Planning Your First Cruise

If you are planning your first cruise It can be a challenge for those who either haven't traveled much or who haven't taken an organized tour or vacation. How will you plan that first cruise? Family and friends discuss together that where they want to travel or vacation next. You might have heard cruise tales from and seen (or been subjected to) cruise vacation pictures taken by your family and friends, or read in magazines and the Web about how much fun (and economical) cruising can be. If you want to "take the plunge" and go on your first cruise, where you will start?

Patsy Ann Statue in Juneau, Alaska

First-time cruisers should probably work with a travel agent who is experienced in booking cruises. However, before you contact the travel agency or cruise line, you will need to know some important things in advance .
So we are going to discuss such things which will help you in selecting a cruise line and cruise ship.

Floatplane Landing in Juneau, Alaska

a) How many people going on cruise ? Kids are there or not. If you don't have kids or don't want to be around them while on vacation, there are some cruise ships that are almost adult only or won't have many children.

b) What is your budget ? There is no maximum limit in it. So need to discuss minimum only. There used to be a "rule of thumb" that you needed to budget about $100/day/person (exclusive of airfare). That rule still seems fairly reasonable, although many cruise ships now charge extra for items that used to be included in the fare. You can decrease your budgeted cost some by shopping around or having more than two persons per cabin or being conservative and booking early coz there are many great discounts on early bookings.

Black Bear at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska

c) Where you want to go is the next question comes in mind? Cruises are usually a little cheaper in the spring or fall. Students of economics will know that this is entirely due to supply and demand. Kids are in school, and weather can sometimes be uncertain. Winter used to be considered the only "high" season for tropical locations like the Caribbean. However, summertime costs are not far behind due to the large numbers of families with children, college students, and others who have "forced summer vacations". Going to the tropics is a little easier. The temperature will not vary much with the seasons. What does vary is the rainfall. The dry season for most tropical locations like the Caribbean and Hawaii is in the summer, and the rainy season is in the winter. This does NOT mean it will rain all of the time. You just need to be prepared for more rain. Afternoon showers are more common. Of course, if you are coming from Canada or the northern U.S., some warm rainfall is not a problem if you have left piles of snow at home!

d) How much time you are going to spend on a cruise? If you have less than a week, you are probably restricted to the Bahamas, Mexico, parts of the Caribbean, or a "cruise to nowhere". A "cruise to nowhere" allows passengers to cruise for a long weekend out of port into the ocean and then return. No ports of call are made by the ship, but you can get a feel for what a cruise is like. A week's vacation will open up the Caribbean to you, and depending on where you live you can even get to Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, or the South Pacific.