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A variety of ships from all the major cruise lines sail in these regions. With your budget firmly in place, now you can consider where you want to travel during your cruise vacation. With more and more regions of the world now accessible by cruise ship, your options keep growing.
Booking Directly with the Cruise Line
The great thing about a cruise is you only have to unpack once, no matter how many ports of call you visit. Your cruise will depart from a port where you'll check in and board the ship. As far as cruise tips for first-timers go, it's always recommended to give yourself as much time in a destination as possible. It's worth arriving a night or two before your cruise departs so you have time to enjoy the activities and scenery that the port city has to offer. Before my cruise from Miami, my friend and I went to museums, buzzed though Everglades National Park and enjoyed the thrum of the city's nightlife.
Pick Your Departure Port
Longtime cruisers know how exciting and yet relaxing a cruise can be. World-class entertainment, scrumptious dining options and adventure activities are just steps away from your stateroom. Out at sea, the stars are brighter than they are on land, and when you open your eyes in the morning, you're often in a new destination. If you're dreaming of a trip that's bound to be memorable, here's how to plan a cruise for the first time.
Why You Should Take an Alaska Summer Vacation Cruise
Many of these measures have already become part of our everyday life since the pandemic, including social distancing and the use of face masks. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line outlined many of these protocols in its Healthy Sail Panel. MSC Cruises is already sailing in Europe with its own Health and Safety Protocol. With the CDC’s framework provided in the Conditional Sail Order, there will be several new measures implemented by the cruise lines to ensure health and safety of guests and crew. While you don’t get to choose your exact room, there are benefits to this stateroom option.
Booking the Trip
Choose a cruise that’s too short, and you may not have enough time to truly relax and enjoy all that cruising has to offer. However, choose a cruise that’s too long or that has too many sea days, and it may just be too much if you aren’t used to it. You can expect very good food and service and a focus on enrichment. Overall, a Holland America cruise will be relaxing and while they have very good shows and live music, this is not a late night party ship.
Book Now
Most cruise ships now automatically add a gratuity to bar bills, often in the amount of 18% to 20% of the total. Such automatic gratuities also are becoming more common in ship spas. But many first-time cruisers don't know this and write in a hefty tip at the "additional tip" line on bills at cruise ship bars and spas. Be sure to ask if a gratuity already has been included before adding another 15% or 20% to the total. If you're traveling overseas for a cruise, we recommend traveling to the port two or even three days in advance. It's also so you have some time to recover from jet lag.
Step Seven: Selecting Your Stateroom Cabin
We’ve found that for most cruise lines, that you save money by booking in advance. You can make it really easy and book cruise line shore excursions. You may choose a sightseeing tour, a beach break, a snorkeling excursion or even a hike through a rainforest. There will probably be different types of activities to choose from. If you have a preferred time that you want or need to travel, search cruises and itineraries that are available at that time. If you can be flexible with your travel dates by even a couple of weeks, you may be able to save 50% or more on a cruise.
Deposit products and related services are offered by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Apply for a mortgage or refinance your mortgage with Chase. View today’s mortgage rates or calculate what you can afford with our mortgage calculator. Visit our Education Center for homebuying tips and more. Open a savings account or open a Certificate of Deposit (see interest rates) and start saving your money. I have a small "go bag" of over-the-counter medicines that I throw into my suitcase for every cruise that contains everything from cold medicine to seasickness pills.
TRAVEL PROTECTION
It’s a good idea to compare cruises across all available platforms, because pricing and special add-ons vary. Last-minute cruises can get you serious discounts, as can stacking cash-back opportunities with shopping portals such as Rakuten. To optimize your time off, you'll probably want to try to leave from the closest port possible. If you're on the East Coast, for example, leaving from Miami would require far less travel time than leaving from L.A.
Change of plans: Cruise passengers’ trip to Bahamas rerouted to Boston - KIRO Seattle
Change of plans: Cruise passengers’ trip to Bahamas rerouted to Boston.
Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
I've met some wonderful people in these groups, some of whom have become my longtime friends on Facebook. There are some types of vacations — a beach trip, for instance — where you don't have to do much advance research. Most cruises aren't this way — at least if you want to get the most out of them. At the heart of most cruises are port calls that, in many cases, are very short — often just a few hours. You want to have a plan for what to do in these ports or you'll miss out on a big part of the cruising experience.
Europe or Alaska, for instance, might warrant a pre or post-cruise stay. Below, we've outlined 10 key factors to consider when building your ocean-bound vacation. It was so much cheaper that we were willing to take the risk and it really worked out perfectly. We booked a trip to see the ancient ruins in Costa Maya and a zip line tour in Honduras. Both tour companies were fabulous and we had no problems completing our tours and getting back on the boat. You can use your onboard credits to dine at these restaurants or just pay an additional amount.
Keep an eye out for flight deals and book early to secure the best prices. When booking flights, consider arriving a day early in case of any travel delays. This ensures you won’t miss the embarkation of your cruise. To find the best family cruise, start by searching for the best deals.
Set a realistic budget to begin planning your cruise vacation. This initial step will help narrow your options and simplify the planning process. You can begin your research by visiting a travel site like CruiseDirect to understand the cost of different cruise lines, ships, and itineraries. You can also visit the cruise line’s site to see their promotions.
You should not stow these items in the luggage that you leave with the pier-side porter. This could result in your bags being flagged by security. Once you have your cruise reservation, you should set up an account on the cruise line’s website (if you don’t have one already from booking your cruise). Once you are registered, you can view your reservation and plan numerous different onboard activities. If you want the best deal on your cabin, then you need to book early. When planning a cruise, we always recommend booking at least 6 to 12 months out.
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