How We Cruise (Part One) - Planning
Welcome, potential cruise passengers! Cruising is one of the most economical ways to see the world while enjoying spectacular dining and entertainment. In this blog series about cruising, we will provide you with some insights to heighten your experience for your next cruise. Good planning is key for a fabulous cruise experience. Al is a meticulous cruise planner. I use a travel planner notebook to record our plans. This planner is amazing! Our trips are built with craftsmanship. Read on to understand what that means.
Cruise Seasons and Geography
Key West Our Zest for Life Photo
First, when planning a trip, we choose the best time of year for sailing. If we are planning a Bahama/Caribbean trip, we go between December and April when the weather is better. May begins the rainy season, and June-November is hurricane season. If we have another destination in mind, we plan for the expected weather in that geographical area.
On our latest cruise, we learned from the captain that he knows the weather reports at least seven days in advance for the travel routes he will be navigating. His job is to ensure the ship avoids entering storm conditions. Although we've encountered rain and moderate to high winds, we have never experienced changes to our cruise plans. See the link at the end of this page for best cruising seasons.
Cruise Availability
Celebrity Summit Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
Next, we research upcoming cruises. We've cruised on Carnival Horizon, Regal Princess, Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas, Holland America Nieuw Statendam, and Celebrity Cruise Lines’ Reflection and Summit. Our favorite is Celebrity Cruises due to their exceptional service.
If this is your first cruise, start by researching the various cruise line websites. Our suggestion is to read about the cruise companies, their travel recommendations, and upcoming cruise itineraries. Narrow down your preferences. Once you become a seasoned cruiser, you will most likely develop a liking for particular cruise lines and you will have less research time involved.
Once you have decided upon a cruise line and itinerary, you are ready to contact a travel agency or go through the cruise line itself to schedule your upcoming vacation. This is when your vacation really begins to take shape.
Travel Agencies
To book our cruises, we prefer to use Costco Travel for many reasons. In our experience, they are consistently dependable, accurate, and customer service-oriented. Our bookings often earn us Costco shopping cards. Most importantly, this agency stands behind its travelers and will assist in obtaining traveler satisfaction with all issues related to their booking.
Once we have decided upon our cruise line, destinations, and dates, we decide on our room. You may look at available rooms on the travel website and choose based on particular features such as sleeping capacity, balcony rooms, or inside staterooms which are often less expensive. Another thing to think about is whether your room is close to the elevators and stairs. Finally, room selection is important because the location on the ship affects how much motion you can feel while cruising. We book mid-ship, anywhere from decks 6–12, and with the room type we prefer such as balcony rooms and those with special benefits included such as spa packages which usually cost more. Sometimes there are special room bundles.
I love a balcony room. They are usually larger. I sit out there with my coffee in the morning and watch the birds dive for fish. The key is to put your money where it’s most important to you, such as experiences, specialty dining, drinks, wifi, or room comforts.
Now we have all our options selected and we are ready to book our cruise online through Costco Travel. After scheduling our cruise, we are not done; we are far from it. Al regularly checks our booked cruise for new discounts, benefits, excursions, or room upgrades. He will search Costco Travel’s website every 3–4 weeks looking for a better fare on our existing room or if a better room has become available. He will then call Costco Travel for any changes, despite what can be long wait times. Costco's staff attentively fulfill our requests and are knowledgeable about different cruise line policies, delivering exceptional customer service. They are wizards at accurately getting our cruises the way we want them.
If you decide to make changes to your cruise, watch your benefits packages to make sure you are aware of any changes due to your new selections. It’s unfortunate to be unaware that a room change removed your free drink package, for example. Costco Travel is very good at going over the effects of your cruise changes with you. Cruise lines update new promotions every month. Many people don’t realize that if the fare on your room category goes lower before your final payment is due, you can get the new lower price by calling Costco Travel. Just be sure the benefits you had from a prior promotion are still there or the lower price may not mean much if you lose a free drink or spa package for your cruise.
Excursions and Reviews
After deciding on a cruise and booking it, we will begin reading about excursions we might be interested in. In our experience, the best excursions are those offered by the cruise lines because they are well-planned and safer than some by private companies. If something goes wrong, you will have more success dealing with the cruise line for a remedy.
While it is common for travelers to seek out excursions that promise a blend of adventure and safety, it is important to recognize the value of the excursions offered by cruise lines. These carefully planned trips take into consideration factors such as timing, logistics, and safety measures. In terms of safety, cruise line excursions adhere to strict guidelines to minimize risks and prioritize the well-being of passengers. They are well-known for their reliability and professionalism, with trained guides who are knowledgeable about the destinations and are equipped to handle various situations that may arise. From ensuring transportation is up to standard to selecting reputable partners for activities, these excursions aim to provide a secure environment to ensure that participants make the most of their time ashore, offering a balance of sightseeing, activities, and cultural experiences. Although private companies also offer appealing excursions, we highly recommend opting for those provided by cruise lines.
When choosing an excursion we read the excursion parameters concerning physical abilities suggested for participation, equipment, clothing required, length of excursion, and services included such as transportation and meals. We strongly suggest that you consider personal limitations and challenges when you sign up for any excursion. Finally, costs vary and can add up quickly.
