Confused

Hi my name is Michael and I am new tocruising.

Im hoping I can hey some help on a few things.

Is it worth going through a travel agent?

Is it worth getting american travelers checks, or just use credit ir debut cards.

Is it a good idea to go ashore with out excursiones.

On average how much spending money sould I bring.

Feeling alittle overwelmed. I could use The help Any information would help .

Thank you.

Hi Michel!

Welcome to cruise critic and to cruising! My answers are based on my experiences and opinions. I hope they help.

Yes, I think it is a very good idea to use a travel agent if you are new to cruising. Pick someone local that you can speak to personally and who is experienced with cruising. It will not cost more to use a travel agent. Their fee is paid by the cruise line.

When you ask about traveler's checks are you referring to money to use in the ports? In my opinion, for use in the ports, a credit card is easiest.

You can certainly go ashore without excursions. Some places are better than others to explore on your own. It would totally depend on what port you are in. Always remember, it is your responsibility to get back to the ship on time. It WILL leave without you if you are off on your own and do not make it back on time.

How much money you need is a personal decision. If you eat and drink ashore or shop for expensive items you will need more. If you take a ship-sponsored excursion that is prepaid you will spend nothing, except to tip your tour guide. You decide your budget.

Do you have a specific cruise planned? If so, let us know and we can help answer specific questions for you. Good luck!

Yes and just to add, on board the ship you have much like an account for all transactions usually registered to your credit card. Casino is cash. There is a gratuities of about $12 a day per person that will be added automatically. All beverages and spa as well as some activities cost extra plus an auto tip if 18% to bar and spa. And all the photos they take cost extra too if you want them. Some Cruise Lines have beverage packages that a good travel agent will explain. I've been on 2 cruises, my 3rd in 3 weeks and still use my travel agent.

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When going ashore, if you plan on doing some shopping, it would be a good idea to take a credit/debit card as well as cash, nothing over $20 bills. The cash to be used in craft market type areas and plastic in "brick and mortar" stores.

As far as excursions go, as this is all new to you I would highly recommend you take ship-sponsored tours. If the excursion is late returning to the pier, the ship will be there, waiting (im)patiently for your group. If you go off on your own and are late returning to the pier, your ship won't be there!

Travelers Checks are becoming passé, and many places just aren't accepting them anymore.

For on board purchases, a credit card is the best. Debit cards can present a couple of problems, including the cruise line holding money that you won't have access to for as long as a week.

Thank you ,all answers really help.

If you book with a TA make sure they are very knowledgeable of cruises. Carnival and Royal Caribbean do not allow TAs to charge less than the cruise lines prices. You can book directly with any cruise line.

After you book your cruise go to the Roll Call here. This is where you'll met others going on your cruise. You can talk about different tours in different ports and often join others on tours. (Once 12 of us from the Roll Call chartered our own sunset snorkeling tour in Aruba- we had the boat to our selves!)

As was said Travelers Checks are very seldom used nowadays. A credit card is better. Ships do have ATM machines so you can get more cash if needed.

In any port don't wander away from the tourist areas in towns, beaches are fine as are tourist spots away from town.

We always plan on being back onboard an hour before we have to. We met an older lady who missed the ship in Nassau- her husband got on board but she wanted to do some shopping. Her hotel, meals and fight to next port (Half Moon Cay), via seaplane, cost them $1800!- So, don't miss the ship!

Ok forget travelers checks

Use ATM

Ta can be very helpful and save you a lot of time

Going ashore without excursions is good depending on the port

Just relax and enjoy the cruise and do lots of research on each port

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As mentioned above some cruise lines do not allow a TA to discount the fare. However, others do. We sail with Princess and our TA will typically charge us about 15% less than the current fare with Princess. In addition, we usually get some OBC. So for us, using a TA is great

Thanks everyone

Be sure to notify your credit card companies and the bank that provides your debit card that you will be traveling outside the US. If you do not, there is a chance that charges for purchases in ports, or attempts to get cash from an ATM, could be denied.

Hi my name is Michael and I am new tocruising.

Im hoping I can hey some help on a few things.

Is it worth going through a travel agent?

Is it worth getting american travelers checks, or just use credit ir debut cards.

Is it a good idea to go ashore with out excursiones.

On average how much spending money sould I bring.

Feeling alittle overwelmed. I could use The help Any information would help .

Thank you.

I was new to crusing last year so I will give my opnion.

