How to Plan Your Tropical Cruise Vacation

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Author: Matt Dimler

So you’ve been saving all year for the big vacation: you’ve got the money in the bank; your best friend is watching the cat, the kids, or both; and the suitcases are packed. The taxi is here to take you to the airport, and as you’re loading the luggage into the trunk, you realize you don’t even know where you’re goingâ€"leave it to him to plan the vacation.

Don’t make your next getaway a week-long stay at the duty-free store. Plan your vacation well ahead. Research different destinations, compare prices, and let your dreams run wild and carry whisk you off on a tropical refresher that will recharge your batteries and open your eyes to landscapes you never could have imaginedâ€"all without having to secretly shatter your daughter’s piggy bank. Follow these steps to make your transition from career to Caribbean smooth and stress free:

Decide Where You Want to Be

Decide what you want to spend your vacation doing. You know you want to go on a cruise, but every cruise ship offers different activities for its passengers to take advantage of, so, depending on what your fancy is, the sky’s the limit.

What is your interest? Is it golf you are looking for? Eating and drinking? Singles? If meeting interesting people of a foreign culture is what you’re into, research the languages spoken in your target region. Spanish, Creole, Frenchâ€"even Dutchâ€"are spoken around the islands of the Atlantic Tropic Region.

Dream whatever dream you can dream your week in paradise being and write it down.

Search for a Target Location

Once you know some specifics about where you want to go and what you want to do, type the name of a country or city into a search engine with the word “cruise”. The first three pages of the search will return your best results; though don’t be afraid to skip to the end to find some of the lesser known deals. You will surely encounter a number of options so to simplify things, click on the first link and see what it offers. This will be your means of comparison. Look at the size of the ship, where it departs from, where it makes stops, what kind of entertainment and night life it has, what kinds of activities there are to do during the day, and what, if any, amenities are included in the package. Is airfare included in the package price? How about port excursions?

These are all important details and it’s important to know what you’re looking for before going into your hunt.

Develop a Budget

How much money could you afford to spend if you left tomorrow? How many people would go with you? How much money can you afford to put away from one paycheck? How about in one month?

Multiply the last figure by the number of months between your calculation and a possible departure date to develop a high-end budget for that departure date. Try moving the date back or forward three and six months to see how much more or less you will be able to afford.

Divide that number by the number of days you wish your trip to be to get a daily budget.

When looking at a price estimate, divide the total quote by the number of days the cruise lasts and compare that to your daily budget.

If it’s not already included, don’t forget to figure airfare into your calculations. Booking a cruise that provides airfare will simplify the process by giving you one travel company to deal with instead of twoâ€"or three if you have to book a hotel to stay in the nights before and/or after the cruise.

Also, if dining is not included, figure $100 dollars a day to eat. This number may be high, but it’s better to have extra money to spend than to not have enough.

Compare Prices and Book

Once you have a list of ten or fifteen great deals, try and contact an agent with the company to book your trip. See if you can haggle down a deal that is a little high or haggle up a good deal to get more amenities.

Be Prepared

Make sure you have a passport and it is up to date, you print your online boarding passes the night before, and you carry copies of receipts of any transactions you may have made pertaining to your trip.

Try to contact a real person at the airline before departing to make sure your seats are reserved, as well as someone with the company offering the cruise to confirm that reservation as well.

Be sure to take a sufficient amount of cash with you in case there is a problem with your credit or debit card, and call you credit and debit card companies to let them know you will be overseas: that way they won’t block your card under suspect of unusual activity.

Matt Dimler is a freelance writer who writes about travelling and cruise vacations .