If you’ve never been on a cruise before, you may think that cruising is all beach bumming in island destinations, gorging yourself at the buffet and dancing the night away with a bottomless drink in your hand.
While these are certainly aspects of some cruises, though, not every cruise is the same and before you book a cruise, you need to know what you’re getting into.
Here are the 11 questions to ask yourself before booking a cruise, to help you pick the right cruise to book, as well as the questions to ask to decide if cruising is even for you at all.
In This Article:
- 1. Do I Like a Set Itinerary?
- 2. Do I Like Being Around Other People?
- 3. Am I Overwhelmed By a Lot of Choices?
- 4. What’s My Budget?
- 5. Who Will You Be Cruising With?
- 6. What’s Your Cruise Personality?
- 7. How Long Do You Want to Cruise?
- 8. Where Do You Want to Cruise?
- 9. What Are Your Non-Negotiable Travel Needs?
- 10. What Kind of Cabin Do You Need?
- 11. What Do You Want Included in Your Cruise?
1. Do I Like a Set Itinerary?
The thing about cruising is that you get on the ship and, from there, it’s not really up to you what happens. Sure, you’ll have your pick of all the interesting things to do on the ship (think theatrical shows, rollercoasters, water parks and escape rooms), but the itinerary as far as where you go and when is set.
The only caveat? That set itinerary can change on a whim — and you have no control over that either. Sometimes, cruise ship captains decide to divert their schedules due to bad weather, full ports, safety concerns and other elements. That may mean you skip a stop on your itinerary or replace it with another.
In short, when you cruise, while you may be in charge of what you do on the cruise ship, you’re not so much in charge of where the cruise ship goes, when or why. As such, you’ll need to relinquish a bit of your control, sit back and enjoy the ride.
For some travelers, this is fine and dandy. For others, it can be stressful. As such, think about what you like and how you like to travel before you jump into the cruising experience.
2. Do I Like Being Around Other People?
No matter the size of the cruise ship, you’re going to be around other people. Cruising is not for those who prefer never to see another tourist.
The giant cruise ship Icon of the Seas holds a whopping 7,500-plus passengers at max capacity, but even small cruise ships, like those operated by boutique cruise lines like Windstar Cruises, still hold several hundred guests.
And, remember, it’s not like sailing with a small cruise line means 300 people are spread out over a ship the size of Icon of the Seas. The ship is much smaller, to match the number of cruisers, so the crowd density may feel similar.
As such, if you hate being around other people and prefer to book vacations that take you away from crowds, cruising might not be for you.
3. Am I Overwhelmed By a Lot of Choices?
If you sail on one of today’s larger ships, you’ll be inundated with choices. You have so many options to choose from when it comes to entertainment, activities, dining and drinking. For example, the aforementioned Icon of the Seas has more than 40 restaurants, bars and lounges.
For some travelers, this is a great thing. However, other travelers can find this abundance of choice overwhelming, anxiety-inducing and stressful.
Are you one of the latter? If so, you may find that you prefer to either sail on a smaller ship with a limited number of restaurants, bars and entertainment options, or you might not prefer cruising at all.
Instead, you might prefer to go to an all-inclusive resort, where there’s just a handful of restaurants to pick from and limited activities beyond the beach.
4. What’s My Budget?
It’s unlikely that your budget is going to tell you that you can’t cruise at all. Some cruising options are highly affordable. However, your budget may dictate what type of cruise you take.
Carnival Cruise Line, for example, is known as one of the most budget-friendly cruise lines out there. You can pay as little as $50 per night per person for a Carnival cruise, in some instances.
In contrast, luxury cruise lines like Regent Seven Seas might charge thousands of dollars per night for a stateroom.
That said, you get what you pay for. While Carnival is a fine cruise line, it’s not known for luxury and the line’s budget-friendliness attracts a lot of families and younger adults. Regent Seven Seas, meanwhile, offers top-of-the-line amenities and services, and attracts only the wealthy and, often, older travelers.
Read Also: What Are the Most Affordable Cruise Lines?
Carnival and Regent, though, represent two polar opposite ends of the cruising spectrum. You can find plenty of cruise lines that fall somewhere between the two, in terms of both cost and environment.
As you decide if and how you’ll cruise, think about your budget and your ideal cruising experience, and book accordingly.
5. Who Will You Be Cruising With?
Along the same lines, before booking a cruise, think about who you’ll be cruising with.
If you’re cruising with small children, for example, you don’t want to book a cruise that doesn’t offer many kid-friendly amenities or, even worse, doesn’t allow children altogether (like Virgin Voyages).
Similarly, if you’re cruising with your friends on a girls’ or guys’ trip, you won’t want to book a stuffy luxury cruise where the average age is over 60. You’ll want a cruise where you can let your hair down and party a little (again, like Virgin Voyages).
Even if you’re just cruising by yourself, you may want to sail with certain cruise lines that don’t charge extra fees for sailing on your own (called a single supplement charge).
Before booking any cruise, think about who you’d like to bring with you (or not) and how that might impact what cruise you actually book.
