Jan 26 2015
6 Cruise Booking Tips
By CruiseRadio
<header class="entry-header" data-iceapc="7" data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(246, 245, 242);"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 3.6rem; margin: 0px 0px 1.6rem; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1;">6 Cruise Booking Tips</h1></header><p data-iceapw="40" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">Over the past few weeks my email and <span id="IL_AD1" class="IL_AD" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; float: none !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-image: none !important; background-attachment: scroll !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-size: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important;">Facebook</span> page has blown up with questions about cruising. People are asking me about how to book a cruise, what are the best resources to <span id="IL_AD4" class="IL_AD" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; float: none !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-image: none !important; background-attachment: scroll !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-size: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important;">search</span> and how to come across the best deals.</p><p data-iceapw="14" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">So I put together six cruise booking tips that answers some recently asked questions.</p><p data-iceapw="4" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">1. Know Your Budget</span></p><div id="attachment_22350" class="wp-caption aligncenter" data-iceapc="2" data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px auto 2rem; width: 560px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-22350" data-cke-saved-src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/QOS-NORTHSTAR.jpg" src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/QOS-NORTHSTAR.jpg" alt="Quantum of the Seas" width="550" height="413" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p class="wp-caption-text" data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1.4rem; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">Quantum of the Sea</p></div><p data-iceapw="69" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">Figure out how much you have to spend and go from there. When I say how much you have to spend, I mean everything, not just the cruise. If you require airfare, a pre-cruise hotel, gas driving to the port and parkings fees – tally it <em data-iceapw="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">all</em> up. There is more to the cruise fare than the $299 advertised price. You have to actually get to the cruise port.</p><p data-iceapw="5" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">2. Download ShipMate App</span>.</p><p data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22358" data-cke-saved-src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/iphone_mycruise.png" src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/iphone_mycruise.png" alt="iphone_mycruise" width="259" height="545" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 0px auto 2rem;"></p><p data-iceapw="57" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">I’ve met the dude who created this app a couple years ago and have him on the show every time the app has a new feature. This app is perfect for getting you in the vacation mindset, looking at deck plans, web cams, cruiser generated photos and more. It’s now <a data-cke-saved-href="https://shipmateapp.com/" href="https://shipmateapp.com/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; color: rgb(44, 127, 159); text-decoration: none;">available in Android and the Apple App Store</a> and I would highly recommend downloading it.</p><p data-iceapw="4" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">3. Read Authentic Reviews</span></p><p data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22352" data-cke-saved-src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SER.jpg" src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SER.jpg" alt="SER" width="550" height="367" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 0px auto 2rem;"></p><p data-iceapw="69" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">There are a lot of places out there to read cruise review – almost too many. When you read a review, you want to know that the person writing the review has actually sailed on the ship. A couple years ago <a data-cke-saved-href="http://cruiseline.com/" href="http://cruiseline.com/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; color: rgb(44, 127, 159); text-decoration: none;">CruiseLine.com</a> started up for just that reason, vetted reviews. The people leaving these cruise ship reviews actually sailed on the ship through and it’s verified through their booking number.</p><p data-iceapw="5" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">4. Surf Message Boards</span>.</p><p data-iceapw="60" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">Cruise message board are another great source for learning about the ship you’re going to sail on. You just have to take everything with a grain of salt because people usually aren’t going to boast about their amazing trip, nine times out of 10 they’re going to vent about a negative experience. Regardless, <span id="IL_AD3" class="IL_AD" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; color: rgb(27, 142, 222) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; float: none !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-image: none !important; background-attachment: scroll !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-size: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important;">websites</span> like Cruise Critic are worth a look.</p><p data-iceapw="3" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="3" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">5. Prebook Activities</span></p><div id="attachment_22353" class="wp-caption aligncenter" data-iceapc="2" data-iceapw="6" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px auto 2rem; width: 560px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-22353" data-cke-saved-src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CAYMEN-SHORE-EX.jpg" src="http://cruiseradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CAYMEN-SHORE-EX.jpg" alt="Sting Ray bay in Grand Cayman. " width="550" height="367" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p class="wp-caption-text" data-iceapw="6" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1.4rem; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">Sting Ray bay in Grand Cayman.</p></div><p data-iceapw="50" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">Start cruise planning way before you step foot on the ship. Not only is it good to prebook your shore excursions but on some cruise lines you can not prebook your dining and show reservations. If you’re sailing a mega ship like Quantum of the Seas, this is especially important.</p><p data-iceapw="5" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><span data-iceapw="4" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">6. Buy Travel Insurance</span>.</p><p data-iceapw="70" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;">I recently received an email from a friend telling me that he lost his job and he probably couldn’t afford to take his cruise. The first question I asked him is if he had a travel insurance policy? He said no. Sadly, you don’t have much flexibility with the cruise line when it comes to sickness or job loss, which is why you should <em data-iceapw="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;">always</em> purchase a travel insurance policy.</p><p data-iceapw="70" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><br></p><p data-iceapw="70" data-iceapc="1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 2.6rem; padding: 0px;"><time class="entry-time" itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2015-01-25T21:35:00+00:00" data-iceapw="3" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 18.8888893127441px; line-height: 26px; text-transform: uppercase; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(246, 245, 242);">JANUARY 25, 2015</time><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 18.8888893127441px; line-height: 26px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(246, 245, 242);"> BY </span><span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 18.8888893127441px; line-height: 26px; text-transform: uppercase; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(246, 245, 242);">DOUG PARKER<a data-cke-saved-href="http://cruiseradio.net/author/parker/" href="http://cruiseradio.net/author/parker/" class="entry-author-link" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out; color: rgb(44, 127, 159); text-decoration: none;"></a></span><br></p>