Choosing the Right Cruise for You

Whether you’re about to choose your first cruise or just looking for a new adventure, there’s a lot to consider before you book your cabin. Not only do you want your expectations met in the quality and type of service, food, entertainment, amenities and accommodation you enjoy, but if you’re taking children you want to be sure they will be happy as well.

The itinerary matters, of course, which brings up the cost of traveling to and from the embarkation and disembarkation ports as well as (hopefully!) a few days on land pre- or post-cruise to enjoy that location.

Finally, the biggest consideration—the cost! No matter our individual preferences and style of travel, we all want maximum value for cruise investment. See the buttons at the bottom of this page for suggestions on finding a deal, choosing the right cabin, and a link to websites to plan your cruise.

• Consider Your Travel Style

Are you used to luxury five star resorts? Or do you search out a good deal, balancing your budget against the amenities? In that sense, you’ll gear your cruise line selection to your travel style similarly to how you choose a hotel. There are many price levels within the ocean cruising industry, from very expensive lines like Regent, Viking, and Oceania down to the less expensive Carnival and MSC, with great variations in between.

Ship Within a Ship Upscale Options

Cruise ship selection differs from land-based vacation planning not only in considering food and entertainment in addition to accomodations, but also in one unique concept. There are “ship within a ship” options, found on some of the lower and mid-level ships, which can give you a more luxury experience in service, dining, private deck space, ameneties, etc, at a savings over sailing on an actual luxury cruise ship. One of the best examples is MSC’s “Yacht Club,” where paying extra on this low-cost cruise line still comes in much cheaper than a more expensive line but gets you 24-hour butler service, exclusive dining, lounge, pool and hot tub locations and more.

• Spending more doesn’t necessary mean you’ll like the cruise better

In fact, our most spendy cruise was the most disappointing of all we’ve been on. Realize that more luxurious cruises are often on smaller ships. While these have the advantage of more personal service and the ability to enter smaller ports, they also have fewer and smaller entertainment venues so your choices are limited and sometimes simply a singer or musicians, and they are not set up to deal with children. At any pricepoint, the age and stability of the ship can impact your enjoyment of any voyage., just as the staff and service on any ship can make or break your vacation. Read on for more important factors to consider.

• When choosing your itinerary, be careful to research the weather during that season

Is it in a hurricane zone which may cause port cancellations or rough seas? Or will it be winter? If it’s a cooler destination, does the ship have enough interior entertainment spaces to keep from feeling crowded, and perhaps an interior pool or one with a sliding roof? Sometimes really good deals on cruises come with these types of trade-offs that you should be aware of and willing to accept. Seasons can also be a way to save money—see more on our Best Deal page.

• Before you book a cruise, do some research on the exact ship you’re considering 

Read reviews.  Not every ship has the same level of quality even within a cruise line you’ve enjoyed before. Consider your own preferences and the type of voyage.  If you are crossing an ocean or a rough sea, realize a newer, larger ship is most likely to have modern stabilizers that smooth out the rocking best.  Sometimes older ships, especially those based in smaller ports, may be used for training or get lower quality staffing and might not meet your expectations (another clue is unusually inexpensive fares).   Also, if you’re doing a colder weather cruise you may be looking for different amenities (like a covered pool area and interior restaurants) than for a warm weather cruise (where outdoor areas need to be abundant), as I mentioned above with weather considerations.

• Read reviews, watch youtube ship tours (including ours!), and then take it all with a grain of salt 

Joining Facebook groups specific to your cruise line or even your exact ship or exact sailing can be helpful as you can ask questions of more experienced cruisers who might know about menus, entertainment and excursions, as well as special dress up nights (like white night or 80’s night) likely on your exact cruise.  You can also join a “roll call” for your specific sailing in the Cruise Critic forums.  These resources can be very helpful.  BUT BUT BUT!  Take it all with a grain of salt.  Tastes vary and cruisers can be incredibly critical and entitled.  These groups can have a lot of blown-out-of-proportion complaints often related to uncontrollable events like bad weather, or specific employees, or the cruisers own attitude.  They can also be very rude.  So proceed with caution and thick skin.  There are plenty of kind, helpful people as well, and on roll calls and voyage-specific FB groups, you may be able to join with others for an independent excursion.

• Another consideration is whether you need to work or stay connected while traveling

Wifi quality can vastly vary from ship to ship and is affected by your itinerary.  If you need to work onboard, do some research to see if your specific ship has a StarLink system—if so you might get decent coverage unless you’re in a very remote location like the middle of the ocean.  Otherwise your wifi may be very, very slow.  Read reviews on the wifi, realizing people’s needs and expectations vary. Click here for a recent article explaining which ships have Starlink, which is your best bet for good wifi.

• If you don’t want to be bombarded with children or spring-break college students, avoid school holidays

It might pay to Google academic calendars of colleges near the embarkation port as well as local elementary school district calendars to avoid major holidays. Another strategy is to book longer cruises (most young families and students can’t get away for longer than a week).  Generally, cheaper prices and a selection of more youthful activities (like water slides, race tracks, ropes courses, etc) available on the ship correlate to more kids and young adults on the ship. If you really prefer cruising with no kids, you may want to consider an adults-only cruise line like Virgin (there are others as well).

