Frat House Or Dream House – Choosing The Right Cruise
Frat House Or Dream House – Choosing The Right Cruise For You
Most people who book a cruise for the first time 92 will make their selection based on when they can go and how long they can stay. The second most important factor will be how much it costs. Everything else is dependant on those two items. In 2006 there were 112 different cruise ships operating out of U.S ports transporting about 10 million passengers on some 4500 cruises. 70 of those 10 million people went to destinations in the Caribbean and four cruise lines Carnival Royal Caribbean Norwegian and Celebrity The Big Four accounted for about 3/4 of passengers.
If you fall into that broad category your choices will be fewer but that doesnt mean you have to settle for something you dont want. But simply asking Whats the best ship or cruise line? is kind of like asking Whats the best beer? or Whats the prettiest color? The very things that one cruiser likes about a cruise are the things that other cruisers vigorously dislike. The good news is that whatever you do like there is somebody out there doing a bangup job providing it.
Generally speaking the Big Four specialize in the moreisbetter approach to cruising while smaller cruise lines focus on more specific areas such as 5star quality small intimate ships enrichment etc. Here are some factors you can consider when choosing your cruise.
Size of the Ship.
Here some general observations one can make regarding the size of the ship.
What the passengers are there for.
The bigger the ship the greater the attention paid to make sure that the shipboard experience is as unforgettable as possible. This translates into activities distractions and a festive socially liberal funandgames atmosphere. If that annoys you these big ships may rub you the wrong way.
How many people youll be traveling with.
The bigger the ship the more people there will be on it duh. Generally speaking families singles and singles traveling in groups will prefer the nonstop beat of the large ships. On the other hand if you prefer quiet and dont like the crush of crowds at poolside or in the dining room youll have much better luck in the smaller ships especially the ones that hold fewer than 1200 passengers.
The types of ports you will visit.
Big ships go to big ports. Certain ports such as Roatan Honduras or Vera Cruz Mexico are only available to smaller ships. Sometimes those ports are the very thing that makes the cruise quite special. If the ports of call are at the top of your list of reasons to take a cruise consider booking passage on smaller ships that have extended itineraries.
Age of the Ship
Old is a relative term in the cruise industry meaning ships that were launched around 1990 or before 15 years a go. Many of these ships were stateoftheart at the time and trumpeted the absolute best cruising had to offer. But in the last 15 years cruise ships have gotten bigger and more extravagant in ways that were unimaginable two decades ago.
Older ships are not bad just different. Many are less efficiently designed and have more traditional layouts. Some of the extras and amenities that are common on the newer ships like internet in your cabin themed alternative dining restaurants wave pools and ice rinks dont usually exist on the older ships. Cabins are smaller critical traffic areas such as elevator lobbies and disembarkation lines are congested and shops can be pretty cramped. Some passengers not all notice stale odors or complain that the ventilation systems in the cabins are cranky.
On the flip side many of the older ships have been upfitted and remolded in the last few years and so are fine cruising vessels. They are primarily used on the shorter cruises 35 days and generally charge lower fares. Take into the account the value of the cruise experience. Maybe the older ships arent as fresh and perfect as the newer ones but the value they offer what you get for what you pay can be outstanding.
Design of the Ship
Whether its accomplished with an extreme makeover or during the building stage cruise ships place a premium on the design. Some are designed for luxury some for fun some try to strike a middle ground. Ships are often given star ratings similar to those given to hotels. Some ships are 5star such as Holland America. Others are 4star such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Keep in mind if you want 5star take a cruise on a 5star ship. Dont take a cruise on a 3 or 4star ship and then be unhappy because its not top quality. A good source available on the internet is the Galaxsea.com Cruise Ratings site http://www.galaxsea.com/ratings.html.
I also highly recommended the various message boards that populate the internet. Such sites as Cruisecritic.com or Cruisemates.com are an excellent way to see what other people say about the ship and the itinerary you are considering. You can browse the hundreds of posts by people who have been there and you can ask specific questions of people who take cruising very seriously.
Type of Entertainment
Whether its the combo that plays at poolside the bands that perform in the clubs or the glitzy production numbers that grace the theatres cruise ships put a lot of thought and a ton of money into presenting entertainment. Pick the right entertainment environment and youll spend sundrenched days in blissful happiness. Pick the wrong one and youll feel like youre surrounded by a bunch of people scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard.
