Celebrity cruises are gaining in popularity. Not to be confused with the Celebrity Cruise Line, celebrity cruises are cruise vacations that include the opportunity to see or even meet popular celebrities like television actors, movie stars and musicians.

But, is cruising with a celebrity worth the cost?

What is cruising with a celebrity?

Most celebrity cruises will advertise several performances by their celebrity or celebrities along with a chance to dine or participate in ship activities featuring their advertised star.

The cruise line then either pays or offers free passage as a way of bringing celebrities on board. Typically, fans are attracted by the chance to not only meet, but also interact with their favorite public personality.

Why do well-known people participate in celebrity cruises?

In addition to being paid or compensated with free travel, many actors and musical performers use the cruise market as a way of promoting upcoming ventures like a new album, a stint in Vegas, an upcoming movie or a tour.

Meanwhile, some celebrities use celebrity cruises as a way of supporting a particular charity. Often, a charity will sponsor a specific sailing and the cruise line will donate a portion of the profits or proceeds. If you’re interested in supporting a charity and meeting a favorite celebrity, these charity cruises are a great way to do so.

What are the benefits and disadvantages of cruising with a celebrity?

Before you book a celebrity cruise, you should look at why you want to take this specific cruise. Is it because you are interesting in meeting your favorite celebrity or because you wish to enjoy a cruise vacation?

If you’re actively interested in the idea of taking a cruise with a celebrity, look at how much time the featured person will actually be on board. Also consider what performances are scheduled and if there are any extra costs associated with attending those events.

You’ll also want to investigate the size of the cruise. Realistically, if your favorite celebrity is only scheduled to make a one-night performance on a ship that has thousands of passengers, you’re unlikely to meet or make any contact with the individual. However, a cruise can still be a great, intimate environment to see a concert.

Finally, if your purpose for booking the cruise is to have a nice cruise vacation, you may want to reconsider the celebrity cruise option.

If you’re completely uninterested in the “celebrity element” on board the ship, you’ll find yourself at sea with hundreds – or possibly thousands – of fans on a ship where the majority of activities and events are focused around a specific individual – something that may not enhance your cruise.

If you’re a senior citizen, you’re most likely aware of the number of cruise options that are tailored specifically toward the senior market.

With cruise lines offering “Golden” Cruises, “Silver” Cruises, and Adults-Only cruises, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of options that are geared toward you and your interests.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit harder to find adventure or “active” cruises for seniors. To learn about active cruise options for seniors as well as how to get the most out of your active/adventure cruise, keep reading.

Pick a Cruise with “Active” Amenities

Whether or not you’re booking a senior-specific cruise, opt for a ship that has a lot of “active” amenities.

For example, booking a boat that has on-board golf, tennis, swimming, gym facilities and activities like whale-watching and bird watching will get you on board a ship that’s already geared toward your active lifestyle. You’re also more likely to meet seniors like you who are interested in active and healthy living.

Look For a Variety of Ports of Call

By booking a cruise with many stops, you’ll have access to more shore-side activities, greater sightseeing opportunities and a wider variety of shopping and food options.

Most cruises tailored toward the “adventure” or “active” market will offer a variety of shore activities, including low-impact and “senior-friendly” excursions like sea kayaking, scuba diving, easy nature hiking and on-land golf.

Always ask for a Senior’s Discount

Most cruise lines offer a senior’s discount for travelers over a certain age. Always ask for the senior’s rate. You’ll save anywhere from 10-50% off the regular rate.

A number of cruise lines also offer veteran’s rates for veterans and their spouses or families. If you’re a former serviceman, don’t hesitate to ask for a service special.

Remember to Relax

Most cruise ships offer a spa facility. Especially if you’re active, remember to take the time to enjoy and indulge.

At an onboard spa, you’ll enjoy massages, facials, skin treatments, hair cuts, manicures and a wide variety of other aesthetic options. Don’t forget to reserve your spot early.

