I prepared in advance, just as I would for any other trip. I was familiar with bus tours, tourist vouchers and independent travelling, but I had to meet cruises for the first time.
I had been thinking about cruising for a long time. For several years I have been reading stories, watching videos and browsing websites with prices and asking my friends who have already been on liners. If I had the money, I could book a cruise in any country and go! But it’s not that simple. And a cruise with a child was something I had not imagined at all, or rather not imagined at all.
The first part of my preparation consisted of gathering information, the more the better. For a year I read, went to different sites and looked at the cost, everything I saw was not within my financial limits, somehow the price was too high. Or I looked at the wrong sites. But one day I decided to call back the travel agency and find out the cost of a cruise for a child.
We knew our cabin in advance, as well as the floor on which it was located. Choosing a cabin was not easy either. After all, the cabins on the bow of the liner are very good, with a beautiful view, but the water can get on the balcony if there is a strong wave and on such a balcony you can not sit on a lounger. And at the stern on the contrary can be soot and cinders from the pipe liner. On the right choice will depend on whether the water will flood the balcony, whether we will strongly feel the rocking, whether we will be able to see the land. And there is a little anxiety on the soul, because nobody cancelled the sea sickness. And the best place is in the middle of the liner. There you can feel less side and keel rocking. Of course, the Persian Gulf is one of the quietest places, but things can happen. Nature is not predictable. Now it was necessary to open the deck plan and study what is above and below the cabin, because we don’t need unnecessary noise from moving sunbeds near the pool or music from the disco. Both the engine room and the pipe emitting horns can at some time cause a lot of discomfort. The best cabins are located in the middle of the liner on the suites deck, looking for the closest to the centre on the right deck.
Our suites were on deck 7, which is where we chose our cabin. We went up to our deck and went into the cabin. The cabin had a balcony and an extra bed for the baby.
Turns out cruising for a child is free and very many cruise companies. Only port charges and tips are counted per child.
The total amount of the entire cruise is divided into certain parts: the cost of the cruise itself, port charges, drinks package and tips.
Next, you can research the cruise companies. There are many of them, they are from different countries and vary in class and price. There are well known, let’s say standard cruise companies that are on everyone’s lips – Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Costa Crociere.
The main cost of the cruise depends on the cabin you choose: internal without a window – the cheapest, but it is also the smallest, with a window – a little more expensive, but already a little larger in size, and with a balcony is the most expensive, and the area is larger, because in addition to the balcony. The cost of a cabin with a balcony can be 1.5 times more expensive than without a window. And the most luxurious on the liners are suites, but I looked at them with one eye and immediately closed – expensive.
But port fees for all are the same, it is a fixed amount which will be included in the price and for a child over 2 years old too. And it depends on the number of ports you will enter. The more ports, the more port fees accordingly.
You can also find out about drinks. There are liners on which drinks are included in the price, and there are variants where drinks can be taken in a package. There are also different variants of packages. The package is taken for the whole cabin. It cannot be taken for one person and not another. Each cruise company has different beverage packages and you should always discuss this. They can be purchased for the whole cruise or separately by day, as well as there may be packages with different drinks, for example, only light alcoholic beer and wine, and may include stronger whiskeys, gins, rums. Meals are fully included for all, but about drinks find out in advance, because it concerns not only alcohol, but also brewed coffee, cappuccino, tea tasty, not just from the machine.
The only other thing that was still concerning about the ship and not included in the price of the cruise was the tip. There are cruises where tips will be included in the price, it would be very convenient. On our cruise, the tips were deducted from the card that is issued to each person on board on the first day, a personalised card. We had to link our credit card to it or make a cash deposit. Honestly very inconvenient. I don’t understand why you can’t include this amount of money in the cruise and not cause additional trouble on the ship. The staff did their best, at the end of the cruise they even made different animals out of a towel for my daughter.
Thank you for your support and help in choosing Tatiana Lisker!
Perhaps my review will help someone.
The continuation follows… about the liner, the overall journey and the cities visited.
