Posts Tagged ‘Cruising’
What If I Can’t Afford A Disney Cruise?
Yet another reader recently commented on our much controversial Norwegian Jewel Review that we posted almost 18 months ago. Surprisingly, it continues to be the number one article in terms of views each month and it also continues to elicit heated, and sometimes angry, comments. In this instance, we moderated the comment due to its vitriolic tone and its direct attack on a specific group of individuals, so it isn’t available for the public to read (sorry – this is a family-friendly website). However, some of the observations made by the writer has led us to finally address head-on the notion that “You get what you pay for” and the frequent complaint that “I can’t afford a Disney cruise”.
We’d like to believe that the quality of a cruise and the level of service provided by the crew are directly related to price. While I believe that is a fair generalization, I’ve sailed on the best and the worst cruise lines - the cost of the best isn’t always justified and the hidden costs of the worst is shocking. This leads to one of the most frequently asked questions – which cruise line is the best value? Well, that is quite simple with respect to families – Carnival Cruise Lines and Disney Cruise Line. Hold on one minute – how can Disney, the most expensive of the mass market lines, be the best value? Simple, they provide an amazing product, along with amazing service, at a price that is less than luxury or upscale lines, such as Cunard or Crystal.
One of the biggest misconceptions with respect to Disney Cruise Line is that their cruises are not affordable. To that, I say, nonsense! You just need to be patient, have a good travel agent, or simply follow us on Twitter. We tweet all of the significant promotions available to the general public before they sell out. For example, we’re booked on the Disney Wonder for a prime week at the end of February. Our Deluxe Outside Cabin for four cost us a whopping $1,965 total, plus we get a $100 onboard credit. You’ll pay more than that on most other mass-market lines.
Okay, so you missed out on that special promotion or simply were not interested in those voyages – now what? Well, try Carnival Cruise Lines. While the quality and service doesn’t compare to Disney, the kid’s program is quite extensive and the facilities (including Waterworks and mini-golf) keep families entertained. A family of four can regularly sail for a week with Carnival for less than $2,000. That is affordable for most families, not to metion a good value for your money.
On the other hand, we consider any money spent with Norwegian Cruise Line to be a bad investment. No, we aren’t snobs, nor do we expect to receive 5-star service for a 3-star price, but we do expect NCL to compare favorably to Carnival Cruise Lines, the other mass-market cruise line within NCL’s price category. From a family persepctive, they fail miserably on that front.
So, if you’re looking for value, my recommendation is to wait for a super sale on Disney Cruise Line, or alternatively, give Carnival Cruise Lines a try. While the situation has improved slightly with the launch of Norwegian Epic, NCL continues to provide a mediocre product, albeit at a low cost, at least initially. If any of our readers who have sailed both Carnival and NCL would like to put together a head-to-head comparison, I’d be happy to post it. Until then, I’ll stick with my assessment and recommendations as it relates to NCL.
Bon Voyage!
Disclosure
Cruising With Kids Available For Pre-Order
Special Pre-Order Price of $16.95 +S/H* expires April 30th!
Take a peek inside!
You will find:
*Family friendly cruise line reviews
*Extended ship profiles
*Family favorite shore excursions
*Cruising tips for families of all ages
*Cruise line tips and ‘secret cabins’
…and more
Summary
Our guide provides straight-forward, no-nonsense information coupled with candid reviews based upon over 20 years of cruising experience. Not all cruise lines or ships are ideal for every family. Recognizing this, we perform a detailed review from a family-friendly perspective of ninety-seven ships across the seven major cruise lines.
You certainly have many choices when planning a cruise; however, most guides are produced for a broad audience of cruisers. Cruising as a family requires special considerations. Although the selection process is similar to that of other cruisers, families need to employ different criteria when selecting nearly all aspects of a cruise. We walk you through the selection process, discuss pre-cruise planning and then take you on board with tips and tricks for making the most of your cruise vacation. This guide is a must read for anyone who is planning to cruise with kids.
*Pre-order now and save $5 off of the cover price! Books are in stock – orders placed by Noon Monday-Friday will ship the same day. Allow 2-7 business days for delivery.
Customers residing outside of the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands may order our guide on Amazon.com.
