Post Last Modified – June 17, 2021
Tips For Planning Your Very First Cruise Vacation
Are you thinking of taking a Cruise Vacation but not quite sure just where and how to begin planning your cruise? Cruise planning can be a lot of fun if you start out by looking and searching in the right places. In this post, I have put together a few helpful Tips For Cruise Planning for first time cruisers.
Things we learned from our previous cruise vacations and from gathered from seasoned cruisers, all to help get you started in the right direction.
First off, I suggest having a look at this short but informative video. It’s about things to know before cruising from a leading travel expert.
Cruise Travel Tips – YouTube Video
Tips For Planning Your First Cruise
There are literally hundreds of cruises to choose from at any given time of the year. I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is …
“How can I possibly find one that is right for us?”
Selecting The Right Cruise – Things To Consider
Well, the first thing to do is narrow down those hundreds of cruises by asking the yourself the 5 W’s;
Who, What, Where, When and Why
Who is all going on our cruise? This will help for stateroom selection later.
What length of cruise will suit your travel plans?
Where in the world do we want to cruise? (This will greatly narrow down your choices.)
Whendo you want to take your cruise vacation?
Why do you want to take a cruise?
To me, why is an important question to ask yourself, and to others who may traveling with you. If the reasons you come up with fit nicely in a cruise holiday, then your on your way!
A few others questions to ask yourself might be;
How much vacation time do we have available?
What dates are we available to leave?
What port do we want to disembark from? (Keep in mind traveling costs and time to your port of disembarkation.)
What cruise line should we choose? (Do they depart to our selected holiday destination and on dates we are able totravel? Do they offer the best value for our family?)
I personally look for all of the above!
These are great questions to ask yourself prior to visiting a specialized Cruise Consultant at a travel agency. If you are booking on-line on your own, be sure to have answered some of these questions to yourself beforehand.
There are literally hundreds of cruises to choose from!
As well, be sure to book with a reputable online cruise travel business, or directly with your chosen cruise line.
Your travel agent will ask you these very questions, in order to help narrow down what cruises are available for you at your specified time and date.
Get The Whole Family Involved When Choosing Your Cruise
Disney Cruise Ship in Vancouver British Columbia
When researching and looking at cruises, get everyone involved who will be going on that vacation. It builds excitement and anticipation toward the upcoming holiday.
Everyone gets to offer suggestions, ideas and so much more in helping select that perfect cruise vacation!
The internet is an excellent research tool, if not the best instant resource to check out when cruise planning. You can browse reviews from previous passengers on a cruise you may want to select, check itineraries and so much more.
All at your fingertips – instantly!
Research Each Cruise Line Before Purchasing Your Cruise Package
Be sure to visit each individual cruise line websites for complete itineraries, prices, cruise specials and more. For those making their final bookings with and who are taking advantage of the many 👩 Benefits of Booking With a Travel Agent for instance, having this information and doing a little research in advance is great.
Your agent may be able to find and offer some great additional incentives on a particular cruise you have researched!
Some major cruise lines for those in North America to visit should include but not limited to;
✔ Carnival Cruise Line;
✔ Princess Cruises;
✔ Celebrity Cruises;
✔ Royal Caribbean Cruises;
✔ Norwegian Cruise Lines
If you prefer not to use the internet, just drop by any reputable local travel agency and pick up some colorful literature on cruises. All the individual major cruise lines have wonderful updated cruise vacation brochures, filled with exciting itineraries, prices, dates, specials and much more!
You can even download most of their cruise brochures right from their websites.
A great way to get started!
Internet cruise review websites are also a great resource for reading what others have to say about a particular cruise. Get excellent tips, suggestions, feedback and a lot more to assist in your for cruise planning.
I’ve listed one of my favorite and very reputable cruise review websites for you to check out at your convenience below.
📰 CruiseCritic – Cruise Reviews
Get overall feedback on cruise destinations, cruise lines, service, cleanliness and so on. This all assists in helping to make decisions about selecting a particular cruise line, destination and itinerary.
Note:
Reviews are helpful but not something you should solely rely on. Everyone is very different in tastes and expectations.Review sites will give you a general idea and feel for what you may or may not expect on a selectedcruise.
I always refer to these review websites for just that, a basic review only! I then try to put them all together and make my own conclusions.
Consider Contacting A Cruise Vacation Specialist
Cruise Ships Anchored in St Maarten
Reputable travel companies have endless amounts of information available at your fingertips. Whether you receive the information online or at their door, it is always there for the asking.
Is your life just too busy to take the time to plan that perfect vacation? Well don’t worry, you are like most of us out there in today’s busy world. Cruise planning or for that matter planning any vacation, takes a great deal of time!
Travel consultants can assist in the planning process, suggest options and do extensive research for you, saving you valuable time. What people don’t realize is that it costs you nothing!
Travel agents make their money from the cruise lines, insurance companies, hotels and so forth, that they book with for you. They don’t charge you a fee at all. How great is that!
The best part of travel consultants is that their advice and suggestions are absolutely free!
These are just a few First Time Cruisers Planning Tips for you that I’ve listed here. Our family have enjoyed 4 great cruises in past years, and always look forward to adding a cruise vacation at some point in our travel adventures.
Update June 2021 – Cruise Sailings Have Begun
I received an email newsletter from my Professional Cruise Consultant that I normally book with. I thought I would pass it on for those who may be wondering what is happening in the cruise industry.
I was recently looking at some cruises in 2021 & 2022 for some clients. I was surprised to see some sailings were already filling up or even sold out! The cruise lines are expecting pent up demand for travel as we are all hoping to be able to start cruising again.
It appears for those of you who may be thinking of an upcoming cruise vacation, now may be the time to book risk free!
For more detailed information, I’ve included a link to an article listing tentative reopening dates for your convenience. This post is updated on a regular basis.
⚓ Cruise Lines Reopening Dates
Safe and Healthy Travels!
✨ Did You Know
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⚓ Finding All Inclusive Cruise Deals
🏝 Royal Caribbean South Pacific Cruise – Review
🛳 NCL Mediterranean Cruise – Review
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