A Cruise Holiday is a holiday on board a passenger cruise liner, a ship that is equipped with several luxuries, comforts and amenities akin to a luxury hotel. Cruise Holidays form a unique experience because they are like floating resorts, with several on-board activities. Cruises may cover several destinations, thus allowing opportunities to explore several places by shore excursions.
All Cruise liners are fully equipped with accommodation (staterooms), restaurants, pools, gymnasium, recreation areas, spas, lounges, and other amenities designed to provide a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
Access to certain speciality dining areas and facilities may be restricted to upper category passengers or accessible at an additional charge.
All essentials such as accommodation, meals in designated outlets, ocean transportation, access to entertainment and general facilities, and several onboard activities are all part of the cruise fare.
Port Taxes and Passenger Surcharges (including fuel charges, insurance, government taxes and fees) will apply and are dependent on the location and cruise itinerary. These will be quoted separately, and are payable by each individual at the time of booking the cruise.
Optional shore excursions, specialty or alternative dining, selected entertainment, items of personal nature such as beverages, telephone calls, facsimile or e-mail services, onboard shopping, laundry, beauty treatment, hairdressing and massage services, medical services are not included in the fare, and will need to be purchased/settled onboard.
Consider your interests before deciding on a destination. Do you like warm-weather destinations? Consider the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Hawaii, or the South Pacific. Are you interested in history? Think about Europe or the Mediterranean. Looking at budgeted ones? Think about Asia. Also consider how many days the ship spends at sea vs. in port. If you like a lot of activity and variety consider an itinerary with more days in ports; if you like spending time on the open ocean, consider an itinerary with more “at sea” days.
Cruise liners have itineraries that call on various ports. Most often, the ports selected always have some unique features, and shore excursions are carefully planned and developed to maximize the time and opportunity to see a place. These are operated by coach and will include an escort. At this time, you cannot book shore excursions on our site. However, you can book them from the ship’s shore excursion desk.
If you would not like to take any Shore Excursions, there are enough activities on cruise to offer as Entertainment, Fitness & Recreation and Theatres.
Several ports allow you the flexibility of doing your own thing. You can explore locally visiting specific sights of dining. However ensure that you possess proper documentation such as visa and passport and keep all time frames in mind.
Most ships do have onboard casinos which are open while the ship is sailing in international waters (generally 30 minutes to an hour after leaving a port of call). There are few exceptions.
A newsletter and a daily programme are released each day to inform passengers of the various activities and amenities available, with schedules as applicable.
Evening activities often include casino gambling, Broadway- and Vegas-style revues, cabaret shows, nightclub performances, disco dancing, movies, and passenger talent shows.
Several cruise liners have adopted the use of electronic access cards, which function as onboard credit cards, and may be used to settle payments in case of access to dining or facilities that require to be paid separately. Request for enhancing the credit limits is granted in exchange for an imprint of your credit card.
A charge account is opened for each passenger at embarkation, and a credit card imprint taken. All onboard expenses will be charged to this account. A statement of all activity of this account will be sent, for which the corresponding settlement must be made towards the end of the cruise.
Shipboard accounts are for shipboard charges only. While in port, you can generally use a major credit card or traveler’s check for most purchases. Most ports also have ATMs and money exchange centers.
No, you must pay for your own meals while in port. One exception is when your ship is visiting the cruise line's private island (generally on Caribbean itineraries), during which time a beach buffet is generally served free-of-charge.
We suggest that you bring some cash. Some cruise lines require that you use cash for tipping and casino gambling. It's also handy to have in port. Most cruise ships do have ATMs onboard; however, the ATM service fee may be quite high.
Prior to boarding, passengers will set up charge accounts with their credit cards. All onboard purchases you make, from cocktails to gift shop items, will be charged to this account. Passengers who don’t hold credit cards can also deposit cash into their accounts to cover
On board expenses.
On embarkation days, you’ll generally be allowed to board the ship four to five hours before departure. You’ll start by “checking in” at the pier, where your proof of citizenship (passport, or government-issued photo ID and birth certificate with raised seal) will be checked. At this time, you’ll also set up your onboard account. Upon boarding, you’ll be able to have a snack, explore the ship, or simply spend time in your cabin.
