The cruising industry has taken a page from the Las Vegas Hotel book – bigger and better is the key to success. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has a new mega ship coming next year (2009) – check it out: www.oasisoftheseas.com
Also check out Norwegian Cruise Line’s new F3 class: www.f3.ncl.com/main.html
Travel insurance is something that most people don’t use for “everyday” travel. However, when a cruise is involved, the topic usually comes up. The cruise companies may offer or include it as an option. I can tell you from experience that you can usually get better coverage, and less expensive coverage, by purchasing your cruise insurance from a third party. I just went through this process and saved some considerable money. I used a web site that gives you easy comparisons to choose from. TIP: go to http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance/index.pl
This web site works very easily. I called the 800 number on the site with a question and actually got a real person without going through a series of number options – that’s what I call service!
Flying to the Cruise Ship Port
Flying to the port on the day the cruise ship departs can be a stress making experience or worse yet, a missed cruise. Don’t do it. TIP: Arrive the day before. This gives you the airline “factor” cushion of stress relief. Most ports have budget hotels that will pick you up at the airport and even deliver you to the cruise ship the next day. Well worth the extra expense, probably $100.00 or less.