Cruise Ship Tips - Global Escape Travel, LLC

Cruise Ship Tips for Finding Your Next Cruise

Finding tips to help you select the best cruise for your family, or yourself (solo) has become a very challenging undertaking. Since the number of cruise ships and cruise ports are growing every year, it is now very tough to find the ideal cruise. Perhaps, if you are a first-time cruiser, this is not a challenge. But, if you are like most cruisers, you have been on numerous cruises and would like to explore something entirely different. At the time same, you don’t want to accidentally select a cruise that is incompatible with your cruise preferences or your unique personality. If you are like me, you love cruising because of the fantastic shows, the warm sea air, the wide selection of food and the remarkable service. So, if you are reading this article, you have probably encountered this problem before. If you are looking to find your next cruise but don’t know where to start looking, this article will provide you with the best tips I have discovered over the years. So, let me first explain why finding a cruise has become such a daunting task.

Tips to Finding the Right Cruise can be a Challenge

Finding a cruise that meets your expectations and preferences can be challenging for even a seasoned cruiser. A cruiser’s options are almost unlimited, with so many cruise lines, cruise ships, and itineraries on the market. But, finding the right cruise from a long list of cruise lines is not an easy task. Hence, finding the right cruise will require a great deal of research, plus an investment of your valuable personal time. Right now, there are ten luxury cruise lines, 17 river cruise lines, 11 expedition cruise lines, and nine mainstream cruise lines. All of these cruise lines have multiple ships, destinations, and itineraries to add another layer of complexity to the matter. So, without pulling out a calculator, you can already determine that finding the right cruise for you will become a daunting task and will potentially consume a great deal of your time. So, let’s first review the cruise lines.

Mainstream Cruise Lines:

Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises

Luxury Cruise Lines:

Azamara, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises, Windstar Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises

River Cruise Lines:

A-ROSA, Amadeus, AmaWaterways, American Cruise Lines, American Queen Steamboat Company, Grand Circle Cruises, Scenic, Tauck River Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, Vantage Deluxe World Travel, Viking River Cruises, APT, Avalon Waterways, CroisiEurope, Crystal River Cruises, Emerald Waterways and Gate 1 Travel,

Expedition Cruise Lines:

Alaskan Dream Cruises, Blount Small Ship Adventures, G Adventures, Hurtigruten, Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, UnCruise Adventures, Zegrahm Expeditions, Ponant, Poseidon Expeditions, Quark Expeditions, and Silversea Expeditions

Cruise Destinations:

Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Asia, Mexico, Australia, and South America

Tips to Avoid the Challenge of Finding Your Next Cruise

As you can see, the potential choices and options for selecting the right cruise can be super challenging. Plus, the number of websites that offer cruise ship information and reviews is almost as long as the list of cruise ships. So, if you are quickly trying to narrow down your potential choices, you need to know the best sites to help you make your selection. Over the last several years of researching and recommending cruises for numerous families, I have found three websites that have become the cornerstones for my research. Why is this important? Let’s say, for example, you are looking for the best cruise ships for families with children or the best cruise line for single cruisers. Do you know where to look? I’m sure about 20 websites will come up in a simple Google search. Therefore, I recommend three websites that I found to be extremely useful and helpful. So, let’s take a look at my favorite cruise research sites.

Tip One: Use Cruise Critic to Research your Next Cruise

Cruise Critic is by far my favorite cruise research site. Cruise Critic has been around since 1995, and the site has grown with the cruise industry. Cruise Critic is also the world’s leading cruise review site with over 650,000 cruise reviews, articles, forums, frequently asked questions (FAQs), cruise itineraries, pricing, cruise deals, free advice, and much more. Plus, the website has over 700 cruise ship reviews, including every cruise type one can imagine. More than six million people visit the Cruise Critic website each month. So, Cruise Critic is “the place” where all of the seasoned cruisers conduct their research. I like the site’s robust search filters, pictures, and passenger reviews. Therefore, I recommend you give Cruise Critic a test drive the next time you want to research a cruise.

Cruise Critic features:

Cruise reviews
Expert advice
Cruise itineraries and pricing
Cruise deals
Tips and recommendations

Tip Two: Use U.S. News & World Report’s Travel Site to Research your Next Cruise

U.S. News & World Report Best Cruise Line Ranking Website is an incredible source of information to help you find your next cruise. I like the U.S. News site because it ranks cruise lines in multiple categories on its home page. Therefore, a potential cruiser can easily see what the site considers the best cruise in each category. This is exceptionally helpful in starting your research as well as being able to compare cruise lines under each category. So, if you would like to forward your research to a family member or your travel agent, you can easily forward a link form the site. With that said, I highly suggest using the U.S. News & World Report Site to conduct your research.

Tip Three: Use CruiseMapper to Research Your Next Cruise

Once you find the right cruise, the next step is to determine your cruise cabin type and location. CruiseMapper is an excellent cruise research source. Remember, a ship’s available cruise cabins are based on the ship’s availability, your vacation budget, and your location preference. Since cruise ships can vary significantly from cruise line to cruise line, it is crucial to have the ship’s deck map readily available. Today, most cruise line sales sites now allow you to view and select your cabin, which is a great feature. But, suppose you are trying to choose between two different cruise lines? In this circumstance, the amenities of the cabin could make a massive difference in your final cabin selection. Let’s look at this situation from another angle. Suppose you are on the phone with a cruise line agent, and he/she says, “I have an exterior balcony category 3B available. Do you know what type of cabin this is or how large the cabin is (square footage) without the ship’s deck plan? Probably not! If you are not an experienced cruiser, you probably will not have a clue. But, if you use a site like Cruisemapper, you will have the tools at your disposal to make a well-informed decision. Currently, I use Cruisemapper to send (forward a link) cabin pictures, links, and layouts to clients. In the end, my clients have all the right tools at their fingertips to book their next cruise.

CruiseMapper’s Features

Cruise Finder
Port Descriptions
Deck Plans
Cruise Reviews
Cruise News
Cruise Line Info
Ship Info

Tip Four: Consult A Travel Agent to Help You Research Your Next Cruise

Today’s travel market has transformed from a simple do-it-yourself marketplace to a complex one, which now requires a great deal of careful research, as I mentioned earlier. To navigate through challenging waters, you must find an agent who is experienced and knows how to perform proper research. I’m talking about an agent that knows how to listens to your needs and transforms those needs into your desires. Furthermore, an experienced agent will have access to the right tools to help you make a well-informed decision within hours and not days. So, leverage the knowledge and expertise of a well-trained travel agent. For more information on finding a great travel agent, please read my blog article: The Five Attributes of a Great Travel Agent.

My Closing Thoughts on Finding Your Next Cruise

Finding your next cruise does not have to be an overwhelming experience. Thanks to modern technology, finding the perfect cruise has become easy and almost effortless. Websites such as Cruise Critic, U.S. News & World Report, and Cruisemapper provide the average cruiser with exceptional tools to perform complex research. So, give these sites a test drive while searching for your next cruise. I’m sure you will be pleased with the outcome. Do you have a favorite cruise research website that you would like to share with our readers? If so, I would be delighted to hear it.