…be spending a $120, or more a day, on drinks. That’s $840 for a week-long cruise. Some cruises cost less than the drinks package could be costing you! It can be pretty expensive. If you want to control your budget and make sure that you spend less, not having a drinks package is probably a good idea because you can keep an eye on what you’re spending every day, either on the ship’s App or by checking in with guest services. You’re probably going…
…(as they are rather costly) then reviews suggest they are very much a hot cruise line. Viking Cruise Line Another line that is getting consistently good reviews, and on CruiseCritic gets the highest passenger rating of any line (4.6 out of 5) is one that I am also on the fence about, as I will explain, and this is Viking Cruises. Like Virgin Voyages it is also an adult only line, 18 plus, which is something that reviewers rate. There are so few a…
…e most passengers choose to sail. On the plus side, whether it’s a massive cruise ship like those within the Carnival or Royal Caribbean fleets, through to smaller ones like Azamara, we can now go to those three areas on any size of ship and price category we want. Of course, there’s been some opening of new places cruises go to, but the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Alaska are still where most people choose to cruise. Nickel & Diming The next key…
…ith varied sailing times each day. And unlike ocean cruising where usually cruise ships are in port for the entire day and sailing at night, this is less likely when river cruising. The sailing schedule is more varied. So, there may be a stop in one place in the morning, then sailing to another to explore in the afternoon. But the next day totally different. There is often little time to self-explore in the program, to try local restaurants or bar…
…is having on which lines do well and those that don’t. Best & Worst Small Ship Luxury Cruise Lines The lines in the small ship luxury category, like Azamara, Oceania, Viking and Saga, mostly operate ships between 700 and 1,200 passengers, although some, like Windstar, are much smaller. Most have a wide range of cabin types starting from Inside and Oceanview, up to suites and make a big deal of being able to call into smaller ports than bigger shi…
…urse, you can switch things up by choosing different cruise lines, smaller ships or bigger ships to try and shake it up a bit, but there’s always a risk of experiencing repetitive itineraries. Itinerary changes One of the other downsides of cruising is that you’ll find that the cruise lines can change or cancel a port at any time without giving you compensation. Of course, cruise lines aren’t going to do this because they want to, but they’re goin…
…entre in New York and here’s where you’ll hear more classical music. Newer ships On the newer ships, they also have the Rolling Stone Rock Room which, as the name suggests, is rock music. There’s a huge focus on music on board the ships and it’s great when you’re cruising the Caribbean, come back from a day out at the beach or wherever, and you can basically rotate around those different venues listening to all different types of music. In additio…
…hough the ones worth visiting is not. I count 45 Mediterranean ports where cruise ships can dock. But there are many more places where ships can anchor and tender guests. Especially around the Greek islands. Most Mediterranean cruises are 7-nights and call at no more than 6 ports. I told Winnie she must make sure the cruise she chooses calls on as many must-visit ports as possible. Surprisingly, only a few of the most beautiful ports in the Medite…
…ne level of stateroom. They seem especially popular when new brochures and cruises are announced, and then when cruises some time off but they trying to encourage early booking. Tip #2: The More Flexible You Are, The Lower the Fare. The more flexible you are, the lower the fare is likely to be. If you are set on going on a specific cruise on a specific date in a specific stateroom, you are most likely going to pay the highest fare as you will need…
…ren’t your thing, you might like my cruise apparel and products store. The Cruise Travel Guide The Cruise Travel Guide makes it easier and more fun to discover, plan and enjoy the unforgettable cruise vacations that you and your family dream of. This is my collection of some of the most popular and insightful tips and advice from my Tips for Travellers YouTube Channel. It draws on my various videos which make it fun and easy to discover, plan and…
…or have a broad basic region you want to go to, and you are flexible about cruise line and ship you are on, this is going to give you the greatest chance of finding a deal. Focus on local ports from where you are, as getting a flight last minute is often expensive. Flight prices tend to go up the closer it gets to departure. So, while you might get a great cruise deal the savings may be negated by the cost of the flight to the port. So, I recommen…
