Booking Your Cruise

A safe way to make sure that you've covered all the bases is to hire a travel agent to do all the arrangements for your cruise. They will have access to the best fares and be able to assist you with any decisions that you may need to make as a first-timer. Once you've become seasoned at making cruise arrangements, one can make them directly with the cruise line online or by phone. There are also many online services that specialize in cruises that can offer some good deals.

Reservations should not be made too early in advance as prices may fluxuate between the time of booking and sailing. A second reason not to book overly early is that itineraries may change in the course due to various reasons including weather and natural disasters. On the other hand, one needs to be careful not to book too late as prices may increase or certain accomodations may not be available within your price range.

One exception to the booking late rule is that great deals may suddenly come up that you can take advantage of. If you have the ability to travel at short notice, that is within weeks of a sailing, you can get great prices. However, what makes this tricky is that it may be difficult to get connecting travel arrangements to the port.

NOTE: It is important to know that when booking a cabin, pricing is based on double occupancy. If a single person is to occupy a room, that person will pay twice the amount as to cover the cost of the second person. Therefore, if you are considering traveling alone, be aware that booking will cost twice the advertised amount. If possible, try to find someone else to tag along for the ride to save the money.

Embarkation (Getting On Board Ship)

The embarkation process starts at the curb when you arrive at the cruise terminal. Once your bags are unloaded, if not done so already, attach the luggage tags that were sent to you with your cruise documents. These tags will tell the staff members where bags belong when sorted on-board ship. The porter will take your bags to a secure location for security screening and then be brought to the ship for loading.

After proceeding into the cruise terminal, you may be sorted into two or three groups, similar to the classifications at the airport based on whether you're a member of the frequent cruiser club. Passengers who have not cruised before or have never been with that line will be filtered into one line while those who are return patrons will be guided to another line. These lines will lead to the check-in desks.

At the check-in desk, the attendant will take several documents from you, your reservation form that was filled out online and the medical clearance form. It is at this time that a credit card will be taken to be put on file for all room charges along with taking your picture to be associated with your on-board ID. Once this process is complete, you will head toward the gangway to board the ship.

At the top of the gangway, just before getting on-board ship, you will be greeted by the ship's photographer for a picture. More about the photographers can be found later in this document. From here, depending on time, you may proceed to your stateroom.

Preparing to Book

In order to book a cruise, one has to evaluate the different options available such as ports, cruising style and ship size. Each of these factors plays a big part in your cruise experience. All the cruise companies generally visit the same ports with some degree of variation. However, the style in which the cruise is accomplished differs from company to company. For instance Royal Caribbean has some of the largest ships in the world that offer almost any activity one can think of while maintaining the old fashioned set dinner times. On the other hand, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) offers similar activities, but markets a "Freestyle" cruise where one is not set by a definite eating schedule. One is able to pick and choose where and when they wish to eat each night.

Determining Your Perfect Cruise

Determining what cruise company and ship is an important one as each caters differently to its clientele. Therefore, some homework has to be done to isolate which suits your vacation needs. There are several questions that should be used as a guideline to booking. These questions are:

1. Do I want a large ship with a lot of people and activities or do I want a small ship with a more intimate feeling?

2. Which is more important, the ship or the destinations?

3. How do you wish to have your days spent, a day at sea or a port a day?

4. What kind of cabin accommodations do I want, luxurious or simple?

5. What kind of atmosphere do I want, casual or formal?

6. What kind of seating arrangements at dinner do I want, assigned seating or flexible?

7. What am I looking to do, activities or relax?

8. What kind of budget do I have, limited or unlimited?

9. How long of a cruise will fit into my schedule?

Cabin Choices

When it comes to cabins, it is important to understand the options available and where each is located on the ship. Typically, cabins are divided into four groups, inside, ocean view, balcony and suite. Depending on where in the ship they are located dictates the price similar to the views you would get at a luxury resort. Inside rooms are always the cheapest as they are on the inside of the ship with no view of the outside whatsoever. Ocean-view rooms offer a port hole view to the outside, while balconies and suites offer verandas that enable one to go out onto their own private sitting area. The more luxurious the cabin, the more likely you are going to spend more time there as compared with inside or ocean-view rooms that force one to go to other parts of the ship to relax.

Cabin size should also be a consideration. Depending on how much you plan to stay in your cabin should be your deciding factor. Generally, the larger and more luxurious the cabin, the more time one will spend in it.

Cabin occupancy is the next important consideration. The number of people staying in the cabin needs to be factored into the equation. This is especially important if there will be more than two people staying in one cabin. Most rooms will accommodate up to four persons, but very snugly.

A standard cabin will have one large bed or two beds along with possibly a pull out couch and/or a bunk bed. When the cabin attendant turns the room down at night, all necessary beds will be made up. This could make getting around the cabin tight. This is a critical item to take into consideration if traveling with small children. Some cabin cabins are designed to be connecting which would be a benefit with children.

Outside cabins (oceanview and balcony) typically allow up to two people, but some will allow up to four depending on the configuration. Inside cabins even though are the cheapest, allow for greater occupancy in general. Inside cabins can usually accommodate up to four and even five with a cot. Inside cabins are great choices for kids rooming together. Suites depending on their size, can satisfy groups from two to fourteen. Suites also usually have an upgraded full size bathroom with tub and shower compared to the standard cabin bathroom that has room for one person.

