You've no doubt
noticed that hotel chains and even our own airline are charging airline
staff, including retirees, more and more for vacation travel. Possibly
the only part of the travel industry still really 'looking after'
airline staff and retirees are the cruise ship companies. When you think
of cruising, if you are thinking of the very small cruise industry in
Australia with all the recent adverse publicity from the Glebe Coroner's
Court etc., you'll get a totally wrong impression of what's going on out
there in the wider world.
Cruising is 'hot', particularly in the US market [e.g. to the Caribbean
and Alaska], with cruise companies providing ever more sophisticated
product to compete for market share. All modern ships are pretty amazing
but some of the newest and largest have some unbelievable facilities.
The brand new "Freedom Of the Seas" has an ice skating rink, a rock
climbing wall and a wave surfing pool on deck, for example. What this
means is that competition for market share in the cruise industry is
pretty savage with all the new and larger ships arriving so there are
some great deals out there and probably will be for the next few years.
How to access the best deals? Many people use Dargal [www.dargal.com]
for their interline bookings. Our family has used Interlining Plus [www.interliningplus.com]
to book our last few cruises. Interlining Plus are located in Vancouver,
Canada. To view their interline prices, you have to register at their
website. This does mean that you will get an e-mail newsletter from them
twice a week or so with the latest specials. Easy enough to delete this
if it is not time to plan the next cruise. I usually read it anyway
between cruises for the 'just dreaming' value.
Some of the cheap deals might surprise you. You should note that there
are usually port taxes, government charges, tipping etc. to add on to
the headline price. [Sound familiar?] Still, a seven night cruise
including all meals, accommodation and transport on a big beautiful,
modern ship can often cost out at less than $US500 per person, total.
Here are some things we've learnt over the years about cruising:
* Go at least for Ocean view. The inside cabins on ships often surround
the engine room and sometimes pick up noise and vibration. It is always
nice to have the view and the interline price difference is usually
trivial. If traveling with small but adventurous children a Balcony
style room may be more trouble than it's worth. You might find yourself
worrying about whether the kids are climbing out there and about to fall
off.
Higher is nearly
always better too. Most modern ships have entertainment and restaurants
on the upper decks and if your accommodation is on deck 1 or 2, you'll
find yourself trudging back and forth on the stairs to deck 10 all day
for food and entertainment. Yes, ships do have lifts, but they are often
slow and overcrowded at times of peak demand, around meal hours and show
time etc.
* Prepay your tips if possible. Ships have a pretty comprehensive
'suggested gratuity' system. Best to get it over with 'up front' as an
addition to the fare, rather than be worrying all cruise about the
protocols. Ask your agent if gratuities can be prepaid with the
particular line you've chosen. It is almost always possible.
* Bring some items of small value from Australia as gifts to the friends
you make and for special recognition for staff who go ‘above and
beyond’. Also, many ships have a few Australian staff on board so
copies of weekend newspapers and appropriate magazines and Australian
food items are very well received by them in faraway places, as they are
likely to have been working on board for some months. Vegemite is
classed as a ‘gel’ and it will be confiscated from your hand luggage on
flights to the USA, so pack it in your checked baggage.
*Shore
excursions may be cheaper if booked directly, but may not be worth the
time and effort of doing your own research. You'll probably save a few
bucks, but some Mexican snorkeling company will have your Visa card
details for evermore. Also, if booking through the tour desk on board,
you can book the night before if you want. That way, if you feel like a
lazy day in port or the weather looks inclement, you are not locked in
to that bike ride on Maui. You can also do your own thing with taxis
etc. on arrival. Recently, a group of ten of us in Acapulco went to see
the famous cliff divers by taxis for a very small fraction of the quoted
tour price and lots more fun.
* Your kids will disappear. Like magic. Most ships have a kids club,
with age specific activities. Children just love this stuff and will
want to do it all day long. Mum and Dad have to get by doing adult
things without the kids. 'The Mum' here says that's even better than
having someone else doing the cooking for the week. If you have children
and your ship does not have a comprehensive program for kids, then might
I suggest you have chosen the wrong ship?
* Prepare to put on several kilos. Remember, these ships are catering
for the US market, with jumbo sized food portions.
Safety warning.
Most ships at some time during the cruise will have a midnight buffet or
special chocolate buffet or similar to allow the kitchen staff to
indulge their creativity. Do not allow small children to stand between
the buffet and the participants. It gets pretty ugly.
* When an interesting cruise comes up at a great price, do your homework
before booking. There are any number of sites you can consult for
information, but Cruise Critic [www.cruisecritic.com]
is the best. As Trip Advisor is to hotels, Cruise Critic is to ships.
Look up the ship and then read all the Member Reviews. Just discount
the worst 5% of member reviews. Some people just cannot be pleased or
else it was just not their week. The user reviews will pretty much give
you the lowdown on whether that particular ship is likely to be suitable
for you. Once you’ve done your homework, though, don’t delay booking.
Ships do fill up.
* Have a day or two in a resort or hotel close to your embarkation port
if traveling on ID90 tickets. Nothing worse than having Delta cancel a
flight and you need to be in Miami in 4 hours or you'll miss the cruise.
Once you’ve missed the boat, it’s gone! Make sure your travel insurance
covers you for the worst. Interliningplus can offer you a specific
cancellation insurance but we've found using the Staff Travel QBE annual
policy works well enough.
