How to Plan a Cruise Vacation

This article is reposted from a WeChat public account run by a reader from our WeChat group, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. Original link.

For a lazy traveler like me, cruises are truly a wonderful way to travel. This post uses a Q&A format to share some of my experience with cruise planning and booking.

Is a cruise right for you?

Q: What are the benefits of cruise travel?

A: For me, the biggest advantage of cruising is that you do not have to pack and unpack every day, and you can visit different places without constant transit stress. Packing and unpacking may not seem that time-consuming, but because of the timing gap between hotel check-in and check-out, you usually need extra planning. Just imagine how annoying it would be if you had to switch hotels every single day during a trip.

Q: Is it super boring?

A: Actually, there is a lot to do on a cruise ship, often more than at most resorts. Depending on the ship, you may have access to sports, shows, shopping, movies, and all kinds of other activities. That said, if you spend the whole day onboard and you are not the kind of person who enjoys lounging around at a hotel, you may indeed find it boring. So here is the key point: book an itinerary with fewer sea days. On average, one sea day for every three days is about the highest ratio I can tolerate. In other words, if a 9-day itinerary has 4 days spent at sea, that is too much for me. Especially for someone like me who gets seasick, not being able to get off the ship is basically torture. On port days, I like to plan activities. Even if you do not want to book a tour, you can still take a taxi or rent a car at the port and explore on your own. In my opinion, that is much more interesting than staying on the ship the whole time.

Q: What do you dislike about cruises?

A: The obvious downside is how easy it is to gain weight. Like an all-inclusive resort, cruise ships always have free food and drinks available, and it is very easy to spend the whole day lying around in your room or by the pool, so of course it is easy to put on weight. But aside from that, another thing I do not like is how small the rooms are. Because space is limited on a ship, most cabins are much smaller than hotel rooms, except for a few top-tier suites. Another drawback is that cancellations and changes are usually less flexible than with regular hotels. There is often a non-refundable deposit of a few hundred dollars. If your plans are uncertain, I recommend asking about that before booking.

How should you book?

Q: Where is the cheapest place to book a cruise?

Cruises are different from flights and hotels. Whether you book through an agency or directly through the cruise line, there is usually almost no difference in the actual experience, loyalty points, and so on. One site I have used is

• CruiseCompete.com

CruiseCompete works a bit like a bidding platform: you search for the cruise you want and request quotes, then quotes start coming in one after another. What if the quote you receive is higher than the cruise line’s direct price? Keep in mind that the cruise line’s website usually shows prices before taxes and fees, while CruiseCompete quotes are final prices. No problem—just contact the agency using the information on the quote. In my experience, agencies are usually happy to match the cruise line’s price and also offer extra OBC (onboard credit). OBC can be used for all kinds of things on the cruise, including shore excursions, the spa, specialty dining, and more. That is why CruiseCompete often gives you the best deal. Whether you are comparing with the cruise line’s website or Costco Travel, agencies can often match the price. Part of the reason is that these quotes are not public prices; you only get them by asking. Some agency quotes arrive almost instantly, while others may not come in for weeks. Most quotes arrive within a week, so if you are patient for a few days, you may get a better deal.

Q: How do you choose an itinerary?

A: For those of us who work full-time, the top consideration is timing. First decide your date range and roughly where you want to go—Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, or another continent. If you are departing from North America and taking your first cruise, I would recommend the Eastern Caribbean in late fall through early spring. That route usually features beautiful islands, is great for a relaxing vacation, and the Caribbean Sea is relatively calm, so seasickness is less of an issue. As for trip length, our first cruise was an 11-day one-way sailing, and it did not feel too long at all. If you are worried about getting bored, you can start with 7 days. Personally, I think anything shorter than 7 days is too short, and those itineraries often have too high a proportion of sea days. Another advantage of one-way cruises is that you can spend a few days at the embarkation city before the cruise and a few days at the destination after the cruise, so you do not have to repeat the same place. Again, I strongly recommend booking an itinerary with a lower proportion of sea days. If your first cruise feels too boring, you may never take a second or third one. Also, if you have any immigration status or visa concerns, make sure to check the visa requirements for every port of call. Most Caribbean countries are covered by regional agreements and do not check visas at the port, but there are exceptions. If you rely on a special exception such as auto-revalidation, I recommend printing the official documents and bringing them with you. The cruise staff handling embarkation may very well be unfamiliar with these rules.

