Everything You Wanted to Know About Cruise Planning

Planning a cruise can be hard. Whether you are considering an all-inclusive cruise, dinner cruise, river cruise, or ocean cruise, our experts can help. Maybe you are thinking about taking a cruise?  Ocean cruises, river cruises, dinner cruises… maybe an all-inclusive package.

I have often asked myself how to decide what kind of cruise is the best for me? Which company should I plan a cruise with? I took all those questions, consulted cruising experts, and wrote this handy-dandy guide for cruise planning.

Heaven only knows, there are endless choices when it comes to cruises.  I was even amazed at how many options there are for all-inclusive packages – a new feature for the cruise industry.

The first step to cruise planning

The Travel Junkie team has been on several cruises – including ocean cruises, river cruises, and dinner cruises.  We recognize cruising is a hugely popular topic. In our quest to provide our readers with a broad variety of information, we decided we could serve you best by providing information from several perspectives. 

Here is my disclaimer – Papa Joe and I both prefer river cruising. To best serve YOU, our reader, we posed a short survey to some of the most veteran cruise-ers we know.  For the sake of this blog, they will be known as TerrificTom, SocialSara, and PowerfunTwo.  Together, they have enjoyed more than 35 ocean cruises.

So a-cruising we go!

Our first step in helping you decide what type of cruise best fits you, was to ask each of the three participants in the same group of questions:

• How many cruises have you been on? (including river cruises, ocean cruises, dinner cruises, and all-inclusive packages)
• What destinations have you been to?
• What do you like about cruising?
• Which cruise lines have you traveled with?
• What advice would you give to others who are thinking of taking a cruise?
• What don’t you like about ocean cruises? I focused on ocean cruises as I knew our panel was most experienced in ocean cruises, and that ocean cruises tend to be the most economical choice for most people.

Papa Joe and I are going to answer each of those questions too, with answers for ocean cruises, river cruises, and dinner cruises.

Our cruise planning panel.

It might help you to know more about our participants.

TerrificTom and SocialSara are married to each other – but had interestingly different answers.  Besides being married, TerrificTom and SocialSara are both active professionals and work in academics.  They easily fit into the category of Young Professionals.  They have young children at home and have an active social circle (hence the SocialSara pseudonym).

PowerfunTwo is another married couple, and two of the most interesting, dynamic people I have the pleasure of knowing.  Papa Joe has known the female half of PowefunTwo since early adulthood and has known the male half almost as long.  I’ve known them for 15 years, which still seems like a lifetime. They are two of the most passionate, intelligent, give-you-the-shirt-off-your-back people we know.  Both are highly athletic and work in the finance and IT fields, but society would not consider them Young Professionals anymore. 

To heck with society.

Yippee – now to the fun cruise planning stuff!!!  

Question #1. How many cruises have you been on?

TerrificTom and SocialSara have been on five ocean cruises, and are planning their next ocean cruise while providing their responses for this story. They have not graduated to river cruises yet, and have provided feedback on all-inclusive cruises in their responses.

PowerfunTwo has been on more than 30 ocean cruises – to which I can only say “rock on man”! While they enjoy traveling as a married couple, the majority of this couple’s cruising experience was before they married. This means we get to share both the committed couple and energetic single’s perspective in their responses. They also have not graduated to river cruises yet and did not provide feedback on all-inclusive cruises in their responses.

Papa Joe and I have been on one ocean cruise, 2 river cruises, and 2 dinner cruises.  Our river cruises both fit in the all-inclusive category, which is one thing I really appreciate about river cruises. I think you know a bit about us already.  If not, check our bios here.

I think you can see why we chose these folks to help you with cruise planning.  With 40 cruises under our collective belts, there is a lot of knowledge to offer, while still offering diversity in their interests, experiences, resources, and backgrounds.

The destination is a huge question in cruise planning

Question #2. Where have these folks gone on their cruises?

