Cruising 101

Have you ever thought of going on a cruise but aren’t sure if it’s right for you?

  1. Cruises offer a great value for your trip including food, accommodations, entertainment, and transportation between destinations!
  2. You can see multiple destinations and only have to unpack once.
  3. Cruise ships are family friendly and offer activities for.
  4. Cruise vacations can be exotic! Want to cruise to Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, or Australia? Cruises can be taken all over the world.
  5. Cruises are very easy to plan. You pick your ship, itinerary, and cabin and off you go!

Ready to start planning your cruise but are feeling overwhelmed? The first part in beginning to plan you cruise is to determine what locations you are looking to visit. With cruise destinations all over the world, your options are endless! Alaska, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico, Europe, New Zealand, Australia… there really is somewhere for everyone! How many nights do you want to be away from the real world? The amount of days and the dates you plan to travel can also affect the destinations you are looking to visit.

Found your destination spot? Good! We can move on to the next important step. You have your destination picked out, but now you need to find out what ports offer those itinerary destinations. Are you flying or driving? All of these decisions will affect your overall decision in finding the cruise for you.

Let’s talk about who you are bringing on the cruise with you. That will impact the cruise line you should look to sail on, or which ones to stay away from. Royal Caribbean is my all time favorite cruise line. They cater to families, adults, teens, couples, etc. with something to do for everyone at moderately priced rates. Disney Cruise Line obviously caters to families, but I know a lot of couples who prefer to sail this cruise line even without children. Just remember, you are paying for that Disney experience and service, so the rate will be significantly higher! Carnival is known as the “fun” ship with low prices. Just remember, you get what you pay for… Celebrity and Viking Cruise Lines tend to cater to the older crowd with less activities and amenities for children. Again, you are paying for top notch services, therefore those prices will be top notch as well.

Destination. Check. Departure Port. Check. The hardest part is over! Let’s move on to picking your stateroom. There are many types of options for staterooms, depending on the type of ship and ship company that you end up picking. Interior staterooms can be found on all ships along with Ocean view and Balcony staterooms. Newer ships on some cruise likes like Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Lines, offer Interior Promenade views, Real Time Interiors Views, Boardwalk Views, etc. These are all different price points, but the higher you are and the better the view you have, the more expensive your room will be.

Finally! You have a room on your ship and you are ready to go! But now you start to think, what am I going to do when I get to my ports of call? What activities do I have planned? Shore excursions offered on each cruise line are a great way to have activities planned every day that you get off the ship. There is such a wide range of variety of activities. You want fast paced? You got it. Want slow and steady? They cater to you as well. These shore excursions can also vary in price and can be purchased in advance before your cruise even starts. This is one less thing you have to worry about purchasing when your vacation starts and before your have even stepped foot on the ship, you know what you will be doing each day! Talk about EASY.

Like I said, there is a lot that goes into planning, which can make it feel overwhelming. Using a travel agent takes the stress out of planning all of these important pieces and allows them to help you make sure you make every important decision and don’t forget anything! Using their (or my 😉) services, doesn’t cost you a thing!

You might be thinking, why even cruise at this point? Why don’t I just pick a destination, fly to it, and stay put for the week? Cruising is such a fun way to experience all over the world. Getting on a ship, sailing with the same group of people and work staff is SO fun. It has the all-inclusive feel without it actually being an all-inclusive resort. Getting to see and experience different parts of the world in such a short period of time is a great reason and get out and explore. Remember, adventure is out there, you just have to find it!

Head over to Marvelous Mouse Travel’s Podcast to hear my wonderful voice talk about all things cruising!—> Cruising 101

Love and Travel Dust,

Molly