Oversold? Not On A Cruise Ship

A headline on a Cruise Critic article caught my attention recently. It had to do with what might happen if your cruise was oversold. Oversold? I'd never heard of such a thing. It turned out that it indeed was a headline to catch your attention. The article explains very nicely why this might happen on airlines but would rarely, if ever, happen on a cruise ship.

One of the reasons is that you have to make a deposit and as it gets closer to sailing, you need to make payment in full. If you should happen to cancel, the closer you are to your sailing date the less money you can get refunded. Therefore the cruise lines have a better idea of exactly how many guests they will have on board.

What may happen however, is that you could book a room with a guarantee meaning you are paying to get a room in a certain category--say a room with a veranda. If those rooms are selling well and as it gets closer to sailing, the cruise line may ask you to upgrsde in order to have the room available for another guest who has requested it. Usually upgrades happen to those who have some past experience cruising with that line.

There was one time when we were asked to change our plans for a cruise. Some very large group had actually booked the whole ship. The cruise line gave us some nice perks and savings on our cruise to have us change to another week. When you're retired, it's not as difficult to make those changes. Remember, when you are asked to make changes, the cruise line is eager to keep your business so usually they will go out of their way to make it reasonable.

The article on Cruise Critic is: What Happens if Your Cruise is Oversold? It would be worth your while to take a look at it.

Picking Your Cruise

All cruises are not created equal. They are not even equal within a specific cruise line. If you are not a seasoned cruiser I have a few things you may want to consider as you choose your next cruise.

First, is age important to you? Longer cruises and those farther away than the Caribbean will attract the over fifty crowd more likely than not. They have the time and the money for those longer more expensive cruises and can go at a shoulder season (the months just before and after summer vacations). Younger folks will take shorter cruises and more likely cruise during the summer months when kids are on vacation from school

Speaking of kids, are you planning to travel with them? Some cruise lines are a little more attractive to kids than others. Of course Disney is the obvious but that can get a bit pricey. Here's where a good travel agent can help you out. A good TA should be able to steer you to a line that is catering more to kids and has a really good program for them. A good kids' program gives you some free time to enjoy and relax as you cruise.

This year we did something a bit spontaneous and booked a four day cruise in the Caribbean. We did so knowing that this retired couple would likely be mixing with a ship full of twenty-somethings since it was spring break time. Sure enough there was a party going on at the pool 24/7, or 24/4 as the case was. We weren't interested in hanging out at the pool anyway and enjoyed our cruise mostly because we expected there would be scores of kids and energy and yes, drinking. Had we gone with the expectation of a quiet cruise ship (not that there weren't quiet areas we found) we would have been disappointed.

Again, a good TA will help you with timing, destination and the type of cruise line that will suit your expectations. Start your cruising experience by booking through an agent. Then if you want to explore options on your own, you'll have some experience and a better idea of what you like.

628 Days On A Ship

But not all at once!

We keep a log of all our trips, the length, destination, cruise or land, etc. When people discover that we've done 55 cruises, they always ask what cruise line we like the best. My answer is always the one going where we want to go at the best price. Just out of curiosity though I decided to add up all our cruising days. The total is 628. Almost two years of my life spent on a cruise ship. So which cruise line did we use the most?

The tally was fairly even. Celebrity came out on top with 144 days. It was the first cruise line we used and fell in love with it. There was a time however just after they were purchased by Royal Caribbean that things went a little crazy and they got away from what defined them. It was during that period that we tried the waters with some other lines. Eventually Celebrity decided that it was losing loyalty with the changes and went back to most of what made it so great. Of course Royal Caribbean melded the loyalty points across their cruise lines so ours rose considerably because of some of the RC cruises  (52 days) we took .

Second on our list is Crystal Cruise Line with 136 days but not because we did a lot of cruises with them. There were only three but one of them was our World Cruise of 108 days. We are very tempted to increase those days with another world cruise.

Coming in third is Holland America with 127 days. If we hadn't had such a horrible experience on our very first cruise with them, we might have done more. It took a long time to give them another chance but when we did, we thoroughly enjoyed cruising with them.

Not to be forgotten are the wonderful cruises we took with Cunard, Princess, and one with Radisson (our very first Christmas Cruise on the Paul Gauguin). And then there were those two river cruises. . .

Ah, the memories.

