My parents came home from their Celebrity cruise and called me. I planned the trip, so the call was half hello and half client debrief. Then I asked my mom to put it in writing, because a debrief in the client’s own words is worth more than my memory of it. She did, and she told me to leave nothing out.
They have cruised before, but not in a long time, and never with Celebrity. Her verdict, in her words: “The ship was exceptionally clean, state of the art.” “I would highly recommend this cruise.”
Here is the part worth knowing: they booked this one only a couple of months before it sailed. The sweet spot for a cruise is six months to a year out. They still had a great week, and the three tips below are what turns a great week into the best version of it. Each one comes straight from what she told me.
1. Book six months to a year out, and pick your excursions the day you book
An excursion is the part of a cruise that happens off the ship: the tour, the beach day, the boat ride. The popular ones sell out well before sailing, and booking early is what puts you at the front of that line. The excursion conversation happens the day the deposit goes down, not a few weeks before the ship leaves.
My mom’s version: “The excursions that were probably better, of course, were gone first.”
And here is the tip inside the tip: a ship excursion is not the only way off the pier. “We could have done them on our own, by taking an Uber to the beach or into town to shop.” Some ports are better on your own. We decide that port by port, before you sail, so there is always a plan A and a plan B at every stop. It is the same discipline as how I plan your trip and what I still check by hand.
2. Give every port a verdict before you sail: get off, or stay on
Getting off the ship is optional, and that is one of the best things about a cruise. Some stops are worth the walk. Others, like the stop on their itinerary that turned out to be a skip, or the beach that was having a seaweed week, are a better day on board. Knowing which is which ahead of time means you never waste a morning deciding.
The ship on a port day is its own reward. My mom’s count: “I’d say half the people got off in port.” That leaves a ship with half the crowd, and the two of them loved it that way.
One more thing for the pool people, in her words: “Getting a chair by the pool wasn’t as bad as Aruba. Dad went down at 6:30 to get a chair. It opens at 7.”
3. Choose your Wi-Fi plan at the kitchen table, not on deck one
Every line sells Wi-Fi in tiers, and the one you see first on board is usually the biggest. Here is what that looks like from the cabin: “Your father looked quick at the Wi-Fi, and the package he looked at was hundreds of dollars. But later he found a basic plan he should have gotten, but it was too late.”
They did fine without it. She played her games offline, and “they had a lot of old movies that were fun to watch.” The tip is not that you need the Wi-Fi. The tip is that the plans are easy to compare before you board, with the prices in front of you, so the right one is already picked when you walk on. That is part of the booking conversation.
What they would tell a friend
She asked me to leave nothing out, so here is the rest of her list.
- “The drink package wasn’t really something we needed. The drinks were reasonably priced, actually cheaper than expected.” A nice bottle of red was $30 to $40, and if you did not finish it, “they would save it for you and bring it out the next evening at any restaurant.”
- “You could choose the same restaurant every night and have the same waiters for personal service if you choose.” Or order from any restaurant you like. “The buffets were endless.” Soft drinks are included; only alcohol is charged.
- Two shows nightly in the theater, nightclubs with singers, karaoke and games. The crew is out in the evenings ready to take pictures with guests. “The cruise director was hilarious, Bradley. He was part of the entertainment.”
- “As soon as your drink was empty, someone was there to take your glass. When you got out of the pool, someone was there mopping up after you.”
- For anyone who needs to know: there are smoking sections on board, at the front and the back of the ship.
- My dad added his own line when he read the draft: “This ship is a must do. Crew and complete staff was amazing. They couldn’t do enough to make things great. And the ship was gorgeous.”
Why I asked for it in writing
I have not taken a Celebrity cruise myself. What I have is better for you than my own opinion: two people who know cruising telling their travel advisor exactly what made the week, the week they got home, in writing.
“It was great” is nice to hear. “Book the excursions early and pick the Wi-Fi before you board” is something the next family can use. That is why every trip I plan ends with a debrief, and why the next one starts with it. If the Caribbean is on your list, here is what the Royal Caribbean and Sandals deal means for a family booking it.
If you have been back on a ship after a long break: what is the one thing that caught you off guard?
If a cruise is on your list, book a vacation planning consultation and we will start with the three tips above. Book a consultation