Entertainment isnt just about the lounge/club/party scene. Its also about cooking classes lectures watching a movie wine tasting the casino getting your golf swing computer analyzed karaoke bingo gameshow games or touring the galley. You can get a good feel for the type of entertainment and activities a ship offers by going online and checking out the ships onboard newsletter. It lists EVERYTHING happening on the ship. Each cruise lines website will have a sample version of their newsletter. If your travel agent is any good at all they will have copies from a variety of cruises they have taken.
Dining
For many people a cruise is all about the food. If youre one of them youll want to learn what your prospective ship has to offer.
Main Dining aka Formal Dining. All cruise ships have at least one Main Dining venue and many ships have more than one. The main dining room is the embodiment of luxury and service on your ship and they all work hard to offer classy selections. Its an opportunity to try food and preparation styles that you would never experience otherwise. The main dining rooms will also open for breakfast and lunch. There is no assigned seating for these meals but you still get great service and the menu selections are very good.
Many ships now offer alternative restaurants that require reservations and/or a surcharge in which you can choose from restaurants that specialize in French cuisine seafood or any number of other themes. There is a 5 15 surcharge for each person but for people that like the choice its well worth the money. This option usually isnt available on ships built before 1990 because the idea wasnt popular enough to include the extra space needed.
Alternative Dining. In addition to the main dining room all ships have a variety of interesting food options. Each has their own version of buffet lines that operate throughout the day and naturally some are better than others. New York style delis pizza and sushi bars and the always popular poolside grills are but a few of the ideas that are employed. Most ships now also provide coffee shops bakeries and ice cream counters which usually cost extra. Room service is available 24hours a day no charge with pastries and fruit in the mornings and sandwiches and pizza the rest of the day and night.
Available Services
Child Care and Youth Programs. Cruise lines understand that the people paying the tab need to have a good time if they are going to come back again. And the way that you make sure parents have a good time is to make sure the kids they are traveling with have a good time.
If you are planning a family cruise youll want to travel on a ship that provides the best environment for the youngsters in your group. On the other hand if you dont want to have your space invaded by youngsters youll want to stay away from cruise ships that make their youth programs a priority such as Disney. Programs are set up to provide age appropriate activities and are usually free of charge. There will be an orientation about the youth programs on the first day of your cruise so you can get all the information you need as well as meet the people who will be overseeing your kids.
Almost all ships provide incabin babysitting services for an extra fee. When provided these services require you to pay cash directly to the sitter rather than place the charge on your shipboard account.
Educational/Enrichment Programs. Alongside the more traditional programs like yoga nutrition counseling and towel folding some ships now offer programs on gourmet cooking wine tasting art education digital photography computers flower arranging ceramics and much more. Most are offered at no extra charge. The availability of programs increases the longer the cruise. Shorter cruises usually only have a single day at sea which is the most popular time to offer these classes. Some cruise lines place as high a premium on enrichment programs as other cruise lines place on partying and fun.
Spa Facilities. Across the board most ships consider a good spa and gym to be essential. Most cruise lines outsource their spa operation to Steiner Leisure Ltd. of London England who operate the spas on over one hundred cruise ships including all of the spas on Royal Caribbean Carnival and Disney ships. In all probability no matter which ship you select youll have a quality menu of options and a good spa.
Gymnasium/Fitness Center. While you can generally count on a consistent level of quality and service in the spas unfortunately the same cant always be said of the gyms. Some are absolutely spectacular. Others are little more than a closet with treadmills. The newer ships will have very nice gyms regardless of the cruise line. The older ships i.e. those built before 1990 may or may not depending on whether the ship has been recently refit. Exercise equipment usually includes treadmills stationery bikes weights and cardio machines and most come staffed with one or two Fitness Directors. Fitness centers usually include mens and womens locker rooms whirlpools saunas and steam baths.
Internet. Most ships have some kind of internet access but it is a relatively new technology as far as passenger services go. On the newer ships there is access all over the ship even in many cabins. But the older vessels have more limited access. Internet Cafes are as common as casinos. Cruise lines are working hard to implement shipwide wireless internet access and they are definitely getting there. But that doesnt mean youll be able to check your email at poolside. In some cases wireless access is limited to one or two locations. If you do bring your laptop finding electrical outlets on the ship can be REALLY hard. Make sure your battery is charged. Laptops and wireless cards can be rented on board.
