Cruise information?

Question

I have never been on a cruise before. I would really like to go on one with my husband for our first wedding anniversary. Does anyone know of any good online sites that show both the cruise and airfare together. Thanks!!

Answer 1

I have been on about 20 cruises and here's my advice based on my experiences.  When you book a cruise each cruise line will ask if you want airfare included and also if you want transfers (essentially a bus ride from the airport to the pier and/or back).  So you can book air through the cruise line OR on your own.  Also, depending upon what cruise you book and where it's leaving from you can also consider driving to the port.  I have done that many times.

If you have the money to spend for the very top and best cruise lines try Crystal, Oceania, Windstar, and Silver Sea. These cruise lines are a cut above the others because they run smaller ships (about 500 to 700 passengers) and have a higher staff to passenger ratio so you get top of the line service. They also have more amenities included in the much higher price, like all veranda/balcony cabins, tubs and shower bathroom, larger cabins, daily wine and/or champaign with meals, etc. . Prices for a 7 day cruise on these top of the line ships may start at $4000 to $5000 (vs about $1200 on the next tier of ships.). These ships tend to have a more sophisticated and older crowd and more formal dining.

Most cruises are done by the next tier of cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, and Disney. Most of the ships for these lines are now 1500 to 2500 passenger ships. The ships are big but things are so well managed that you really don't feel crowded on them. Prices on these ship can be as low as $800 for a 7 day inside cabin and about $1200 for a balcony cabin. Sometimes people get confused by the categories on ship that agents or the web sites refer to. Categories are simply a listing of the different types of cabins on the ship by size, location and amenities. Categories are the price structure.

There are 4 basic types of cabins on ships,

- inside (no window or port hole)

- outside (a window or port hole),

- balcony/veranda (your own private balcony), and

- suites.

(Some Royal Caribbean ships have inside cabins that have a window that overlooks an inside pedestrian mall; these are on their Voyager and Freedom Class ships)

The cheapest cabins offered are always the inside cabins; those without a window or porthole. The inside, outside and balcony cabins are generally about the same size on each ship, but may vary by ship and cruise line.

The type of cruise you have can vary by cruise line. Carnival is the fun ship, they are low priced, and are the party cruise line that most young folks and first time cruisers take (ages 20 to 35) who want to party, party, party. If that’s what you are looking for then Carnival is the one for you.

Disney has good ships (but just 2 ships right now) but is primarily for kids, and families with kids. It does have adults only areas on ship, but the kids are still there on ship. I would not recommend going on their ships unless you do not mind being around a lot of kids. Also, since Disney has only two ships your options with them are limited.

Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, and Norwegian tend to have people who have cruised many times and are in the 40 and over age group; a more reserved crowd. Although the crowd is more reserved the ships are still just as much fun. Holland America tends to have the oldest cruiser; primarily people in the 60 and up age group.

Celebrity and Princess also tend to be more upscale and Royal Caribbean tends to be more family oriented. Norwegian is also family oriented but is more casual with its "freestyle cruising" Freestyle simply means that you do not have to select a time to go to dinner each day; you just go whenever you want after about 6:00 PM. It also means that the traditional "formal night" which are really requested attire on ships, is more like "dress up if you want to night". Other cruise lines like Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean also have this option to do dinner when you want they just have a different name for it. On Princess it's "Personal Choice" cruising, on Holland America is "As You Wish" cruising and on Royal Caribbean it's "Your Way" cruising.

Royal Caribbean is the cruise line that has the most activities on its ships. In addition to multiple pools and hot tubs, you will find, depending on the ship, the rock climbing wall, a full sized basketball/tennis court, a mini-golf course, an ice skating rink, a roller blade track, a water slide, and on the new Freedom class ships (Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas) a "flowrider" that allows you to surf on a boogie board right on the ship. RC's ships also have great gyms and the best gym I have ever seen is on the Freedom (Independence and Liberty also).

You will always get the best price if you book very early and early means 9 to 12 months or more in advance. You can book on most any cruise line web site by paying a deposit of $250 to $350 per person, depending upon the length of the cruise, and then pay the balance no later than 60 to 75 days before the cruise (depending upon the cruise line). Anyway, if you want to go next year then right now is a great time to book for a good price.

I have also found that the best deals can be had by going directly to the cruise line web sites and looking for their specials. You can actually sign up to receive email specials from them. Most will have their specials prominently displayed on their home page but I have found that Royal Caribbean and Carnival have the best web sites for this.

Another factor to consider is to be flexible on your date of travel. Consider going when there is a special. Many times identical cruise itineraries can very in price by hundreds depending upon the date.

I have been on Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. All of these would be great but my recommendation would be Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean or Norwegian in that order. The service on Celebrity was definitely a cut above the others and the Celebrity and Princess ships are classy. But MY favorite cruise line is Royal Caribbean because I like their Freedom, Radiance, and Voyager class ships, and because as one of their frequent cruiser I do get a discount.

Some cruise line web sites are below

Answer 2

Travelocity, Expedia, and the actual cruise line website will give u an option to include the air in the cruise price. U may want to keep in mind the cruise line airfare in most cases is more expensive than just buying from the airline.  But the upside to buying from the cruise line is that if anything goes wrong w/ ur flight they will usually take responsiblilty.  We usually buy our tickets from airline and fly in the day before, that way we have an entire day for hiccups to happen plus an EXTRA vacation day!