I've Booked a Cruise... Now What Can I Expect?

You have decided to take the plunge. After being hounded by your friends for years, you have booked that cruise that everyone has told you will love. Your travel agent reserved you a nice balcony cabin on a beautiful cruise ship, you paid your deposit and in a few months you will be sailing away on your first cruise. Fantastic!

Now you begin to ask yourself the question... What can I expect on this cruise?

Many first time cruisers have a general fear of what is going to happen. Will I get seasick? Will I get bored? What happens if the ship has a problem? All of these are natural, valid questions. Let's look at what I call a few top things to expect on your first cruise:

Expect to eat very well.

While the common largest lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess are not known for five-star cuisine, I will guarantee you still will be blown away at the food on modern cruise ships. The food seems to come from all corners of the ship; hamburgers and pizza on deck, endless buffets at all hours of the day and night, countless cafes and bars oozing food and snacks. And we have not even gotten to the main dining rooms yet. Newer ships have fantastic "specialty restaurants" that are a step or two above regular dining aboard the ship.

Generally food is included in the price of your cruise. Exceptions include many of the new specialty restaurants who charge a small dining fee to cover service tips. You can easily go the entire cruise and not spend an extra dime on food. You can also spend hundreds of dollars in dining fees if you so desire. But one thing I will guarantee... you will not go hungry on a cruise. The common joke aboard is if you haven't eaten within the past hour or two, you must be ill.

Expect to be nickeled and dimed.

We touched upon this with dining fees, but first and foremost a cruise ship is a business. And cruise lines run it that way. Always remember that. While your major items, food, lodging and entertainment are included in your cruise cost, a myriad of other on board services and goods may cost you plenty.

First there are the shops. And oh how they have shops! They are duty-free and full of gorgeous jewelry, cruise apparel, liquors and almost anything you can buy on shore. But notice the price; not the price like at home; not anywhere near it! Some of this stuff is just plain expensive in many cases. Sure there are no taxes, but it is still buyer beware.

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