Are you planning a cruise vacation?
We have gathered our best cruise travel tips honed from our 20 years of exploring the world by cruise ship.
Planning Tips For Cruise Vacations
- Do I need a passport to go on a cruise?
- Does a 12-Year Old Need a Passport to Go on a Cruise?
- 11 Out-of-the-Way Places Best Explored From a Cruise Ship
- How to Avoid Weight Gain While Enjoying Your Cruise
- How to Take a Cruise With Your Furry Four-legged Friends.
- How Joining a Roll Call on Cruise Critic Made My Solo Cruise a Blast
- Can You Have an Authentic Travel Experience Via a Cruise Ship?
How to Get the Best Deal on Your Cruise Vacation
- 12 Strategies For Getting the Best Value on Your Next Cruise
- How to Get an Onboard Credit For Every Cruise You Take
- When Should I Book My Cruise Vacation?
Tips for First-Time Cruisers
- 12 Things to Do Before Your Cruise
- 22 Things I Learned on My First Cruise Vacation
- 18 Tips for a First-Time Cruiser
Beverage Packages on Cruises
- Details About The Ultimate Beverage Package on Norwegian Cruise Line
- Is the All-Inclusive Beverage Package on Princess Cruises a Good Deal?
- Is the Premium Beverage Package on Royal Caribbean Cruises A Good Deal?
- All of the “Fine Print” Details of Holland America’s Signature Beverage Package
- An Improved Signature Beverage Package on Holland America Cruises
Packing Tips on for Cruise Vacations
- Visiting Alaska This Summer? 10 Tips on What to Pack
- Going on a cruise? 4 things to pack for a better cruise
- Packing Advice for a 2-Week Land+Cruise Tour to Alaska
- Packing Advice for a First Cruise to the Caribbean
- Packing List for a British Isles Cruise from Amsterdam
- Packing Advice for a 3-Week Mediterranean Cruise
Alaska by Land and Sea
Mr. Jones was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and still has many friends and family members in the state, so we visit often. Alaska has many spectacular views, but some of the best are accessed most easily by a cruise ship and/or a cruise + land combination tour.
- Visiting Alaska by Cruise Ship? Answers to Your 6 Top Questions
- Visiting Alaska? 5 Books to Read
- Visiting Alaska This Summer? 16 Insider Tips to Anchorage
- 5 Top Reasons to Visit Alaska
- Destination Discovery: Glacier Bay, National Park and Preserve, Southeast Alaska
- Cruising Alaska This Summer? 10 Tips for Planning Your Time in Port
- Planning to Visit Alaska? Here are 27 Tips to Help You Have a Better Trip
Anchorage, Alaska:
- 18 Fun Things To Eat, Drink and Do Now in Anchorage, Alaska
- Exploring Anchorage, Alaska: Binky the Polar Bear and the Alaska Zoo
- Views from a Sunny Day in Anchorage, Alaska
- Visiting Anchorage, Alaska? 12 Tips from Local Residents
- Visiting Alaska This Summer? 16 Insider Tips to Anchorage
- 28 Fun Facts About Anchorage, Alaska
Other Alaska Destinations:
- A Spectacular Do-It-Yourself Port Day in Haines, Alaska
- 12 Fun Facts About Dutch Harbor, Alaska
- 17 Fun Facts About Kodiak, Alaska
- Views from the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge in Alaska
Cruising the Mediterranean or Northern Europe?
We’ve started this blog when we spent the summer of 2007 exploring Europe by cruise ship, from the Black Sea to the Polar Ice Cap. You will find many posts on Europe on this blog. Here’s a few to get you started.
- Cruising the Mediterranean? 10 Tips to Make Your Cruise More Enjoyable
- Planning a European Vacation? 5 Reasons You Should Consider a Cruise
- 10 Best Views in Europe from a Cruise Ship
- Cruising the British Isles: Onboard the Prinsendam
- Cruising the British Isles: In Search of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster
- Cruising the British Isles: Edinburgh (from Rosyth, Scotland)
- Destination Discovery: North Cape, Norway
- Destination Discovery: The Polar Ice Cap
- Destination Discovery: The “Blue Eye” and Sarandë (Saranda), Albania
- Cruising into Bordeaux, France
Cruising on Holland America Line
We’ve sailed on Holland America since 1996, and spent most of our 2007 summer in Europe on the line’s ships. We are four-star Mariners, so we get lots of extra perks when we sail on this cruise line.
