Top Tips For Planning a Holiday Cruise By Paul J Jones Article Word Count: 634 [View Summary] Comments (0)

Planning and booking a cruise can be a daunting experience, especially if it is your first time going on one. Whether you are organising your cruise through a travel agency or directly with a cruise line, here are some tips to make the trip an enjoyable one.

The first thing you have to decide is who is going on the cruise. Most cruises are family friendly and will accommodate everyone from toddlers to grandparents, but if you don't have children or don't particularly want to be around them while on holiday, there are cruises that are adult-only. Some cruises will have a dress code, particularly for dinner services, so take this into consideration too. More information about this will be available through your travel agent or cruise line.

You'll then have to decide on a budget. Generally all food and non-alcoholic beverages will be included in the booking price, but many ships will charge extra for specialist dining, casinos and additional shopping. You can save money by booking more than 2 people per cabin or by taking advantage of last minute and advance purchase offers. Cabin selection is normally a function of how much you want to spend and many cruisers will try to book cheaper rooms to free up cash for shore excursions or shopping.

Like most of the travel industry, holiday cruise prices are affected by the seasons, being more affordable in the spring or autumn. This is because children will be in school and the weather can sometimes be unpredictable. If you are travelling without children and don't mind the odd spell of bad weather, this is a good time to get a great price on a holiday cruise. Some cruises, such as ones crossing the Norwegian fjords or the Baltic Sea, have limited seasons, roughly mid-May to mid-September. Tropical destinations will be available all year long, although the amount of rainfall will vary.

The next thing you have to take into account is how long your holiday is going to be. The longer the holiday, the more options you have for cruise destinations. Shorter cruises from Britain are available for Scandinavian destinations, Dublin, Amsterdam or Hamburg. Longer cruises popular with Britons include Caribbean and South American destinations.

The most critical point is where you want to go on a holiday cruise. This is often the most difficult decision for travellers. Remember that over three-quarters of the planet are covered by water, meaning you can reach each of the four continents and a great many countries on a cruise. Your choice of destination will of course be dependent on external factors dealt with previously, but remember that cruises are a relaxing and rewarding way to travel and there are many destinations to suit any budget or time period.

Going on a cruise offers a wide range of recreational activities, which will depend on your destination, and size of ship. Larger ships can offer gyms, spas, climbing walls and more, but there's obviously the option of sitting on the sun deck and taking in the view. Scuba diving and other water sports can also be an option. Once you dock at destinations, cruises can offer port excursions to see historical and cultural sites, including museums and galleries. Your cruise line will provide a list of shore activities available to you before you book, often cheaper if you book before departure.

When arranging travel to your departure port, remember that many hotels offer long and short term hotel parking offers near international ports and docks, many with overnight accommodation, which can be a relief for early departure times.

Bearing all this in mind should help you make an informed decision to book the right holiday cruise for you and your party that will leave you with experiences and memories that last a lifetime.

Paul Jones is an avid model enthusiast and has been involved with model assembly, design and painting for over 20 years.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Better For Late Risers

By Ian Gilder

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Royal Caribbean Cruise lines are rolling out a new service that will benefit passengers on the day they disembark to return home, this will be of special benefit for travellers that have later flights.

Those familiar with being wrenched awake far too early only to have disembark their cruise holidays before spending hours waiting for flights, need no longer despair after Royal Caribbean cruise lines revealed that they are to roll out their Late Departure scheme across Europe.

Tested successfully before on the firms 'Brilliance of the Seas' and 'Splendour of the Seas' ships in the summer of 2009 the programme offers individuals access to the liner up until 90minutes before it is due to depart. Costing an additional $35 per adult and $17.50 per child whilst not being able to remain in cabins the liners services such as spa, fitness centre and some restaurants stay open, allowing for people to prepare to leave at their own pace rather than ending up in an airport waiting lounge several hours early.

The move by Royal Caribbean will be of particular benefit to many in the UK who utilise cheap flights to connect to liners already out in the Mediterranean. However, with late night flights commonplace, British returns passengers often have to spend the whole day staggering around with luggage in the heat and waiting for travel connections to go home. It will also likely prove beneficial for Royal Caribbean, one of the only cruise lines offering such a facility, by offering an attractive programme that allows late risers an extra lie in and less stress on the final day of their holiday.

Jetline Cruise are fully bonded agents for all major cruise lines, Our area of expertise is offering discounted cruise deals and cruise holidays, as the saying goes we sell cruise holidays cheaply not cheap cruise holidays.

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7 Top Things to Consider When Choosing Among Caribbean Cruises Packages

By Caroline Hawthorn

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Taking one of many Caribbean cruises could be an enchanting opportunity to spend days filled with fun activities, exquisite dining and endless entertainment for all sorts of travelers, old and young, relaxed and full of energy. Rest assured that cruise travel can satisfy even the most demanding travel connoisseur if you know how to choose the best cruise package to meet your needs.

Listed below you will find some important tips to consider and discuss with your travel agent before embarking on one of the Caribbean cruises.

