When you’re planning a vacation, there are so many choices it can be overwhelming to pick the best cruise. A vacation is a big investment of time and money. There are so many choices and it’s important you find the right cruise for you. We’re here to share some great cruise planning tips.
Research shows that the average person who plans their own trip spends over 30 hours researching it. That’s almost a whole work week and many people spend more time than that! As travel agents, we devote ourselves to knowing which cruise will be the best cruise for each client, while also saving them time and money.
How can you avoid wasting time and money on your cruise planning, and get to relaxing sooner? Here are some amazing cruise planning tips.
There are 18 cruise lines and almost 800 cruises in Alaska alone – that’s a lot to research. Save yourself time by working with an expert to pick your cruise..
Tip 1: Before You Choose a Cruise, Think!
The most important cruise planning tip is to think before you book! Don’t jump at the first low price or pretty social media post. Ask yourself, what are you looking to get from your cruise. Are you looking for the best cruise line for your family? Or perhaps a romantic trip for two with no kids? Is there a destination you have in mind?
The most important question to ask yourself is what is your budget? Since the pandemic, many travelers have decided to upgrade their travel and splurge on something they might not have before. But it’s about what works for you! We often see people jump at a low advertised price without realizing they will end up paying more in the end than if they had booked a higher priced cruise that included more. We often prepare spreadsheets for our clients so they can compare apples-to-apples.
If you are using a travel advisor, and you should, tell them clearly what you want so they can help you plan your perfect trip.
Questions to answer for planning your cruise:
- Who is traveling? There are cruise lines that specialize in kids and others that don’t allow children. Will it be multi-generational? Cruising solo is popular, is that you?
- Are you restricted to certain dates? If so, you might want to engage a travel agent (also known as a travel advisor), at no cost to you, who can quickly scan your date range and tell you what is available.
- Do you have certain destinations in mind or do you just want to cruise? Alaska is extremely popular and there is much to know to maximize your experience.
- Do you have a budget? See Tip 2.
- When you stay in a hotel do you stay at a Four Seasons, a Motel 6, or something in between? Cruiselines have the same types of differences in luxury and quality. As part of your research, make sure you know you are getting the cruise you want. The more you tell your travel advisor, the better they can match you to the right cruise.
- Make a list of what you will want, such as:
- Wi-fi
- Specialty dining
- Drinks (many lines charge extra for soft drinks as well as wine, alcohol, etc.)
- Gratuities. While technically optional, you should pay them. They can be as high as $20 per person per day as only a few crusielines include them in the price.
- Spa services
- Shore excursions
- Room service. Many lines charge extra for this.
Tip 2: Consider Value Over Price For A Cruise
All too often, travelers get drawn in by a low advertised price, only to find out at the end of the cruise they owe money for all sorts of things. Watch for items like crew gratuities, wi-fi, soft drinks, even coffees and dining! These costs all add up, and this doesn’t even include shore excursions. This doesn’t mean cruising isn’t a good value–it is!
Speaking of the value of cruising, we often see people who have sticker shock over the price of a cruise. Then they compare a comparable land vacation and realize the value of a cruise.
If you’re planning a cruise, that more expensive looking choice may be a better value. Look behind the curtain of a “good deal” and make an informed decision. We’ve seen far too many people book a “cheap” cruise, then end up spending more money on all the extras, than if they had booked a “more expensive” cruise that included more. Don’t let that happen to you.
We prepare spreadsheets for our clients who are choosing between different cruises so they can see the actual cost and value of each.
Several cruise lines engage in more honest pricing. They will include beverages, Wi-Fi, port fees, crew gratuities, specialty restaurants, and sometimes even shore excursions. Booking a cruise with one of them can result in a much better and more relaxing experience.
Virgin Voyages includes more with Fair and Flexible pricing
Tip 3: How to Choose a Cruise to Get the Best Price?
This is one of our best cruise planning tips. While last minute deals still exist, nowadays the cruise lines often make the best offers to those who book early. We always suggest booking as early as you can with a refundable deposit. With a refundable deposit, it’s easier to get the price reduced if the price drops later. Or, worst case, cancel the booking and start a new one.