Finally, cruise ships are one of the safest places to vacation in the entire world. It’s an enclosed environment with a carefully screened staff, so you can worry less about theft or violence.

Whether you’re vacationing alone or with someone you know, you are sure to have a fun and memorable experience heading for the cruise vacation destination of your choice.

Certainly not every vacation activity or destination involves boarding a ship – in fact, most do not. However, if you take an international trip, your odds certainly increase – and so does the likelihood of dealing with motion sickness.

Motion sickness on a boat or ship can be a problem for anyone, given the right movement circumstances. It is simply caused by the way your ears adjust to your eyes that results in some people feeling queasy shortly after they get on a boat while others are perfectly fine.

Recognizing the Symptoms

Seasickness comes about when your eyes are looking out straight, but your body is moving, causing your ears to be out of sync with your eyes.

If you stand still looking at something and your body is moving back and forth, your five senses simply do not “understand” that, and the result can be some level of nausea.

The symptoms of seasickness are easy to spot. You may start to sweat a lot, have a problem focusing on certain objects, feel as if you may vomit, and have extreme dizziness.

All in all, it is not a pleasant feeling, though it is not dangerous. Once you step off of the boat, you will start to feel better after a little land adjustment.

Preventive Measures

If you are prone to becoming seasick, there are preventive medications you can take and also things you can do while on the boat to minimize the symptoms.

First, prior to boarding the ship, start with the medication that your doctor provided. Alternatively, you can purchase a motion sickness patch that you put behind your ear to assist.

You can find these patches at your local pharmacy or even at the boarding dock before departure. These patches are made for your body to balance itself and so your visual cues won’t be different from your bodily cues.

Get Some Fresh Air

Once you are on the ship and feel a bit of seasickness coming on, it is best to get some fresh air. Since the waves themselves cause seasickness, keep your eyes fixed on the horizon, or simply lay down on a steady object on the ship.

Do so on your back to give your body more stability to help your ears can work in conjunction with your eyes. It is best to keep your eyes open as well since when closing them you tend to succumb to the motion of the waves.

Finally, try to eat something that will take the nausea away – crackers or soda can serve this purpose. You may not be able to rid yourself of seasickness once you have it, but at the very least you can adjust to and cope with the symptoms.

Cruising on a ship isn’t just for young couples and seniors anymore – it’s now a full-family cruise vacation destination.

Increasingly, cruise lines are beginning to offer family-focused cruises, while others are geared specifically toward families with young children.

Offering child care, kid-specific activities, entertainment for both kids and adults and kid-friendly menus, these family-focused cruises allow parents to actually take a break on their vacations.

No more long drives spent with hours of crying in the car, cramped hotel rooms or afternoons dragging kids out sightseeing. Family cruising allows parents of young children to truly enjoy their vacation.

Keep reading to learn more about cruise ship traveling with children under the age of twelve – along with what to expect, tips on booking and a few pointers on how to get the most out of your family cruise.

What to Expect on a Family Cruise

Most family cruises go beyond the typical entertainment offers of a dance hall, arcade, movie theatre and supervised swimming. Yes, all those things would keep your child entertained, but they may not be engaging, active or properly supervised.

Typically, a family cruise that’s geared toward children under the age of twelve will also offer children’s entertainment programs like live performance matinees.

They should also provide “day camp” programs that actively engage your children in group activities as well as shore excursions or training programs that are kid centered. For example, one cruise line offers a kids-only, on-board tennis camp while another gives daily swim lessons.

An additional benefit of family-focused cruising is the food. Unlike an adults-only cruise, the menus are usually a little more kid-friendly and offer up kid-sized portions.

On top of that, the wait staff and other ship crew members are already trained and comfortable working with children – which can be a big help when someone starts a temper tantrum at dinner.

How to Book a Cruise for Kids

Before you book, look for a cruise ship that’s specifically geared toward children.

By selecting a cruise that tailors to the vacation needs of you and your children, you’re more likely to reap the benefits of extra daycare options, increased child-targeted recreational activities, kid-friendly entertainment and other amenities that parents and their offspring really want.

