Hints On Booking Cruises

As I see that some members go on cruises, or may be thinking on going on them, I thought I might put down a few hints to think about.

There are likely to be others and I shall add them if I think of them.

Please don't take some of the points I make as a negative as cruises are generally all excellent.

Obviously you will look for a cruise where the destination takes your fancy. There are lots of companies and the main types of cruises are Ocean cruises or River cruises.

Once you've picked which cruise you can check the price for booking through the cruise company and the price you can get it through some of the specialist cruise travel agents. Some agents will give you a discount and others will give you a choice of extras - such as a free taxi to and from the airport.

Check carefully what is included and don't assume that anything is included unless it says so.
Some companies include drinks all the time (usually some of the more expensive cruises), others offer free drinks during meals and some don't offer any.

Virtually all ships have a main dining room and some speciality restaurants and some charge for using speciality restaurants. Some have set dining times in the main dining room and others don't (turn up when you like) and some have set tables so you end up with the same people each day.

Some include excursions and others don't. Similarly with tips and most don't allow you to opt out of tips.

The larger ships tend to have more activities, bigger stage shows and more younger people including kids. The smaller ships tend to restrict kids or not allow them at all.

Ocean Cruises:-
If you tend to worry about whether you may become seasick (most modern ships have stabilisers so much less chance of that) then book a cabin in the centre area (not too close to the front or back) of the ship where there is less movement. I would like to emphasise that there is rarely enough movement to bother about. Also towards the rear of the ship there can be some vibration from the screws or thrusters. It's best not to have a cabin too close to the lifts or stairs as it can be a bit noisy at night if a group come back late after drinking a bit much.

A point about which side of the ship to choose:-
As most ships stay within sight of land it is usually nicer to pick the side that faces land - unless you really just like looking at the open ocean.

Try to take as little baggage as possible and a lot of ships now have self-service launderettes.

Don't just rely on having all your info on a mobile as, apart from the fact that you could lose the mobile, some copies of documents can be very important and I have seen quite a few problems where paper copies would have solved them easier. Take a copy of your photo page of your passport (two copies would be even better) and keep one in hand luggage and one in hold luggage. If you take medication take a copy of your prescription. Also of your booking confirmation, including flight tickets (I've seen the electronic system of self check-in at airports go down). Even if they never become necessary (almost never do) it helps with peace of mind.

When choosing excursions make sure you are physically up to it - they explain how strenuous they can be.

If travelling to a hot country a fold up umbrella can be very handy to either keep the rain or sun off when ashore.

 

Yes, of course!

 

You need to check with a number of insurers whether they cover cruises. An important feature to look for is the limit they set for cancellation as some of them quite often don't give high enough cover. If you're getting a single insurance to cover more than one passenger (husband and wife, or mother and daughter ) some cover is not enough. Some limit cover to 5k and others to 10k. Some posher or longer cruises could easily exceed that particularly if they are all inclusive.

The EHIC health cover has been replaced, for UK citizens, by a GHIC . They only cover you for health care in other countries. You need to make sure you are covered for repatriation - not unusual for people on holiday to fall and break a leg (nothing to do with cruises) or needing repatriation due to Covid .

Always study insurance policies to see whether they cover you properly for what you want. That also goes for home insurance where people have been caught out.

 

It's definitely a good idea to go with someone as most cruises charge a lot more for a single booking for a cabin. There's usually so much to do on board and on excursions that you don't need to see much of a companion except for "cabin" time but I know a lot of females book to share a cabin with a female friend.

 

@CanadianLori I have little experience with that but I'm sure we can all think of things. With Mrs Shiney and I having been together for almost 60 years we seem to get by OK.

 

I looked up one of the 12 day cruise and land trip she went on and it would have cost over 20k to have a room by herself. She doesn't pay anything and I bet the TV company do a deal getting the holiday free because of the publicity.
I want to try that but I can't sing and nobody wants to watch a grumpy old man