Info About Cruises

If you have never been on a cruise before then it can seem impossible to know what to do first! So we have up come with some top tips for the planning of your cruise to make sure that you get the best out of your once in a live time trip!

1. Make sure you have the finance! This may seem like a fairly obvious point to make but many people think that when you pay for a cruise everything is included, this unfortunately isn't the case, drinks, spa treatments, gifts, casino money etc aren't included so you need to know you'll be able to afford the extra's too!

2. Book at least a year in advance, this way you will be able to make sure you have all the money you want to take on your holidays! You may also find that your cabin may get upgraded!

3. Decided when and where you want to go first! By picking the places you want to go to and what time of year you want to go will both make finding the cruise you want quicker but it also means you will be spending all that money on something that's worth it.

4. Read about the cruise ship before you book, don't just assume it will be the one for you! All sorts of people go on cruises so there tends to be certain ships which suits certain people more, from young people to just couples, so do your homework first! So if you are going on a cruise with different age groups then it's a good idea to try and get something that will suit everyone from activities to do in the day for the younger ones to some nice entertainment at nice to suit the older generations whatever you need you'll be able to find a boat that can offer you it!

5. Go for the most expensive cabin you can afford the more it costs the nice it will be!

6. It's always a good idea to think about what you want do to whilst in your cruise before you go. When you book your holiday you will get given a list of on shore activities that you can take part in, these will vary from tours around museums or historical grounds, scuba diving and a number of other water sports. This allows you to get the most out of each of you destinations, however some spaces on trips maybe limited but you wont need to book until you get onboard, you can however ask if you can reserve a place on a particular tour if you wish to!

7. Think about when you want to dine, most ships have set times, early dining is around 6pm and then late seating around 8.30pm, however this can vary from ship to ship and some may have a third choice making earlier seating earlier and late seating later. Ships may also offer the choice of open dining, allowing you to eat whenever which is normally the case for breakfast and lunch.
-> Early dining if good for those of you who what to see all the shows as you will have finished your dinner in time to have your pick of the entertainment, giving you more of a nightlife before you head to bed. However early dining does mean you will have to leave the pool early or make sure that any on shore activities finish in time for you to make your reservations.
-> Late dining gives you plenty of time to lie round the pool and take part in the activities you wish, but also it gives you that extra time to get ready for diner. Unfortunately late dining may not finish until 10pm which may mean you miss out on shows, and some of the nightlife!
-> It's also often a good idea to think about size table you want, for example they most often have tables of 2, 4, 6 and 8, if you wish to have a table of 2 every night its often a good idea to let your travel agent know and when you get on board as tables can be limited.

8. Think about dressing up! On many cruise lines they tend to have formal or semi-formal dress code night where passengers get dressed up with men wear suits or tux's and lady's wear cocktail dress or silk suits. If this is the case then you want to make sure you back the right attire so you fit in, however some cruise ships have started to introduce less formal wear such as resort casual, this allows you dress up in formal or non-formal wear. So which ever dress code suits you best it's always a good idea to see if the boat you are looking at is suited with that as you don't want to be left feeling over or under dressed.

9. Think about how you will get to your cruise ship docking point! Travelling via car or plane are the two most popular choices, car journeys there are best if you don't live that far away, however many cruise lines offer you the choice of fly and cruise, this means they will arrange your flights to the dock point, this price maybe higher than that if you booked your own flights however it does often include transfer from the airport to the ship and for those of you who tend to over pack, they usually transfer your bags straight to the ship! Choosing to go with the cruse line flights also means that if by any chance your flight is late the ship is more likely to wait for you, as you will find onboard most probably are a few fellow cruises in the same boat' as you!

Cruises

• Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising could be trips of a few days or more, but could be a round-the-world trip of a lifetime.