Cruising Into Your Next Cruise

Great idea! You've decided to take the family on a cruise! Now what?

First, when deciding where to go, a nice way to start is with a short cruise from a local port. If you live near a port, this is a very low investment way to start cruising. Just take a taxi or an Uber to the port, and you're on your way. This can help you shape your choices. It's easy to pick from limited choices- and it's nice to start with a small investment. Do a 3 to 5 day cruise. Make sure you actually like being on the water and DO take Bonine or get Scopolamine if you have serious sea sickness. Scopolamine can have intense side effects, though, so you are better off with over the counter drugs if those work for you.

Know the Ins & Outs

Now, find a cruise line that is right for your group as well as a ship that fits you. Cruise Critic is the place to go to read ship reviews. There are also video tours of the ships on YouTube. If you are older, smaller ships which are easy to get on and off and easy to get around might be right for you. But they don't have the family entertainment found on the big ships - like bumper cars, wave riders and giant slides. Also, as far as price point goes, older ships are often a better deal and can go to smaller ports, which is especially important in Alaska. The giant ships can't go in to Glacier Bay, for example.

You want to shop for your cruise carefully. Many cruise lines have sales - and they sometimes reduce the amount you need to deposit. Also, some lines have refundable deposits, which makes it easy to change your mind. This can be very important. Do NOT pay your cruise in full - because before the date of full payment, you can get the amount of your trip reduced if the price goes down, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE NOT PAID in full! You will need to track the cruise price (either by going to check often or by getting a website that does this for you).

Excursions

DO buy your excursions early. They DO sell out. You can get your excursions refunded 100% if you decide not to take the cruise (or you can even cancel on board - frequently up to 48 hours in advance of the excursion - check the fine print). DO the ship excursions. Getyourguide.com and Viator.com are great- but on a cruise, the ship will leave without you if you are on a private tour. On ship excursions, they hold the ship for cruise line tours OR they get you to the new port on their nickel. Missing the boat doesn't happen a lot, but it's such a huge problem, just go with the ship excursions unless you really love taking risks.

Many ports don't require an excursion. Do your research on the ports. Frequently, cruise lines have free shuttles to get you to town centers. Many ports in Alaska are fun just to walk around. For example, you can do your own bar crawl in Ketchikan. Or in Icy Strait Point and Juneau, aerial trams are easy to book once on shore, and Icy Strait has a zip line. In Europe, you can often do a self guided walking tour. Messina, to take one example, is very interesting and the cruise ship berths right downtown. Ditto for many Norwegian ports. Lots of fun to be had on your own. Familiarize yourself with how to get around.