Cruising With Kids – the book – Is Finished
The last time that I blogged, it was early December and I felt like I was running about 6 weeks behind. I estimated that the final product would be more than 300 pages. Well, I was right! Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation is 474 pages–that, I did not anticipate. I also estimated a late January publishing date–as it turned out, that was a bit optimistic, as well.
The good news, however, is that the book is going to the printer tomorrow! Once we get the proof back, we will release the book for publication. We expect it to be available for shipment, through our website or Amazon, by April 20th.
I am also in the process of building our new ‘cruising only’ website, which should be completed in the next week. Most of the cruising resources will migrate to the new website (in one way or another) over the course of the next 30 days. I will also be adding lots of additional resources, so stay tuned. Once our new website is up and running, we will offer Cruising With Kids for pre-order at a special introductory price.
For those of you who have contemplated writing a book…check back with us in the next few months for our series, “The Reality of Writing a Book”!
Six Areas To Focus On When Planning A Family Cruise
You can read more about this topic, as well as many other family cruising topics, in our new book–Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation. Visit our dedicated Cruising With Kids website for more details.
Cruising as a family requires special considerations. Although the cruise selection process is similar to that of other groups, families will need to employ entirely different criteria when selecting nearly every aspect of a cruise. For example, when you’re cruising with kids you’ll probably have a different criteria for selecting a cabin than someone who is cruising alone. When you’re cruising as a couple, the late-night entertainment might be important, but perhaps not so much when you’re cruising with young kids – you get the idea. When looking for the right cruise, we recommend concentrating on the following six areas and considering the answers to each of the questions carefully before booking your next family cruise:
Cruising with young kids isn’t the same as cruising with teens. Cruising with a larger group isn’t the same as cruising as a single family. Should you cruise to Alaska, Europe, the Caribbean or Mexico? Which cruise line is best for your family? All ships aren’t created equal, so which ship is best for your family? These are all questions that you’ll have to answer before booking your family cruise, so make sure that you read our cruise line reviews and other cruising resources before contacting a travel agent – you’ll be glad that you did!
Disclosure
Restrictions On Cruising While Pregnant
You can read more about this topic, as well as many other family cruising topics, in our new book–Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation. Visit our dedicated Cruising With Kids website for more details.
Your third trimester has just arrived and you could no doubt use some rest and relaxation, right? Well, although most airlines allow you to travel right up until the very end of your pregnancy, most cruise lines impose more severe restrictions during this period and you just might be out of luck. Maybe traveling during pregnancy isn’t the best idea anyway, but you’ve had enough of just sitting around and waiting and you’re in need of some serious pampering, so you decide to go for it and book a cruise.
Have no fear, so long as you cruise before your third trimester (weeks 28-40), you should easily be able to find a cruise line that will allow you to sail. Although the majority of cruise lines require that you are no more than 23 or 24 weeks along at the time of disembarkation, you can find a few that will allow you to stretch it out a bit…or indefinitely, although that isn’t necessarily recommended.
There are only a couple of mass-market cruise lines that provide a bit more flexibility. Costa Cruise Lines will permit you to sail as long as you’re 24 weeks or less at the time of embarkation, which depending upon the length of sailing, could bring you right up to your third trimester. MSC Cruises also has a more liberal policy, allowing you to cruise if you’re 27 weeks or less on the day of disembarkation. In both cases, your doctor will still need to demonstrate your fitness for travel.
Moving into the specialty market will definitely grant you more flexibility. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Star Clippers and Swan Hellenic all allow pregnant women to sail right up to 27 weeks (based upon disembarkation date). You’ll even find a handful of cruise lines that have no formal written guidelines or allow you to cruise throughout the third trimester (AMA Waterways, Cruise West, Peter Deilmann and Viking River Cruises). However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no restrictions. At the very least, you’ll need to demonstrate your fitness for travel by providing a physician’s report and you should also fully understand the risks associated with traveling during your third trimester.
No matter which cruise line you choose, you should plan on visiting your physician the week prior to sailing. Because cruise ship medical facilities are not equipped to handle medical emergencies, you should not travel if you are experiencing a high risk pregnancy or if you are not in perfect health at the time of departure. Be sure to contact your travel agent or cruise line well in advance to confirm their policies and requirements.
Bon Voyage!
You can read more about this topic, as well as many other family cruising topics, in our new book–Cruising With Kids: A Guide To The Perfect Family Cruise Vacation. Visit our dedicated Cruising With Kids website for more details.
Disclosure
