Complete Guide on How to Book a Cruise

Table Of Content

• Complete Guide: How to Book a Cruise
• How to Book a Cruise for the First Time: a Comprehensive Step-by-step Guide
• CardMatch
• For consulting reviews from other cruisers: Cruise Critic
• Useful Things to Pack For Your Cruise (Including 17 You’d Never Think Of)
• Disembarkation at the End of Your Trip
• Choosing a Time of Year to Sail

Rooms at the very front or very back of the ship will naturally have less foot traffic around them and some people prefer these rooms given there are fewer people around them. Booking Aft, Forward, or MidshipThe first choice you’ll face is whether you want to be aft, forward, or in the middle of the ship. The decision rests with where you think you’ll spend most of your time and if you worry about having to walk.

Complete Guide: How to Book a Cruise

If something goes wrong, an agent can help rectify the situation faster than you may be able to if you go it alone. Most make their money via commissions from the cruise lines. Leppert calls it “the best of the best” advice to go with a travel advisor. Private Islands These days cruise lines all have their own private island, with most being in The Bahamas. If you are able to book an itinerary to a private island, then we highly recommend it. It’s pretty clear right from the start if you prefer to do a cruise around the Mediterranean or if you’re more interested in going to Alaska.

How to Book a Cruise for the First Time: a Comprehensive Step-by-step Guide

This is especially important for first-time cruisers who are unsure which cruise line or style is best for them. If you're looking for a budget-friendly vacation, you can squeeze three to four people in a regular inside, outside or balcony cabin. Just make sure your brood's good with tight quarters and bunk beds.

CardMatch

Travel agents also often have access to discounts and perks that you won’t get booking on your own. First and foremost, you’ll find cheaper prices on older cruise ships. With all the bells and whistles of a new ship, many passengers seem to opt to book those ships instead, leading to high demand. Meanwhile, cruise lines often lower the prices on older ships.

For consulting reviews from other cruisers: Cruise Critic

Apart from the buffet and the dining room, most sit-down restaurants on cruise ships these days have an extra charge for eating there. Sloan agrees and says people book cruises much further in advance than a hotel or flight, which means that inventory can get gobbled up quickly. Many cruise lines open up their reservation window as far as two years in advance, which means certain cabins can get snatched up.

For example, as of March 2023, I can book a cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line through spring or fall of 2025, depending on the ship. The best time to book a cruise is when you've done your planning, picked a ship and found a cruise fare that fits your budget and offers good value. But that doesn't stop vacationers from wondering if they'd find a cheaper price if they wait to book tomorrow, next week or next month. If you have the same stateroom for both voyages, you won’t need to pack up and take everything off the ship with you once the first sailing ends. On the last day of the first cruise, cruise lines have a special meeting point for those who are sailing back-to-back. You will still have to get off the ship with your passport and go through customs and then go to a waiting room in the terminal with other back-to-back passengers before getting back on.

Useful Things to Pack For Your Cruise (Including 17 You’d Never Think Of)

Disney Cruises is a quality cruise line that commands a higher price than other cruise lines that cater to families and kids. As you can imagine, the ships are Disney themed and offer many Disney shows and experiences. Even though Disney is more expensive, many people rave about the Disney cruise experience – from entertainment, dining and service, the kid’s camp and more. Many first time cruisers find the process of booking and planning a cruise confusing, for good reason.

Disembarkation at the End of Your Trip

17 Best Websites To Book Cruises at the Cheapest Prices [2024] - Upgraded Points

17 Best Websites To Book Cruises at the Cheapest Prices .

Posted: Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Caribbean cruises itineraries offer water activities, beaches, sightseeing and shopping. There’s Western Caribbean, Eastern and Southern Caribbean to choose from, with each port of call feeling unique and offering different types of excursions. One site may advertise a lower fare for a cabin that is located in an undesirable location while another has a higher fare because it is a better situated cabin or on a higher floor.

These third-party travel websites allow you to use lots of criteria to search for a cruise within your chosen parameters and provide search results from multiple different cruise lines. You can then sort by things like ‘price – low to high’ or ‘price per night, low to high’ to look at the very best deals for cruises that are currently available for booking. Unfortunately, most cruise lines do not offer free cancellations or changes to take advantage of price drops after you book. Passengers can always negotiate with a booking site or cruise line, but they aren't obligated to refund the difference. Instead, they may offer you onboard credit, complimentary excursions or credit toward another cruise booking.

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. Holland America passengers are generally experienced and mature travelers. Along with group pricing, they might have special perks to offer like onboard spending money, prepaid gratuities, a free bottle of wine or comped dinner in a for-fee restaurant. Even if the price is the same, these additional perks are often where the savings come in. Prepaid gratuities, for instance, can save you hundreds of dollars, depending on how many people are in your cruise group. Yes, there are differences between booking directly with the cruise line versus using a travel agent.

You might find a cheap cruise deal or a fare packed with extras (like complimentary beverage packages, free kids fares or reduced deposits). You’ll need to know details like which cruise ship and cabin they want, as well as finer nuances like whether they’re going to want set-time or anytime dining. But as long as you have all of that information as well as credentials like their address, phone number, passport number, etc., it’s easy to make a cruise booking for someone else. When planning a cruise for extended family or a group that will be divided into multiple cabins, the biggest suggestion we have is to book as far out as you can. This is especially imperative if you’re sailing with several other people but plan to share a stateroom, as larger multi-bedroom suites are in short supply but high demand. What’s confusing for many first-timers is that some food is free, and some places are a charge to eat.

Any time you buy a drink, or a meal, or get a spa service — any sort of service that’s delivered by a staff member — you can expect an extra charge on top of the menu price. Pack a Passport, Not a Birth CertificateOne good thing about cruising is that you can visit a foreign country with only a birth certificate and a government-issued ID. If your cruise leaves and returns from the same port, then you can likely sail without a passport. As well, many cruise lines make every adult in the cabin buy the package if one adult does.