Choose Your Cruise Tip #3 - Selecting a Cruise Line

By this step in the Choose Your Cruise Series, hopefully you are becoming less apprehensive about selecting a cruise and are beginning to get really excited about your upcoming adventure. Just remember, that while selecting a cruise may be more difficult than selecting a resort for your vacation, cruise ships offer just as many amenities (some offer way more than the typical resort), and your “floating hotel” doesn’t stay in the same place. Spas that pamper, swimming pools, concierge and butler services, gourmet restaurants, Broadway-style shows, live music, the list goes on and on! And, you are delivered to many fascinating ports of call where you are given the opportunity to experience the local culture, tour historical points of interest, or engage in other land based activities.

Selecting the cruise line that matches up best with your vacation time and desired itinerary should be a fun experience for you. It’s fine to explore various options on your own; however, we highly recommend that you seek the expertise of an experience travel planner. Most travel planners have intimate knowledge of the top cruise lines in the industry and will be able to guide you in selecting the cruise line that best suits your needs and desires.

There are many things to consider when choosing a cruise line. Here are a few different questions to ask yourself when you are looking to select a cruise line for your next vacation:

• What kind of cabin do we want? While inside cabins are the most economical, they are also windowless and cramped. More and more modern ships today feature balcony cabins, which are especially nice to take in the views.
• Do we want to meet lots of new people? Would we rather keep to ourselves? Some cruise ships have fixed seating for dinner times and only offer a few tables for parties of two. Generally, everyone sits at large tables. If that isn’t appealing to you, you should look for cruise ships that have multiple, flexible dining times.
• Do we want to get dressed up, or do we prefer casual dining? If the latter is true, don’t choose a cruise that has formal dining requirements. There are quite a few cruise lines that offer casual dining for every evening.
• Is this a family cruise? If so, you should look into cruise lines that are more kid friendly. There are several cruise lines that cater to families by offering activities, events, and meals that are aimed at pleasing the younger members of your family along with still offering all of the things that still appeal to adult travelers too.
• Are we looking to participate in a “themed” cruise? Cruise lines are offering more and more themed cruises that appeal to various groups of people. Do you love Harley Davidson motorcycles? There’s a cruise for that. How about a murder mystery cruise? History or Cultural Heritage cruises, Christian themed cruises…you name it, there’s a cruise out there tailored for that particular theme. The only caveat to most of these themed cruises is that they have limited sailings. So, you may end up having to book a trip during a time-frame that you didn’t initially plan.

All of these questions and more should be considered when looking to book passage with a particular cruise line. Ensuring that you are matched up correctly with a cruise line that meets your needs and desires is a critical component of creating a great or terrible cruise experience. This is why we recommend that you use a qualified, experienced travel planner. By asking the right questions and getting to know what your expectations and desires are for your next cruise, a travel planner can match you up with the best cruise line in order to give you a great cruise experience.