Cruising 101 Help

[R3tren]

Hey everyone, I'm 21 and can finally cruise on my own and want to hear everyone's input on what to do, who to book with, where to book, and all the insider tips from years of experience. I have cruised before but I want to start off on a strong foot into the  world of cruising. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by R3tren

[hallux]

Well, it look like you're in Miami so you have a TON of options for your home port.  Do you want to stick with that or do you want to fly someplace to embark?  Port Everglades also gives you lots of options without flying.

 

Are you more interested in the destinations or the ship itself?  Are you looking at long or short trips?  Are excursions important?  Cruising alone and looking to meet up with similar cruisers?  Some ships may have more popular "solo" gatherings (or more than one during the sailing, there was only one on my Anthem sailing last year) than others - namely ones like newer NCL ships that have Studio cabins.

[R3tren]

I'm looking at best couples cruises/family cruising tips for booking and what ships/cruise lines work the best. Length would be 6+ days. What are some good ports outside of Florida that are good. Plus any other tips or secrets that veterans would know about getting the max out of your cruise. Excursions aren't necessary but it is a plus.

[Essiesmom]

You say you have cruised before:  What were those cruises like, what did you like about them, and what do you hope to do differently?  You mention couples/families...who will be sailing with you, or is that just the atmosphere you are seeking?  EM

[R3tren]

I've previously cruised with RC, Norwegian, and Carnival. I would be sailing with either my girlfriend or family or both. I'm trying to find the best ways to book a cruise and through who or where. I am also looking for tips/ recommendations on the ships, cruise lines, destinations.Ex. Like the best locations to visit with a family, or the best cruises to relax with my girlfriend, etc. I also want to see if I should focus on one cruise line in order to climb their rewards program. 

[hallux]

44 minutes ago, R3tren said:

I'm trying to find the best ways to book a cruise and through who or where

If you book directly with the cruise line website - what you see is what you get, but you also have 100% complete control of your reservation.  If you want to change anything about the room booking you can call the cruise line directly.  You "lose" an advocate, someone to go to bat for you if there's a problem.

 

If you book through a travel agent (either an online site or a local person) sometimes you can get extras if they do a lot of bookings with that cruise line.  Going this route you lose some direct control over your reservation if you want to make changes to the room booking, but the agent can go to bat if there's an issue.

 

48 minutes ago, R3tren said:

I also want to see if I should focus on one cruise line in order to climb their rewards program.

This is up to you.  I've done 2 RC cruises and wanted to try to build rewards points with them, but I've found an itinerary on another line that I like better than was being offered on RC so I went that route.  I might do another trip next year on a 3rd line as they have an enticing itinerary, but I might wait until this year's cruise is over before I decide to book another one.

[Essiesmom]

Try several different cruise lines before you decide to concentrate on building loyalty benefits with one.  Also, you are now 21, but is your girlfriend also 21?  EM

[Sauer-kraut]

Norwegian has solo cabins on their newer ships.  These cabins also have a "Lounge" only for the solos where there is the fancy coffee machine and snacks throughout the day free of charge.  Also the newer ships have a ton of things to do on board, climbing walls, go karts, etc.   You might want to check them out.