Honeymoon Cruises
When planning your honeymoon, a cruise holiday can be a great choice for couples who love to travel, and like some variety. Cruise ships come in all sizes and tour many different areas of the world, so you are sure to find one that is suitable for your needs, budget and wish list. The following is the first half of our general list of issues to consider when looking at a cruise honeymoon:
Locale: First you will need to decide what part of the world you both want to see on your honeymoon. Would you love to cruise among the icebergs in the Alaskan waters? Maybe the white sands and turquoise waters of the Caribbean or Polynesian islands are more your style. You can cruise the Mediterranean, the Panama canal, or the west coast of North America, just to name a few more choices.
Size of ship: Cruise options range from huge mega-liners with live theatre, multiple swimming pools, interior shopping malls and even ice rinks and climbing walls, to intimate smaller ships for only a few couples. Your tolerance for crowds, need for privacy and shopping and leisure needs are things to consider here.
Ship amenities: As mentioned above, cruise ships come with a wide array of amenity options. On the larger cruise ships you will find multiple restaurants, gym and squash facilities, interior atriums of many stories with lots of onboard shopping, libraries and lounges, disco and dance halls, live theatre shows, multiple swimming pools and waterslides, full spa services and much more. Smaller, more intimate ships will have at least one restaurant and possibly some amenities such as gym or spa, and lounge areas. If you and your spouse-to-be love a variety of choices and can tolerate larger numbers of people, then a mega-liner cruise ship offers a huge array of fun choices included in the price and would be a good option for your honeymoon cruise.
Crew/staff to passenger ratio: On a larger cruise, naturally you will find there are more passengers than crew, and while the service is usually fair, it is not normal to expect impeccable first-class attention as you would on an intimate, smaller cruise with a higher staff-to-passenger ratio. If top notch service is your first priority, be sure to choose a cruise honeymoon with a reputation for attentive staff, and a high crew-to-passenger ratio. Also note the 'level of luxury' comments in Part II.
Level of luxury: From barefoot Windjammer™ cruises, to very commercial mega-cruises that are sold at discounts and feature very basic rooms and food and cater to the masses, your options for level of luxury and refinement are many. At every size you will find more- and less luxurious options; it is simply a matter of taste and budget. Older, business-oriented people may prefer a higher-end cruise such as those offered by the Windstar™ cruise line, while younger people in search of a party atmosphere may not care as much about service, food and room quality and may opt for a Carnival™ cruise or something similar. Even within cruise lines such as Carnival™, there are higher-end and lower-end options, and those geared towards kids, vs. adult-oriented cruising. Do your homework, and select a vacation that suits your style and needs.
Ports of call: Are you interested in the nightlife of cities foreign and exotic, or the waterfalls and mountains of a Caribbean hideaway? Would you rather spend your days golfing, riding horses on a beach, or shopping? Do your research and/or ask your travel agents about which cruises stop in ports of call that you would enjoy. While there is much to do on board, half the fun of cruising is enjoying the land-based activities available in the various ports you will stop at. If the activities or ports are not of interest to you, then you be stuck hanging out on board and not enjoying yourself...although for honeymooners this can be less of an issue than for others!
Theme - packages for daytrips: Are you both vegetarians? Golfers? Waterfall lovers? Many cruises either cater to certain crowds, or have theme weeks. For golfers, for example, look for cruises that offer packages on day-trip golf games, onboard driving and putting ranges, and storage space catering to golfers. For those with food allergies or who need food prepared in certain ways, check into this before booking, as some ships do cater to such needs, and others will not as they simply do not have the time and resources required to devote to individual needs which vary from the norm.
Meal style: Many larger ships with hundreds or thousands of passengers organize meals by having pre-assigned seating times. In this way, they can serve a large number of people quickly, and then have a second seating and serve the same number again. The meal choices will usually be of decent quality but fairly limited as far as choice, to allow for efficiency. Most ships also offer more casual options such as buffet and outdoor grill-type restaurants and snack shops. In a smaller, more intimate setting, you may find you have the option of a 'normal' restaurant experience where they allow you to either reserve your dinner time each day or just show up when you are hungry and be seated to dine.
What is included: From all-inclusive - which on a ship usually means all meals but no alcohol included in the price - to a la carte, where you pay at the end of your cruise for whatever expenses you incurred, be it spa services, meals, room service or day trips, be sure you book a honeymoon cruise that meets your budget. If you need your food to be included, make sure it is!
