A new place most mornings, and one unpacking
The ship moves while you sleep. You wake up somewhere else.
How a cruise week works
The ship moves overnight, so the week reaches several places and you unpack once. The fare covers the cabin, the meals, and most of what happens on board, and the rest is a short list worth reading before you sail.
One unpacking, several places
The room travels with you, and most of the moving happens while you are asleep.
Meals are part of the fare
The main dining rooms and the buffet are included. Specialty restaurants usually are not, and they fill early.
Days ashore are yours to shape
Excursions can come from the line or be arranged yourself. The difference is who is responsible for getting you back before the ship leaves.
Most of the ship is included
Pools, shows, and the gym come with the fare. Drinks packages, the spa, and the casino do not.
No two sailings feel the same
- A large ship and a small one are different holidays. One carries more to do, and the other reaches ports the big ones cannot.
- The same route in January and in September is two different weeks, in weather and in who else is aboard.
- You can spend every day ashore or barely leave the ship, and both are ordinary ways to sail.
What makes a cruise week work
The cabin sets the shape of the week
Pick the type first, then where it sits on the ship. Those two choices settle how much movement you feel, what wakes you, and how far you walk to dinner.
The fare covers less than the brochure implies
What the fare includes changes from one line to the next, and from one ship to the next. It is better to know the extras before you sail than to meet them on board.
When you book changes what you get
Booking early and booking late buy different things. Which one suits you comes down to how much you care which cabin you end up in.
Cruise guides
When you book a cruise decides more than the price
One friend swears by booking early, another by waiting until the ship is nearly full. They're both right, because they're buying different weeks. The question is…
Choosing a cruise cabin that’s right for you
The booking screen offers a few categories, then a plan of identical rectangles, and treats them as one small choice. They are two, and each one…
Choosing a cruise dining time that’s right for your week
You pick it like a seat request, about as weighty as choosing a pillow. It's the one choice on the booking form that shapes every evening…
A river cruise isn’t a smaller ocean cruise
You've been told a river cruise is the same as a sea cruise, only smaller and calmer. Half of that is true. The rest is a…
The cruise line’s air package, or booking your own flights
The line offers to book your flights and it looks like a convenience fee. What it settles is who finds you a seat when a flight…
Your first cruise, after years of all-inclusive resorts
You're good at resort weeks. A cruise isn't an upgrade on one, it's a different holiday, and the choice turns on what your week is for:…
Caribbean cruise or all-inclusive resort
Two ways to spend the same week in the Caribbean, and how to tell which one is yours.
The four choices that shape a cruise week
Ship, itinerary, cabin, and season. The four choices that decide what a cruise week turns out to be.
So, where would you wake up?
Every one of these is a cruise, and each is planned a little differently. Say which one and we will come back with what fits.