01 | Cashless society. All charges are charged to your room and you pay them the last night on board ship. If you want to leave it on your credit card, you can do that. |
02 | Enjoy being spoiled by the crew of the ship, from your cabin steward to the Captain! They are there to make sure you enjoy your stay. |
03 | Be as busy as you want or as laid back as you want. The cruise director will deliver a daily newsletter to your cabin that will tell you all the activities going on throughout the day. You can choose as many or as few as you like. Just want to relax, then just lay by the pool. |
04 | All meals are included, except for specialty restaurants that usually have a small surcharge at them. Coffee, tea and milk are included at no charge at meal times. You pay for all alcoholic drinks, bottled water and sodas. Most cruise line now offer a flat rate for the week for sodas and give you a bracelet to wear for them. Does not include bottled water. |
05 | Several cruise lines are offering a more flexible choice for your meals in the main dining room. NCL offers free style dining and you can go to dinner anytime you like between 5PM and 10PM. Princess offers the traditional dining choices, but also offers Personal Choice, where you can go to dinner from 5-10pm. Most cruise lines offer 24 hour room service, although a few do charge additional for room service. |
06 | Destinations: You can cruise to almost anywhere in the world. Several cruise lines even offer round the world cruises. Cruising allows you to see several destinations, but only unpack once. You sleep in the same bed for the duration of the cruise, instead of in a different hotel room every day or so. You make friends with your cabin steward and he/she takes very good care of you and your room. |
07 | Cabin Choices and definitions: Inside cabin – no window, so no natural light coming in. If you are claustrophobic, this is NOT a good choice for you. Outside cabin – these cabins have windows that range from a porthole to a picture window. They can be obstructed view, partial obstructed view or ocean view. Obstructed view has a lifeboat or something else in front of the window so that you are unable to see the ocean. Partially obstructed is where the life boat only blocks half of your window. Balcony cabins, my favorite! These cabins usually offer floor to ceiling window sliding doors. You have your own private balcony with a small table and a couple of chairs and sometimes even a chaise lounge. You can have your coffee and breakfast on the balcony and completely miss the crowds in the dining room and lido deck. On “at sea” days, I love ordering a drink, grabbing a good book and sunning myself on my deck. I will also leave the balcony door open a bit at night to get in fresh air. When people tell me they don’t spend that much time in their cabins, I tell them that is because they don’t have a balcony. Mini suites – larger cabin with balcony, have a separate seating area from bedroom and will also have a larger bath. Suites - these are the best. They are large, beautifully appointed with all the amenities one would expect. Some cruise lines offer butler or valet service with suites. On NCL, the Garden suites even have a private courtyard and pool that is shared with just the other suites. Very nice! These are great for a family reunion or a group traveling together. Cabin prices depend on type and location. Be careful when pricing to check out where the cabin is situated that you are pricing. If you get seasick, you will want to be as mid ship as possible, to avoid the most movement. Being mid ship is not only being in the middle, length wise, but also deck wise. The top and lowest decks will have the most movement. |
08 | Cruise line choices: You have many, many choices when it comes to cruising. You can choose to choose on a barefoot cruise, where you are part of the sailing cruise. This is a SAILING ship and has a much more laid back feel to it. You can choose a small cruise ship that only has about 100 passengers. These are great choices for the Baja and Alaska and the Columbia River or the Snake River. These ships are small and are able to maneuver easier to get closer to sea life and shore. The atmosphere on board is very casual. Then there are the large cruise ships that will have from 1,000 to 3,000 people on them. These are usually cheaper because they have so many people on board. These ships also have more to do on board, from ice skating rinks, to rock climbing, skeet shooting, casinos, dancing, swimming. Some lines offer PDA certification classes (usually at an additional cost). There are libraries on board that usually have board games in them also. You can dance until dawn and each bar on board will offer a different type of music for your enjoyment. See Broadway review shows and Las Vegas style shows. See the newest movies in the theater. Take your chances in the casino. Shop in the duty free shops on board. Pamper yourself at the world class spas. Get a massage, a special spa treatment, have your hair and nails done. The mega ships are like a small city with everything you need for a fun, relaxing, pampering vacation. | Start planning your next vacation and get the most from your vacation dollar by planning a cruise vacation. We can assist you with choosing the right itinerary, the right cruise line and the right cabin category for you. Give us a call and Bon Voyage! |
Cruising Your Way To Fun
