Starting Your Cruise Planning

Explore the World of Cruise Vacationing If you've ever thought about going on your first cruise, October is the time to begin that journey.  We suggest you also read our article Cruise Rookies to get started.

Remember when you were a baby and you found something on the floor?  What's the first thing you'd do?   Most likely, you put it in your mouth to see what it was. You compared the newly found object with others that you had already experienced. 

To start planning a cruise vacation, there are three basic questions you'll need to answer.   The answers to those first questions will narrow the list of remaining choices that you'll need to make.  You can draw upon past experiences in your life to answer them.

When do you want to go? 

There are cruises year-round, but some destinations have specific cruise seasons, like Alaska for example which goes from May through September.  The more flexible you are on when you want to go, the more choices you'll have to select from.  Also if cost is a factor, the time of year you travel will play a significant role in what you pay.

Where do you want to go?

Assuming that the time you selected has several cruises that match your criteria, you'll next want to decide what you'd like to see. Since this is your first cruise, the sky is the limit - everything is going to be new to you. After you have been cruising awhile, you'll want to try different destinations.

There are 23 ports in the United States that offer cruises ranging from 3 nights up to World Cruises which are over 100 nights in length. If you have restrictions on where you want to depart from, that will limit the ports of call that you could potentially visit.

What type of accommodations do you want?

If you've ever made hotel reservations, it won't come as a shock to you that the next question you'll be asked is what type of cabin you would like.

There are three basic types of cabins: 
inside cabins (like your bedroom with no window), outside (again like your bedroom, but now you have a port hole or picture window), and balcony (it includes a private veranda with a sliding door).

There are additional classifications of cabins, but we don't need to get into that at this time.  Location (forward / aft / mid-ship and deck) factors into the cost of the cabin.   If you think that the motion of the ship might make you uncomfortable, you'll want to have a cabin mid-ship.

As you can see, booking a cruise vacation is very similar to booking a hotel room.   You decide when you want the reservation,  which hotel location, and what type of room.   Your hotel could either face the parking lot or the ocean with the latter costing more than the former.

For more cruise resources, be sure to bookmark the following blog post, where we'll be adding additional links throughout the entire month.

Virtual National Cruise Vacation Week Calendar 2011

It is best to discuss your cruise plans, especially for your first cruise, with a professional cruise specialist.  They can assist you by asking all the right questions to narrow down your selection to the cruise that is right for you. We love working with first time cruisers since we are able to draw upon our experience and expertise to get them started on, what we hope will be, a lifetime of cruise vacations.

NCL Freestyle Dining - Secret Announcement

NCL Freestyle Cruising®
Shh! Program Changes Coming Soon

I've spoken about Freestyle Dining in several past articles. You can search this blog to read them if you need additional details. As a quick refresher, guests have several dining options which range from the traditional dining room setting to specialty restaurants that offer a more intimite setting with personalized attention and additional cost.

The other aspect of Freestyle Dining is the ability to select the time that you wish to dine. As you might imagine you don't always get your first choice since you are competing with your fellow passengers for that time slot. Currently it is possible to make reservations but only 24 - 48 hours in advance. For those that truly want to make last minute decisions, you can check availability with the various restaurants or on some ships, you can check a status board to determine what choices are currently available (much like you would do at an amusement park).

Having cruised for over 25 years, I'm used to the traditional dining where I request either early or late seating and the table size. Usually, I request early seating and a large table size so that I have the opportunity to meet new people.

In 2001, when aboard the Norwegian Sun for it's inaugural, I was dragged kicking and screaming into the new world of Freestyle Dining. To be honest, I didn't like it. But to be fair, the program was in its infancy. It has grown up quite a bit since that time. I still prefer traditional dining, but there are times when Freestyle Dining has worked out very well for our evening plans.

It seems you either love Freestlye or hate it. Those that are used to traditional dining may be like me, kicking and screaming about the new dining methods. There are others that will object to the extra cost. They will ask, isn't food included in the price of the cruise? Why do I have to pay an additional charge to go to the steakhouse, for example?

My answer, to all that ask, is "you have a choice". In fact on most NCL ships you have around 13 choices or so. All I can suggest is try it some time and see if you like it.

Norwegian Cruise Line took a risk when they broke from the traditional dinner pattern and it has paid off for them. Other cruise lines have added additional dining options. You know what they say about imitation...

NCL is about to make yet another tweak to their Freestyle Dining program. The change is in response to passenger suggestions over the years. Remember those comment cards that you fill out every cruise? This change proves that NCL does listen to their passengers and are willing to try different things.

The change that is about to be implemented will be welcomed by all those past guests that have made the suggestion. NCL has not officially announced the program, but they have leaked advance notice to their elite agencies. I cannot share the information publicly, but I can provide details if you send me an email or give me a call. Watch this column for the official announcement - I expect it within the next couple of weeks.

Note: As of August 27th, NCL has still not publicly announced this program change. There are some technical aspects of the program that still need to be resolved before it can be implemented. Stay tuned for further updates.

For the inside scoop - call or email me