Tip 4: Booking The Cruise
Once you’ve decided what cruise you want to take and when you want to take it, now it’s time to book it. That’s not where the stress ends though.
When COVID hit in 2020, we had quite a few clients booked on cruises. Some of these cruises cost tens of thousands of dollars! Worse, they had not purchased travel insurance. After lots of work and hours on hold, we were able to get all of our clients a refund. People who had booked cruises themselves, had to fight for refunds on their own.
Good travel agents fight for their clients in those situations. Car crashes, job loss, and personal or family illness can happen to anyone. By working with us, we can make it easier for you to recover your money if something goes wrong with your trip. And of course it is why we always recommend purchasing trip protection.
Many people are not aware that it doesn’t cost you anything extra to book with a travel agent. There are exceptions to that, as some travel agents do charge an upfront planning fee, but many, like us, do not. In addition, the travel agent will have your back if things don’t go right.
Working with a travel advisor can be the best way to choose a cruise.
Tip 5: Best Cruises for Families
We think a cruise is the perfect way for a group of friends and family to travel together. We’ve done it many times. Everyone gets to the same place at the same time. On board, you can spend as much, or as little, time together as you wish.
It’s great for multi-generational travel as the kids can have fun all day in the children’s program while Mom and Dad visit the spa and Grandma and the aunties play pickleball or take a painting class. Or, all the adults can just sip margaritas by the pool. Some groups only see each other at dinner because they are so busy with their own activities. And the children’s programs are so much fun it can be hard to get the kids to leave at the end of the day.
The ship’s photographers will be happy to take as many pictures of your group as want with no sitting fees. You only pay for the pictures you want. No obligation!
Finally, if your group is large enough, there may be extra perks and discounts available. A good travel agent can not only help you choose a cruise but can save you many headaches by keeping track of what all the aunts and uncles and nephews and nieces want.
Popular cruises for families are the Royal Caribbean (RCCL) and the Disney Cruise Line (of course). But don’t overlook cruises like Celebrity and Princess who have excellent children and teen programs. Princess especially in great for Alaska and we consider the Princess Plus program to be one of the best values in cruising.
Tip 6: Cabin Selection on a Cruise
Some people care passionately about their cabin location, others not so much. If you don’t care, you can often choose to book a “guarantee” cabin at a slightly lower price. This means they guarantee you a cabin in that category such as a balcony or suite, but you won’t know which exact one it is until just before you board.
When choosing a cabin, here are some things to think about:
- Who will share what kinds of cabins? If the kids are teens, you can book a balcony cabin for the parents and an inside cabin, across the hall, for the kids.
- Do you need the cabins to be close together? Do you need the cabins to have a connecting door?
- Does the cruise ship sail up a coastline? (We’re looking at you, Alaska) If it does, then one side of the ship is going to have far better cabin views than others.
Tip 7: Best Cruises for Adults
Cruise planning tips for sailing without children. Two cruise lines do not allow children at all: Virgin Voyages and Viking Ocean.
Other cruise lines allow children but you will find fewer, depending on the season and itinerary. These include Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea, and Oceania. We like Azamara for its extended stays at many ports.
Newcomer Virgin Voyages is winning every award in sight and is winning over veteran cruisers from other lines. Check out our posts about sailing on Virgin.
We also are big fans of Cunard, which offers a sophisticated experience. You can actually sail between New York and England, often for less than the price of flying business class. Seven nights of great food, entertainment and accomodation–and no jet lag!
Tip 8: Upgrades
In the not-too-distant-past, veteran cruisers would sometimes experience the “Upgrade Fairy,” meaning the cruise line gave them a free upgrade. Nowadays, that is incredibly rare. More and more cruise lines have programs in which you make blind bids on upgrades should they become available. Some examples are Princess Upgrades, Royal Caribbean’s Royal Up, Virgin’s Level Up, and Celebrity’s Move Up.
We hope these cruise planning tips help you choose your cruise. If you need suggestions for getting the price on airfare, check out this post.
Check out this recent New York Times article describing why so many people of all ages are taking their first cruise.
If Athens is on your itinerary, be sure to read our article about one of the best museums in the world, the Acropolis Museum.
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