Talk to me about cruises

[papasmurf]

Thinking of adding a cruise to our holiday next year. We’ve never done any cruise before.

Are their many options?

Any do’s or dont’s?

[7SeasSailor]

Have a look at vacationstogo.com Its an American site so you can't buy off it but it gives you nearly every cruise world wide. You can choose by shipping line, region or ports.

[richard29]

We have done 4 & 5 night Bahama cruises from Port Canaveral, and 7-11 night Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale and Miami. All have been with Royal Caribbean and have been great. We normally do the cruise first and then 7-14 days in Orlando for shopping and relaxing. We don't go to parks anymore as its normally just hubby and I now.

[cheekydeeky]

Originally Posted by 7SeasSailor

Have a look at vacationstogo.com Its an American site so you can't buy off it but it gives you nearly every cruise world wide. You can choose by shipping line, region or ports.

See more...

You can buy. We met a couple from the UK who always buy a 90day ticker. I’ve also had a quote from them but ended up not booking as being sensible for a change (doubt it will last ).

[JAF]

Have used vacationstogo.com without any problems in the past for a Royal Caribbean cruise which we took one Christmas.

[Omega1]

Some cruise lines allow UK residents to book with US agents - some don’t.
There are points for and against booking with a US agent but on balance several experienced Disney cruisers on this site advocate using a US agent.
Our cruise line of choice doesn’t allow us to use a US agent consequently we often miss out on great deals and promotions being offered in the States.

[Bats]

You need to weedle down your choices a little first.

1. Maybe ask yourself when you want to go (dates as exact as possible)
2. Where you'd like to go (exclude places rather than including them, makes it easier. So if you're in Orlando, you exclude Med, Alaska, Asia etc
3. Price cap - what is the most you're willing to pay
4. How many nights to do you want (min or max)

Once you've got those answers, you can start with

1. What does each cruiseline offer my family (activities for children, free drinks packages, free upgrades etc)
2. Reviews - read them but ignore the top and bottom 20%

Hopefully that helps.
Omega is right about some not being able to book with a US agent but I'm sure people here will be able to help you with that once you've made a decision. We only book DCL so it's easy for us - we don't touch UK agents. Other cruiselines may be better to book with UK ones - choose one first then experienced cruisers with that line will be able to help I'm sure.

Joa