FAQs

If you have a cruise question that can’t be found in the FAQ section, please share it with me. I love answering your questions and building the FAQ section in the process. If I’m not certain of the answer, you can be sure that I will research the topic and share it with you. I love to learn new things!

Cruising is the perfect option for those that enjoy relaxation, fine dining, quality entertainment, and meeting new friends. I’ve been told by some that they prefer to fly to a location and stay at a hotel for the entire trip, which is a great option but hotels have very little entertainment and dining options. Vacationers often spend more of their precious time searching for places around the city, which eats up quality time for fun, family and sun. 

Prior to my first cruise, I shopped for my first vacation in over 15 years. I planned on flying to a vacation spot in Mexico and spending 3 days in a hotel. After calculating the flight and hotel charges, my 3 days were going to cost me $1,800.00, and that did not include entertainment, dining or alcohol while at the resort. I finally took a friend’s advice and shopped for a cruise. I was shocked! The cost for a 5-Day Cruise (including cruise fare and excursions) was less than $1,000.00 and I was able to take a guest with me on the trip. I’m not a big drinker, so I didn’t get the drink package but I still spent less than $300 on alcohol.  Dining, entertainment, and even line dance classes were all included, and the cruise port was within driving distance which saved on air fare.  

Yes. That confused me at first, too.  I mean, that $349 cruise price looked amazing, didn’t it?  But with anything in this world, you have to pay attention to the small print.  That little “pp” next to the price stands for “per person”, and cruise cabins are booked for double occupancy. Which means you pay for two cruise fares when booking a cruise, plus the applicable port fees and taxes for each occupant.  

In most cases, this is accurate. You will pay the cruise fare for two people, however you will not pay the port fees and taxes for the second fare. It may seem ridiculous, but then again, in most cases paying for the second fare is still cheaper than other travel options.  If you are lucky, you can find a single supplement fare, but that’s the next question.

This question is complicated. There are a few ships out there that have solo cabins, which means you can travel solo without paying a second cruise fare. However, in most cases, you would need to find a single supplement fare. This means that the cruise line has deducted a percentage from the second cruise fare, so you will pay a lesser amount for your cruise.  If you’re lucky, you’ll find a low rate (like 0% to 6% of the second fare).  

Yes. Cruise ships do hold a lot of people, but the ships are also huge and there are a lot of activities happening around the ship all day, every day. Depending on your interests, you may never see some of the people on board.  And there’s always a place to go to escape the crowds.

This is a fun question I get all the time.  I point out that I do not travel alone. I travel solo.  I have hundreds of new friends to make aboard the ships.  Its especially easy to meet new friends when dining at a shared table for dinner.  Okay. It does help that I’m a good dancer, because people always want to meet up at the dance club at night. It also helps to get involved. So, join in on activities, classes and meetups. 

This question is a bit personal, but I’ll do my best.  Although I love most everything on my cruises… the spectacular shows, the food, and the people. At the end of the day, I love to walk alone on the upper decks after most everyone has retired for the evening.  The wind is blowing, the sea air is fresh, and for those few special moments, I feel like the entire ship is just mine. If I do pass someone along the way, they typically see a big smile on my face.

Getting a good deal on a third party excursion sounds great, but there is one incredibly important benefit the cruise line offers that a third party does not… the ship will wait for you should the excursion run late. Many things can (and will) go wrong on an excursion, including boat breakdowns, shuttle breakdowns, and traffic due to an automobile accident. Just to name a few. Should a problem occur on that third party excursion that causes you to be late for the ships departure time, the cruise line will NOT wait for you. Look up pier runner videos online and you will see plenty of reasons to book your excursion through the cruise line.