Cruise Vacation

Taking a cruise could be a lifetime experience that could also turn from a pleasure hunt to a nightmare if you ignore some significant travel tips before taking the voyage. These tips should include your planning long before your embarkation and also what you should remember after your cruise vacation has come to an end. They include practical advice on booking a cruise, taking a cruise, on shore activities, flight plans, safety and security; economics related to the voyage as also what to do in emergencies.

Tip 1 concern the way you should book your cruise. Make absolutely sure that you have done some research before you actually make that booking. Do some comparison shopping – there are always good deals around and so it is important that you take your time. Ask your Booking Agent or Travel Agent about the ship itself and the comforts and amenities on offer, and whether they are seasonal or round the year. Your first interaction with your booking agent should begin with a point blank question if he/she charges any extra cancellation penalty of their own, apart from that charged by cruise line. If it is in the negative, you may continue the relationship but in the event of a positive answer, go find a new one. Know it for certain that in all relevant matters relating to the cruise, your booking agent will talk on behalf of the cruise line that keeps mum till you board their vessel.

Tip 2 concerns booking your cabin in the cruise ship. There is no point in booking a cabin below your chosen type in the high hope that you will be entitled to complimentary upgrades, no matter how much assurance the agent offers. Cruise lines seldom honor such unwarranted promises. At best they may shift you from one deck to another, cabin quality remaining the same. So, book only your desired type of cabin if you do not intend to remain glum all through the cruise. After all, you are spending money to enjoy, not lamenting for a minor mistake.

Tip 3 will advise you to buy Travel Insurance before you embark. This will save you from a lot of hassles and damages that are beyond your knowledge. Think of a sudden emergency that requires instant attention or a medical evacuation that can cost a fortune. Besides, your health care policy does not cover overseas illness which your Travel Insurance can. Moreover, unforeseen eventualities like a missed plane or an interrupted cruise due to missing the ship while on a shore excursion costing a hell of a lot of money can be taken care of by the Travel Insurance.

Tip 4 covers your flying plan. Make sure that you arrive at the airport at least one day before the departure time (after all you do not want to miss out on your cruise if for some reason your flight is delayed due to some mechanical or weather problems). As for your luggage, lock suitcases with cable ties or TSA locks. Standard luggage locks are no longer allowed on plane. Keep a handy pair of scissors in an outside pocket of your checked handbag so that you may be able to remove the cable ties when needed. Also have ID tags on every piece of luggage but see to it that your home address remains visible only from the inside of the tag. This extra precaution debars unwelcome visitors to your home while you are away on vacation. As an added measure of luggage identification, write down your name and address as also a brief itinerary of your trip in a separate piece of paper and slip it in any outside pocket of your luggage for the simple reason that ID tags supplied by the airlines are not made out of parchment and are liable to be lost during handling. Also, be good enough to remove all old airline tags from your luggage to help the ground staff from losing their head.

Tip 5 concerns form filling and legislative procedures. You are required to fill out all embarkation documents as soon as your booking is confirmed and your Travel Agent has given you the booking number. This is a statutory obligation that must be complied with as early as possible. You may be denied embarkation if this is not done in time.

Tip 6 tells you to call your Credit Card Company, informing them that you are likely to use the card overseas. Under normal circumstances they would have refused payment to vendor outside the country but in this case they would note down the circumstances and do the needful.

Tip 7 recommends contacting your Bank and telling them that you may use their ATM card outside the US territory.

Tip 8 wishes you Bon Voyage.