6. What’s Your Cruise Personality?
Again, along the same lines, think about your own cruise personality and what kind of cruising experience you want to have. If you’ve never cruised before, you may not feel like you have a good idea of what your cruise personality is, but think of it in the same way you might think of your travel personality.
For example, do you love to be on the go, constantly, while traveling, seeing and experiencing something new? You might want to book a cruise on a large ship with lots of options and activities, and that’s visiting a large number of ports, with few or no sea days.
Similarly, if you’re a relaxed, low-key traveler who just wants to kick their feet up and chill, you might want to opt for a smaller cruise ship with fewer amenities and activities, and a more relaxed itinerary.
There are also a range of cruises that cater to niche interests. For example, you can find themed cruises that focus on certain television shows or sports teams, expedition cruises from lines like Lindblad Expeditions or family-focused cruises like those offered from Disney.
7. How Long Do You Want to Cruise?
You can find cruises that only sail for three days, like the short weekend cruises that Royal Caribbean offers out of Miami, or you can find cruises that take up to nearly an entire year, like Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise, which took place over more than 270 days.
Of course, you can also find a wide range of cruises that last somewhere between these two opposite ends of the spectrum. So, how long do you want to cruise?
Both shorter and longer cruises come with their pros and cons. A shorter cruise is easier to fit into a busy schedule and can be more convenient for some travelers. A longer cruise gives you more time to become accustomed to the ship and really feel at home, without feeling the need to rush and cram every experience into your trip.
Carefully consider how long you want to be gone, before booking your first cruise.
8. Where Do You Want to Cruise?
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a corner of the world’s waterways where cruise ships don’t show up. Yes, while the major destinations welcome the big cruise ships, the smaller, more remote destinations around the world still welcome their fair share of small, boutique cruise ships.
So, do you want to see some of the most popular cruise destinations out there, like the U.S. Virgin Islands or the Mexican Riviera? Or do you want to go off the beaten path and explore the Galapagos or Papua New Guinea? Or, maybe you want to sail up the Amazon or down the Mississippi?
Worth Reading: When is the Best Time to Cruise the Mexican Riviera?
Wherever you want to go, as long as there’s a body of water, chances are likely there’s a cruise that can take you there. Don’t limit your idea of where cruising can take you.
9. What Are Your Non-Negotiable Travel Needs?
We all have them. As a traveler, there are just some things you don’t want to travel without, no matter where or how you’re traveling. What are those things for you, and can you find a cruise ship that can meet those needs?
For example, maybe you’re a gym rat and you desperately need a good fitness center to keep you feeling your best during a vacation. If that’s the case, look for a cruise ship with a good gym setup (luckily, they’re pretty easy to find).
Maybe you’re a total foodie and dining is the highlight of any vacation you take. If that’s the case, don’t just plan your foodie experiences around your ports of call. Look specifically for a cruise line renowned for its culinary program, such as Celebrity Cruises or Norwegian Cruise Line.
10. What Kind of Cabin Do You Need?
Once you’ve decided that cruising is definitely for you and you’ve narrowed your choices down to a few cruise lines, also think about what kind of cabin you’ll need.
Just like there are myriad cruise line and cruise itinerary options, once you decide on a cruise line and ship, you’ll find that each ship comes with dozens of stateroom and suite selections.
If you’re traveling solo, do you want to spend more for a big stateroom, or would you prefer a singles-geared stateroom that doesn’t come with a singles’ supplement fee?
If you’re traveling with several others or the family, do you want to all be crammed into a small interior stateroom, or would you be better off booking connecting rooms, a suite or even an expansive option like the Ultimate Family Suite on Royal Caribbean.
If you’re more of a luxury traveler, you may want to book a suite regardless of who you’re traveling with. Even if you’re not normally a luxury traveler, you may still want to book a suite anyway, for the perks it gets you.
For example, if you book a suite on Norwegian Cruise Line, dependent on the ship, you may get extra amenities and services such as priority dining and entertainment reservations, concierge service, butler service, personal escort on and off the ship, free room service and more.
11. What Do You Want Included in Your Cruise?
It’s a bit of a misconception that all cruises are all-inclusive.
Yes, when you book a cruise, you can usually get a full trip within the cost of your cruise fare, as cruise ships always have a handful of free dining options and free activities.
However, you usually can’t do and enjoy absolutely everything on the ship for free. In most instances, you’ll pay extra for things like alcoholic beverages or specialty dining.
While that’s the case for most cruise ships, though, some cruise lines are actually all-inclusive, where anything and everything you could want is free, once you’re on the ship.
Read Also: Cruise Myths Debunked – What You Truly Should Know
This is most common on luxury and ultra-luxury cruise lines, such as Silversea, Seabourn or Regent Seven Seas. If you want an all-inclusive experience wherein you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, without ever incurring any extra costs, think about that before you book.
If, though, you’re fine with either paying a little extra here or there, or you don’t feel as if you need any extras, you’ll likely be fine with one of the standard cruise lines.