Remember, the services, activities and amenities mentioned will vary from cruise to cruise, but if you book a ship that’s targeted specifically toward families and families with young children – you’re going to enjoy a true family vacation, for both the parents and the kids.

Planning your next family vacation? Dreading spending ten hours in the car followed by five days dragging your kids to the beach, the hotel pool and a local restaurant that doesn’t offer a children’s menu?

If you’re looking for a vacation that will show both you and the kids a good time, cruising could be it.

To learn about the benefits and drawbacks of family cruise vacations, keep reading to find out the best tips for planning your first or next family cruise.

Why a Family Cruise Vacation?

Because so many cruise ships are targeted directly toward families, you’re getting a fully packaged vacation in a safe and contained environment.

There are daily, scheduled activities for the children along with parental getaways that both allow you to enjoy time with your children and also have your own private vacation.

Most cruise lines either offer “day camp” options with regularly scheduled, on-board activities or supervised day care facilities. Because your children are on a boat with you and under the care of a well-screened and professionally-supervised staff, you can rest a little easier.

Isn’t it Expensive?

Cruising can be expensive, but most family cruise destinations typically cost about $500-$1000 per person per week. Add up the cost of all the hotels, meals, souvenirs and mileage that your last vacation cost you and compare it to that figure. You’ll quickly see that a cruise vacation budgets in at about the same rate as a full, family vacation.

How do I a Book a “Family” Cruise?

Most cruise lines offer family-specific or family-friendly cruises that are geared specifically toward families with children. Ideally, you want to choose one of these rather than, say, a Senior’s cruise or a Single’s cruise.

Cruise lines like Disney or Norwegian also offer themed ships with full youth programs that are targeted to specific age groups from toddlers to teens. Again, this affords you the chance to take a break and enjoy the pool on your own.

When booking a full family cruise, you may want to consider a travel agent. Often, they’re able to discuss ship amenities, past client reviews and possible discounts.

However, if you’re searching alone and online, try reading past traveler reviews of each individual ship. This will provide you a clearer indication of the ship’s facilities and accommodations than the cruise line’s promotional website.

Things to Consider Before Departure

Make sure everyone in your family has their passport, travel health insurance and extra medication. Keep all of your documents in a safe and secure place with one person.

Is it imperative to stretch every dollar while cruising?

Do you worry about how much shore excursions will cost on your cruise?

Finding discount shore excursions is a big deal because the cruise line excursions can cost almost as much as the whole cruise vacation. Lets face it a cruise vacation is still one of the great values out there. But the cost of your cabin and airfare to get to the ship is only a fraction of the total cost of your cruise vacation. Plus with the state of the economy these days who isn’t looking to save a few dollars wherever they can

I’ve been on many cruises and I can tell you that going on shore excursions that are organized by the cruise line are normally the most costly option. As usual I had to learn this lesson the hard way and costly way. When I was a rookie cruiser I would sign up for shore excursions offered by cruise lines because I wasn’t aware of other options available to me. But once I found out there were other options open to me I was scared by the possibility of having to deal with the island tour companies. I know this is the same for many other cruisers both first timers and veterans alike.

But after I became a seasoned cruiser I started to know that organizing my own shore excursions was not as difficult as I once imagined. The fact of the matter is if you have all the right information you to can go on discount shore excursions that will be head and shoulders better than the ones provided by the cruise lines.

When searching for shore excursions on the Internet I happened upon this ebook named “Shore Excursions on the Cheap“. This book covers everything I had to experience the hard way. It show you step by step how to find discount shore excursions, all at very low prices. When you get this ebook your will recoup its cost and then some on your first shore excursion.

This ebook will teach you how and where to find the top of the line shore excursions, how to ensure your safety, and what questions to get answered. It will also teach you how to not fall for the cruise lines fear tactics when it comes to shore excursions. They will try to scare you and tell you all the negative things that might happen if you don’t get back to the ship on time. They also try totell you that you could lose your money if you don’t make a port.

