I want to go on a cruise. Tell me everything?

Question

The best place to go in july?
Best cruise line and boat?
How to get the best deals?
Tips & tricks & fun?

Answer 1

A few tips: (1) Carnival is a great cruise line for families, and Royal Caribbean and Holland America are great cruise lines for adults. (2) You'll definitely get the best deals by getting a package that includes air fare, and the best way to do that is to contact a travel agent -- they ALWAYS get the best deals. (3) Your food on a cruise ship is included in the price, but your drinks are not. Most cruise lines will allow you to bring your own non-alcoholic drinks on the boat, but I can't think of any cruise line that will allow you to bring alcohol on the boat. (4) Don't forget that you have to tip certain folks on the boat like housekeeping, the wait staff, bartenders, etc. Most cruise lines let you pay the tips in one lump sum at the beginning or at the end of your cruise, and some cruise lines (like Norwegian) will bill you a certain amount automatically for tips -- I think it's $10.00 per traveler per day. You don't want to stiff them because that's where they make most of their money. (5) Excursions get expensive, so if you're the adventurous type you may want to consider renting a car at ports of call, depending on where you take your cruise -- we're doing 7 days in the Hawaiian islands next month and we're renting cars at all the ports of call. (6) If you're not so adventurous, or if you're traveling to foreign ports, excursions may be the best way to go. Be sure to book early because they fill up fast. (7) If you're going to cruise in July, you may want to consider an Alaska cruise because it really is beautiful. Hawaii and the Caribbean would probably be a little warm, ditto that for the Mediterranean. (8) Many of the cruise lines have a dress code for certain meals and certain restaurants, so be sure that everyone in your party brings at least one pair of slacks and shirt and tie for men/dress for women for the really upscale restaurants. Norwegian offers free-style dining with no dress code, but I think they're the only cruise line that does that. (9) If you want to do anything special on the boat like special meals at the upscale restaurants or massage/spa treatment, be sure to book that as soon as you get on the boat because those slots book up very quickly. (10) If you'll be stopping at any port outside the U.S. on your cruise, be sure to take your passports. Birth certificates and picture IDs don't cut it anymore.

Answer 2

The best places to go depend on what you like. the number #1 that people choose is Bahamas and Caribbean, # 2 being Europe and Mediterranean, #3 is actually Alaska. Other top places people usually cruise to are Bermuda, and Mexican Riviera. Other not so popular destinations, but ones that are still visited are S.America, Pacific Islands (incl. Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia), Asia and Africa....it all depends on what you enjoy

The best cruise line, in my opinion is Carnival Cruise. They are rated #1 right now

For the best deals, you can visit my travel wite www.MyTravelTopia.com, you can choose from different cruise lines, destinations, dates and prices.

Tips and tricks I guess would be mostly everything is compensated on your cruise except alcoholic beverages and tips. Also if you are going to shop or gamble, these are obviously not included in your price. There are usually shows, sports, beach time, swimming, eating, chruches, museums, organized excursions, tourist attractions and site seeing. It depends on the cruise line and what cruise you are going on. www.MyTravelTopia.com will tell you all that is included.

Tips should be about $2 for busboys per person, per day, cabin stewart should get $3-$4 per person per day, waiters and waitresses should get $3-$4 per person per day, and bartenders 15% of beverage tab.

The statistics of cruise travelers are 46% male and 54% female, 27% single and 73% married, ages 25-39 take up 27% of the people and ages 40-59 take up 45%, leaving 60 and older at 28%.

I hope this helps, if you need furhter assistance or have any other questions, please email me at [e-mail], I will be more than happy to assist, I am certified in cruises for my travel business. Good luck.

Answer 3

Be careful of the Caribbean in July. Hurricane season and most cruises will not offer a refund. They will however re-chart to avoid heading into the storm. If you want warmth go to the Caribbean but remember in the summer you fight the humidity. If you want beauty do the Alaskan.
I feel Carnival gives the best deals but Royal Caribbean ships have better cabins. If you are going for 7 days or more spend the extra money and get a cabin with a window. Trust me even though you don't think you spend much time in your cabin you do get cabin fever in ruff water. Budget yourself on your expenses on board. No money changes hands it all goes on a card you receive that will be attached to a credit card you give them. Drinks, water, shore excursions and shopping in the gift shops on board are expensive and when you get your itemized bill it can be shocking. do your shopping in the ports and you can make better deals. I take a case of water with me when I sail and sometimes I will take my own alcohol but remember that there is a limit on what or how much you can carry aboard. I also take an extension cord because there is only one outlet in the cabins and when it comes to blowing your hair dry and curling it or charging your cell or camera batteries it can be a pain. Have fun and trust me a cruise is so wonderful. If I was young again I would want to work for one of the cruise lines.

