Our final list of Cruise Lingo is a little bit shorter, but can be just as confusing for anyone new to cruising. I thought maybe we would touch on terms you’ll come across when booking a cruise.
Guaranteed Cabin – No matter the cabin level (interior, balcony, etc), a guaranteed cabin is one where they guarantee that you get at least the level of cabin you booked, but you don’t get to pick your cabin location. This will usually be a cheaper option if you are working with a budget and don’t have any preferences on cabin location.
Port Fees – Every port charges the cruise line a fee per person on the ship. Then the ship then passes that onto you, the cruiser. On most American-based lines, these are not included in your base cruise fare, so you will see those as an additional charge. Many European lines have those included as part of the base fare. If your ship has to skip a port for some reason (skip, not replace), you will be refunded the fees for that port.
Gratuities – Like on land, a gratuity is the same as a tip and helps bolster wages for crew. Most American lines have auto gratuities that you can choose to pay prior to sailing. If not, they will be added to your account during the cruise. Some lines will allow you to remove the gratuities, while others (especially British and European lines) either have the gratuities included within the base cost of the fare or do not have them at all. Tipping is a very American thing that just isn’t done in most of the world. Wether or not to pay the recommended gratuities is probably the most controversial topic in cruising. Cruise lines that have added gratuities claim that the money you pay is disbursed amongst the crew, both those you have direct contact with and those behind the scene. Some have them removed so they can choose exactly which crew members get a gratuity and how much. Personally, I don’t have a problem paying them as I just see it as part of the cost of cruising, then I will give cash to any crew member I think goes above and beyond to make my cruise special.
Drink Package – Just what it sounds like, a drink package is an additional add on that you can purchase. They are a variety of packages you can purchase, not just from line to line, but each cruise line usually has multiple packages offered. Typically there will be a soda package, a basic alcoholic drinks package, and a deluxe alcoholic drinks package. Some lines also have a package for specialty coffees while others have specialty coffees already included into their other drinks packages. Whether or not to get a drinks package is probably one of the most discussed topics in cruising. Whether or not someone should purchase a drinks package is so subjective, that there is no easy answer. The simplest answer is to see if you will at least break even when you consider cost vs how many drinks you think you’ll consume in a day.
Itinerary – Your itinerary is made up of the ports you will visit and how many sea days you will have during your cruise. It is the route your cruise ship will take. For example, our next cruise is a Western Caribbean itinerary and includes: Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya, Roatan along with 2 Sea Days. Be aware though that no cruise line will guarantee that you will go to any port of call. There are various reasons why your itinerary might change, but knowing that it could change is important. If you want compensation for a missed port, there are some cruise insurance policies that will pay out you if you miss a port. The best you will get from the cruise line is your port fees back.
Excursion – Excursions, often referred to by cruise lines as shore excursions, are trips you take while at port. These are going to cost you extra and can vary widely in cost. Cruise lines will offer up a selection for every port you visit, or you can use an outside company to book an excursion. There are benefits of both. If you book your excursion through the cruise line, they will not leave you behind if your excursion returns late; however, they are usually more expensive than the exact same excursion booked directly from the excursion company. The only time I usually book through the cruise line is if I am wanting to go on an excursion that will last most of the time I am on shore, or is scheduled to not return to the port until shortly before the ship is scheduled to leave.
Specialty Dining – One of the great things about cruising is that once you have paid for your cruise fare, port fees and taxes, you don’t have to spend another dime on your vacation unless you choose to do so. There are so many options when it comes to dining on a ship that are included that it would be impossible to hungry aboard ship; however, some people like to spend some extra money and reserve time in a specialty restaurant. This is referred to as Specialty Dining. It seems like cruise lines are adding more and more specialty restaurants on their newer ships. If you are considering trying out some of these restaurants, I would highly suggest booking a Specialty Dining package to save you some money.
Anytime Dining – Anytime Dining, or Your Time Dining, is offered on some ships as a third alternative to Early or Late Dining in the Main Dining Room. Traditionally, passengers would have to choose between either early or late dining with very little wiggly-room on when you could show up to the MDR and still be served your meal. Anytime Dining has allowed passengers more flexibility on when you show up for your evening meal. The downside to Anytime Dining is that you will most likely have different servers with every meal, so they do not get to know your preferences. Like everything else, there are pros and cons to any choice made, but you will need to make a choice prior to sailing.
That wraps up our three-part series on Cruise Lingo. I’d love it if you could take the time to drop a comment on if there was a term that was new to you, or if you think I left something out.
Cruising From The Ozarks 