My point in all of this (I usually have one) is that there is no one size fits all cruise line. Everyone finds different things to like with different cruise lines and it changes as the lines evolve, change their market focus and make changes to keep things interesting. Just like a good dessert buffet don't be afraid to try a variety. And if it's your first cruise, talk to your travel agent about what you enjoy on a vacation--entertainment, food, etc. A good TA will be able to match you to a great cruise.

Dream A Little Dream With Me

Our son, one of the charmers we raised, managed to get his family upgraded to a suite once on a cruise they took. It came with a butler and plenty of space for the four of them. The butler would bring food for the kids' early dinner and then our son and his wife would get to go to dinner on their own later after dropping the kids off at the supervised children's area. They were pampered and made to feel really special and I'm concerned that it spoiled them for any future cruises.

We've been upgraded to what are considered suites a few times but they were nothing like the premium suites available on a lot of ships. The premium suites come with the standard butler service but then you can expect all sorts of other amenities depending upon the cruise line and the ship.

Premium suites usually range in size from about 1,000 to 2,000 square feet compared to a standard cruise stateroom that averages 250 square feet. They often include a grand piano, a whirlpool tub often on the balcony as well as in the bathroom, a small refrigerator and microwave, a dining room table, premium linens,--the list goes on.

Often there are special perks that come with booking a premium suite as well. Sometimes there are designated areas on the ship for suite guests only and special restaurants as well.

On one back-to-back cruise we took, our room was sandwiched between two suites. They must have had a space that needed filling and our stateroom fit there. On one side of us was the top premium suite and when we were in port for the turn around day, our cabin stewardess said we could take a peak. The room wasn't made up yet but it was still amazing. Gold fixtures, a little kitchen and butler's pantry, and of course, the hot tub on the balcony.

Sure we could always book a premium suite for a cruise but that would be it--a cruise. I just couldn't justify giving up several cruises just to be able to enjoy the luxury. Still, maybe someday for a special occasion. Even a practical girl can dream.

Cruising - Do You Settle Or Go For Only The Best?

When we do our 108 day world cruise we will not be traveling in a penthouse suite, not even a balcony, although what we are paying for the journey could get us a super suite on other ships. But neither will we be traveling in an inside stateroom. A 108 days without a window would be a claustrophobic catastrophe for me.

We chose Crystal Serenity for its food, service, entertainment value (including the lectures), and the itinerary it presented for our trip.

Crystal Symphony's bathroom

Having cruised with the ship before, we know something of what to expect. The stateroom is one we had on the New York  to Dover, England cruise in May of 2012. The room is not real large and the window looks out on the Promenade Deck but the bathroom has double sinks (marble topped) and is bigger than the usual small closet-sized ones with the barely-turn-around showers where the curtain gets too intimate with you. Its close to the door to the outside deck so its almost like having a large balcony at our disposal.


The Cruise Critic Cruiser's 2014 Choice Awards were given out earlier this year and I checked to see how the Serenity did. For the small ship category it got a 4.6 rating. The top rating went to Seven Seas Navigator with a 5.2.

There were a lot of ships on the list that we've not sailed with mostly because they are all premium lines and the travel budget doesn't allow for that much luxury all the time.

Our room on the Symphony -Serenity's sister ship

So I am back to the question, do you settle or go for only the best?

I think it's all a matter of expectation. Some of the less expensive cruise lines offer great value and good service. Some food is better than others though but that is a matter of personal likes/dislikes. When you choose, look for the cruise that fits your budget, your timeline, your preferred destination, and keep your expectations reasonable. That last one is important. It's why my husband says, "There is no bad cruise."

Booking Your Next Cruise Without Sinking Your Wallet

Our poor mailman, I'm sure, is tired of stuffing all those cruise brochures into our mailbox but even though we do all our looking--or most of it--online, the brochures continue to come. The thing about those brochure prices is that they aren't the lowest fares no matter how they slash through the "original price" to make the brochure price look good. So the first rule for saving money on booking your cruise is to not settle for the brochure price. Instead go online or to your Travel Agent and see what deals you can get.

Deals come and go like the seasons and if you can adjust your travel to the cusp of the seasons, you will find great prices. Often the best deals are on ships that are re-positioning, say from Europe to the Caribbean for example. You may have to spend a few more days at sea, but would you really complain about good food, fun times, and lots of great entertainment?

Booking early vs. booking at the last minute is still being debated. We lock in our cruise early but if you do that, you really need to keep a watchful eye--something your TA may not do. Prices can drop and if you see that happen, you can insist upon the lower price or an upgrade. But be wary of those upgrades. Upgrading from one category to the next is usually good but an upgrade to what the cruise line considers a better room within the same category may not be. Use those online deck plans and information you can find on the Cruise Critic boards to be sure it's a good move.