1) You dont need a travel agent, especially now you have found this site. Not to mention you can get better deals by booking online and direct

2)People have now realised travellers checks are a rip off, I would avoid them

3) Excursions are a personal choice and are dependent on whether you are visiting beach type ports or cities. A lot ports are thankfully great on their own when armed with a map and a guide book but if you want an experience like snuba/horseback riding then an excursion is the way to go. As a new cruiser I would recommend booking these with the ship.

4) Money depends on how much of a shopper you are. Beach style ports are typically cheaper than city ports and some people save money by eating on the ship for lunch then going back ashore. I budget around £30-£40 ($40-$60) for food and drinks per port and have my card handy for any shopping I need to do.

Enjoy your cruise!

One other thing we do is to purchase maybe $100 worth of the local currencies that we might need from our bank ahead of time.;) For the Oct. 2015 cruise we will have the French XPF and for West Samoa we will have the WST for any cabs and food on shore. Am. Samoa is on our $ so no problems there. Cab drivers or any small business locals appreciate their own currency:). For any larger purchases we use a credit card that has no foreign exchange fees, the card makes theconversion when it is the best rate. Right now the XPF is at $1 = 89 XPF or 100 XPF = $1.13. This has come in very handy when out on our own and finding all the restrooms in the area pay to use and only in the local coinage.:eek: When you first go ashore get a coffee or tea somewhere and change paper into some coinage, it can really come in handy!;)

See you our Roll Call!

"I was new to crusing last year so I will give my opnion.

1) You dont need a travel agent, especially now you have found this site. Not to mention you can get better deals by booking online and direct

Personally I agree with those who are recommending you find yourself a cruise specialist since it's your first time. If you know anyone who's been on a cruise and found their TA helpful, go to that one. Else check the yellow pages (if you don't get those anymore, there are directories on line), and then go in to the agency. If there aren't posters of cruise ships on the wall, and if the agent can't or won't talk about their own cruise experience, keep looking. You'll want to be able to ask questions (yea, I know you can ask on this site, but many times you'll get contradictory info) and if you need some help dealing with the cruise line, the TA will be the person who can navigate the process for you.

Once you have a few cruises under your belt, you might be able to do it yourself. But in the meantime don't go with those online agencies because odds are, whoever takes your booking has probably never been on a cruise ship, much less seen an ocean.

2)People have now realised travellers checks are a rip off, I would avoid them

Not really they are a rip off as some banks that you've done business with will probably give them to you without a fee or for a little cost. It's just that they can be a pain to use and some places won't take them.

3) Excursions are a personal choice and are dependent on whether you are visiting beach type ports or cities. A lot ports are thankfully great on their own when armed with a map and a guide book but if you want an experience like snuba/horseback riding then an excursion is the way to go. As a new cruiser I would recommend booking these with the ship.

Probably because you're a first timer in these ports, it might be worth it to go on a ship's excursion/tour. But if you are a good researcher (I tend to be), read some guide books (libraries will have them and if you find one you like that you want to take, go online with Amazon if you don't have a local bookstore and get the newest edition of that book), google each port and you'll get plenty of tourism websites as well as the official port one.

We often go on our own, but we don't venture away from the port city in those cases (else we take a ship's tour). We also plan to get back to the ship about an hour before sailaway or even before that. I always take the ship's newsletter for that port as it will have the time to be back on board. We also take along some reliable watches (my hubby's has an alarm).

4) Money depends on how much of a shopper you are. Beach style ports are typically cheaper than city ports and some people save money by eating on the ship for lunch then going back ashore. I budget around £30-£40 ($40-$60) for food and drinks per port and have my card handy for any shopping I need to do.

Enjoy your cruise!" (the quote function doesn't seem to be working for me)

A major piece of advice I will give you is to never fly into your embarkation port the same day. Too many things (mechanical, weather, etc) could go wrong to cancel or delay your flight. Better to get there a day ahead, relax, spend the night in a hotel near the port and you'll be refreshed the day of your cruise.

Also don't over schedule yourself on board or in the ports. Sometimes people here get obsessed about filling each day and running themselves ragged in a port. Each ship will put out a daily newsletter you'll get each night for the next day, telling you what activities are available. No one can do everything so just relax and do as little as you want.

"I was new to crusing last year so I will give my opnion.

 

1) You dont need a travel agent' date=' especially now you have found this site. Not to mention you can get better deals by booking online and direct

 

Personally I agree with those who are recommending you find yourself a cruise specialist since it's your first time. If you know anyone who's been on a cruise and found their TA helpful, go to that one. Else check the yellow pages (if you don't get those anymore, there are directories on line), and then go in to the agency. If there aren't posters of cruise ships on the wall, and if the agent can't or won't talk about their own cruise experience, keep looking. You'll want to be able to ask questions (yea, I know you can ask on this site, but many times you'll get contradictory info) and if you need some help dealing with the cruise line, the TA will be the person who can navigate the process for you.