Answer 4

well ive been on 5 cruises...
i LOVE The caribbean. Grand Cayman is my absolute favorite place to be. best water sports, best beach
the best cruise line in my opinion is Royal Caribbean.
best deals-try kayak.com they have the cheapest prices i have seen and plan to use that for my next cruise in august!!

tips, tricks and fun...lol lets see..

if your under 18 there's usually a back door to get into the 18+ clubs, you just have to look (it was on the 5th floor deck on royal caribbean)

you'll meet a ton of friends since youre w/ the same people for a week straight and there are so many places to hang out and explore, but the best spot by far is the very front of the ship at night..they increase the speed at night so its windier but gorgeous.

take advantage of the awesome deals on liquor from the ship's gift stores if you like to drink. cruises are when i stock up on it haha.

dont bother going in the ships pool, unless you like pools that are practically filled to capacity . if you want to lay out and tan get out there and get a chair EARLY (before 11) b/c they fill up fast.....its pretty much the only thing to do on days at sea

eat in the main dining room every night, they have the BEST food, and if you cant decide between 2 meals ORDER BOTH (its free and therye more than happy to give them to you!) i also order 2 deserts! youll probably want to eat there every night anwyay cause they usually assign you a table w/ other people and you become friends!!

if you get seasick easily (or think you might) take dramamine a half hour before dinner which is when the water seems to get choppier. Also, book a room as close to the front of the ship as possible for minimal swaying at night. however, i find it entertaining to watch people walking into the walls......

if you go on carnival, you must try the lemonade available 24/7 from the juice fountain thing. its the best lemonade i've had to this day. and i think its royal caribbean has the free soft serve ice cream machine.

and the BEST advice i can give to you- make sure you get off the ship and explore every port, and if any of the excursions look exciting to you (they'll mail you a booklet once you book your cruise) sign up early, they go fast (early as in before the ship departs lol) one of my biggest regrets is not getting off the boat at some of the ports cause the kids i met thought it would be 'cool' to hang out on the boat. some of these places you'll never get the chance to go again..

and HAVE FUN! it will be hard not to.. :)

Answer 5

I really enjoyed our Carnival cruise. I think it was the Ecstasy. I was overwhelmed on board. You can just walk around with drinks! When you board you have to sign up for a ship's card. That way whenever you get a drink or go to the gift shop or shore excursions or anything really, it gets billed to the card and that has to be paid off with a real credit card at the end of the cruise. ($800 for two of us for a week!) The food is free anytime of day or night, just walk up to any food place and ask for anything from a slice of pizza to a sandwich to shrimp or anything. The buffets and gala dinners are so amazing. If you don't do a shore excursion (but they're awesome!) then there's stuff like shows like comedy or music, there's danceclubs there for all ages, slots, the pool with bar service (there's bar service everywhere), and even a nudie deck if you're so inclined.

They're very informative once you're on the boat, the staff is incredibly attentive. Do it!

Answer 6

Disney ships (4 of them) are spotless. The experience is truly comfortable. I loved being rocked to sleep in the course of a touch not common seas decrease back in early March. The foodstuff is sturdy. There are 3 eating places in which you'll be able to have an assigned seat. at first i concept i does unlike this, notwithstanding it became out to be tremendous, we are nevertheless in contact with the folk we met. yet you are able to pass the eating places and hit the buffets each and every time. The rooms are large with chop up bathrooms. each and each has a sink, one has a bathroom + sink, the different is a bath + sink. there's a stay coach each evening and extremely some Disney video clips taking section in at a stunning theater all day. The Disney workers on the deliver cope with you with appreciate and flow out of their thanks to help.

Answer 7

Whatever ship you are on, sign up for outings as soon as you can because they fill up. The food and drinks in your room are NOT free, they charge you an arm and leg for them! No matter where you go you will have a blast and the food is out of this world! Enjoy!!!

