All About Cruises

Tag: book cruise

  • The Advantages of Booking a Last-Minute Cruise

    The Advantages of Booking a Last-Minute Cruise

    One of the best things about a cruise vacation is that months of planning aren’t necessarily needed before you go. Of course, lots of folks do book their trips pretty far in advance. But that doesn’t have to be the rule. A last-minute reservation on a cruise ship isn’t just possible, sometimes it’s desirable.

    The Beauty of a Booking a Last-Minute Cruise

    Many cruise lines sell last-minute bookings, whether you’re interested in traveling to the Caribbean, Alaska’s Inside Passage, northern Europe or even, say, Japan. With this type of fare, cruise ship companies are simply trying to fill unsold rooms. Cruises can be booked as little as one week before departure; just enough time to pack and go!

    Space is usually limited. So, travelers might not get their first choice in destination or cabin beyond general preferences (say, the Eastern Caribbean over the Western Caribbean, or a mid-ship stateroom) but for folks who can be flexible, it’s a great way to make a luxurious vacation more affordable. Depending on what’s available, the last-minute booking options may also present the opportunity to see someplace you’d have never thought of going.

    Cost Savings for Cruisers

    In general, the fare for this kind of trip may be cheaper, too. Any room that sails empty costs the cruise line money. The company would rather sell the ticket for that room at a lower price than not sell it at all. And so for the savvy traveler, it’s possible to book a cruise for less than what the original fare was for that particular sailing.

    Checking the cruise lines’ websites regularly, getting on their email list, or working with a reputable travel agent can help travelers keep an eye on fares and know when to buy in order to get the best deal. It can be a great way for a first-time cruiser to check out this style of vacationing without spending a lot of money.

    A Pre-Planned Vacation, Just Waiting for You

    With a cruise, the ports of call are already arranged. And once booked, it’s like an instant vacation. For folks with unpredictable schedules, who don’t like detail-oriented vacation planning, or who are apt to spontaneously decide to take a few days and get away somewhere, this is an ideal travel situation. There’s no hassle in making multiple reservations, figuring out where to stay or how to get there, and coordinating activities. A cruise allows passengers to participate in as much or as little as they like, making it a versatile and flexible vacation choice with minimal effort.

    Cruise lines often reduce the prices on unsold cabins as the departure date of a cruise grows near. Not everyone can drop everything and book a cruise on short notice. But for those who can, booking a last-minute cruise is a great opportunity to grab a good deal on a vacation.

  • How to Book a River Cruise in Alaska

    As a follow-up article to our recent overview of Alaskan river cruises, we thought it might be helpful to shed some light on how to book a river cruise in Alaska. If you are interested in booking one of these cruises, you might be wondering if there is anything special about booking an Alaskan river cruise, or if it is basically like booking any other cruise. The answer to this question, like so many others, is “yes and no,” and it is the aim of this article to explain why.

    It is essential to state up front what we mentioned in our previous article on the subject, namely, Alaskan river cruises are in a lot of ways not really river cruises at all. In any case, they are not like some of the other major river cruises, like Nile River cruises or Yangtze River cruises, because these cruises take place entirely on a river. An Alaskan river cruise is more like an Alaskan ocean cruise that stays closely to the coastline with frequent deviations into coves and bays. It is often not clear when a river technically ends and a bay begins, however, so an Alaskan ocean cruise may in fact spend part of its time on a river, or at least it will take you close enough to river for a smaller boat (e.g., a raft) to easily reach it and navigate it, a side activity that is possible on some Alaskan cruises.

    We mention all of this to make two simple points. First, you shouldn’t think of an Alaskan river cruise as a trip up or down a river. Rather, an Alaskan river cruise follows a far more jagged route, cutting in and out of bays, going through narrow passages, and so on. The second point is implied by the first: an Alaskan river cruise must involve a small vessel, one far smaller than the huge ships operated by the major cruise lines. All of these major cruise lines of course offer Alaskan cruises, but the routes they follow will be less nimble than those followed by Alaskan river cruises.

