Travel Through Time

CRUISING THE CARIBBEAN
WHY A CRUISE ? A cruise (the right cruise) is one of the most enjoyable ways there is to travel and see the world. This has been demonstrated over the last fifteen years by the ENORMOUS growth of the cruise industry throughout the world! Also, a cruise (the right cruise) is one of the most cost effective ways there is to travel! Also, a cruise (the right cruise) is one of the most diversified vacations there is!
If you are looking for a honeymoon destination that is peaceful and quiet you’ve got it! If you are looking for a honeymoon destination with ongoing daytime activities, evening stage shows, cabaret, dancing, casinos and much more you’ve got it! If you are looking for personal services (real service) and being catered to day and night you’ve got it! How about a “shop until you drop” type of honeymoon you’ve got it! and this can be duty free!!!

Do you enjoy traveling (or just haven’t had the opportunity to travel much yet? How about visiting new lands, meeting new people, sightseeing (either organized tours or on your own) you’ve got it! While cruises and cruise ships differ in destination, average age groups on board, type of accommodations and personal shipboard emphasis (all of which we’ll discuss later) there are a few basics that most of the cruise lines all have in common.
Most cruises either include round trip airfare from your home city (DFW) to the port of embarkation or they have an “air/ sea” package available that GREATLY reduces the cost of getting to and from the ship. In either case, when airfare is part of the equation then ground transfers between the airport and the ship is also included. Next, ALL cruises include meals actually they don’t include “meals”, they include MEALS all breakfasts, all lunches, all dinners, midnight buffets EVERY night, snacks, etc. and all of this is NOT on a limited fixed menu a WIDE variety of Fabulous Fare abounds and it is not uncommon for a passenger to make special food requests! Finally, ALL cruises have one last thing in common; your cruise ship is your hotel “your floating hotel” and while the ship visits MANY destinations you unpack just once.
If you think all of this could be just a little decadent you’d better believe it! Some of the major differences setting one cruise line apart from another include; the line’s “approach” to how it plans to pamper its clientèle’s. Make no mistake, ALL the cruise lines WILL pamper you but “style”, “technique” and “emphasis” vary greatly among and between the cruise lines; there is one line that stands out for its great emphasis on entertainment; there is another line that is outstanding for its food preparation, presentation and selection (not to mention taste); while there is another line that is well known and enjoyed for its casual atmosphere and ambiance; yet another is most highly regarded for its sophistication and savoir faire. Though one line may have better food than another and one line may have the best food of all lines the fact of the matter is that no ship, no cruise line has bad food. No cruise line has bad entertainment. In fact, none of the major cruise lines sailing out of U.S. ports (or catering to U.S. passengers while sailing from exotic ports) are bad � and, an absolutely marvelous fact of the cruise industry is that all of the ships try to out do each other for your business! What a concept !!! There are businesses out there that actually do everything they can to get your business! They wine you and dine you; they entertain you; they cater to your needs, your wants and your desires. They aren’t snotty they aren’t pretentious they aren’t overbearing.
Actually, what they are is they are usually nothing short of outstanding and the price? You just won’t find the service, the food, the service, the ambiance, the service, the diversity, the � the everything, for as few dollars as you can when you take a cruise (the right cruise.) The “right cruise” ??? What is the “right cruise” ??? Consider this, if a particular ship offers full time free daycare services, shipboard “camp” for the kids and, in general, all day activities for children; this should tell you something. Most couples on a honeymoon or on their first anniversary vacation usually don’t look for interaction with “future adults”. A travel agency or honeymoon specialist worthy of getting your business will have access to “average age” information and the social “emphasis” of the cruise line you are interested in.
Next, a major consideration will be the type of ship and the type of accommodations you will have. You will find ships that are like a large resort hotel; you will find ships that are much smaller and more intimate. You will find ships with all “Italian” crews; you will find ships with all “American” crews. You will find ships with a lot of very small cabins; you will find ships with a lot of cabins with private balconies. There are three trains of thought about selecting a cabin on a cruise ship:
“There is so much to do the only time we will be in the cabin is to sleep” so why pay for a larger more expensive cabin
“When on a cruise we want to be able to get away from all the activities and have a spacious, comfortable retreat” we want something more than just a place to sleep, we want to be able to spread out in the cabin
“Give us something that isn’t cramped but isn’t too expensive. - this is the “smart” money.
When shopping for a cruise ship always look at the size of the cabins. If your travel agent doesn’t know - the agent can find out. Now that you have a feel for what you need to go through to find the “right cruise” it’s time to look at where you want to go.
Over the next few issues WEDDINGS will discuss worldwide destinations but for now we’ll concentrate on a general; overview of an area close to home, the Caribbean, and in the next issue of WEDDINGS we will give you some detailed information about the Caribbean.
