P, E, O, P, L, E - LET'S BEGIN WITH PLANNING -
SELECTION OF CRUISE LINE, CRUISE SHIP & ITINERARY
Selection Of Cruise Line, Cruise Ship & Itinerary
Now that you have decided on a region to sail, along with the time of the year, the next step is to begin to identify a potential voyage for booking.
Although you will need the help of a Cruise Travel Professional before you even have your first discussion with this agent by doing your homework you can narrow your decision of cruises to a handful or less of possibilities. There are lots of resources at your disposal, and we talk about some of those here.
If this is your first cruise or if you are considering sailing on a specific cruise line for the first time these steps can help you to narrow down your choices.
A great resource to identify potential voyages are the cruise lines own internet sites. On these sites you can do searches to find voyages that sail the region you are interested in during the time frame you wish and you can get a great deal of information including pricing, itineraries and information about accommodations and the other amenities you will find on board each specific cruise line and cruise ship.
This is a list of many of the most popular cruise lines, by category, and a simple Google search will take you to their respective internet sites.
Regular Cruise Lines:
These cruise lines are often called other names in the cruising industry such as standard cruise lines or mass market lines.
They sail large to resort size ships that carry 1,500 to 5,000+ passengers. Because of their sizes can offer many activities that are not found on smaller to medium size ships and are found on land such as large theaters, multiple swimming pools with water-slides, rock climbing and miniature golfing. Often they are ideal for families with children as they offer many children oriented activities including clubs for the children.
The overall cruise fares are lower than one will find on Premium and Luxury Cruise Lines with more items that will not be included as part of the cruise fare ranging from soft drinks, bottled water, alcohol and gratuities. The size of the standard rooms are smaller than the other categories of cruise lines.
Regular Cruise Lines include:
Carnival Cruise Lines
Costa Cruises
Disney Cruise Line
MSC Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line
P&O Cruises
Princess Cruises
Royal Caribbean International
Premium Cruise Lines:
These lines offer an experience at a higher level than what is offered on Standard Cruise Lines but at levels that are not quite at the levels of Luxury Lines. The size of the ships in this category range from 500 to 1,500 passengers although there are some exceptions to this.
There are many choices in terms of activities but on most of these lines you won't see the children camp programs you might find on the regular cruise lines with a few exceptions such as Holland America which does offer children's camps.
If these cruise lines were land based hotels, we would think hotel brands such as Hyatt Hotels or Fairmont Hotels.
Premium Cruise Lines include:
Azamara Club Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Cunard Line
Holland America
Oceania
Wind Star
Luxury Cruise Lines:
These lines include cruise lines that sail small to medium size ships which have more crew to passengers, more space per passenger then you will see in the other categories of cruise lines. They will provide a higher level of service and include many more items in the cruise fare such as gratuities and alcohol. You will also find many more personal touches on these cruise lines including a more experiences/seasoned crew, champagne at embarkation, and much more personalized services throughout each ship.
Luxury Cruise Lines include:
Crystal Cruises
Sea Cloud
Seabourn
Seadream Yacht Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Silversea Cruises
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
As you visit the respective cruise line internet sites, be sure to read other information contained on these sites such as the amenities offered by the cruise lines, the layout of the ship(s) that you are considering, the specific itineraries you are considering along with an array of other information.
Make use of other resources such as speaking with friends who may have sailed the cruise line(s) and ship(s) that you are considering.
Another fabulous resource which we highly recommend whether this is your first cruise or you are a seasoned cruises is a book that is updated annually by author Douglas Ward and published by Berlitz on Cruising & Cruise Ships. It contains writeup on all the cruise lines we have mentioned and it includes a one-to-three page summary on each cruise ship containing fact based information along with the author's opinions. He uses a rating system to rate six categories for each cruise ship (ship, accommodation, food, service, entertainment, cruise) and provides a total score and also a star rating.
You can also visit others sites devoted to travel and cruising to read reviews written by passengers.
Now, that you have narrowed down a list of potential cruises it is almost time to consult with a travel professional which will be the subject of our next post. We will first cover thoughts on selecting your travel agent.
You can also visit others sites that are devoted to travel and cruising to read reviews written by passengers.
Now, that you have narrowed down a list of potential cruises it is almost time to consult with a travel professional which will be the subject of our next post. We will first cover some thoughts on selecting your travel agent.
Now, that you have narrowed down a list of potential cruises it is almost time to consult with a travel professional which will be the subject of our next post. We will first cover some thoughts on selecting your travel agent.