Reviews on any site include both negative and positive comments. It’s human nature to complain more than we congratulate, but those total percentages on positive remarks don’t lie. You can pick out the consistencies in negative and positive remarks. Pay attention to them for both cruises and excursions. Excursion decisions are not the place to be cavalier or cheap. Again, use your cruise line for booking excursions.
One more tip for booking your excursion, don’t wait! You can book when you board, but prices and availability may prevent you from getting tickets.
Onboard Freebies
On a cruise enjoy free activities like basketball, ping pong, and fitness rooms. There are games and contests near the pools and hot tubs, plus nightly Broadway-quality shows featuring dancers, magic, comedy, and acrobatics. Multiple show times accommodate preferred dining. Ships also offer piano bars, dance clubs, and movies under the stars. Check cruise line websites for details.
Dessert Delicacies Our Zest for Life Photo
Let’s discuss the abundance of free food on cruise ships. Buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included in most packages, offering a wide variety of options including meats, seafood, desserts, and more. This indulgence is included in the cruise price, saving you money compared to dining out for a week on a regular vacation.
Dessert Nirvana Our Zest for Life Photo
From waffles to omelettes, bacon and fresh sliced baked ham, pastries and breakfast casseroles to dinners of meats of all kinds including prime rib, potatoes, roasted vegetables, and pasta; the list is endless. There are seafood shacks and dessert shops with delicacies the likes of which you’ve probably never tried. There are ice creams, gelatos, and sorbets. This immense assortment of ways to indulge goes on every day. Imagine what you would spend in 7 days for three restaurant meals of the caliber you will enjoy while cruising.
Many ships have multiple entertainment venues such as live singing and dancing shows in their theater, piano bars, comedy clubs, and places to dance such as jazz, rock, blues, and other popular music clubs. Some cruise ships have new trending movies on the big screen to watch at night while lounging on the deck under the stars, while eating popcorn and washing it down with a glass of your favorite drink. All this is available to learn about on their websites. Explore.
French Onion Soup Our Zest for Life Photo
Onboard Packages for Purchase
During your cruise, there are many packages for purchase. Drink packages, spa rooms, salons, wine and food pairings, bingo competitions, and casinos are some of the regular items. We are not big drinkers. Typically, we do not buy drink packages as we are happy with a drink or two a day. We will have a few more if a drink package is thrown into our cruise as a benefit. There are plenty of people who like to have a large number of drinks on a cruise. Drink packages can save them a bundle.
Dining Room Our Zest for Life Photo
Specialty restaurant dining costs an additional fee. It’s becoming more expensive, but it gives you something different than dining in the main dining room every night. It provides a high-end, upscale evening featuring the best ingredients available on the ship. The restaurants consist of a steakhouse, teppanyaki, Italian, seafood, and Asian. Le Petit Chef is a unique 4-course menu experience that includes a skull mapping show on your table as well as your plate. I would highly recommend Le Petit Chef for the food quality, and the show cannot be matched.
Famous chefs are also jumping onboard cruise ships with their dining offerings, such as Guy Fieri’s Burger Joint, and BBQ Joint Pig & Anchor, as well as Emeril Lagasse's nightly offerings in the main dining room on Carnival Cruise lines. Chef extraordinaire Daniel Boulud is Celebrity Cruise’s Global Culinary Ambassador. Those burgers at Guy’s Burger Joint are amazingly flavorful and delicious. We couldn’t stop eating them! Check these out on YouTube, especially Le Petit Chef. It’s an amazing experience.
There are some ticketed experiences available onboard, such as meeting the captain or eating at the Chef’s Table. You’re not actually eating with the captain, but you are receiving a 5 to 7-course meal. Prior to the meal, you get to see the kitchen in action as you learn what it takes to feed over 4,000+ people daily.
If you plan to book any shore excursions, specialty dining, or spa offerings, do so early as available times and offerings will dwindle the closer you get to your cruise. Prior to your cruise, keep an eye on shore excursion prices, as they will be at their lowest price on Black Friday. This past Black Friday, we bought the Atlantis Aquaventure Day Pass, normally over $200 per person, for 50% off.
We purchased a behind-the-scenes excursion where we were escorted throughout the Carnival Horizon ship. We toured various parts of the ship that most people do not get to experience. We had some of our grandchildren with us from ages 7 to 11. They seemed to enjoy the different areas according to their interests. Our granddaughters loved it when we went behind the scenes in the theater and had a Q&A session with one of the lead nightly performers who is from England. We highly recommend this type of excursion.
When we discovered spa rooms on cruise ships, we fell in love with the fluffy robes, heated beds with views of ocean waves, saunas, steam rooms, cooling rooms, and hydrotherapy pools, There is no better place to relax on board a cruise ship. Some rooms are listed as spa rooms, and include a spa package, which is the best way to try the spa rooms. However you get there, these rooms are the answer to relaxation and are worth the additional cost. Soft music, water, and warmth— followed by a cold facecloth to refresh yourself after all that warmth. Who could ask for more? We always make time to visit the spa room on our cruises.
Remember to check back on the Costco travel site routinely to make sure you are not missing out on any new deals with your cruise.
Helpful Links:
Cruise.com Article: What is the best time to go on a cruise?
See How We Cruise—Part Two for all things to guide you in preparing for the day of your cruise!
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