Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

Every year more and more people discover why cruises are the ideal vacation. A cruise ship is basically your giant buffet of wonderful experiences, with a wide selection of cuisines and cultures, activities in the sun and spas to pamper your every indulgence, destinations to exotic locales and a million ways to relax. You can do it all or do absolutely nothing-the choice is yours.

Your first choice is the most enjoyable, for it allows your mind to wander around the globe and back again, revisiting every destination your dreams have ever taken you to. Where in the world do you want to go and for how long? The length of your trip depends on how much you can afford. Cruises offer everything from one or two"night excursions out to sea and back to journeys that take you around the world in 100 days. Three"day weekend, four"day midweek, week and two"week cruises are the most popular. With 70 percent of the planet covered in water, the question should not be where to go to but where to go first. Cruise ships visit more than 1,800 ports around the world, providing you with rare glimpses into many cultures all in one eye"popping vacation. Many first"time cruisers choose the Caribbean, where you pleasantly float from one island paradise to the next. Soak up the sun, learn a water sport or discover a new flavor of margarita. The tropics never disappoint.

Never select one ship over another based on price alone. Always pick a ship based on your lifestyle and interests especially when food and service, kids facilities or the itinerary are so important.

You can determine the age of passengers likely to sail on a ship by checking the duration of the voyage. Two-to-five-day cruises carry the youngest passengers, on one-week voyages there will be predominance of passengers aged 25 to 50 and on cruises over a week, most passengers are retired.

Never cruise without buying insurance from your travel agent. Check which insurance companies are more likely to reimburse justified expenses rather than use the cruise lines' own insurance company which may not.

When planning your own shore excursions, take the name and phone number of the cruise line's local port agent, which is listed in the daily program delivered to your stateroom. If a problem or delay occurs, it’s an important contact number to have.

For those dressy nights, put each outfit in a plastic dry cleaner's bag and lay in suitcase. also put items on hangars so they go directly from bag to closet.

If you like to lie in the sun for that all over tan, use a very high sun block and reapply frequently (even if the label claims its waterproof).

Before booking a cruise that requires you to purchase an airline ticket, make sure seats are available to and from the ship's homeport. Airlines are cutting capacity to many vacation destinations.

Anytime a cruise line says a cruise includes "free" airfare, hotels, shore excursions and transfers what it really means is they are bundled into the cruise fare. Nothing is free in the cruise industry.

When flying to meet a ship sailing from a port that is more than a ten-minute ride from the airport, buy an airport transfer from the cruise line through your travel agent. This will saves you time, money and aggravation.

When flying to meet the ship, don't pack any items in your suitcases you can't stand to loose forever. These include documents, medication, jewelry, eyeglasses, and electronics gear.

Take a bunch of singles for tipping all the people who have earned a gratuity along the way.

Never board an airplane without an iPod. This is so useful to cut out the noice of Crying babies. and noisy kides of board. As a result of cruise lines reducing pier staff, resulting in extra long waiting time to process documents and board ship. Take the torture out of waiting by having your iPod handy, or a trashy book or magazine to read while standing in line.

A night-light comes in handy because blackout drapes means the cabin will be pitch dark. It helps to avoid crashing into furniture when trying to reach the bathroom during the night.

If you plan on buying a cruise line T-shirt in the ship’s boutique, wait until the last day when stacks of them are on sale.

No, you are not supose to bring your own bottles of alcohol aboard ship. Check with the cruise line as to what their policy is and what corkage is for that special bottle you've bought in one of the ports on your cruise.

Alcohol Policies by Cruise Line Seasite.com (Where cruise events begine)

Cruise Industry Policies About Alcohol

When booking an Europe or Alaska cruise, book as far in advance as possible because the closer to departure you get, the higher the airfare will be. And, when budgeting for these destinations always factor in shore excursions.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line carry the most families with children. While there are few kid"free cruises today, especially during school vacation period, you'll find fewer children on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity if that's what you're seeking.

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