Q: How do you choose a ship?

A: If multiple sailings fit my criteria, how do I choose the right ship? One simple method is to look at reviews and ratings. cruisecritic.com is one site I check fairly often. It has expert ratings across different categories, as well as scores from passengers. Of course, because cruise lines went through major staffing changes during the pandemic, many of the “soft factors,” such as food and service, are no longer as reliable as reference points. Beyond just looking at ratings, you can also consider how new the ship is, what kid-friendly facilities it has, and what activities it offers. For example, because I have a soft spot for water parks, I prefer ships with water slides. Some cruise lines are more family-friendly, such as Disney, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and NCL, and the vibe on those ships is generally more casual. More formal lines, such as Celebrity and Princess, tend to have fewer kid-oriented facilities and services. That said, at a minimum, most large cruise ships have something like a kids club. Also, more formal cruise lines tend to have more formal nights. Formal night usually comes with a dress code, so flip-flops and oversized shorts are definitely not acceptable and may get you turned away. Of course, if you do not want to participate, you can simply eat at the buffet on formal night instead.

Q: What cabin type should you choose?

A: From cheapest to most expensive: inside cabins are the smallest and least expensive. They do not have windows and are located on the interior of the ship. Personally, I would not choose an oceanview cabin. It has a window that does not open, costs a bit more than an inside cabin, and is sometimes slightly larger. A balcony cabin, as the name suggests, comes with a balcony you can step out onto. You can put luggage there, hang clothes to dry, and so on—just clip everything down so the sea breeze does not blow it away. In practice, the balcony also makes the room feel more spacious. Balcony cabins are also larger than inside cabins to begin with. Then there are suites. On some ships, there is a distinction between a JR Suite and a suite. A JR Suite is similar to a studio apartment, where the living area and bedroom are combined with no divider. A standard Suite has a separated living room and bedroom. Usually, a standard suite is larger and more expensive than a JR Suite. Then there is the top-tier suite on each ship. Those vary from ship to ship, can be unimaginably luxurious, and of course come with an equally astonishing price tag.

As mentioned above, cruise ship cabins are small. Usually your options are one king/queen bed or two twin/double beds. So if you’re traveling with kids and, like us, don’t want to cosleep with them, you’ll want a room with a trundle bed—an extra bed that pulls out from under the main bed—or a murphy bed, which folds down from the wall, or a sofa bed. You can note this in the comments when requesting a quote.

For very young children, cruise lines can generally provide a crib, though in most cases it’s just a pack n play.

If you booked a cheaper cabin category, you can ask guest relations after boarding whether any complimentary upgrades are available—there are always some no-shows or passengers who disembark early. Just be prepared for a long line at guest relations.

Q: How do you read a quote?

A: First, the concept of Category on a cruise is similar to a “fare category.” Rooms in the same category are priced the same at the same point in time. For example, in the image above, OS stands for "Ocean Suite Category." The biggest use of the category is for quote matching: prices for the same category can be matched across different agencies and the cruise line’s official website.

Cabin # is simply the room number. Each cabin has a fixed category, so cabin is a more granular concept.

Another advantage of booking through an agency is that you can usually find out the cabin number directly. Cruise line websites sometimes play games like charging extra to pick a room. On icruise.com, you can look up basic information about a specific cabin, for example:

• https://www.icruise.com/cabins/carnival-cruises-carnival-splendor-cabin-7249.html

For a more visual approach, just search google for ship name + cabin number. The older the ship, the more information you can usually find, including youtube video tours.

Q: How do you choose a deck/cabin?

A: Even if you can’t choose your deck/room, checking reviews can still help you decide whether you want to switch cabins.

Choosing a deck means choosing which floor of the ship you’ll be on. Large cruise ships generally have more than 10 decks. Since higher decks usually have better views, they also tend to cost more. The top-tier suites are usually on the upper decks near the top of the ship. That said, some people say the higher decks are more prone to motion sickness—but for me, I get seasick on any deck, so it makes no difference. Another common claim is that midship, meaning the middle of the ship, is less likely to trigger motion sickness. As someone who gets very seasick, I can’t really confirm that either.

Also, I think the most useful website is cruiseadvice.org (https://cruiseadvice.org/BestCruiseShipCabins.aspx). It only has text information, so it’s not very visual, but it’s extremely useful. The downside is that it mostly covers older ships; newer ships usually aren’t included.

