Cruise Trip - How to Plan?

Zen on planning a Cruise Trip

It's an amazing experience. Unparalleled… especially if you're a foodie and if you've got kids. 

Selection Criteria-

- Type of Ship… bigger the better.  A lot of ventures like Star Cruises pass themselves off as Luxury Cruises where as they are not even comparable to the big ones. 

- Newer ships are much better and fancy than the old ones. The offer good rides and adventure sports. Rock climbing, water surfing , water rides, bumper cars, go carting etc. 

- 2 types of cruise journeys : Regular tours and repositioning cruise. In the former, generally start and end ports are same. The latter involves relocating the ship generally from the Americas to Asia/ EUROPE or vice Versa. This is done to accomodate the holiday seasons across the pacific. Repositioning cruises are mostly much cheaper than regular ones. However they will involve travelling to distant places like Australia or USA. Closest ports for regular cruises from india are Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai. 

- Top cruise liners include Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess etc. But no point in comparing the liners/ companies. It's the ships and itineraries and that should be compared. 

- Most cruises are kids centric in terms of activities and dining. My recent one "Spectrum of the Seas" was a great cruise with the next levels of luxury. It was a large ship though slightly crowded with nearly 4000 guests. Kids centric amenities- 24 hrs food : pizza, ice creams, sodas, hot dogs. Bumper cars, water slides, surfing , kids activities like treasure hunts, teenagers club etc. Interestingly some European cruises are fiercely "non kids centric" and are more inclined towards Seniors. Each ship is designed accordingly. Hence the ship is more important than the company. 

It is costly. Undoubtedly. But then it's an experience which comes at a cost. 

All ships post a daily activity well in advance. One can plan their day accordingly. Some dining venues and auditorium shows need to be booked in advance. Yes they have huge formal dining Halls and auditoriums … capacities upto 2000. Some cruise liners insist on formal attire in dining halls in the Optional Captains dinner. Do pack if keen to attend. It's a formal show. Men are expected in tux or equivalent. Ladies in dresses. 

Gratuity is compulsory and the rates are fixed. Generally 4-8 USD per person per day. The tour agent can get a discount if gratuities are paid upfront at the time of booking and not at the end of the journey. 

Foodies — the sheer opulence is overwhelming. The menus are next level - Sea food, sushi, prawns, lobster tails, steaks, fruits ….. multiple types of cuisines. Carry Eno 😂 

Food also depends on the destination and nationalities travelling. There's Jain food options also available. 

Visa requirements are country specific. The cruise booking guy can guide you best. For a port call some countries insist for a visa some don't. Handle accordingly. In Repositioning cruises the visa requirements are very heavy due to number of countries touched, unlike regular trips (max 2-3 countries) 

Port day excursions are costly. Private ones will be much cheaper and as per your interests. 

Only advantage of Cruise org trips is that they are responsible for you getting back on time. In other cases, the ship sails as per sch itinerary. 

I avoid shore excursions and use the less crowded day to explore the ship better. In any case you can't see much of a city in 5-6 hours. But to be fair, my last  port city was penang…. I had seen Malaysia multiple times and the beaches didn't interest me as I was travelling from the Andamans. So skipped 😊😊

Trade profitably with our intraday bank nifty option tips on a daily basis as we trade less but trade accurately.

Tips 

Booze is damn costly. See if your cruise allows you to take yours. Mine allowed wine. 

First day - don't waste time settling the room. Go out and explore the ship. These are huge ships and will take hours exploring for each deck. 

Choose rooms closest to upper decks as most activities are there. Higher floors are good. Close to the elevators to reduce walk time but not right next to else it will be loud and noisy throughout. 

There's nothing  like turbulence or sea sickness. Zilch. 

Carry USD cash or card. All dealings are in USD. Visa is better. 

Most balcony rooms accommodate 4 incl a sofa cum bed. Some indoor staterooms also do. You get good deals through agents and sometimes online too. Mostly through agents. Can pass on my tour operators details if interested. 

Check reqmts of formals for main dining halls… most  don't allow shorts or wet clothes. Be prepared accordingly. These are formal halls (like the titanic 😁) offering 7 course meals. 

On arrival, room cards are made for all including the kids. These cards are everything on the ship for all transactions,  billing etc. These cards will be linked to your credit card. Brief the kids as they may inadvertently end up doing shopping or sign up for a paid venture. 

Safety drill briefs are long and boring. See the video and skip where feasible. Shop staff will insist on you hearing to the extent possible. 

Fine dining experiences are truly world class. The service, cuisine, China, cutlery etc is really good. 

Shall enclose the recent cruise compass so it's clear on the daily routine. 

Hope this helps. Specifics … feel free to connect.