Answer 8

OK... Where to start... First off I have been on 6 (my 7th will be October of this year) cruises. I can not give you a fair idea of where you should travel because I like to go to someplace warm when I am on vacation. I love the Carribian and all the islands down there. I really love Bermuda too. Islands I did not enjoy were Naseau and Granada. Personally I would never take a cruise to Alaska because I do not want to have to put my winter jacket over my bathing suit every time the sun passes behind a glasier. So, your destination needs to be decided by what you and your family enjoy doing. I have always cruised with Norwegian Cruise Lines. They have always done good by us... if there was a problem with the cabin or anything at all they took care of it with out any problems. All of their ships are beautiful, however they still have a few small ships in their fleet. If you have never been on a cruise this will not matter to you as the smallest ships are still huge. You can check them out at www.ncl.com. Traveling in July is going to be much more expensive than if you were to travel in the fall (what would be considered hurricane season, I have come back through 2 hurricanes and its really not that bad being on the ships... the worst was Hurricane Bonnie). The closer it is the the sailing date the better the price will be. So if you do not have a spacific date in mind (Most cruises leave on a Sunday) you still have time to book a cruise durring that month and wait for better prices. Keep in mind that the prices you see online do not include taxes, port fees, and insurance. ALWAYS buy the insurance... if something happens to you or someone you are traveling with you will be able to put the money you have already paid out toward a cruise at a later date. All of these fees can double the price of cruising. For example my cruse should be $860.00 for 2 people ($430.00 each) however with all of the above fees I paid about $1600.00 Its worth it to keep that in mind. You will need a deposit... mine was $500.00 and the rest is usually due about 30 days before the sailing date. As far as the suites go. A balcony is worth the extra money... a window is not. The windows do not always open and sometimes you get a window that is on a deck where people can walk by and see into your room. Also when you book you are going to want a room mid ship because being in the middle means that you will feel the rocking of the boat less. Ask NOT to be put by the flusher. If some fool up the line flushes something that should not be flushed and you are next to the flusher when it backs up its your room that is going to smell. Most of the time this does not happen... but we did have that problem once before. That ship has been decomissioned (it was the Majesty) so you will not have to worry about it. Make sure that you have all of your documentation in order before you book your cruise. Not having the proper documentation is not an excuse to move your cruise date. Also, make sure that you bring something for when you get off at the ports to carry your ids. If you use Norwegian they will give you a key card that you will have to have (each person debarking from the ship) and your photo id to get back on. I actually got married on the Norwegian Spirit last October and it was beautiful and by far one of my fav. ships. This year I will be crusing on the Crown. I have cruised on this ship in the past, fell in love with it and it will be decomissioned after my particular sailing because it is a smaller ship in the fleet. If you are traveling with children, you will want to look at what facilities the ships have for you. In most cases there are on board "babysitters". These people will take your children and entertain them for you durring the day so that you can enjoy some time alone or with your signifigant other/friends. If you do choose to go somewhere warm, dont be fooled and not pack any warm clothes. When the ship is moving at night it can be a bit nippy even in the warmer climates. Also if you go somewhere south of the US bring extra sun block you will burn more than you would here in the sun. If you are interested in purchasing pictures on the ship (you with the turtle, you in front of the ship... you at diner... and belive me they will take tons of them) ask them about price breaks if you buy in bulk. They do not always offer discounts on the ship, however if you ask they will most likely offer you a buy 3 get one free deal. This same reasoning applies for the on board shops. If you see something you have to have and you are worried about it going out of stock buy it right away, however if you are undecided the shops all have sales toward the end of the cruise (the largest ones are on the last at sea day). Excursions are great for the purpose that you are guaranteed to make it back to your ship on time if you book it through them. However, you can save some money by talking to the people who run the excursions on shore and most of the time thoes people are from your ship anyway. You will save about half of the price this way, but risk not being able to get on that excursion. There are cruise consultants, shopping consultants and excursion consultants on the ships. Use these people to your advantage, but pay attention to what the locals say too. The shopping consultants have made deals with the shop keepers at the different ports to try to bring them business. If you are going to bring liquor back, do not buy it from the shops right there (although the prices may look great) the prices are better at the K-Marts on the island believe it or not. Also remember that you are only able to bring back a certain amount of alcohol with out being taxed, however you can bring one extra bottle if it is island rum. You will also have to pay attention to what you are bringing back into the country, if you bring back too much you will have problems at customes and will be asked to pay tax on the spot or your items will be taken away. I believe the limit is about $500 per person. When you do get to the port for disembarkation, make sure that you are there really early. The earlier you are the faster you get on the ship. Getting the ship ready and everyone on it takes a few hours, so bring a book and be prepaired to wait it out. Some ports are better than others. NY is great, MA is ok and FL is horrible just for examples. If you are leaving from the US you can travel until January 1, 2008 by sea only with a birth cert. and your drivers license. By air you will need a passport and if you plan a cruise next year you will need a passport as well. Please remember that it takes 3 months to get your passport (because of the high demand right now). If you do not have a passport right now and you cruise out of the country with your photo id and birth cert only and something happens to you out of the country, you will not be able to return by air, you will have to come back by sea so keep this in mind. I hope you have a great trip and that I have been some help. Cruises are alot of fun :)