1. Cost of Caribbean Cruises is the highest in the spring and summer, however if you are a traveler on a budget, consider cheap Caribbean cruises during the off season, or if you are a risk taker, get the best bargain for a cruise during a hurricane season. Talk to your travel agent about what is included and what is not to avoid as many hidden fees as possible.

2. Picking the size of the ship is another important factor to consider. The general rule for picking the ship for your cruise travel is the larger the ship the more amenities it's going to offer to its travelers. Some mega-sized modern cruise ships can hold up to 5,000 people on board making them literally floating entertainment centers. Travelers can choose from giant water slides to huge swimming pools, walls for rock climbing and even skating rinks. Statistically speaking, first time cruise takers tend to choose larger ships, while seasoned cruisers will opt for smaller ships traveling to more unique destinations. The choice is all yours.

3. Caribbean cruises itineraries are carefully planned to include seeing three or at times five islands within the average 7 day cruise travel period. Each Caribbean island has its unique geographic and historical significance. Choose among three major Caribbean cruises destinations, Southern, Eastern and Western. Shorter itineraries of less than a week are also offered and usually include Bahamas and Key West, Florida Sea ports.

4. Choosing your cabin in advance is one of the most important decisions to make before setting on your cruise vacation. There are four general types of rooms you can choose from, namely, inside and outside cabins, balcony and suite. Interior cabins are usually smaller settings without windows and tend to be the least expensive cabin choices on the ship. Outside cabins will boast a window to enjoy the ocean view, however be aware that some windows are partially obstructed and might not offer the best possible viewing options.

A balcony cabin will have full length sliding doors to take you to a small veranda overlooking the ocean with a small table and two chairs. This type of arrangements costs considerably more compared to the interior and outside cabins. Suite cabin is a choice of luxury and lavish travel with roomy quarters, balcony, private sun deck, a Jacuzzi tub or even a butler at your services if requested.

5. Dining options are multiple to choose from and offer a plethora of fine dining experiences. Choose between early or later dinner services or indulge at a buffet station at any time during the night. Discuss if in room service dining options are going to add to your cruise cost.

6. Time spent in the ports and days of cruise travel at sea are also important factors to discuss with your booking travel agent. Keep in mind that Sunday is usually an off day for many shopping and sightseeing adventures at many Caribbean Sea ports.

7. If you have a family member with physical limitations or in a wheelchair, it's important to discuss these matter with your travel agent at the time you book your travel package to ensure that the ship is equipped with special ramps and safety features necessary to accommodate persons with disabilities. In addition, certain Caribbean Sea ports do not have facilities for the ships to dock forcing them to anchor offshore and creating difficulties to transport individuals in wheelchairs by small boats.

Follow these tips to get the most of your Caribbean cruises adventures and match your needs and needs of your family.

Caroline Hawthorn is one of the fellow contributors of the travel blog at http://www.TravelInformation123.com.

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Cruise Entertainment and Dining Activities

By Farrukh Baig

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Entertainment activities.

Cruise ship offer different types of entertainment activities like dancing, bingo, art auctions, lectures, pool and deck games, cooking classes, casinos, wine testing, special children's activities, production shows, pool side entertainment, shopping, internet, quiz's games, library, bands playing, cards, cinemas and discos. With these kind of activities to do it is very unlikely to get bored on a cruise trip. Cruise liners provide there daily program list. So be sure to get this list every day. The cruise director led the entertainment staff and organizes all the events.

Dining activities.

On cruise trip you will find yourself spending more time eating than doing anything else. Food is one of the main stars of any cruise trip. In majority of cruise trip meals will be included in your fare with the opportunities to eat all day; early breakfast, full breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and midnight buffet. The quality of food will be reflected in the cruises ratings. Some cruise lines still assign all passengers to a table and a meal time in a main dining room, but traditional cruise dining no longer exists so your diner can be served near by pool. Some economical level cruise will prepared frozen meals and luxury cruises will off freshly cooked food.

Extra costs.

The cruise fare include meals and entertainment cost. Your cruise trip cost increase with the cost of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, cabin telephone calls, casino, photographs, shopping, gift ships, tips and shore extensions. Due to competitive cruise pricing, the cruise liners have implemented different ways to increase there income. Some cruise liners have increased the facilities to get extra money. Here are some tips to save money. Like lot of shore excursions, increase the cost of trip, try to upgrading to cruise that includes these outings in the fare. Shore excursions on-board cost more then quayside excursions. Use email facilities then phone. Look for special offers of cruise liners, it will save money.

Medical facilities.

Majority cruise ships consist of medical facilities and a licensed doctor on-board. The medical center should be able to treat, evaluate and provide reasonable emergency medical care for passengers. The on-board doctor is available for 24 hours. For serious problem there are procedures.

Safety concerns.

For passenger safety there are large number of rules and regulations. Regular inspections are carried out by the cruise liner staff. Cruise ships are built and operate under international rules known as safety of life at sea (solas). This requires the ships to have lifeboats and lifebelts for all passengers and crew and on most cases smoke detectors, sprinklers and low-level emergency lighting for escape routes. Cruise within 24 hours on-board, you will be asked to participate in a safety drill.

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