TerrificTom and SocialSara have been to Alaska, Honduras, Belize, Mexico (Cozumel), Grand Cayman, Tortola, St. Thomas, and Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian Private Island).

PowerfunTwo had a slightly different answer – which, with 30 cruises under their belt, makes perfect sense.  Basically, they have visited most of the Eastern and Western Caribbean Islands.  Sounds to me like we need to help them find more varied destinations for their next cruise… Obviously, they love the Caribbean, and one can’t blame them.

Our ocean cruise was to Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean private island) and the Bahamas.  Our dinner cruises were on the Mississippi River and in the San Diego Harbor.  My favorite was the river cruises, which have taken us to locations in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Ukraine.  

My pops met his wife, let’s call her LovelyLinda on a river cruise in Egypt, and LovelyLinda has been on several river cruises across the world, both before meeting my pops and after his passing. Lovely Linda continued river cruising after my pops passed away, and her perspective has been similar to mine and Papa Joe’s. Her most recent river cruise was through the Panama Canal and has also cruised the Danube and several other major European rivers.

More background before we can get into the fun of cruise planning.  

Question #3. What cruise lines have you traveled with?

PowerfunTwo is a very loyal cruise customer, and all their cruising has been with Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

TerrificTom and SocialSara like a little more diversity. They have traveled with Celebrity to Alaska, Royal Caribbean to Mexico, Honduras, and Belize, Princess to the Grand Cayman Islands, and Norwegian to Tortola, St. Thomas, and Great Stirrup Cay.

The ocean cruise was with Royal Caribbean. From speaking with TerrificTom and SocialSara, they select the cruise line based on the destination, cost, and always consider all-inclusive packages when they are available.

Our dinner cruises were with local excursion companies, but we really enjoyed the Horatio Hornblower cruise around San Diego Harbor, which is where this photograph was taken.

River cruises experiences were both with Viking River Cruises, and I will be singing their praises all through this post. I was so impressed by the quality of Viking River Cruises, I will likely be writing a story featuring them. Check back if you are interested in a story dedicated to Viking.

Now for the fun cruise planning stuff. 

Question #4. What do you like about cruising?

I thought SocialSara’s answers were insightful. She says “I like that it is pretty much an all-inclusive, pre-planned vacay – and also easy for families or friend groups.  You usually get to go to multiple countries in one trip, eat unlimited delicious food, and there are activities for any type of person.  The person who likes to nap by the pool all day gets to do that.  The person that wants to try all the games and cruise activities can do that!” 

What could you NOT like about that! Obviously, SocialSara really appreciates the all-inclusive perks of cruising.

TerrificTom was unusually verbose – which to me means he REALLY likes ocean cruises. 

He included the following:

• Cruises are all-inclusive, most of it is included with the initial package.
• Makes vacation very easy to plan, and traveling with larger parties a lot easier.
• Life on the boat means limited access to normal life. Checking email, receiving calls, Facebook, etc. are more difficult, impossible, and/or super expensive, which helps to relax.
• I love the rocking motion of the boat. I enjoy sleeping at night with a gentle rocking motion. And I love naps with the balcony door open and the sea breeze flowing into the room.
• Excursions are easy to set up and can be controlled by the cruise liner.
• Food and dining options can be exceptional (depending on the cruise line).

PowerfunTwo was pretty to-the-point. 

Their comments included – You don’t have to worry about food, getting from island to island, entertainment is provided, you can relax wherever or whenever you want to.  It’s basically a floating island!

Papa Joe had different responses than others.

His responses are representative of our time spent on river cruises:

• I enjoy getting off the boat and doing stuff.  There is something to do at every port.
• Food is included and is pretty good.  Some even offer all-inclusive packages.
• It is really neat being out on the water.  We can’t experience that at home.
• River cruises – I really like that the boat is used as a hotel.  It is your transportation between destinations. Time at the destination is spent out doing things, seeing sights, and exploring. I like that I can do that and not feel like I’ve wasted time stuck on the boat.
• I also like that on the river cruise, education is really important.  Each of the excursions includes an educational aspect, and often there are excursions that allow passengers to be more active.

