Cruising for everybody, part 1.

Cruising for the Newcomer:
What to do and know from booking, to boarding, to the end of a cruise experience.

I am not an expert cruiser, writer, or traveler, but being that I don’t know many other people who have been on a cruise, I decided to post this as a helpful guide that might help my friends select and enjoy a cruise at some point in the future. I’ve had the chance to go on two different cruise lines to two totally different destinations, and I’ll be using knowledge and insights from both of the experiences in what you’re about to read. Again, I’m not an expert, but after searching the internet for resources on cruising, I didn’t see much, so I decided to give this a shot and post it to my blog. I’ll be posting in six different installments. Part 1 will be about booking your cruise and planning what you’ll need to take with you. Part 2 will be about arriving at your cruise terminal and getting settled on your ship. Part 3 will feature daily life on the ship, while part 4 will cover ports of call and shore excursions. Part 5 will discuss the inevitable end of your cruise and disembarking procedures. The final part will reflect my impressions on various cruise lines and talk about some cruising resources on the internet. I hope you enjoy reading these little articles as much as I’ve enjoyed writing and thinking about them!

Part 1—Booking and Planning Your Cruise

There are several ways to go about booking your cruise experience. You can book yourself online, go through a cruise line representative via the telephone, use a travel agent, or go through travel sites on the web such as Expedia or Priceline. Of course, there are pros and cons to each of these methods.

Let’s say you’d like to book yourself through a cruise line’s website. Most of the major cruise lines have this option. The starting point is to choose your desired destination. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have to decide what port you’d like to leave from, and there may be one or more options here. For instance, if you wanted to go to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean, you might be able to leave from either Port Canaveral or Miami, Florida. Usually once you’ve decided on this information you can peruse basic pricing for your cruise, though this is usually just the cost of the cruise itself and not transportation to and from the port. Make sure you read everything carefully. If you’re at all unsure about what you’re reading or what you are or aren’t paying for, contact customer service for the cruise line before booking anything.

What other information are you going to want to know besides where you’re going? Well, for one, how many people are going? Is it just you and your spouse, or are you taking the kids along? The prices on the cruise line websites are usually per person, so make sure you keep that in mind. You’ll also want to know WHEN you want to go. Most cruise lines sail to and from warm weather ports throughout the year. However, if you want to go to Alaska, you’ll need to go in the warmer months. If your destination is a warm one, you have many options to suit your schedule, however, it is often cheaper to go during the non peak season.

You’ll also need to give some thought to your meal arrangements. Are you planning on hitting the buffet every night, or will you partaking of the excellent service in the formal dining rooms? I’ll talk more about this in the life on board section, but if you want to eat in the dining room, know this, you might end up thrust into a table with people you don’t know as the seating in these rooms assigned and stay the same every night. If you’re a social butterfly and you want to meet new folks on your trip, this is probably ok. If you’re on your honeymoon or just want a quiet vacation with your spouse, you need to put in a special request for a table for two. More often than not, the cruise line is more than willing to accommodate this request.

However, if you will need special accommodations like dinner seating, you may want to consider using a cruise line representative to book your cruise. Yes, it might take some more time to do, and you might wait on hold for a bit, but this takes a lot of the unknowns out of the equation. The cruise line rep can tell you exactly what you’re getting, can assist you with all accommodations, can usually help you arrange port transport, and can answer any questions you have right on the spot. Honestly, this is my preferred method. When my wife and I were arranging our honeymoon cruise, I had a couple of different occasions to talk with customer service for Royal Caribbean, and I was impressed with them every time. These people are professionals in the industry and are ready for your questions and reservations, and they’re equipped to handle the first time cruiser. Again, this is a great way to go, particularly if you’ve never booked a cruise before.

What if you’re a budget cruiser who wants to make sure you’re getting the absolute best deal? Then maybe you want to go through a travel agent or a travel booking website. Some people think using a travel agent isn’t the way to go because they charge extra fees. Well, yes and no. Many times, travel agents make their money on a commission basis through the cruise lines, hotel industry, rental car agencies and such. So it might not cost what you think. However, particularly in this new economy, some of these companies are cutting costs, and often these travel agent commissions can be the first thing to go. So make sure you know up front what the agent is going to do for you and what the costs will be. The upside to this is that all of the transportation information is at the agent’s fingertips. He or she can readily help you decide on everything from destination, cruise line, port of departure, and transportation options. Then they can set it all up for you right there. They do it for a living.

However, if you’re still a do it yourself type, you can still use a travel website to book your trip. Expedia.com, priceline.com, hotwire.com, orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com all have options to let you book a cruise through their websites, often giving you a chance to save some money. So it might be a good idea to peruse these sites even if you are planning on using the cruise line or an agent to see if you can get a better deal. These are all reputable sites with customer service to back you up. Again, the risk here is not knowing what you’re getting as a first time cruiser. Make sure you have all your transportation to and from the port set up and make you know exactly what you’re getting. Read everything very carefully.