Cabin Size and Options
There are basically four options for cabins; inside ocean view suite or balcony some ships call it verandah.
Inside: The least expensive cabin aboard. The size of cabins can vary greatly from one ship to another. RCCL Sovereignclass ships are ridiculously small 119 square feet whereas a similarly priced cabin on Carnival is about 50 larger 187 square feet.
Outside: Usually an identical layout to the inside cabins but has a window or portal. The difference in price between a standard inside cabin and an ocean view cabin ranges from 10 40 per night NOT per cruise depending on the ship and the time of year. In almost all cases outside cabins whether or not they have balconies are larger sometimes by as much as 15. If your outside cabin is on one of the decks that has an exterior deck you wont necessarily see much ocean and youll have to deal with people walking outside your window all day.
Balcony. Before 1990 balconies were not considered important and so most ships built during that time either didnt have any at all or have only a few. For all of the newer ships i.e. those built after 1995 balconies are plentiful. A balcony will add 20 30 per night to the cost of an outside cabin which usually works out to about twice as much as the cost of an inside cabin. For a 3day cruise given the short amount of time youll spend in your cabin a balcony may not be worth double the cost.
Suite. Actually suite is a pretty generous description since what youre actually getting is an extra large cabin about twice the size of your standard cabin and 3 4 times the cost. There are some suites that provide separate sleeping quarters and private hot tubs on the balcony but these are very limited and very expensive 5 10 times as expensive as an inside cabin. Most suites are a larger and usually better furnished version of a standard cabin.
When considering cabin options think about how many people will be sharing it and much time youll be using it. The longer the cruise the more important size and balconies become. Location of the cabin also determines desirability and cost. For example lower cabins sometimes pick up engine noise or the sound of the anchor dropping but they do tend to be more stable in rough seas. Cabins located close to the action near the middle of the ship are convenient but may also be in high traffic areas which translates into noise in the halllway outside your cabin.
Itinerary
Caribbean cruises are broken down into 3 broad regions Western Caribbean Cozumel or Playa del Carmen Mexico; Grand Cayman; Key West FL; the Dominican Republic; Jamaica; Belize; or Costa Rica Eastern Caribbean Bahamas St. Thomas St. John Puerto Rico or Turks Caicos and Southern Caribbean Aruba Martinique Barbados or St. Thomas.
Western Caribbean cruises tend to include more sea days because the destinations are so far apart and the distance one must travel across the Gulf of Mexico is so long. If you take one of these make sure you choose a ship youre going to like because youll be spending a lot of time on it.
Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises usually include more ports of call the islands are right next to each other and therefore offer a wider variety of venues. That doesnt mean youll have a wider variety of activities. The basic offerings from port to port will generally be the same type of activity just different scenery.
Some things youll want to consider in addition to where you are going:
How long will you be there? Ships that are in port for only part of a day only allow enough time for one shore excursion and may not leave time for shopping or bar hopping. Ships that stay in port overnight or at least until midnight allow for more diversity of activities in port.
When do you arrive/leave? This can matter for example if you want to do a sunset dinner cruise but the ship pulls out sundown. Likewise if youve booked a shore excursion on your own that requires a pickup time at 9:30 am but your ship doesnt dock until noon youll lose your money.
How do you get ashore? Sometimes the cruise ships tie up at a pier and you just head down to the gangway and walk ashore. Other times the ship has to anchor away from the dock and deliver people ashore via tenders which means there will be a bottle neck getting on and off the ship. This can be a major pain especially if the ship is one of the super liners that has to disgorge 3000 passengers. Also the roughness of the wind and water can hamper tender activities and can even cause the ship to decide to not stay in the port.
In Summary
For many cruisers you wont really care about all of these factors. No problema. Just pay attention to the ones that are important to you. Whether you are booking through a travel agent or directly with the cruise line ask about the issues that are important to you and make sure you check out the online reviews and message boards to get objective info.
HAPPY CRUISING!
About the writer: Fred Tutwiler is a bestselling author consultant and speaker whose current passion is to explore the vast beautiful domains of the Caribbean aboard huge cruise liners. He has written 7 books on cruising and is working on a video documentary. Download Fred’s FREE ebook “>http://www.dothecaribbean.com/cruisingtipsebook.html”>“The Best Darn Cruising Tips EVER!” .
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