Here I am, bringing up the rear. Ocean cruising first. 

Papa Joe and I like to do different things, at different times.  He likes to GOOOOO all night – checking stuff out and playing. I like to check stuff out and play, but I also like to get enough rest to enjoy the daytime activities. 

Ocean cruise liners offer a wide variety of things to do, he can go do his thing when I am pooped out.  I enjoy being able to hang out by the pool and he can do “whatever” on his computer.  I also love that I can get an adult beverage almost any time of the day or night – and while none of our contributors mentioned that, I’m certain they all enjoy that aspect too.

Next is dinner cruises. 

I like that on dinner cruises the excursion is short, and has a very well-defined itinerary.

The meal is usually pretty good, and there is almost always live music on the boat.  We took one dinner cruise with family, and one as a couple, we saw both families and couples on both.  Dinner cruises are a great way to get the kids out to see a little bit of the world around them. 

Similar to dinner cruises are harbor cruises, which we have also taken advantage of.

We have enjoyed some really great harbor cruises with both adult and younger kids, creating some fantastic memories. Harbor cruises are a great way to find out if you get seasick before investing money and time on an ocean or river cruise.

Finally, the river cruises. 

Even in that category, I need to break it down a bit.  While we haven’t been able to do this yet, PapaJoe and I dream of being able to cruise the length of the Mississippi River, from near the HeadWaters in Minnesota, past famous Hannibal Missouri (birthplace of Tom Sawyer, of Huckleberry Finn fame), downstream to New Orleans. 

We have researched several options, and most are 7 to 10-day cruises.  Several new companies are launching new routes up and down the river, and one of these days, it just might be our time to go.

Our river cruises have been with Viking River Cruises.

Man, all I can say is Viking River Cruises have rightfully earned their #1 rating.  Their longships offer all the benefits our contributors listed for ocean cruising, plus being much smaller boats (meaning fewer people). Longship capacity ranges from 200ish to 350ish, which means the process to get on and off the boat is much quicker.

I love the variety of destinations – take our experience with ocean cruises for example – we have been to the Bahamas.  And that means we went to Nassau.  That’s it. Nassau. 

When I say on the riverboat we have been to Germany, Austria, and Hungary on one cruise, that means we stopped in a different city each day… Yep, you get it.  The time is spent off the boat, exploring the city with local guides, experiencing the local events, tasting the local foods, and shopping the local shops. The best part? Viking’s standard offering includes a locally-guided excursion at each portage destination. This is how to do all-inclusive. These guys know how to do it right.

I also love how the river cruises dock in the city.  With a shallow draw, the longships are able to dock right in the middle of the action, not out in a deep water harbor.  I really enjoyed walking off the boat right into the attractions.

Enjoy this short video featuring the Longship Sineus.

The Longship Sineus was our home for 10 days in Ukraine in August 2018.

I really enjoy being how Viking greets guests when they come back to the boat.  A greeting by the staff and a delicious refreshing (usually nutritious) beverage and warm (or cool) towel as you enter.  And, I love how staff call you by name and know your likes/dislikes by the end of the first day or so.  Viking is pretty incredible, and I have felt like a valued guest on each trip.

Now, there are some people (our cruiser-ers) who enjoy their time on the boat.  That’s not PapaJoe and myself.  This, for this story, is why we asked for contributors to help you decide which of the cruising options is a better fit for you.

We are almost at the end of our cruise planning story. 

There are still some really important questions to ask. 

Like, what advice did our experienced panel have for someone trying to choose a cruise?

