal. going from California you will need to go at least down to Cabo San Lucas
cruises from Texas and Florida as long as they are headed to the Caribbean are good pretty much year round, Bahamas and Keys are a little cooler in the winter.
if you just want to see places, there are good cruises that go north- Northern California, Canada and New England, etc.
Alaska, i have never heard of anyone that did not like an Alaska cruise, it will be a while before you see me there though, i prefer the sunshine and warm water in the Caribbean.
inside cabin, window or balcony– inside cabins are the least expensive, they start off with the “guaranteed” category which means they will assign a room number, that is fine unless you are trying to get adjoining cabins or close to friends, in that case you would bump up to the next inside “category”.
want a window? sometimes it can be just a few dollars upgrade other times it could be a hundred or so, worth if for a few bucks, probably not for a hundred.
Balconys are fun, you can sit out there and watch as you pull into port, or just enjoy the ocean view anytime you want, its a great place to let swimsuits or snorkel gear dry. but cost an average of 50-100% more than an inside.
but when it comes down to it if cost is the issue i would rather go on 2 cruises in inside rooms than one on a balcony, in an inside room you still have access to all the same great views all the time, it may just be a 5 min walk to the top or side of the ship just with out the privacy or convenience.
how many stops it makes- I’m not even going to talk about the 3 day, its not worth your time unless you live by the port, and then they are usually the booze cruise over the weekend.
most 4 day cruises will have 2 stops and one day at sea, you can find 5 and 6 day but 4 and 7 are the most common, 7 day cruises will usually have 3 days at sea and 3 stops, you can find some that make 4 stops and have 2 days at sea, so if you want to see more places look for ones with 4 stops, if you are not as interested in stops the days at sea can be more relaxing than staying on the ship in port (except there are less people on the ship the days in port). you can also find some 8 and 9 day cruises, usually they will add one or 2 more stops.
these are the more common cruises, if you have lots of time you can get cruises about any length you want up to about 180 days.
what ports you visit- have a specific place you want to go or see? thats a good start.
if you just want to see some other places in the world cruising is great for that. one thing to keep in mind looking at places ships stop you will see some places like
Labadee, Hati or Coco Cay Bahamas (Royal Caribbean & Celebrity)
Castaway Cay, Bahamas (Disney)
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Norwegian)
Princess Cays, Bahamas (Princess)
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Carnival & Holland America)
these places are private Island/Beaches owned by the cruise lines, so if you are wanting to put a check mark on different countries you visited none of these will do that for you, if you are thinking you will see some locals or sights in Labadee (it is in Hati) you wont, it is basically a large beach area fenced off from the rest of the island. these places are good if you are just looking for a nice beach stop, one advantage is in these stops they will bring food off the ship and have lunch available (free) and you will usually be the only ship there so not too crowded, but if you want too see sights, good snorkeling etc. look to see what other options are available with other ships or lines or even a different date.
most ships will usually do 2 different routes alternating weeks, so if you found a ship you love but don’t love the route, see what they offer the alternate week.
the ports ships go to are generally quite safe, a few years ago there were some ports in Mexico that they did not go to for a while, after they got their act together the cruise ships returned.
do you want more stops or days at sea – kind of covered in the section above, if you want more days at sea to force yourself to relax or just like cruising the open water there are lots of options depending on how long and far you want to go, if you want to have a stop every day and basically have a floating hotel you can do that too.
what days of the week it leaves on-most 4 day cruises will leave Monday and return Friday, most 7 day will either leave Sunday and return Sunday or Saturday to Saturday. the less common 8 or 9 are usually Sat or Sunday to Sunday or Mon.
one thing to watch if you are flying ticket prices can be different on different days of the week
another thing, if you are trying to keep activities to a minimum on Sunday, some ships that leave on Saturday will have a day at sea Sunday giving you a chance to keep it mellow, but some will make their first stop on Sunday (especially going out of Florida). leaving on a Sunday can give you a chance to go to church before you get on (for us church goers)
how many days– depends on how much time you have and how much is in your budget, as far as getting off work a 4 or 5 day cruise will take up the whole work week, if you are flying (we are usually flying from Vegas to Florida) and spend about a day traveling you want to get the most out of your travel time, go for 7 ,I’m not sure if i would fly across the country to go on a 4 day cruise, but we have driven to Las Angeles for several.
when you need to go- do you have flexibility in when you go?, if you do you can shop around a little more and find some better deals, (I have seen alot of good deals in Oct & Nov) if you have a set date or date range you have to stay within it will be a little trickier deal wise, spring break, summer (when school is out) or holidays are the most expensive times to go.
hurricane season is supose to be June through November, we have gon on several in late Oct to early Nov and been good.
so, there is a bunch of stuff to chew on, its hard to go really wrong on a cruise but spending a little more time and knowing what to look for could give you more for your money, if you need help getting the perfect fit let me know