On the final night of the cruise, you’ll have the option of placing your luggage outside of your cabin door. If you don't set your luggage out, you'll be required to take it off the ship yourself. If you do leave your luggage out, be sure to keep any necessities in a carry-on bag, as your luggage will not be accessible until after you depart the ship. If you want breakfast, you’ll generally need to get up extra early, so keep this in mind. Passengers depart in groups, and your group information, along with any necessary customs forms, will be left in your cabin the night before you disembark. You’ll be required to pass through customs as you depart the ship.
Although there are no nonsmoking cruise ships, all ships do have designated nonsmoking areas, including most cabins, restaurants (including main dining rooms), and public areas.
Most cruise ships maintain a minimum drinking age of 21 while in international waters or at foreign ports. However, some ships have a minimum drinking age of 18.
Many cruise lines will not let you change a passenger’s name, or even that name’s spelling, after you complete your reservation. If they do allow changes, a large fee will likely be tacked onto the change. Therefore, please be absolutely certain that all passengers’ names are spelled exactly as they appear on their proof of citizenship (passports, or government-issued photo IDs and birth certificates).
To make traveling as easy as possible, we suggest that you travel under the name listed on your proof of citizenship (passport, or government-issued photo ID and birth certificate). If you would like to travel under your new name and you haven’t yet updated your identification, you MUST bring a copy of your marriage certificate. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to board the ship.
If your proof of citizenship is a birth certificate and government-issued photo ID, and your photo ID reflects your new name, you must bring a copy of your marriage certificate, as the name on your photo ID will not match the name listed on your birth certificate.
If the name listed on your birth certificate does not match the name listed on your government-issued photo ID, you must bring any legal documentation, such as a marriage certificate, that explains why the names do not match. The only way you can bypass this step is by using a passport that matches the name under which you booked your cruise.
You may be able to add another passenger, depending on the cabin’s passenger capacity and the point at which you decide to add the passenger; however, there is no guarantee that the person can be added, or that the price would stay the same. If you would like to add another passenger, please call us.
If your flight is delayed and you booked the cruise line’s airfare, the cruise line will be made aware of the delay (but you should still call the cruise line to inform a representative of the delay). If you miss the ship, oftentimes the cruise line will transport you to the ship’s next port of call.
If your flight is delayed and you did not book cruise line airfare, please call the cruise line immediately and let them know of the delay so that they can make arrangements to get you to the ship.
Keep both your destination’s climate and the cruise ship’s dress code in mind when deciding what clothes to pack. If you’re traveling to Alaska, be sure to bring protective rain coverings for Alaska’s and Canada’s rainy days. If you’re traveling to the Caribbean, be sure to bring plenty of cool clothing and sunscreen for warm days. In addition, if your ship has formal nights, men should bring a dark suit or tuxedo, and women should bring a pantsuit or cocktail dress. If you don’t own these items, no worries: Most ships have casual dining venues to cater to those who aren’t interested in dressing up, and some ships also have formal wear rental shops.
All ships have doctors onboard who can assist sick passengers. In the event of a medical emergency, sick or injured passengers can also be airlifted from the ship, or the ship can make an emergency detour into a nearby port of call.
One mild form of sickness some passengers experience is seasickness; however, seasickness is very rare on larger cruise ships since they’re equipped with stabilizers which minimize the feeling of movement. Again, if you feel sick, you can visit the ship’s doctor, or pick up some over-the-counter seasickness medication from the sundries shop.
Yes. Most ships have telephones in all cabins. If your cabin does not have a telephone (which is very rare), the ship’s radio operator can connect you to a mainland number. Please keep in mind that making a ship-to-shore telephone call can be quite expensive, and it may be worth the wait to use a pay phone at the next port stop.
On most ships, food is available 24 hours a day, either in an all-night diner, or via free room service. Those ships that don’t offer 24-hour dining generally serve food until the wee hours, and start serving again early in the morning (generally as early as 5 AM). In addition, many cabins now have mini refrigerators where you can keep snacks
All ships help passengers celebrate special occasions like honeymoons, anniversaries, and birthdays. Some ships simply provide a free or inexpensive cake, while others sell packages including everything from in-cabin massages to private tours of the bridge. If you’ll be celebrating a special occasion while onboard, call Ezeego1 call center for further assistance.
All cruise itineraries are subject to change. Weather conditions and other circumstances may require a change in itinerary, such as a change in arrival or departure time. In extreme circumstances, the ship will be required to skip a port entirely, in which case the cruise line will try to schedule a visit at an alternative port of call.
