4 Questions to Ask When Deciding on a Cruise Line

What Are They Known For?

Each cruise line has different aspects that they are known for. For example, Holland Cruise Line is known for their food and being one of the longest running cruise lines. While Royal Caribbean International is known for fitting well with adventure seekers. They have rock walls and zip lines installed on ship. Some lines are more family oriented, while others are more for party goers, decked out with plenty of bars and even casinos.

Do You Want a Drink Package?

Not all cruise lines are equal. Some cruises allow for you to prepay for a drink package before arriving, while others don’t. Many ships don’t give you fountain drinks or alcoholic drinks for free. On Royal Caribbean you can choose from four different beverage packages, each angled towards different types of drinkers. Carnival gives you two choices, one for adult cruisers and once angled more at children cruisers. On Disney Cruise Line, you cannot prepay for a drink package that covers your bar tab, but you can buy a wine package that gives you a certain number of bottles of wine at dinner. However, unlike most other cruise lines, all basic soft drinks and food options are included.

Where Do They Sail?

Different cruise lines will be based in different areas. Sometime cruise lines will be specific to one singular area, while others will rotate their sailings. Usually the times of year will determine what area a ship is offering.

What Port Do You Want To Sail From?

One thing to keep in mind is that not all sailings will embark and return to the same port. On repositioning cruises the ship will leave from one port and finish the sailing in another are. For example, the Disney Cruise Line Westbound Panama Canal cruise will leave from the New Orleans Port, but will finish at the San Diego Port. They do this to transition from Caribbean cruises to Alaskan cruises. There are many cruise lines that do this, they will also do Trans-Atlantic cruises as well to reposition into or from Europe.

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