4 August 2009 by Don.

Urban legend says that if you wait until the very last minute, you can get a fantastic bargain on a cruise vacations.  ‘Just go to the dock the day the cruise departs and they will give you a stateroom for almost nothing!’  Could this really be true?

Common logic says the cruise line would rather get a few dollars for the stateroom than sail with it empty.  Maybe the answer is true.

Newspaper ads would lead you to believe that there are great last minute deals.  If it’s printed in the paper, it must be true.

The truth is that, once-upon-a-time someone, somewhere got a great last minute deal but in today’s market, it’s not happening.  If the cruise lines gave away cruises at the last minute, everyone would just wait and cruise line would be following the airlines to bankruptcy court.

People love to tell stories about a friend of a friend’s brother-in-law who got an unbelievable deal a couple days before his cruise.  These stories are highly exaggerated. (If you’ve heard a great story like this, send it to me and I’ll get you an even better deal.)

The cruise lines are making great deals all the time. They’re filling the ships and there’s seldom few, if any, empty cabins in the last month before the cruise.

I work too hard for my vacation.  I’m not going to take a chance on getting a barging at the last minute.  When I go on vacation, I want to cruise on the ship and itinerary that I choose. I don’t want to just settle on what the cruise line might have left. Don’t gamble your vacation time away in hopes of saving a few dollars

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4 November 2008 by Don.

If I’m not on a cruise, I like to be talking about cruises.  But, more importantly, it’s not the talking, it’s the listening to others that I appreciate the most.  I always learn something new when I listen.  I always ask for an introduction to friends and relatives that have cruised, preferably people who have cruised several times.  It’s interesting and educational to hear what they really enjoyed about their cruises, how they planned them, and the stories about the few things that didn’t go exactly as expected.

A high percentage of passengers have a great cruise vacation but every now and then, I run in to one that didn’t enjoy the cruise experience.  Most of the time, if I analyze their whole vacation, the problem is easily traced to some incident early in the vacation.   From that point, everything goes wrong for the unlucky passenger.

Right now, I’m working on a magazine article not about cruises but about the effort to get from home to the cruise terminal.  I’m interested in stories about the airline flight to the cruise port, whether it was arranged by the cruise line or booked by the passenger.  That may sound like a dull topic, but when you think about it, the airline flight is the most difficult part of a cruise.  With a little additional knowledge and a little planning, it could be less painful.  If you have experiences with air travel or know others who have stories (good or bad), please drop me a note at Don@DistinguishedCruiser.com (I’ll reward your efforts with a special discount on your next cruise).

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30 October 2008 by Don.

For some, the question is To cruise or not to cruise? but for others, it’s To Suite or not to Suite?  To me the answer is always the former, but I recognize my prejudices - I’m a Travel Agent and I want to sell cruises and I want to sell the best cruise experience for my clients.

You’ve picked the cruise line, you’ve picked the itinerary, you’ve picked the ship, and you’ve picked the date.  It’s been decided, you’re going on a cruise!  However, you still need to pick the stateroom.

The cheapest price is an Inside cabin and the typical rationale is, I’m only going to sleep in the room.  Maybe that’s true, but think about your whole vacation in a small room without any daylight.  My ancestors immigrated across the ocean in steerage, but do you really want to vacation that way?  You might spend a night in a cramped, cheap hotel but would you want to spend you whole vacation there?   You don’t cruise every day, maybe not every year.  This will be something special if you make it special.

OK, you’ve moved up to an outside or Oceanview stateroom. At least you have some daylight and a stateroom you aren’t ashamed to tell your friends about.  But is it special enough?  Is it as special as this vacation should be?

Maybe you’ve dreamed of something a little better.  Something with a little more room, something with some fresh air, something more special. For a few dollars a day, you can upgrade to a Verandah stateroom.  The stateroom size typically increases as you upgrade from Inside to Oceanview to a Verandah. But, the square footage isn’t the only reason to upgrade.  Even if the rooms were the same size, the psychological factor of a window makes the Oceanview stateroom seem bigger, and the full wall of glass makes the Verandah stateroom seem even bigger yet.   In addition, the Verandah itself offers special benefits. It’s the perfect place to relax privately and enjoy the pleasure of cruising.  Maybe now you’ll do more than just sleep in your stateroom.  Maybe you’ll call room service and enjoy breakfast on the Verandah as you sail into harbor.  And, there’s nothing more romantic than dinner for two in the privacy of your Verandah as the sun sets over the ocean.

To Suite or not to Suite?  This cruise you’re celebrating a special anniversary, his big birthday, her promotion, or maybe it’s just a celebration of life. With a Suite, you get not only a larger stateroom but also higher quality furnishings, upgraded amenities, extra privileges, not to mention better service. Many cruise lines provide a concierge and butler service in addition to the normal cabin attendant. Suite guest often receive priority embarkation, tender service, shore excursion booking, and specialty restaurant reservations.  Other amenities such as personalized stationery, fresh flowers and fruit, a selection of pillows for the bed, free internet, and complimentary laundry service are standard in suites on some cruise lines.  You deserve something really special.  A Suite is the privilege of a select few.  If you ask a true friend if you deserve a Suite, be prepared for the answer, because they’ll always say YES!

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