PowerfunTwo’s advice was very similar to my own:

• Determine if you like being secluded to a ship before making a decision to go on a cruise.
• There are many people, however, you can still find very private places and time as a couple.
• Bring lots of sunscreen, and a variety of clothing including casual and formal dress attire.
• Make sure you have a passport. (DynamicDenise’s additional advice is to make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months after your return.  Many cruise and airlines will not allow passengers on board if that rule is not followed).

TerrificTom’s advice was very insightful.

• Boats are not all the same; ocean liners are not the same. Do some research on what matters to you the most. Some are geared for kids, some for food, some for pools, some are larger/smaller.
• [TerrificTom listed resources for booking cruises, due to our Affiliate rules, we can’t include those links]. We have booked through [credit card company] and they have given fun free perks, like $100 boat credit, once some free chocolates on the bed.
• Out of all the ocean liners, Celebrity was probably the nicest. They were also the most expensive.
• Don’t go to Alaska, it is cold. [I don’t think TerrificTom enjoyed Alaska much. I have overheard TerrificTom discussing his Alaskan cruise with other cruise-ers, and both couples made the comment that an Alaskan cruise is one where the room location is really important.  One side of the boat gets to view land for days, and the other side of the boat views the ocean for days.  Both with no change in the scenery.  Decide which you prefer to see, get a balcony room, and if the same scenery for days on end is not for you, neither is an Alaskan cruise].

And finally, SocialSara says:

• Watch for the deals that give you a free drink package!! It’s much more fun to not have to worry about paying for drinks.
• If you can afford the extra time and money for a hotel the night before a cruise, fly in the day before, and stay near the cruise port.  It makes for a much less hectic travel day, and you won’t start your vacation as tired.
• Another fun upgrade if your budget allows is a balcony room!  There is nothing better than coffee on your balcony, or a nap with the sea breeze blowing in.
• Also, don’t be afraid of multiple days at sea in the itinerary… those are some of my favorite days.
• Make sure to eat in the formal dining room, and bring some fancy clothes!  It’s a fun change of pace to get dressed up and waited on in a formal setting (also, if you aren’t sure what dessert to get, get them both!!  #yolo).
• And get your photo taken by the cruise photographers when you are dressed up.  It doesn’t cost anything to get them taken, and you might just get a group photo that you love and can purchase the best one of the week.
• I think that cruises are a great way to do a family vacation or “friendcation”.  They are easy to book, and each couple or family has their own space, but can hang as much as desired.

You go SocialSara!  I wish we had her advice before taking our ocean cruise – our experience may have been different if we had her wisdom back then.

What is our advice for cruise planning? 

Well, my advice is always going to be to do your research.  Lonely Planet can be a great resource for you.  Also, don’t be afraid to book a last-minute cruise. Companies usually list crazy low rates to finish filling cruise vacancies. I like to pass on time and cost-saving resources when I find them. This one might be a great find for you too! Find lowest prices on day and night cruises.

Also, check for package deals.  Sometimes the rate for airfare and the cruise will be less than if each were booked individually.  Your cruise experience will be much less stressful and less shocking at the end of your trip if you select an all-inclusive package. Just sayin’.

I think the most important piece of advice, is to make sure to leave room in your luggage for your purchases, especially if your return trip includes the Duty-Free shop and liquid purchases.  Those will need to go into checked baggage when your bags are re-checked after you clear customs.

More cruise planning advice.

Viking offers “included” excursions at each port, and those are usually well worth the time.  However, they also offer really great excursions to other local spots of interest.  Some feel the price for those excursions may be steep, but with 1) transportation to a destination included, 2) local guides included, and 3) additional information about the destination offered before the excursion, we have found that most additional excursions are well worth the time and expense.  

Also, if you are interested in taking a Viking River Cruise in the next year or so (or ever), get on their mailing list.  Yes, they send information frequently, but some of the specials are really good.  Like free international air flight, and or significant reductions in room rates AND reduced air flight.  That same advice pertains to any cruise line you plan to cruise with.

