Cruise Selection 101

Our cabin E532 on the Maasdam

On her recent visit, my sister Pat was asking about the best place to look for a cruise. I thought maybe my readers would like to know the answer too so I'm posting some cruise tips that our cruising gang have learned over the years.

The first thing you need to do is find the cruise you want. For this purpose, Vacations to Go should be your very first stop. This is the THE place to get the cruises straight in your mind. They usually have the lowest prices but you can always check "Cruises-N-More" and "Crucon" once you know what cruise you want to take.  Also, if you collect Air Miles or have a favorite travel agency, you will know what you are talking about if you call them.

Right across the hall in L530 is Holly and Barry

Another tip - First decide if you want Inside, Outside Oceanview, or Balcony. When booking a cruise they will try to get you to choose a particular cabin. We have found it is better to purchase the cheapest room as a "GUARANTEE" and let the cruise line place you in a cabin of the lowest category or better. The key here is "or better" The reason is:

Suppose you select an Oceanview cabin and want the best price. Rather than pinning yourself to a specific HH (fully obstructed view) cheapest outside cabin, just ask for a GUARANTEE. That way you are guaranteed the best price but the actual cabin will be "guaranteed HH price" OR BETTER We have always been upgraded to a better cabin than the cheapest, but have always paid the cheapest price. 

I think most people (and travel agents) select (and lock in) the cheap cabin, thereby guaranteeing that they will get a crummy room. With my method, you never know until a week or so before sailing which cabin you'll get but it's always worked for us. You don't need to go for the cheapest like I do. You can also pick a better category (and of course pay a little more) but also make it a GUARANTEE.  You could have picked (and paid for) a Category E GUARANTEED and then possibly be bumped right up to a Category D.  You'll always get the category you paid for OR BETTER. I've even heard of bump-ups from Oceanview to Balcony but I've never had this luxury myself.

In our case, we booked (and paid for) the cheapest Outside cabin which was HH Obstructed View. Instead we were bumped up two categories to a Category E Unobstructed view. This cabin is good because it is only one level below the Lower Promenade Deck. We like to sit in deck chairs on this level and watch the people walk by. This wasn't the best bump-up we've ever had but at least we have a totally unobstructed view..On our Alaska cruise we were bumped right up to the Navigation deck with all the penthouses!  You never know, but that's half the fun.

That being said, if after scanning the floorplans, you have your heart set on a specific cabin, you can lock it in, but you'll likely pay (much) more. 

Vacations to Go also has web pages for River Cruises, All-Inclusives, Land Tours etc. Good browsing.

 Here's the summary of cruises on the Holland America Line for Wendy and I : (It doesn't show our upcoming 14 day cruise which will bring the total to 118 days with this particular cruise line)

Cruise Date	Ship Name	Destination	Cruise Day credits	Onboard Spend Cruise Day credits	Suite Bonus Cruise Day credits	Total Cruise Day credits
Apr 04, 2010	ms Noordam	Southern Caribbean	10	1	0	11
Nov 22, 2009	ms Westerdam	Collector Caribbean	14	2	0	16
Jun 12, 2009	ms Ryndam	Alaska Southbound Gulf	7	NA	NA	7
Jun 05, 2009	ms Ryndam	Alaska Northbound Gulf	7	NA	NA	7
Nov 07, 2008	ms Maasdam	Southern Caribbean	14	NA	NA	14
Oct 30, 2007	ms Maasdam	Southern Caribbean	10	NA	NA	10
Mar 13, 2006	ms Volendam	Southern Caribbean	10	NA	NA	10
Mar 19, 2005	ms Oosterdam	Mexican Riviera	7	NA	NA	7
Mar 16, 2005	ms Ryndam	Mexico Sea Of Cortez	10	NA	NA	10
May 07, 2004	ms Westerdam	Greece/Turkey	12	NA	NA	12
Total Cruise Day credits						104

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