There are two locations on board a ship that one should try to avoid when booking a cabin regardless of category. Those locations are on the stern and the bow due to noise and vibrations that could be experienced when the ship is docking. However, with the newer ships, vibration is relatively unnoticeable.

Cruise Length

Cruises are available in various lengths. They range from 3 or 4 days to months at sea. The most popular are the 7, 9 and 14 day cruises as those are the typical lengths of time that people usually go on vacation. However, there are other lengths as well. As one begins to explore these different lengths, the approach to preparing for them also changes as it is physically not possible to bring everything necessary for extended periods of time. The longest cruises are world cruises which range in length from 80 to 120 days. These cruises are broken into 3 or 4 segments allowing one to partake in the amount of time they wish.

If you've never taken a cruise before and not sure if cruising is for you, the safest way to experience cruising is by taking a short 3 or 4 day cruise. These cruises will provide just enough exposure to experience what cruising is all about. If the experience was enjoyable, the next one can be for a longer period such as 7 days or more.

Short cruises can also be paired with standard land vacations. One example of this is Disney's Land and Sea vacations. They combine a cruise aboard one of their two ships with a vacation at Walt Disney World®. The cruise is either at the beginning with several days at the resort or you are at the resort for a few days then wisked away by bus to the cruise for the remainder of the time.

Short cruises are also great for quick weekend getaways. It is a way to get away and have nothing to worry about and see a port or two along the way. For those who can't take off long periods of time, 3 or 4 day cruises provide the quick break that is needed. Like every other vacation, it will come to an end just much faster.

For first time cruisers, this may all seem intimidating, but with help from the right people like travel agents, it can be made very simple. There are cruise lines that are more suited to first timers and they are:

• Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.com)
• Norwegian Cruise Lines (ncl.com)
• Disney Cruise Line (disneycruiseline.com)
• Princess Cruises (princess.com)
• Carnival Cruise Line (carnival.com)

There are web sites available that provide information about ships, the cruise lines and what other people have thought about them. Consider using these sites to find out the detailed information about each ship in making your decision.

Types of Cruises

Cruises come in many types and styles. There is something out there to suit everyone. However, one needs to look at the basics before getting into the nity gritty of cruising. There are two types of "cruises."

Crossings: A crossing is a transatlantic or transpacific trip on board ship. The most famous line that does these types of trips is Cunard. This style of trip dates back to the days before air travel when parties traveling from foreign lands would come to the United States or any other country by ship. Ships that did these crossings were called ocean liners as that's what they did, but there was also something special about their design. They were designed to battle the harsh conditions that Mother Nature could throw. Modern cruise ships are designed slightly different as they are not as intended to battle the harsh seas as in the past.

River Cruises: River cruises are unique in the ships themselves, but also in the amenities on board and the clientele they attract. River cruises on on special ships that are relatively low and have a shallow keel (the bottom of the ship). This allows the ship to make its way up and down waterways that can be shallow at times. Since these ships are smaller they hold a very small passenger load of about 200.

Cruise: This type of trip started in the 60s when transatlantic crossings became fewer and shipping companies started taking passengers to various ports. The best part of a cruise is being able to see many different places while only having to pack your bags once. The second best thing is that everything one could want is available on board ship from food to nightly entertainment.

There are three types of cruises:

Regular Cruises
Regular cruises are cruises that are the standard regularly scheduled sailings.

Cruises to Nowhere
A cruise to nowhere is the ultimate short cruise. They usually are no longer than two or three days. They leave the port of embarkation and just go out to sea for the one or two days and then return back to port. There are no ports of call. These types of cruises are also great for first time cruisers who don't know if they will enjoy cruising and those who just want to sit on the pool deck and relax.

Repositioning Cruises
Repositioning cruises are cruises that take place as the ship relocates from one embarkation port to another. In other words, a ship that did several cruises from New York may schedule a repositioning cruise while moving to Miami. Once relocated, the line continues is regularly scheduled sailings.

Prior To Sailing

Prior to departure several pieces of business should be attended to.

• Life Boat Drills: Depending on the cruise line, life boat drills are carried out in several fashions. In general though, all ships have their drills one hour prior to leaving port. So, watch your time as you will need to be within close proximity to your stateroom to gather your belongings in preparation for the drill. If traveling with infants or young children, notify your stateroom attendant to get the appropriate size life vest for them. Do NOT try to avoid this drill by staying in your stateroom. Cabin stuarts are trained to check each room.
• Check Dining room arrangements: If you are taking a standard cruise, check with the head waiter to find out where your table is located in the main dining room. Some new ships have multi-level dining rooms, so its a good idea to know where to go ahead of time. Changes to your dining time can also be made at this time.
• Purchase Pre-paid beverage plans: Most of the cruise lines offer pre-paid beverage plans for soda and wine. If you are a large consumer of these items, it makes sense to take advantage of them since the price per drink becomes less when bought in the package for the length of the cruise. Beverages such as regular coffee, tea, milk, lemonade, ice tea and water are included in the price of the cruise. Specialty items such as beer, mixed drinks and specialty coffees are additional.
• Register young children: Since special activities are offered for children and they can be left with cruise staff, children must be registered with the ship and issued a bracelet that indicates the family's stateroom muster station. This bracelet lets staff know where the children are to be brought to in case of an emergency on board.