It just makes sense really – if you don’t know about an advertised special, you probably won’t get it.

In October 2018 when this story was first published, Viking was offering 2 for 1 room rates for some destinations, up to $1000 off the room rate, and $499 round trip air.  This means a cruise for 2 that would normally have been around $7000 for 2 plus round trip air (estimate $750-$1500 per person), the rate is now $5000 plus $499 per person airline tickets.  

Not a budget vacation, but pretty darned close, especially for being an all-inclusive experience. You can learn more about our Viking River Cruise experiences here.

You almost have enough information to finish your cruise planning.

Last question for our contributors. What do our contributors not like about cruises?

TerrificTom and SocialSara were on the same page:

• The boat can be crowded.
• Some cruises (Norwegian) don’t have a particular waiter and assigned dinner dining. I really like getting to know our waiter.
• Sometimes the crew will close down pools/spas or enforce no buffet-style eating due to spreadable illness on board.
• Drink packages vary and some liners have less all-inclusive “all-inclusive” options. Meaning you have to pay extra for nicer drinks.

PowerfunTwo also had great feedback – If your cruise is taken the wrong time of year (which is the least expensive time) you can end up with bad weather – sometimes devastating weather and end up with a bad vacation… The best time to take a cruise is between December to early March.

Papa Joe and I are going to echo many of our contributor’s thoughts.

• Papa Joe says he doesn’t like being stuck on the cruise liner for ocean cruises.  He gets bored pretty easily.
• Tipping is confusing.  How much, what is the tip based on, who do you tip, and when?  Especially difficult to figure out on the all-inclusive cruises.
• When I said we visited CocoCay on the ocean cruise, I meant we held onto the rail of our boat in huge surf and watched the island float by.  The weather was bad and we were unable to disembark on the island.
• I always keep the budget in mind. I am a control freak and want to know what to expect at the end of my trip.  A large drink bill is not my favorite answer, and difficult to avoid when all non-meal beverages are extra, including water.  One of my favorite things about Viking River Cruises is the Silver Spirits package – which means 1 price upfront and all (yes ALL) drinks are included, regardless of the time of day or night. Can I stress the “all-inclusive” feature enough? I think not.
• I also don’t like the “cattle pens” that ocean cruises have to get on and off the boats.  Waiting in line, getting your purse and/or purchases checked for contraband – none of that is my cup of tea.  We didn’t experience any of that on the River Cruises.
• The only thing I can say that I didn’t like about the River Cruise, was the long air flight to our destination.  That’s not Viking’s fault – it just means they make interesting places accessible to visit.

Non-cruise related travel.

We have visited some really fantastic places. Papa Joe and I were able to stay for several days, get to know the people, view the sights, and sample all the area has to offer.

Many of those sites have been destinations for ocean cruises, and we met cruise visitors while enjoying our sights.  We also watched them scurry back to the boat when the ship’s horns blew, while we stayed and enjoyed our destination. Papa Joe and I have heard more than one horror story about people having to pay for special transportation to the ship after missing a departure time – or even worse, having to cut an excursion short.

The moral of the story – we got to do lots of things at the destination, cruise visitors generally have to select one thing. I’m not trying to discourage you from taking a cruise, just helping you consider all the aspects involved in cruising.

These are some of our favorite “cruise destination” photos, where we have stayed to enjoy the destination while watching the cruise ships leave.

Cruise planning nuts and bolts.

This is usually where I go through the takeaways… the pros and cons. Like, why should you go – or not go, what to take into consideration, and so on?

Not this time.  I think our cruiser-ers have done a phenomenal job and given you a lot to think about.  Also, when getting information from people who have been on collectively over 40 all-inclusive, dinner cruises, river cruises, and ocean cruises. You know we are going to tell you to DO IT.

What I will end with is to take the advice of our cruiser-ers.  Together, we have traveled many of the world’s waterways, and there is advice here for anyone.