Cruise Hints Hints for the Maiden Voyage 1. Early Bookings Booking early guarantees the cabin you want. The most popular cabins on a ship are the balcony cabins, and they normally sell out first. 2. Air/Sea Packages Including your airfare with your cruise is often better because the cruise line will know where you are if there is a problem with the airline. They also have a greeter at the airport looking out for you to direct you to the transfer bus. If you book airfare independantly from the cruiseline, they have no way of knowing if your flight has been delayed. 3. Itinerary Length There are cruises varying in length from 2-16 days. If this is your first cruise, a shorter one may be the best way to "test the waters". Or you can choose a longer itinerary that makes stops everyday. 4. Cabin Selection Inside cabins are almost always smaller than an outside cabins. It's nice to be able to wake up in the morning and see what the weather is like from your cabin, as opposed to having to get dressed and going up on deck to check. 5. Onboard Regarding money matters, life onboard is a cashless society. You pay your entire bill at the end of the cruise. All cruislines are different, but most beverages are not included on a cruise. Some cruiselines are now putting gratuities on your shipboard account automatically so you don't have to worry about having money leftover at the end of your cruise to tip. Now more than ever, there are many more dining options to choose from. Most cruises still have the tried and true buffet, but now they also have alternative dining such as specialty restaurants and pizzerias. They still offer the traditional early and late dining time, but some cruiselines are also offering you a choice. You can choose to dine at whatever time you wish, or you can choose between the traditional early or late dining. 6. Disembarkation On your last night of the cruise, you will get a letter stating what time you are to disembark the ship. Following the cruiselines disembarkation directions will make this process all the more smoother.