Planning a Cruise? A Guide to Booking and Planning Your Cruise Ship Vacation!

Posted by The Marksman at 18 May, at 08 : 29 AM Print

Thousands of people take cruises each year in an effort to get away from work, stress, and pressure of life.  You have many first time cruisers who are partaking in the cruise ship experience for the first time, there are many ways a cruise can go bad, but if you follow this guide you can help to make sure you can minimize problems when booking your cruise.

Cruises are arguably the most difficult holiday to plan and organize because of their secluded nature, which is a positive and a negative depending on how you look at it.  The reason they can be more difficult is because there are large portions of the trip where you are at the mercy of what is available on the ship.  So you need to plan for every contingency, and make sure you have everything you could possibly need in order to have a good time.

You can approach the first step one of two ways, you can book the trip yourself through a travel website like Orbitz or Travelocity.  This will require you to do a lot of research on your own in order to make sure you have a clear picture of what to expect.  You can also select a reliable travel agent who specializes in cruise vacations. He/she will have encountered most problems before and will be able to guide you through all the things you need to know, and make sure all points are covered before you set sail.

I advocate the book it yourself and research it on the internet method, there is so much information freely available if you put the leg work in you can find what you need.   Start by researching cruise ships, transport to and from the ship terminal, how long you will be in each port just to name a few.  Another aspect you need to consider is travel insurance, the reason it may be more useful when taking a cruise is the fact that a lot of the insurance packages will include or discount an emergency helicopter lift.  So if you have a serious incident and they have to call a helicopter to come get you, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.  Remember the cruise ship has only an infirmary which is a small medical clinic, and does not have a full service medical staff.

Having done all the research, and selected a cruise that suits most of needs you were looking for, now you can develop your itinerary.  The first thing you should do is look up other travelers reviews of the same cruise that you just booked, so that you can get a clear picture of how the trip is going to go.  It is IMPORTANT to base your activities around the amount of time spent in each port, do not get too ambitious with your time frames.  The ship will leave you, make no doubts about that.

Regarding the shore excursions when you reach port make sure you have complete copies of all arrangements, time, dates, transport, and seating.  You can book the shore excursions at the same time you book your cruise, or you can do it on the ship just about any time.  If you book on the ship always ask the booking agent how long the excursion lasts, as you want to make sure you have ample time to get back to the ship.

In most cases shore excursions will be joined by people not part of your group or the cruise, so just be aware of that and understand they may not be on the same time table as you.  You should also research local spots in the area that may be close to the port, which may be of interest to you.  You will find that taking in a local venue rather than hitting the “made for tourists” spots may be more rewarding and fun.

With all of this done, you will have organized and booked a great vacation cruise for yourself, you will have all the time you need to enjoy yourself because problems should be at a minimum. Just sit back relax and count the days before it is time for you to leave on your cruise, look out for our coming guide on getting the best out of the cruise ship once you have set sail.

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