So now let’s say you’ve booked your cruise, it’s all paid up and now you’re looking forward to the big day. What else do you need to plan for? What do you need to take with you, what about basic medical care? These are all things you need to keep in mind and give some thought to before you head out to the port.

Probably the most important thing is to have your documents in order. After all, most cruises will take you to foreign countries, and in the post 9-11 world, moving from country to country can be a much different process. I really have only one major thing to say here: get a passport. By the time you read this, the United States will require passports to go pretty much everywhere outside of the country by any method, even if you’re only going to Canada or Mexico. Besides, having a passport is much easier in the long run than trying to carry a set of documents around with you. It’s a valid form of ID pretty much anywhere, and it’s the way to go. Another cautionary reminder here: don’t wait to get your passport until a month before your cruise. In fact, I would have it in hand before you even book. While the big rush to get passports has largely dissipated, it’s still not an immediate process, and speeding the process up might cost you more than your cruise ticket. Don’t leave this to chance and by all means don’t leave it at home. If you’re cruising to a foreign destination, you will have to clear customs and immigration when you board the ship, and you will NOT be allowed on board without the proper documents. My guess is the cruise line won’t feel much sympathy for you either. You, not the cruise line or travel agent, are responsible for having your documents in order. If you have any questions about the proper documents needed for your cruise, contact a cruise line rep immediately.

Aside from travel documents, what else will you need to bring with you? Well, the cruise line will of course send you tickets for the cruise, so you’ll need those. You’ll also receive information about the dress and theme evenings on the cruise. Make sure you look over this information carefully, it will help you plan and pack accordingly. For instance, most cruises have a formal evening where guests are encouraged to dress formally for dinner and other on board activities. Don’t be scared of this, they’re not going to confine you to your cabin if you don’t have a 1000 dollar tuxedo, but if you want to fully participate in the cruise experience, you’ll want to do this, it’s fun. I’ll talk more about this later, but be aware for most cruises, you’re going to need a formal dress for the ladies and a suit for the guys. There are also usually a couple of casual nights where jackets and formal dresses aren’t required, but it’s still nice to have some nice slacks and a button down or nice polo shirt on hand. There may also be theme nights. A cruise may have a Hawaiian theme night where guests are encouraged to dress in tropical attire. So again, read this information and pack accordingly.

Of course not every night on your trip will be a theme, and informal clothes reign during the day. So you want to make sure you pack comfortable and weather appropriate clothing. Bring the jeans for hanging out during the day and in port. Don’t forget those informal shirts and tops for the ladies either. This often depends on your destination, if you’re going to Alaska, you might need a heavier jacket even in the summer time. If you’re heading out to the Bahamas, a light windbreaker might be all you need. The best thing to do here is to be prepared. As my wife and I found out, it can still rain and cool down considerably even in the Bahamas. Don’t pack just shorts and t-shirts, and bring some kind of a jacket with you. The cruise line will have jackets and some clothing items for purchase, and certainly the ports will, but the prices might be kind of steep to pay when you’re kicking yourself for leaving your perfectly good jacket hanging on the hook at home. Be aware of the seasonal conditions in your ports of call, and keep up with the forecasts. Weather.com is a great place online to do this.

Don’t forget to pack other necessities as well, particularly prescription medicine. Make sure all of your scripts are up to date and labeled with your correct name. Don’t haul your pills around in a plastic bag, you need to be able to prove to folks what they are. Remember, all of your baggage is subject to search, just like on an airplane. Remember to bring enough, as you won’t be able to get most of this medication once you leave port. Don’t forget over the counter meds as well, thing like allergy medication and cough drops. While these are available on ship, they can be pricey. Just hit Wal Mart before you hit the port. Take all of your meds, and your travel documents in your carry on bag.

Other than that, take the things you’d normally take on vacation. Don’t forget your camera and plenty of memory for it. Bring the video camera as well. Bring things to keep you occupied during downtime. A novel, IPOD, or magazine will come in handy to keep you entertained while you’re waiting to board the ship. A deck of cards or a travel game or two will also help, particularly if you have kids coming along. Also don’t forget to check with the cruise line and airlines about luggage allowances.
Here’s a brief summary of what I took with me on my 4 day, 3 night Bahamas cruise.

Carry On-Bag
--Travel documents and cruise tickets
--Novel and Magazine
--Ipod
--Camera
--Medicines
--Jacket
--extra casual shirt for dinner.

Suitcase
--4 days worth of socks and undergarments.
--3 T shirts
--Sleep wear
--one pair jeans
--two pair slacks
--2 polo shirts
--2 button down shirts
--2 ties
--suit jacket
--dress shoes and socks

Finally, make sure you have a comfortable pair of shoes and a comfortable outfit for standing and waiting at the port. You’ll do a lot of it as you wait in line to go through security, ticketing, and customs. Trust me, you don’t want to be in new or uncomfortable shoes.

What about the port, getting on the boat, and those LONG lines….check back next time for part 2 on arriving at the port, boarding the ship, and getting settled.
Any questions, drop me a comment or an email. Thanks for reading!