    For this reason, when you are looking to book an Alaskan river cruise, you can’t just call up the big cruise lines (which you may be used to dealing with) to plan your vacation. They don’t offer river cruises in Alaska in the way that “river cruises in Alaska” (however misleading the phrase) is generally understood. This also means that it is quite a bit harder to find Alaskan river cruises on any of the major cruise deal sites, like Cruise.com or Expedia. This is something that we have noticed time and time again. Since river cruises rely on small ships operated by smaller companies (at least in general), they are not as easy to find on the cruise deal sites, which at this point are one of the most popular (if not the most popular) tools for booking a cruise.

    As such, if you are really determined to take an Alaskan river cruise and won’t settle for a more standard cruise vacation to Alaska, you’ll likely have to deal with a smaller company. There are at least a few out there that operate small vessels that give passengers an intimate and up-close view of Alaska. USA River Cruises has several cruises listed on their site, as does Adventure Cruises. Booking through these companies is a lot like booking through a major cruise line. You simply contact them (probably after exploring their offerings on line) to set up your vacation.

    As you can see, booking an Alaskan river cruise is not a great mystery, but it is definitely different from booking a regular cruise. You can’t deal with the usual suspects (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc.), nor are you likely to find what you are looking for on many of the major cruise deal sites. Instead, you have to work with smaller companies. However, these smaller companies operate much like larger cruise lines, and in that sense booking an Alaskan river cruise is actually not much different from booking a regular cruise.

  • How To Book a Singles Cruise

    If you are single and want to take a cruise, you might consider taking a singles cruise. Only singles take them, so everyone on board is theoretically available, making singles cruises excellent for meeting other people without partners. This is, of course, the appeal of singles cruises to people who are single. But how do you book a singles cruise? Is booking a singles cruise different from booking any other sort of cruise? To answer these and similar questions, we wrote this article to explain the ins and outs of booking a singles cruise.

    Before booking a singles cruise, you of course want to know what singles cruise you want to take. In any given year, there are a couple of dozen or so singles cruises to choose from, so you’ll want to look through the available singles cruises to decide which one is right for you. You’ll want to consider which part of the world you want to leave from (and also how difficult and/or expensive it might be to travel to this port), where you want to sail to, how long you want your cruise to last, and so on. You’ll also want to make sure that you only look at cruises that are appropriate for you. Some singles cruises are only for people who are over a certain age (e.g., 40), so make sure you are aware of such restrictions before attempting to book any cruise.

    Fortunately, many of the websites that supply lists of singles cruises (sites like SinglesCruise.com, as well as the “singles cruise” section of websites like VacationsToGo.com) also allow you to book cruises directly through them, either by entering information into the site or by calling a toll-free number. You could also determine which singles cruise you want to take and then book your trip directly through the cruise line that is offering it. For example, you’ll find lots of singles cruises offered by Carnival, and instead of booking your cruise on a singles cruise site (where you’ll likely find the Carnival cruise), you could contact Carnival directly and book your cruise through them. However, unless you are able to get a better deal by working directly with the cruise line that offers the singles cruise (because of, say, some cruise rewards program that you belong to), it is often easiest to simply book through the site on which you find the singles cruise. The website SinglesCruise.com makes the process particularly easy. You look through a list of singles cruises, pick the one you like, select your accommodations, enter personal details and payment information, and then you’r all set up.

    If you have a travel agent, he or she could also help you book a singles cruise. Cruise lines and websites like SinglesCruise.com work directly with travel agents all the time. Some people think travel agents are unnecessary middlemen because it’s so easy to book vacations online; however, agents can definitely be of assistance, not only because you don’t have to deal with any of the booking yourself, but also because they can often find even better deals than those that are advertised online.

    So, booking a singles cruise is basically like booking a regular cruise. There are a few different sites you can use to find singles cruises, and you can book your cruise directly through these sites. It couldn’t be simpler.

    For more information, check out our article on which singles cruise is best for you, and you might also read up on what you can do on a singles cruise.

Skip to content