The icruise site mentioned above also shows deck plans, so you can clearly see where a cabin is located on the ship. You can check which cabins are connecting rooms—great if you’re traveling with grandparents or more kids, since the connecting door between the two rooms can be opened, and in some cases the divider between balconies can also be removed—as well as different bed configurations and more. You’ll need to refer to the deck legend to interpret everything.

Activities on the Ship

Q: Do you need dining reservations?

A: Usually only dinner requires a reservation. You can often choose a dining time in advance, such as early dining (around 6 PM) or late (8 PM), and some ships even offer three time slots. You may also have the option not to choose a time at all. I personally recommend picking a set time. On ships with better service, if you eat at the same time every day, your table will usually be in the same area and you’ll often have the same servers. A good server will notice your preferences on day one—hot or cold water, whether you want bread, how much butter you like, what flavors you prefer. That way, you don’t have to repeat the same topics every day, which is very thoughtful.

If you don’t want the complimentary dining on a particular day and want a change of pace, you can go to one of the other free dining venues. In general, a ship will have at least one formal dining room, meaning the main dinner restaurant, plus one casual restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and buffet-style dinner. You can also try one of the specialty restaurants for an extra charge, but remember to make a reservation.

Q: Where should you book shore excursions?

A: First of all, I still recommend booking in advance. We’ve run into situations where the popular excursion we wanted was already sold out before boarding.

The excursion options offered by the ship are usually fairly comprehensive, so you can use the cruise line’s official website to explore what kinds of local tours are available. Occasionally, there are more unique activities that don’t work with the cruise ship directly, and you can find those on tripadvisor as well. Booking on the ship is usually more expensive. The benefit, supposedly, is that if you’re late getting back, the ship will wait for you—though I’ve never personally experienced that. In practice, vendors usually leave enough time for passengers to return to the ship. Tripadvisor also often has decent pricing, and you can book there directly. Or, after checking reviews, you can book directly on the vendor’s own website.

Because cruises move relatively slowly, some excursions at different ports can feel similar. I usually explore the excursions for all ports first, then arrange different activities at each port. Also, many cruise lines have their own private islands or exclusive excursions. If you can’t find anything at all on tripadvisor, just book through the official cruise line.

Q: Should you buy wifi?

A: This reminds me of my first cruise many years ago. I didn’t buy wifi in advance, and once we were out at sea my phone had no signal. That same day, there happened to be a hurricane in Cuba. My parents, who were in China and saw the news, were terrified and couldn’t reach me—they thought I had been swept away by the hurricane.

Back to the point: if you’re going to buy wifi, I recommend subscribing to the official website’s deal alerts. Discounts are often offered before sail day, and that’s the best time to buy a package in advance. If you wait until you’re already on board to buy it, expect to pay a lot more. Cruise ship wifi is both expensive and slow, so I recommend buying the fastest package; otherwise, you’ll feel like you’ve gone back to the 2G era. Get at least two devices on the plan so everyone can scroll on their phones in peace.

Credit Cards That Work Well for Cruises

Let me also add a few relevant credit cards here. When you’re on a cruise, your spending is concentrated on cruise purchases, so using a good credit card can earn you a decent amount of cash back. There are only a few niche co-branded cards specifically geared toward cruise spending, and they’re generally not worth applying for just for that purpose. So if you do want to pick a card, here are a few to consider:

• This card earns 3x points on travel, including cruise purchases. The $300 annual travel credit should also work for cruise charges. And if you book a cruise through Chase travel, you can redeem points at 1.5x value. It’s worth comparing Chase’s pricing with other platforms before deciding.

• This card earns 2x points on travel, including cruise purchases.

• If you don’t have a points-focused card, just use a 2% cash back card.

My Cruise Experiences

• Alaska Cruise on Carnival Splendor (Part 1)
• Alaska Cruise on Carnival Splendor (Part 2)
• Christmas Trip: 10 Days, 9 Nights on a Southern Caribbean Cruise (Part 1)

10 Days, 9 Nights Southern Caribbean Christmas Cruise Trip, Part 2

About the Author

This article is reposted from the WeChat public account of a reader from our WeChat group, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. All of the articles there are original and well worth reading. If you're interested, feel free to follow the account.