My first cruise took place on Carnival Cruise Line's (CCL) Conquest a few months after my 46th birthday. Now, three years later, I've become an avid cruiser who generally travels on Royal Caribbean (RCL) ships, although I have supplemented that with bookings on MSC and Virgin Voyages.
On that first trip, I instantly fell in love with being in a massive floating hotel where food and entertainment options were around every corner. Carnival Conquest is an older ship that's fairly mediocre compared to Carnival and Royal Caribbean's newer offerings, but it has pools, nighttime shows ranging from full-on productions to solo musicians, plenty of bars, and enough food choices to satisfy nearly everyone.
Cruising, however, isn't like a land vacation. If you make a mistake when you're booking, you're stuck with those choices once you get onboard. If, for example, you pick a hotel you don't like on a trip to Orlando's theme parks, you can simply move to another one. Make a mistake by picking the wrong cruise line, ship, or cabin, and you're likely stuck with those choices.
My cruising experience has been mostly limited to the more value-based, family-friendly lines: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and very recently, MSC. All three are somewhat comparable, but within each line you can have a very different experience based on the ship, and for some people, the room you book. Here's what you need to know before you book your cruise.
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1. Pick the Right Cruise Ship
On my first trip on Carnival's Conquest, I didn't get to pick the ship as I was traveling with a large group of family members celebrating a Bat Mitzvah. Since it was the first time I had ever been on a ship, I didn't notice what it was lacking.
Once I experienced a similar class of Royal Caribbean ship (a large, but not giant ship with capacity for 3-4,000 passengers) I began to learn what to look for when booking a ship. The differences were fairly subtle, but I started to notice them on my next few cruises on Independence of the Seas, followed by many on Navigator of the Seas.
These two Royal Caribbean ships are a bit larger than Conquest and while they are technically different classes (Freedom and Explorer), they're pretty similar to each other. They do, however, have several differences that meant something to me:
- More specialty dining: Since I travel alone, I like to eat in a smaller, added-fee restaurant. Mid-tier Royal Caribbean ships have 3-5 of those while similar Carnival ships have one.
- The pool deck: The number of pools matter as does the layout. In my case, I prefer the adults-only Solarium pool and hot tubs on Navigator to the non-descript adult pool on Conquest.
- Consider entertainment: While bigger ships have more choices, Carnival and Royal Caribbean have different stock options. Most Carnival ships have a dedicated comedy club while Royal Caribbean only offers that on larger ships. In my case, I enjoy the Royal Caribbean Pub guitarists, which is something Carnival does not offer.
Generally, bigger and newer ships offer many more options than smaller, older ones. If I'm sailing for 3-4 nights, I'm happy to be on a Freedom or Explorer Class (or even Conquest class, which is both the ship and class name). If I opt for a longer sailing, I prefer Royal Caribbean's Oasis class, which has the lovely Central Park outdoor area (a nice place to work in the early morning) and more restaurant choices than I can eat in over a week. Most Oasis-class ships also have an expanded Solarium with an amazing pool/hot tub/bar setup (Harmony of the Seas does not have a pool in its Solarium).
2. Your Cruise Ship Cabin Choice Mostly Doesn't Matter
Now, if you're traveling with kids, or have special needs, this might not be true, but I find that the most important thing is getting on the ship, not which cabin you have. Cruise ship cabins are small but very efficient, with newer ships making very smart use of the space.
But, while I prefer a Central Park balcony near the Solarium, I'm perfectly fine with an interior cabin on a lower floor. Picking a cabin is about knowing what matters to you. Some people can't imagine not having a balcony while others are fine with just a window. In other cases, people want to be in the middle of the ship or near a certain venue.
In my case, as a solo traveler most of the time (my wife does not cruise and our son works now), I generally spend very little time in the room. If I have a choice I'll opt for a balcony but honestly, I very rarely use it because I prefer to be around people.
When booking a room, it's really the little things that matter. Some cabins, for example, have a full-size couch while others only offer a loveseat or even a chair. Those details are not always easy to find, but you can usually get those details by Googling the name of the ship and the cabin numbers before you book.
3. Is it About the Destinations or the Ship?
I live in South Florida on the east coast. Most ships that sail from our three ports and do Caribbean stops like Nassau, Cozumel, and the various cruise line private islands. In my case, because I often work during the day while on a cruise, I'm not overly concerned with where we might stop as I rarely get off for more than an hour aside from when visiting a private island.
And while I'll never pass up a chance to visit Royal Caribbean's CocoCay and MSC has something truly special in its Ocean Cay island, I'd probably opt for a nicer/newer ship over an itinerary that stops at either one.
If you want the ship to be a home base for adventurous ports, that probably means booking a small (and likely older) ship because those ships can dock in more places. For people who consider the ports secondary, an Oasis or Odyssey class makes the most sense (Carnival's Mardi Gras and Celebration count as ships that can be considered destinations as well).
For people who have never been to common cruise stops like Nassau, Cozumel, or the various cruise line private islands, a mid-size ship may be the right choice. Royal Caribbean has nicer mid-tier ships than Carnival or MSC, and Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral or Freedom of the Seas out of Miami sail basic 3-4 itineraries that are a good way to test whether you want a bigger ship or a cruise that's more about the destinations next time.
4. Understand All the Extra Fees on a Cruise
Usually, on the first day of any cruise, you see passengers -- sometimes a lot of them -- visibly surprised over what's not included in their cruise fare. This often happens at the pool bar when someone goes to get their first drink and realizes that alcoholic beverages (and sodas or bottled water) costs extra.
That's generally not the only surprise for people as many passengers board the ship without really understanding how cruises on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and MSC work. There are, of course, exceptions -- MSC sells some cruise packages that include drinks and Wi-Fi -- but these are the things you will generally pay extra for (and should almost certainly book before you board the ship:
- Drinks: You will pay a la carte prices for any beverage aside from basic tap water, coffee, tea, and some flavored waters. For many people, buying a drink package will save you money as sodas cost $3-4, bottled water is in that range, and alcohol can cost anywhere from $6 for a beer to $14 for a mixed drink.
- Wi-Fi: If you don't pay for Wi-Fi, you won't have a connection except while in some ports. Ship internet is generally fairly slow, and sometimes it's dreadful, but if you want to access the internet you will need to book a Wi-Fi package ($15-20 per day, per device).
- Specialty dining: You get access to a lot of dining options as part of your basic cruise fare, but every ship has specialty restaurants which will cost you extra.
- Gratuities: Unless you prepaid them, cruise lines add a daily gratuity charge per person, per day. Technically, you can opt-out of these fees by going to guest services, but most people should be prepared to pay these as they go to your waiters, room steward, and everyone else who takes care of you onboard.
A cruise isn't all-inclusive unless you're willing to drink little more than water. That may work for some people, but most cruisers should do their homework before they get on board to understand what will cost extra.