* Which ship or cruise line to travel on? Tough question. Nearly every
cruise we do is better than the last and there are so many lines we have
not yet tried. We hold Norwegian Cruise Line in high esteem. Their
'Freestyle' concept of doing what you want when you want, no 'sittings'
for meals etc., suits the Australian laid back style. I don't think you
could have a bad cruise with NCL.
If you have not done a cruise before, think NCL for an Alaskan cruise
out of Vancouver or Seattle. Not too far to go to find a great cruise
and the scenery in Alaska is spectacular. We did not enjoy Carnival
Cruise Lines on our one and only cruise with them. We found it too much
like Las Vegas or a giant Leagues Club at sea with not much for
children. The ship was very much centered around the casino and the
smoky bars. Bad choice on our part but many people were having a great
time.
*We generally
find something else to do on 'formal' or 'Captain's' nights on most
ships purely because it is too much trouble to lug the penguin suit all
the way from Australia to the Caribbean. We would not travel on a formal
ship like the Cunard vessels as it would not suit us as a family. Your
preferences might be totally different. Formal on ships generally means
tux or equivalent. A cummerbund would not be out of place either. I
keep telling my wife I’ll take and wear my Qantas ‘Number Ones’ on
formal night but I just get ‘that look’! Perhaps the kilt then?
*Keep an eye out for 'repositioning' cruises. Most cruise ships spend
the Northern winter months in tropical locations, like Hawaii, and the
summer months in more northern latitudes, like Alaska. In October and
again in April/May there are a lot of repositioning cruises from the
Caribbean to/from Europe, Canada to/from Hawaii etc. These are not too
popular with the full fare paying punters so they are often priced
especially low to the interline market. You might also find a great
rate for a repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal or from South
America to North America.
*Don't do a cruise shorter than a week. Three or four day
cruises are too short. You are just relaxing and suddenly it's time to
leave. You won't really be satisfied with a 3, 4 or 5 night cruise.
* For Interline purposes, the later you leave your booking, the cheaper
it gets. About six weeks out seems to be the sweet spot. Much closer
than four weeks out and things might fill up and the price will jump
back up again. Shipping lines don't have a business traveler market so
if their occupancy rate is down for a particular cruise the discounts
roll out for interliners closer to sailing. The shipping lines know
you'll be buying drinks and incidentals so they'd rather have you on
board than not, even if they give the cruise away below the cost of
production.
* If you are traveling [very] 'last minute', be aware you need quite a
bit of form filling and documentation for any cruise. The easiest option
is to have the documentation delivered 'dockside' to the shipping
company at the point of departure rather than rely on Australia Post and
others to deliver the necessary documents from Canada to Australia in a
short time frame. We've never had documents lost using the dockside
option. These days, many shipping companies have an 'on-line' process
for pre-notifying passport details etc. This can save a lot of time and
effort at the dock.
Also be aware that US Customs and Immigration can be just as awkward and
unsmiling when you depart or arrive on a ship in the USA as when
arriving at LAX, even if you've only been to Canada. You are an Alien,
and don't you forget it. [Enter the US on visitor documentation if you
are heading to board a cruise at a US port, even if you have a US work
visa in your passport for Qantas purposes].
It can be tricky being an Alien [non American] on some
lines in far off places. One company we traveled with held our
passports in the ship’s safe for the duration of the voyage. I was
never too clear why but it caused no problem at intermediate ports. We
just disembarked and boarded using our room access card and NSW Driver’s
Licenses for photo ID. I guess they knew we were unlikely to jump ship
without our passports.
*Don’t forget to check the requirements for visas in all
ports you will be visiting. Australian’s do not have automatic tourist
visa on entry in all countries. Two countries which require tourists to
have visas issued before arrival are Vietnam and Brazil. It takes about
10 days to obtain a visa from the Consulate for either country. Every
Caribbean country we have visited has not been a problem, though,
including Mexico. In some countries there are general waivers from visa
requirements for cruise ship passengers only staying for the day.
* All major US oriented shipping lines cater to adults pretty well and
it would be hard to go wrong on any of them, unless your style was a
gross mismatch for that particular ship. Some ships are party ships,
others have educational lectures.
There is only one winner, though, in the class "Best Ship For
Kids/Families". Disney Cruise Line run two 83,000 tonne ships out
of Port Canaveral, Florida. The Disney Wonder and the Disney Magic are
large floating kids clubs with, here and there, quiet spaces for adults
to escape. Your family will think you are a genius if you bypass the
mayhem of Disneyworld Florida and take them on a Disney Cruise instead.
Superbly run, superbly themed, superbly maintained ships.
Pity it costs more in staff airfares to get to Florida
than the cruise costs, but if you want the best family style cruise,
that's where it is.
Sanity warning : Don't choose Disney for your dream
honeymoon cruise [unless you have the kids already].
* After you've been on a well run cruise ship for a few days, with
everything running like clockwork and maybe 1000 staff on board looking
after your every need, all smiles and can't do enough to help, you might
well become embarrassed, if not ashamed of the product the modern cost
cutting airline serves up. I remember back in the 1970s the liners went
through this same process of running down, cost cutting and ultimately
going out of business. The cruise industry reinvented itself and perhaps
the airline industry might, too, one day. But I would not hold my
breath.
