Posts Tagged ‘Cruise Line’

So you’ve heard how great cruise vacations are, and now you’ve decided to take to the high seas for a fortnight of luxury and pampering. But there’s a lot to think about. So before you select a cruise line, a cruise ship or even get in touch with a travel agent, there are certain issues that are vital to consider.

1) Who is going on the cruise?

Although this question should be easy to answer, it can have a bearing on the type of cruise line and ship that you ultimately choose.

If you and your partner want to take a relaxing cruise, there are many ships that are aimed at couples. In fact some cruise ships actively discourage or even ban people from taking children onboard.

If you will be cruising as a couple, it’s also important to consider the dining situation. On ships with assigned seating, you will have to specify the size of table that you want. However, on many ships, tables for two are in short supply, so if this is an important issue, this may influence your choice of cruise line and ship. Just make sure that you make this clear to your travel agent or the cruise line when booking.

On the other hand, if you want to take your children or travel with the rest of your extended family, there are certain cruise lines and ships within cruise lines that are specifically tailored with family vacations in mind.

2) How much have you got to spend?

It’s possible to find a cruise vacation to suit almost any budget. So before you go any further it’s important to work out how much you’re willing to spend on your holiday.

But as a general rule, you’ll need to set aside at least $150 per person per day to cover the cost of your cruise. However, bigger cabins in more luxurious ships can cost many times this figure.

However, it is possible to get more for your money if you;

a) Book early: Most cruise lines are willing to give generous discounts if you book your cruise 6-12 months in advance.

b) Book late: Likewise, if you book within 2 months of setting sail, most cruise lines will give you hefty discounts to fill the remaining cabins.

3) How long have you got?

The number of days that you want your vacation to last will determine the type and location of cruises that are available to you.

If you only have a few days, the main option is a one port cruise. This means that the ship leaves port sails around the sea/ocean for two or three days and then returns to the same port. The ship doesn’t call at any other ports, but it does give you a few days at sea. This is a good way to get the feel for a certain cruise ship, or even cruising in general.

If you have a week to spare, this gives you more choices. If you live in the US, this gives you the choice of Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, Mexico or even a Caribbean cruise. If you live in Europe this will give you access to the mediterranean, north africa, or even a nordic cruise.

Alternatively, if you want to increase the number of locations available, you could fly to and from the start/finish location of your cruise or take a one way cruise either flying to the start location or flying home after disembarkation.

If you have two weeks or longer, you can cruise almost any part of the world.

4) What time of the year?

The time of year that you take your cruise will have a major affect on two issues;

a) The Price: As with all forms of travel, your holiday will cost more during the peak season. In contrast, most cruises are cheaper in the spring or fall.

Traditionally, the winter was considered the high season for Caribbean destinations, but due to the weight of supply and demand (people who have to take their vacation during the summer) the summertime costs are almost on a par with the cost of a winter Caribbean cruise.

b) The Locations Available: The time of year that you take your cruise will also determine the locations that are available. Although this won’t make much difference to the more mainstream locations such as the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, certain places have a distinct cruise season.

If you want to go to Alaska or northern Europe, the main cruise season lasts from May till September.

For Antartica, the season is even shorter, running from November to February.

Although the tropical regions are in season all year, there is a great variation in the amount of rainfall throughout the year. Locations such as the Caribbean will have less rain during the summer months and more rain during the winter months.

And finally, although not a restriction as such, some people prefer to avoid places that may be affected by the hurricane season. If a cruise ship encounters a storm it will alter its route to avoid it, which means you may miss certain places that you wanted to visit.

5) What part of the world do you want to visit?

You can cruise almost anywhere in the world, even landlocked countries are often available to explore through river cruises. So it’s no surprise that this is one of the hardest decisions for cruise newcomers to make.

The amount of days that you have for your vacation will narrow your options, but beyond that, consider other issues, such as;

If you want to or have to take your vacation at a certain time of the year, which locations are available?

If you particularly want to use a certain cruise line, which locations do their ships visit?