• On longer cruises, laundry is a consideration

In fact, those chasing status with a certain cruise line often cite free laundry as the most valuable perk of a high level. I prefer ships with self-laundry facilities as sending it out can get expensive. If none is available, watch for “whole bag” deals on certain days, or take laundry soap sheets to do your own laundry in the sink and hang it in the shower (most have short cord-pull lines) or using a suction cup closeline in your cabin (never on a balcony) like this one we love from Amazon*. Just trap your clothing corners between the wrapped cords. We take laundry sheets like these also from Amazon for quick washes in the sink.

• Inclusions can make a difference in price

Some cruises can be purchases as “fare only” or with some level of inclusion package. Some cruises, especially luxury ones, are all-inclusive. Some cruises have multiple dining venues that are included (i.e. NCL) while others just have a main dining room and buffet with most other options costing extra. Some give you a credit toward an excursion (read the fine print!) or discounted airfare (read the fine print and reviews!). Some cruises include the gratuity, others add somewhere around $20-30 per person per day (depending on cruise line and cabin type) to your bill during the sailing (or you can choose to pay it while booking). Though called by various names like crew appreciation or onboard service charge, these can add up to quite a lot of money. Check the policy before you book. If you enjoy alcohol, or even just lattes and sodas, you’ll be paying extra as well, with gratuities usually added to every purchase automatically. Ditto for specialty dining. See “Tips for Saving Money” for more information and ideas.

• Solo Cruising

Those who cruise alone are aware this can significantly add to the cost. Generally, cabin rates are based on double occupancy and traditionally most have charged double, basically the rate for 2 people, even if you are sailing alone. This “solo tax” is a deterrent for those cruising alone.

In response, several cruise lines have been creating or setting aside cabins designed specifically for solo cruisers, especially on their newer ships. Seven of Norwegian’s ships offer 82 “studios,” each designed for solos and including access to a shared living room space where you can meet other solo travelers. Each is priced at the rate of one person (their regular rooms, on the other hand, include a 100% mark-up for the “single supplement”). Cris Gawlik from A Suitcase and a Smile cruises solo quite a bit and shared that NCL also has a designated cruise member that acts as a concierge for the solo travelers, holding socials, ice breaker activities, encouraging going on excursions together, eating with others, and more—smoothing the path to friendships forming. Cris did mention that solo rooms sell quickly so plan ahead. She also cruises solo on small luxury ships and may reach out to them at the last minute, if her schedule is flexible and she’s nearby, to see how motivated they are to drop the price to fill a leftover room, and this has worked for her on occassion.

Holland America offers special meet-ups and 12 single cabins on their 3 newest, biggest ships, priced for one. Royal Caribbean also has 28 solo cabins on several of their ships as well as special activities, all at solo pricing. Virgin, Cunard and a couple of luxury cruise lines also have solo accomodations but with varying single supplements. Check with your cruise line or travel agent to see what is available for the itineraries you’re looking at. Since these single-priced cabins are limited, planning ahead is prudent.

The good news is that cruise lines are waking up to the needs of this market and designing new ships with cabins that fit the niche cost-effectively, so hopefully more fair accessibility is to come. Various solo cruisers have YouTube channels that give you an idea of what it’s like and how to cruise solo economically, such as ‘Where’s BabZ’ and ‘30 and a Wake Up’.

Cruise Plum has this page specifically for Solo Deals.

The Keys to Enjoying Whatever Cruise You Take

• No cruise line is perfect. The staff work very hard, long hours and while they are doing their best they too get sick, seasick, tired and have real life problems as they live aboard the ship while they work.

• On no cruise will you like all of the food. It may be the cooking; it may be that they can’t acquire the fresh foods you like best on the itinerary you chose; it may not be a cuisine you enjoy or are used to. You can always find something edible and not too bad to sustain life. Temper your expectations accordingly with the deal you got and you’ll usually be fine.

• Illnesses go around cruise ships just like they go around colleges, hospitals, large events and workplaces. It’s unavoidable. Do your best not to touch anything and wash your hands frequently. Avoid crowded elevators and sitting near visibly/audibly sick people (you can get up and move or request another table). Take vitamins or probiotics or whatever you prefer for prevention and drink lots of water. The forced air in the ship can also make you feel a little off or coughing from the dryness. Take along a few cold remedies (and seasick tablets!) just in case, to avoid the high cost of onboard medical treatment.

• Your attitude is the most important factor in your enjoyment. You’ve got to be flexible to be a happy cruiser. The sea and weather can’t be controlled and it’s not the cruise line’s fault. Ports get cancelled or changed. Heck, cruises get cancelled in entirety (Would you rather be in a hurricane? Good reason for cruise insurance!). It may look smooth and sunny to you, so you might be angry you skipped a port, not understanding that wind in that port would make docking or tendering too dangerous. Just be glad your captain avoided the bad weather in that case.

  Overlook the small problems that are bound to come up. Find entertainers and food you like and skip the rest. Take your own entertainment along in case you are bored on a rainy day. Be kind. Make friends. Have compassion for the crew.

  Be polite even when others aren’t—even if they rush into the elevator before you get out, even if they don’t hold the door, even if they save a lounger and don’t use it (tell a crew member). Just don’t be like them. Wait in line patiently, use good hygiene, don’t take or order more than you can eat (you can always get more, but you can’t undo the waste), clear your things off the lounger if you aren’t using it; avoid controversial conversations; and shed any sense of entitlement. When negatives occur, adjust your plan and change areas—you might even find a better situation. Be patient and flexible and you’ll enjoy your cruise a lot more!