The fact of the matter is neither of these is going to happen because you’ll experience that it’s in a tour operators top of the line interest to make your excursion a trip you will remember and get you to back to the ship on time. Word of a bad tour operator travels fast on the internet.

So if you want to make that vacation dollar, pick up this ebook and you’ll save a bunch of money and have outstanding experience when you go on your next discount shore excursion

As of December 17, 2008, Carnival will no longer charge a cruise fuel surcharge. Previously, Carnival charged as much as $15 per day. They will now be refunding those fuel surcharges through a ship board credit after the 17th.

In a statement on Thursday December 3rd, Carnival’s director of marketing, Bill Harber, said oil prices have dropped low enough for the company to lift the surcharges. “As the price of oil has dropped to $46 per barrel, it has now reached a level where we are able to suspend the fuel supplement,” Harber said.

They warned that if fuel prices rise again, they may start charging the fee again.

I believe this action will end up becoming beneficial for Carnival and should lead to a small increase in bookings. From the beginning, many cruisers were unhappy with the fuel surchages.

While Royal Caribbean passengers must still pay a daily $10 fuel surcharge for 2009, this fee will end starting in 2010. They also said that each quarter in 2009, they will examine the fuel conditions to determine whether to refund the charge.

I believe the removal of the cruise fuel surcharge that Carnival once had will eventually cause Royal Caribbean to follow as well and drop the charges too. I’d expect to see them make a move in the near future.

Lets all hope that oil prices stay down and we never see a cruise fuel surcharge ever again

Is anything more luxurious than taking a cruise ships holiday? Traveling to exotic locations on a luxury ship, catching sun rays, and breathing the salty breezes can renew and replenish anyone, no matter how shopworn from the cares of work.

However, a cruise holiday requires planning in order to be the best it can be. Check out these tips to have a cruise experience you will remember.

So where do you start when planning a cruise holiday? First, what is your budget like? Do you need to hold down expenses? Then here are a few tips for economizing on your cruise holiday.

When scheduling your cruise holiday, you should be aware that there are off season and on season dates, and that you want to schedule your trip in the off season to get the best deal. What you may not know, however, is that cruise lines actually change prices a number of times throughout the year. Ask and find out when their absolute lowest season prices are. In addition, keep your plans somewhat flexible so that you can change ships at the last minute. Sometimes a ship is not filled to capacity, so the cruise line will sell the last few tickets at a real bargain. It is always to their advantage to sail filled to capacity because people on holiday spend money on souvenirs, drinks, etc. Use this knowledge to get a really great deal.

Where you cruise to on your holiday can make a big difference in your cost as well. If you pick a popular spot, you can travel cheaper than if you choose a less popular spot. Another consideration is whether you really care about those ports of call. If you just want to stay on the ocean liner and enjoy the luxuries, book a cruise that doesn’t stop anywhere. These “cruises to nowhere” are just as luxurious as the others but cost less.

To be safe on a cruise ships holiday, don’t take a lot of expensive equipment or jewelry with you. Make sure your passport, health insurance, and other papers are up to date. Be sure to ask about laws you may inadvertently be breaking when you get off the shore you are accustomed to. Laws in ports and even in the water can vary, and you sure don’t want a big hassle with a foreign law enforcement agency.

To travel lighter, find out about equipment that will be available on the ship. For instance, if the cruise line provides irons or hair dryers, you won’t need to pack yours. Also pack your own sample size shampoo, toothpaste, and other toiletries because these items will cost more in the gift shop. You should have access to laundry facilities on your cruise holiday, so you don’t have to take a huge amount of clothing.

Pick a wrinkle proof lightweight outfit for every two or three days and pick separates in colors that coordinate so you can get different looks. Be sure to pack a formal and or semi-formal outfit if you will be taking part in these sort of activities on your cruise holiday vacation.