What type of weather and climate do you prefer?

Are there any particular landmarks that you want to visit?

Are there any activities or adventures that you want to experience?

Now all you have to do it to get in touch with your travel agent.

Kristen Olsen
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/planning-your-first-cruise-things-to-consider-part-1-129768.html

Technorati Tags: 12 Months, Bearing, Budget, couples, Cruise Line, Cruise Lines, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, cruise vacation, Cruise Vacations, Extended Family, Family Vacations, Fortnight, Generous Discounts, High Seas, Lot, Luxurious Ships, Money, Partner, Travel Agent

Which has the best options for families and the coolest on board activities? Whats the name of the boat and cruise line, thanks

Celebrity

Technorati Tags: Best Cruise, Boat Cruise, Celebrity, Cruise Line, Cruise Ship, cruise vacation, Line Thanks, Options

what does it cost and can i use my marrage licese in ohio

You would need to call your specific cruise line to get the correct info. Sites below may be of help.

Technorati Tags: Cruise Bahamas, Cruise Info, Cruise Line, cruise vacation, Vacation Bahamas

I am planning a cruise vacation for December. Does anyone know anything about Norwegian Cruise Lines? I’ve been on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but not Norwegian. The cruise would be on the Norwegian Dream that will go out of Houston, Texas. Is this a nice ship? Do they have good shows? How is the food? What are the cabins like? Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

I have been on many Norwegian ships, including twice on the Dream; once before it was stretched and once after. Norwegian was at one time my favorite cruise line until the line was bought by Star Cruises and they instituted the "Freestyle Cruising".

Now I do not recommend Norwegian because of their "freestyle" cruising. It means that you do not have to specify a dining option; don’t have a table and waiter assigned to you. It means you can go to dinner in the main dining room any time of the evening.

But it also means that you may be standing in line awaiting a table on some days (like we had to a couple times); not what you want on a cruise. Since you go when you want, you rarely get the same waiter and so never really get to know your waiter and he/she never learns what you prefer. The option to this being pushed on NCL is their optional dining which you must pay to use. The dining options can cost $10 to $20 a person for dinner each night; not what you want after paying for a cruise. Then optional restaurants are nice, including French, Sushi, Tex-Mex, Italian, steak house restaurants. But who wants to go pay to eat on a cruise ship where all the meals are supposed to be included. We always skipped the optional restaurants and just got to the main dining early.

The ship was a good one, not as new and modern as some of the newer NCL, Princess and RC ships. It is not one of the ships that has a majority balcony and suites cabins. But it has nice features. I don’t remember the shows and they change those periodically anyway.

Since Star took over NCL the line has an Asian flavor; Star is an Oriental company. Some of the performers and musicians were Asian and they had Karioke every evening. Not my cup of tea. You will enjoy, but it will be diferent from what you had on Carnival and RC.

Technorati Tags: Balcony, Carnival, Couple Times, Cruise Line, Cruise Ship, cruise vacation, Houston Texas, Main Dining Room, Ncl, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Ships, Princess, Quot, Royal Caribbean, Star Cruises, Steak House, Sushi, Tex Mex, Waiter

We are looking to go on a vacation in the first week of August. What do you guys suggest, cruise to Bermuda on NCL, which I heard was a really bad cruise line and I would like to hear some opinions, or stay in the Internation Resort and Spa in Orlando and go to Seaworld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens, and Universal.

oh man oh man universal i go there every year and i live in d.c its my favorite place in the world and a little tip if you can stay on resort and you will get a express pass and skip all the lines and every ride is just great from jaws to men in black and jurrassic park to spiderman (jp and spiderman are in islands of adventure)

Technorati Tags: Amusement Parks, Busch Gardens, Cruise Bermuda, Cruise Line, Cruise To Bermuda, Favorite Place, Islands Of Adventure, Jaws, Jp, Jurrassic Park, Men In Black, Ncl, Resort And Spa, Resort Orlando, Resort Spa, Seaworld, Spiderman, universal, Vacation Cruise