One of the best ways to get a deal and a drop on the newest offerings is to spend a little time with the cruise consultant on your current cruise. Most lines allow you to book a cruise with a minimum down payment that can be applied to a different cruise if you change your mind and in most cases is refundable if you change your mind. They usually offer good deals for booking during your cruise and your TA will still get credit for the sale if you prefer doing your bookings through an agency.

Register online for email notification of sales. Most cruise lines will offer a short window of sales time and entice you with those. We've found some great cruises that way at some wonderful prices. Our Alaska cruise last year is one example.

Now of course if you go a little crazy on your cruise, you could negate all those savings so you might want to stop over at one of my other posts about saving onboard the ship to help with that. The last thing you want to do is "sink" your wallet in either situation.

Nothing Like A New Cruise Ship

While I'm not sure cruise ships could get much bigger than Oasis of the Seas or Allure of the Seas, there's no stopping the new innovations. Oasis and Allure have wonderful areas on the ship like Central Park, a green park area with restaurants and shops, a carnival area, a deep water pool for a water show, an ice rink, a zip line and flow riders to name a few.

But wait! There's more. Celebrity's Solstice class ships were the first to feature electric kilns for glass blowing shows and grassy lawn growing on the top deck! The newest of this class ship is the Reflection which has the Lawn Club Grill where you can pair up with a chef and help grill your party's dinner. The Art Club features two master artists who will have classes in all sorts of arts like jewelry, painting, sketching, and even mixology and some culinary courses.

Princess Cruise ships have gotten larger as well and the new Royal Princess due to be sailing in June of 2013 has some new features for a WOW factor.  The top deck has the largest pool in the fleet with a water and light show in the evening as well as an expanded and improved Movies Under the Stars. The Lido deck also has a sky walk on each side that takes you out over the side of the ship where you can look 128 feet to the ocean below on a see through walkway. I'm guessing if you're prone to seasickness you don't want to spend much time there but if not, the port side has a Sky Walk Bar.

Apparently Royal Caribbean has decided that size is not quite as important in their newest ship to debut in 2014. The Quantum of the Seas is quite a leap into the future. Taking its cue from the Eye in London (a large ferris wheel that gives quite a panoramic view of London) there will be a large jewel shaped glass capsule that rides on a huge arm and will give passengers (holds 14 at a time) a 360 degree view of the ship and the ocean or port area around it. Rides are 15 minutes long and free except for sunrise and sunset rides.

Again, there"s more! Want to go sky diving? RipCord by iFly will give you a simulated skydiving experience in a 23 foot vertical wind tunnel that creates a feeling of free fall as participants float in the air.

Still need more adrenaline rush? How about SeaPlex where you can ride bumper cars, learn to juggle and yes, take lessons on the flying trapeze.

There's lots more planned and you can check it out at the Cruise Critic webpage for the Quantum of the Seas.

All of this just proves that cruising is not always about the destination. Sometimes it's just about the ship.

Who Owns Your Favorite Cruise Line?

Several years ago when it was announced that Royal Caribbean had acquired the Celebrity Cruise Line, everyone was a bit concerned about whether the quality of Celebrity would drop. Being one of our favorite cruise lines and the one we "cut our teeth" on, we did notice changes. Thankfully the powers that be realized even though some of the changes were not that big, there were a lot of little things that loyal cruisers enjoyed. For instance, just the fact that there were molded portions of butter on the table rather than butter wrapped in foil.

I'm not sure how the corporate structure works but have you ever wondered who owns who in the huge cruising industry? Here are just a few examples of what I found.

Royal Caribbean has of course the Royal Caribbean line and also Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur (a Spanish line), and Croisieres de France (which appears to be a subsidiary of Pullmantur according to several sites I found).

Carnival, which is the largest cruise company, owns in addition to its Carnival Line, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Cunard Lines (which was originally connected with White Star back in the Titanic days), Costa, Seabourn (a very upscale line), P&O Cruises and P&O Australia, Aida Cruises (a German cruise line), and Ibero Cruceros (a Spanish line).

Third largest is Star Cruises, which I believe is now called the Genting Group and is located in Hong Kong. It owns 50% of Nowegian Cruise Lines.

I'm sure there are a lot more ins and outs to who owns who (or is that who owns whom?) but I don't have the resources or time to explore more. I just find it interesting that when someone asks, "What's your favorite cruise line?" the answer involves a much bigger picture.