 

Once you have a few cruises under your belt, you might be able to do it yourself. But in the meantime don't go with those online agencies because odds are, whoever takes your booking has probably never been on a cruise ship, much less seen an ocean.

2)People have now realised travellers checks are a rip off, I would avoid them

 

Not really they are a rip off as some banks that you've done business with will probably give them to you without a fee or for a little cost. It's just that they can be a pain to use and some places won't take them.

 

I didn't mention anything about online agencies....Just go to the crusie website and book....simples. We saved money by booking online directly with Carnival and RCCL have on board credit online offers too.

Re travelers cheques:

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-money/travellers-cheques-dont-get-caught-out/

I suppose its what kind of person you are in general. I have never used a travel agent or any second party when booking any holiday. If you do you research properly you most likely be fine and we know this site is a big help.

Its also nice to be able to ring up the cruise line direct without having to go through someone else.

JMO.

I didn't mention anything about online agencies....Just go to the crusie website and book....simples. We saved money by booking online directly with Carnival and RCCL have on board credit online offers too.

 

Re travelers cheques:

 

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-money/travellers-cheques-dont-get-caught-out/

 

I suppose its what kind of person you are in general. I have never used a travel agent or any second party when booking any holiday. If you do you research properly you most likely be fine and we know this site is a big help.

 

Its also nice to be able to ring up the cruise line direct without having to go through someone else.

 

JMO.

While you may be correct for Carnival or RCCL, Princess allows a TA to discount the fare. We save about 15% off the Princess fare. The cruise being discussed is 28 days, so we have a substantial savings from our TA. In addition she gave us some OBC. That with the Future Cruise Credit OBC, Shareholder OBC and the Princess Loyalty OBC will put a nice dent into our onboard account.

I Swear by using a TA. Friends of ours transfered their booking to our TA for a HA cruise 2 yrs ago. Cost them nothing and in the end, they were upgraded to a cabin next door to us which I believe our TA arranged. Plus the perk of having someone to contact that you know, peace of mind goes a long way imo.

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We have been cruising for many years....we always use a TA ..... always use a credit card for purchases.....notify the credit card company that we will be traveling .... always have some singles for tips for porters, drivers, etc....for checking in the day of the cruise, have pens with us to fill out health form, etc.....do research about ports here on cruise critic and trip advisor.com....do more research here about your ship, read, read, read..... look at all the topics and don't be afraid to ask questions.....for your first cruise stick with the ship's excursions, in case of a delay, the ship will only wait if it is one of their excursions.....join the roll call for your trip, everyone on it will literally "be in the same boat"!

Have a wonderful time Michael, hope it is the first of many more to come!

A good TA is so worth having. :)

We always use our long time TA!

LuLu

I didn't mention anything about online agencies....Just go to the crusie website and book....simples. We saved money by booking online directly with Carnival and RCCL have on board credit online offers too.

 

Re travelers cheques:

 

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-money/travellers-cheques-dont-get-caught-out/

 

I suppose its what kind of person you are in general. I have never used a travel agent or any second party when booking any holiday. If you do you research properly you most likely be fine and we know this site is a big help.

 

Its also nice to be able to ring up the cruise line direct without having to go through someone else.

 

JMO.

By saying "1) You dont need a travel agent, especially now you have found this site. Not to mention you can get better deals by booking online and direct," I wouldn't be surprised if the OP gets the impression you're suggesting he should book an online agency. That's the impression I got. quite different from saying "you can get better deals by going through the cruiseline." Which isn't exactly true, unless the OP gets on the email notification list for a cruiseline, knows what a good deal is, and then immediately calls to book the cruise (many of these "deals" are capacity controlled so you can't always wait until you get feedback from this site).

Again, it makes more sense to sit down with a cruise specialist bout what kind of cruise experience you're looking for (including budget and time of year you can go) and then book through them. Some agencies will give you amenities too. One just has to watch for the ones that charge for cancellations or changes and finds one that will answer any questions you have and treat you right. So that you use them for future bookings as well as you'll recommend them to your friends.

But many of us (once we have been on some cruises and feel we know the places for missteps), we then will have the confidence to book through the cruise line for the categories and locations we know we'll like, and will also know to request "no upgrade" and the other details.