When you look to the Caribbean for cruises you actually have at least four distinct regions for vacation opportunities. The Bahamas, only 30 miles off the coast of Florida and though not officially in the Caribbean, is always considered a Caribbean destination and by itself offers 3- and 4-night cruises between Fort Lauderdale/Miami and the islands. Ships that sail from the mainland (Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Houston) for 7-, 10- and 14-night cruises generally offer either an “Eastern Caribbean” or “Western Caribbean” itinerary with their 14-night cruises often just a combination of the two itineraries. Ships sailing from Caribbean Ports, the most popular being San Juan, Puerto Rico, offer “air/sea” packages that include airfare to and from San Juan and then you sail the “Southern Caribbean” on a 7- or 10-night cruise.
Naturally, each cruise line offers a number of different itineraries and within each of these regions the ports-of-call often vary greatly so when you get to speak with a travel agent make sure you get a good cross-section of cruise brochures to see what each offers, not only in the way of amenities but also in the way of ports. Just a little insight - if your selection of destinations (ports-of-call) rules your choice of cruise ships be sure you determine just how long you are in each port. Eight to ten hours in a port means you should have time to stroll at your leisure, see the sights, do some shopping, meet some of the locals, etc. However, a four hour stay may not be enough time to do anything more than do a quick organized bus tour and return to the ship (not our idea of fun.) A honeymoon cruise (the right cruise) will knock your socks off! For some reason it is always difficult to get a couple to take that first cruise but once they’ve done it they are hooked on cruising for the rest of their lives.
The price is right, cruises are pretty close to “All Inclusive”, so you have a good idea of what you are going to spend for the entire vacation before you go; the food and service is nothing less than great; and, the endless diverse activities and possibilities will give you just about anything and everything you could want in a honeymoon. If you can pick your ship wisely, and that is not hard to do with the guidance of a good, qualified travel agent or dedicated cruise consultant, you will have the time of your life and isn’t that the perfect way to begin that perfect marriage?
Only 30 minutes off the coast of Florida are the Bahama Islands for your destination wedding theme cruise, while these islands aren’t really in the Caribbean, many Caribbean cruises departing from Florida’s east coast will stop somewhere in the Bahamas as one of their ports-of-call plus a number of ships are dedicated to only 3- and 4-night cruises between Port Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale/Miami and the Bahamas.
A second separate sailing region of the Caribbean is known as the “Western Caribbean” and can include stops in Mexico (Cancun/Cozumel and a few relatively new remote areas of the Yucatan), the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and may also have ports-of-call in Key West and/or small “private” Bahamian island. Today cruises into the Western Caribbean not only sail from Fort Lauderdale/Miami but can also be found departing from Houston, New Orleans, and Tampa.
The next sailing region of the Caribbean is called the “eastern Caribbean”. The most common cruise destinations in this region often include a “private island” somewhere in the Bahamas, San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additional ports-of call for this region may also include St. John, St.Maarten and St.Croix.
The last and most diverse of these regions is the Southern Caribbean. Due to the greater distances from mainland U.S. all these cruises originate from somewhere within the Caribbean (most often from San Juan and sail to such destinations as St. Thomas, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, St.Barts, Antigua, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, and more! While most Southern Caribbean cruises are a little more expensive than others, Air/Sea packages are always available -plus- by starting your cruise already in the Caribbean you will have a few days “at sea” and more ports to visit - plus - you can always take advantage of a cruise line’s”add-on” packages and spend a few nights in San Juan, Puerto Rico either before of after the actual cruise.
When you start looking at destinations also be sure to look at how much time you get to spend at each of the destinations you are thinking about. As we mentioned last month, only a couple of hours in a port may not be enough time to enjoy anything! The once you have a general idea of the destinations (ports-of-call) you would be interested in, take time to look through the brochures of AT LEAST FOUR or FIVE cruise lines. Typical to the Caribbean are Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruise Line, Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line (NCCL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Windjammer Cruises, and varying with the time of year, many many other ships.
Once you have an idea of where you want to go and what cruise line you may want to go on then you also should look at “when should we go” because the Caribbean has “seasons” - as many as four distinct time of the year - with rates that match the seasonal demands. Generally you will find Prime, Peak, Value and Economy (or Budget) sailing dates with rates that may vary in excess of $1,000 per couple depending on the date you select.
If you go to a travel agent or cruise specialist and they don’t have at least half a dozen different cruise line brochures (and at least including the lines mentioned in this article) GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! You don’t want to be LED by having limited choices, you want to be GUIDED once you have all the basic information you want.
If an agent tells you just how great a certain ship or certain cruise line is, you should ask them “compared to what?” Try to determine how knowledgeable your agent is - how many cruises, on how many different cruise lines, to how many different destinations, can your agent talk about from FIRST HAND knowledge. Make sure you understand why a certain cruise line or why a certain ship or cruise destinations so great - be sure you agent understands what you are looking for, what you particular likes and dislikes are and what your expectations are.
At a glance - today’s cruise industry had made ships destinations unto themselves like Hawaii vacations or Tahiti. You are likely to find anything and everything you need and want on your ship. You are also likely to find that your ports-of-call are just an added bonus to the ship itself.
Talk to a number of cruise or honeymoon specialists - talk to friends or relatives who have taken a cruise. From our first hand experience (on ALL the cruise lines mentioned in this article) the only way you can go wrong is by NOT going on a cruise!!!!
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