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This includes Carnival, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney, Princess Cruises, Holland America and Celebrity Cruises. All are good ways to book, however first time cruisers often benefit from working with an individual travel agent or cruise advisor. While you can find someone local, it’s common to work with a cruise travel agent through email and occasional phone calls as needed. Alternatively, Gulf of Alaska cruises are typically seven-night, one-way itineraries between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier, the gateway ports for Anchorage and northern destinations in the state. Ease in and out of your next cruise with transportation to and from your ship. You can pre-purchase airport shuttles, private transfers and even motor-coach travel on bus routes between major cities.
Planning a Mini-Vacation from Los Angeles
Leppert notes that onboard amenities like pools, buffets and waterslides are less crowded when most people are ashore. If a particular destination doesn’t appeal to you (or perhaps you have been many times before), it’s ok to enjoy the ship instead. Most cruise ships now automatically add a gratuity to bar bills, often in the amount of 18% to 20% of the total.
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If you’re flying in a day before your cruise, which you won’t regret, it’s time to book a pre-cruise hotel. Since the embarkation port is likely near a major city worth visiting, you may want to extend your stay by booking a couple extra nights before or after your cruise. While some people are flexible and can choose to cruise anytime, many others have a set vacation time or have to plan around school breaks and summer holidays. Remember that late summer through Fall is hurricane season, so while prices will be lower, I wouldn’t suggest these for first time cruisers. Many first time cruisers dream of beautiful beaches and tropical islands, so Caribbean cruises are ideal, especially for a winter getaway!
GATHER YOUR TRAVEL CREW
Cabins just below the pool deck and near the anchor also can be problematic as well as cabins near casinos. It's not always smooth seas when it comes to cruising — or any sort of travel. We hate to even bring it up, but you might need to cancel your cruise in advance due to the sudden onset of an illness. Or, maybe you'll fall ill during the cruise and need emergency medical attention. Maybe your flight to your ship gets canceled and you miss the vessel's departure.
Cruising is big business, and that’s why you have dozens of websites at your disposal, all competing for your travel dollars. If you're searching for cruises on a third-party website, you may question the legitimacy of that site. This is especially true if the site doesn't look professional or some of the information is outdated. If you want to earn hotel points on your cruise, Marriott Cruise with Points is the best cruise website for you. You'll earn up to 6x points on your cruise purchase, or you can redeem Marriott Bonvoy points to pay for your trip. Keep Cruisewatch in strong consideration—more than a typical cruise booking website, Cruisewatch bills itself as a “digital cruise advisor” that couples data power with personalization.
Cruise lines use incentives to get people to book early (usually six months to more than a year ahead of sailing) or close to sailing day when ships haven't sold out. Perks can include extras like prepaid gratuities, drink packages, free internet or a free dinner in a specialty restaurant. The prices on most cruises tend to drop as the sail date approaches. That means that the closer to the date of sailing you book, the less choice you'll have in cabins but the more likely you are to save money.
Carnival Cruise Passengers Attempt to Bring Portable Washing Machine Aboard Ship
Avoid cabins below frequently used passageways on the top decks where footsteps and the sound of deck chairs moving frequently can be annoying. Even higher category cabins can be one deck below the main deck so it is wise to ask about this when reserving. If the budget leans more toward the $100 per-day price point, try one of the newer mega-ships from Norwegian Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean. These newer ships can have a bustling resort vibe that will keep you busy no matter what your cabin type.
These include rooms with different designs than the rest of the ship and perks offered like exclusive areas that only those staying in high-end suites can visit. The cruise lines are like department stores — they constantly run sales and special offers. However, many third-party sites can have special deals such as onboard credit that’s not available if booking through the cruise line. We’ve seen up to $750 in onboard credit just for booking through these types of sites, depending on their offers.
The first step for any travel plan is to decide where in the wide, wide world you want to go, you can get some ideas here. Ask if there's any fee for making a change to the reservation, cancelling the cruise all together, or changing ship or sail date. They are a middle man, and the advantage is when there's something to book or change, they are the ones that do the work to wait on hold and make the change. Travel agents also have more self-service tools they can utilize for making changes. There are so many choices, as you'll have to pick a ship and sail date, and then narrow down your search to a particular category.
If you're happy with a couple of historic tours and a guided hike, you could likely budget $500 or less per person for shore excursions in Alaska. But if once-in-a-lifetime Alaska experiences like helicopter rides and flightseeing in Ketchikan are more your speed, you'll need to triple that amount -- or more. Uncover all the exciting travel activities and ideas for the best family vacation waiting for you onboard a cruise getaway with Harmony of the Seas. Uncover all the exciting family vacation ideas and travel activities that are waiting for you onboard a cruise getaway with Symphony of the Seas. Read up on how to plan a cruise for the first time, including tips on what to pack, where to go and how to select the perfect itinerary for your vacation.
Even if you read up on each port or ask around on message boards, you still might not be entirely sure where all you want to go. That’s because everyone has a different opinion on each port based on their own experience. Benefits of Newer Ships (built after 2010)When it comes to newer ships, you’re normally going to get larger vessels. That means lots more space on the ship (though not always more space per passenger), which translates into more of everything. Newer, larger ships will have more restaurants, more things to do, more people, and more spaces for you to enjoy. It’s ideal to get a spot that’s between the middle decks where the indoor activities are located and the higher decks with the pool and outdoor areas so that you’re closer to everything.
Transits, when the ship is en route between ports, are known as sea days (like the term shore excursions, it's more cruise lingo); passengers, obviously, remain on board. Many newbies fret about wasting time at sea rather than exploring, but they’re often a fun chance to explore the ship itself, as well as decompress between ports. Some travelers actually book cruises that have at least one or two sea days, especially if it’s a larger ship with loads of amenities like water parks, race car tracks, zip lining, and multiple shows. For most people, the benefits of using a travel agent experienced in selling cruises are well worth it. Travel agents will help you to choose a cruise, offer travel advice and answer questions, and can often find great cruise deals.
Some phone companies have cruise-specific plans you can buy in advance of a voyage. I just put my phone in airplane mode the moment I step on board a ship and never switch it back on. I then turn on the phone's Wi-Fi, buy a Wi-Fi package and do all my calling, texting and internet surfing over Wi-Fi. That way, there's no way that I can be surprised by an unexpected charge.
When you choose to book the cruise is up to you, but there are pros and cons for booking early or late. For example, one of the most popular ideas is that Thursdays are the top choice for booking the cheapest cruises. If that were true in every scenario, then everyone would wait to make their reservations on that day.
If you don’t need these sorts of things on your cruise, then look for an older ship to get a much cheaper cruise. We’ve found that there is a constant flow of deals, and they usually are all about the same. In other words, we don’t really think you should let it influence whether or not you buy… or let it affect the timing of your purchase. As you can see in the chart , the fares for the same cruise can vary dramatically, depending on when you sail. Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts... Costco Travel is easy to use and offers all of the search and filter functions found on any other website.
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