- A Look Around Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam
- A Look at Holland America’s Updated Canaletto Restaurant Menu
- Recycled Percussion: Not Your Average Entertainment on Holland America Line
- Is the Signature Beverage Program on Holland America Cruises A Good Deal?
- A Look at the Tamarind Restaurant Menu on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam
- A Peek at Holland America’s New Pinnacle Grill Menu
- A Look Inside Spa Verandah Stateroom 10034 on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam
- Reading at Sea: Enjoying Holland America’s New York Times Explorations Café
- The Dim Sum Lunch at Tamarind Onboard Holland America’s Eurodam
- Views from the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America Line’s Veendam
- Martini Madness Onboard Holland America’s ms Veendam
- Sailing into Hamilton, Bermuda on Holland America’s Veendam
- About to set sail on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam
- Views from the Nieuw Amsterdam
- An Evening at Le Cirque onboard the Veendam
Cruising on Princess Cruises
We sailed on Princess Cruises Star Princess in 2002, and again recently in 2014 on a 7-Day California Coastal Cruise.
- Is the All-Inclusive Beverage Package on Princess Cruises a Good Deal?
- Trying Out San Francisco’s New Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 27
- Dining at the Crab Shack on the Star Princess Cruise Ship
- Exploring San Diego’s USS Midway Museum
- A Look at the Sabatini’s Menu on Princess Cruises’ Star Princess
- A Look Inside Interior Cabin B-625 on the Star Princess Cruise Ship
- A Quick Visit to Ensenada, Mexico via the Star Princess Cruise Ship
- Touring Los Angeles and Hollywood on a Princess Cruises’ Excursion from Long Beach
- Views from the Star Princess Cruise Ship
Cruising on Royal Caribbean
We’ve sailed on Royal Caribbean five times on short cruises to Mexico and the Pacific Northwest, on a Mediterranean Cruise, and most recently, on both the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas, the two largest cruise ships at sea.
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Boarding Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: A Day at Sea on the Oasis
- Traveling With a 12-Year-Old: Boarding Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- 21 Favorite Things About Cruising on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- A Look Inside Interior Cabin #10425 on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Making the Most of the Last Sea Day on the Oasis
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Para-sailing from Cozumel, Mexico
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Snorkeling and Climbing Dunn’s River Falls from Falmouth, Jamaica
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s Private Resort in Haiti
- Is the Premium Beverage Package on Royal Caribbean Cruises A Good Deal?
- A Look Around the World’s Largest Cruise Ship, the Allure of the Seas
- Entertainment on the Oasis of the Seas
- Touring the 1700’s Great House and Sugar Plantation on a Shore Excursion from Falmouth, Jamaica
Cruising on Seabourn
Seabourn is a luxurious, small-ship, nearly all inclusive cruise experience. We’ve sailed on the Seabourn Pride (one of the three original smaller ships that have been sold to Windstar.) While the Pride is now a part of the Windstar fleet, it is identical to the Spirit and the Legend which are still a part of Seabourn through April, 2015. We also sailed the Seabourn Sojourn, one of the newer, larger ships.
- 11 Days of Menus from the Seabourn Sojourn World Cruise
- A Look Inside Suite 325 on the Seabourn Pride
- Views from the Seabourn Pride
- 26 Things to Love About Cruising on Seabourn
- A Port Day in Basseterre, St. Kitts via the Seabourn Pride
- Exploring “The Baths” of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands via a Seabourn Shore Excursion
- Setting Sail from Singapore on the Seabourn Sojourn
- A Day by Day Look at Cruising 11-Days on the Seabourn Sojourn
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 1
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 2
- Thai Gastronomy at the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Phuket, Part 3
- Experiencing the Life and Lore of Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 7 Favorite “Naughty” Pleasures on the Seabourn Sojourn
What’s’ your favorite insight or tip for cruising? Please share in comments below
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