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So you've decided to go on your first ocean cruise, and you have a lot of questions. Not to worry. You're not alone. Below you'll find some basic information about cruising. This information applies to mainstream cruises only, and does not apply to junior luxury and luxury cruise lines. Examples of mainstream lines include Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America...
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CRUISE INCLUSIONS:
- Your stateroom
- Port fees and taxes
- Three meals/day with snacks throughout the day
- Coffee, tea, iced tea, juice and milk
- Onboard entertainment, including pools, hot tubs, evening shows...
- Onboard enrichment, such as lectures
- State-of-the art fitness center
EXTRA COST:
- Gratuities -- unless prepaid or offered during a promotion
- Dining at the specialty restaurants -- unless offered through a promotion
- Soda and spirits -- unless a beverage package has been pre-purchased or offered as part of a promotion
- Photos taken by the ship's photographers
- Spa treatments
- Gambling
- Wi-Fi -- unless offered as part of a promotion
- Excursions off the ship
- Private solarium for adults only might incur an extra fee, depending on cruise line
CRUISE DEPOSITS:
Deposits on cruise lines will vary, depending on any promotions in play at the time of the booking. It could be as low as $25 per person (rare, usually offered once or twice/year by the cruise lines), or $50 per person (often offered by Norwegian Cruise Line), or the full $250 per person for a one-week cruise (think Royal Caribbean and Celebrity), or 10 or 20 percent of your fare, often seen on Princess. These are only examples. Deposits fluctuate wildly, and may or may not be refundable. Terms will be shared before your credit card is charged.
TRIP INSURANCE:
Cruise Planners is partnered with Allianz, an excellent trip insurance company. Those of us in the business can write a book about situations our clients have encountered where Allianz saved the day. And it doesn't just apply to you. If something serious happens to relatives, caregivers, business partners, and other important figures in your life, you are protected for cancellation -- for qualifying reasons. As John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
AIR / HOTELS / TRANSFERS:
These vacation elements can all be arranged through Debbie. You are free to purchase air on your own.
FINAL PAYMENT:
On the mainstream cruise lines final payment will be between 75 and 120 days in advance, depending on cruise line. Information will appear on your confirmation. Will send a final payment notice several weeks before final payment is due. Final payment is always processed five days prior to the hard and fast cruise line deadlines for individual bookings, or two weeks prior to deadline for groups. This is to protect YOU, so that your booking does not cancel out. Sometimes your credit card's bank suspects fraudulent activity when seeing a charge from an unknown source, and this can take several days to work out.
CANCELLATIONS:
Check your cruise confirmation or the cruise line website for their tiered cancellation penalties, which usually start immediately after final payment, with the exception of nonrefundable deposits.
PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS:
Cruise Planners strongly recommends a passport for all travel, valid a minimum of six months post-travel. Many cruise lines and airlines have adopted the 6-month policy, regardless of the information provided at travel.state.gov. Current 2020 passport processing can take up to eight weeks. Some excursions on an Alaska cruise require passports or passport cards, as they enter Canada and return to the U.S. by land.
On some closed-loop cruises, where you leave from and return to the same American port, you can get by with an original, state-issued, certified birth certificate and matching government ID with photo -- or a passport card. Please note that if you need to fly home to the U.S. from any foreign location, including Canada and Mexico, you will not be able to do so without a passport, regardless of age. Please note that hospital-issued birth certificates will be rejected, and if the two forms of ID do not match, a bridge document will be required, such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree.
Children 15 and under require either a passport, or an original, state-issued birth certificate.
LUGGAGE:
I recommend one medium or large suitcase per person, along with a carry-on for personal effects. Once unpacked you will put the carry-on inside of the larger suitcase, and slide both under the bed. You will be handing your medium or large suitcase to the pier attendant and will see it in your room sometime around mid-afternoon.
CPAP MACHINES:
Please notify Debbie at final payment if you will be bringing a CPAP machine onboard with you. Some cruise lines will supply distilled water and extension cords free of charge; others will ask that you bring an extension cord, or purchase distilled water through their online store.
IRONS AND CURLING IRONS:
Not allowed on any cruise ship, for safety reasons. A hair dryer will be provided in your stateroom, sometimes attached to the inside of one of the drawers in the main room.
ARRIVAL AT PORT:
I strongly recommend arriving at your city of embarkation a minimum of one night before departure, no matter how close the port is to your home. Traffic accidents, plane delays, and flight cancellations are prevalent these days, and can prevent you from boarding on time.
BRINGING ALCOHOL ONBOARD:
Most mainstream cruise lines will allow you to bring one bottle of wine or champagne onboard at embarkation. If you don't consume it in your room, there is usually a corkage fee at the restaurant. No hard alcohol can be brought onboard. All spirits purchased during your trip will be held for you until disembarkation. On some cruise lines you can purchase alcohol in advance through their online gift shops for delivery to your stateroom. Rules vary.
SHIP EMBARKATION:
You can usually board around noon and enjoy a nice first-day lunch. Some cruise lines attempt crowd control by sending boarding time notices in advance.
LAUNDRY SERVICE:
On some Princess and Holland America ships, self-serve laundry is available for a fee. On other cruise lines you can send your luggage in, using a bag that's in your closet. Clothing is usually returned the next day. Pricing is by the piece and varies from ship to ship. Every now and then the cruise lines will run a bag special, where they will charge one price for everything you can stuff into a bag. When this happens, it's usually mid-trip.
SMOKING ONBOARD:
Banned in the staterooms of almost every cruise line. However, there will always be designated smoking areas somewhere on the ship, indicated in your daily bulletin.
CLAUSTROPHOBIA ONBOARD:
Such a myth. Between the activities, open spaces, nooks and crannies, and port stops, you won't be stationary for long -- unless you want to be!
SEASICKNESS:
Most ships have multiple stabilizers that minimize motion. When in doubt, bring dramamine, bonine, a wrist bracelet, patch, or any type of ginger product.
FORWARD STATEROOMS AND MOTION SICKNESS:
I have been everywhere on a ship, and have experienced very few issues. In a serious storm you WILL feel more motion if you are forward. You might also hear the anchor mechanism (briefly) in and out of ports. Note that some of the oceanview staterooms in the front of the ship have extra room -- and are less expensive.
FLYING HOME AFTER DISEMBARKATION:
Cruise line transfers are usually available for guests taking flights 4 1/2 to 5 hours after the published arrival time back at port. Check with Jo-Ann for exceptions. Give yourselves plenty of time. The Florida ports and airports are extremely congested on cruise line embarkation and disembarkation days.
THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION.
