Summer Holiday Planning?

Cruising is a cost-effective way for Families to see multiple places without the hassle. Cruising also encourages meeting folks from all over the world and learning different cultures. Here are some cruise tips you can’t do without!  

Book early: Booking last minute doesn’t mean you will get a good deal and save money. Book early (best stateroom selection) and check the cruise line website daily. If you find your stateroom class is less then you paid, call your travel agent or cruise line (whoever you booked with) and ask for a price reduction. If it is before final payment date they will reduce your fare. If it is after final payment, there are some cruise lines who will offer you OBC (On Board Credit). On board credit is money you can use on board; money to use on board can include anything you purchase on your seapass account (this is your on-board currency — like a credit card), from cocktails to professional pictures to excursions booked with the cruise line and once you are on board. If you can’t book early, search ports nearest to you to avoid the cost of air fare. Cruises near our area leave from Cape Liberty- Bayonne, NJ, Manhattan, NYC, and Red Hook, Brooklyn. They also leave from Baltimore, MD and Massachusetts. These would be our closest “home ports.”

Cruise Fare: Cruise fare covers your meals and stateroom for the amount of time on board. Tips are an additional cost (tip for room service as well) and can be found on the individual cruise line website. Excursions and anything you purchase on board including cocktails are additional as well. 

Motion Sickness: Ships are epic in proportion these days; motion sickness should be minimal if at all, if it is something you tend to have difficulty with. If motion sickness is a problem try to book a stateroom mid-ship and close to the bottom cabin decks. This will lessen motion sickness if the ship encounters sea swells (peak wave periods). There is an array of motion sickness remedies to try as well.

• Sea bands — http://www.sea-band.com/seaband.htm
• Scopalamine Patch — http://www.transdermscop.com/prescribing-information.htm *NOT recommended for children.
• Bonine (aka: meclazine) — http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000709/
• Ginger Pills — the more natural with NO side effects — http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4094507&CAWELAID=523284128

Our son has a day or two of motion seasickness and we have found ginger to be the miracle cure.

Life On Board: Print out ship deck plans before you embark. If you’re cruising with children, set up rules-age dependant) prior to leaving. Make them part of the planning by giving them each a copy of the deck plans. Look at them together, discussing the location of your cabin, the location of the pool deck, kids club, main dining room and other various places on the ship you might visit as a family. Discuss shows, curfew, activities, port days and what is expected of them. Most teens will meet others their age and want to hang out together. Make a daily plan in the morning on sea days. If they are younger and will go to the kids club, discuss when you will pick them up, times for dinner, etc. If they are older make sure they walk using the buddy system (letting them know a cruise ship is a large city) and know the rules. (Rules can range from leaving post-its or voice messages on the stateroom phones to where they will be to making set times and locations to meet on the ship for breakfast and lunch and times they need to be in to get ready for dinner.) The same rules at home should ring true on board. Do not go into strangers' cabins, do not go anywhere questionable on the ship with someone you don’t know. Respect others around you, be courteous. There are long-range walkie talkies that work on board and some ships use DECT Phones that you can rent for your stay on board. A daily “newspaper” will be left in your cabin by your cabin steward for the next day. Bring a small highlighter to highlight what you want to try to do the next day. Don’t try to do it all, you won’t be able to. 

Excursion/Port Planning: As soon as you have booked a cruise vacation you should be looking into what to do while stopped in each port. I also like to involve our kids, but they usually admit they want to chill on the beach and not tour. We have already swum with dolphins, we have climbed Dunns River Falls and have visited Nature Island and swum under hot and cold-running falls. We have ziplined, we have chartered a private sail boat and on more than one occasion we have met with stingrays. We have visited Caribbean houses of worship and have visited high end designer stores (duty-free). We continue to learn how to snorkel well! 

Packing: I am an admitted over-packer and I'm okay with it. We usually have a driver take us to the port. We try to leave from NJ or NYC. If you are looking to pack light, remember most cruise lines have some form of laundry & dry cleaning. Carnival has DIY laundry, RCI has send-out at very reasonable prices. 

Identification: If you are on a U. S.“closed-loop” cruise, you require a photo ID (driver's license) and birth certificate. Children require only a birth cert. Closed loop means you embark (leave) and disembark (return) at the same port. Copies will NOT suffice. If you plan to travel more than once, a passport is a good idea. We have found passport processing extremely easy at our local post office. 

Getting to the Port Options: If your luggage will fit in your car, you can drive to the ports mentioned above, they all have secure parking. Parking will cost about $17-$20 a day. If it is a 7-night cruise, parking is based on the number of nights (i.e., $20 x 7 = $140). Decide which is most cost-efficient for your family. We opt to have a driver pick us up in a limousine. Our luggage for four will not fit in even our largest of SUVs for a 9-night cruise. Driving, hiring or flying, confirm your transportation and route as soon as you can.

Good News for Disney Lovers! For those readers with children (& adults alike!), Announced just a month ago (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/04/new-2012-disney-cruise-line-itineraries-and-ports-unveiled/) Disney Cruise Line will finally position a Disney Ship, Disney Magic, in NY with 20 sails scheduled, starting May 25th, 2012!

Do you like “talking cruise”?  We do too! Come join the chatter here & learn more valuable tips: http://www.facebook.com/profile.phpid=832267309#!/home.php?sk=group_172527479431415

 Questions? Ask here or email here: CruiseDivaNJ@yahoo.com