Homework b4 Booking

[Oxo]

Do people do any homework before they book a cruise ?

These CC forums are fantastic. However,  should you not know certain important facts before you book?

You may use a Travel Agent or the Cruise Line to book. Either one  should be able to answer most of your questions.

Recently, subjects have surfaced related to:

Will this cabin be large enough for 4 or 6 people?

Where will my children sleep,  on a couch or bed?

Will I get a beverage packages with my cabin? Etc.

 

Cruise line ..... no longer requires a pre covid test. So, do I need one before I board my Cruise Line.

 

Things change over night. Don't rely on any source and then think that is the correct answer for all Cruise lines

 

Check with your cruise line/ TA.

JMHO!

STAY SAFE AND HAPPY CRUISING!

•  

[casofilia]

@Oxo

 

Give me Bovril every time!!   Oxo would be #2.  Vegemite and Marmite #s 98 and 99!!

 

I would recommend that when you are considering a cruise  get on to the Roll Call in two or three places.   The Roll Call of the cruise you are interested in; the Roll Call of the next couple of cruises the same ship is doing and the Roll Call of the last and present cruise the ship is doing.

All are VERY good sources of information such as you are looking for.

[Oxo]

18 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@Oxo

 

Give me Bovril every time!!   Oxo would be #2.  Vegemite and Marmite #s 98 and 99!!

 

I would recommend that when you are considering a cruise  get on to the Roll Call in two or three places.   The Roll Call of the cruise you are interested in; the Roll Call of the next couple of cruises the same ship is doing and the Roll Call of the last and present cruise the ship is doing.

All are VERY good sources of information such as you are looking for.

Apparently I was not very clear in my posting. I am not looking for advice. I am stating an observation that I have seen over a period of time. People book a cruise. Then they question what they will get.

However, you comments are appreciated. They provide info that others may use to fond amsers for their cruise selection. Thank you. 

[KeithJenner]

No, many people don't do homework before booking.

 

Many don't do homework after booking either.

 

Each to their own. Some people aren't all that interested in the details. They just turn up and go with the flow. Personally, I couldn't do that, but it seems to work for some people

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

There are two types of people in this world.  Those who naturally do their homework and those who naturally do not.  In my experience, telling the first group to do their homework is an annoying waste of time and telling the second group is just a plain old waste of time.

[Oxo]

9 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

There are two types of people in this world.  Those who naturally do their homework and those who naturally do not.  In my experience, telling the first group to do their homework is an annoying waste of time and telling the second group is just a plain old waste of time.

So, did I waste my time? LOL

[ChiefMateJRK]

10 minutes ago, Oxo said:

So, did I waste my time? LOL

Yeah, probably, but it's all good.😎

[pris993]

I have been cruising for 40 years, I know most of the answers.  LOL

 

When we first started to cruise not much info readily available.   

 

Today, easy to find, computers have taken the mystery out of cruising if you want to do research.  

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Oxo said:

Do people do any homework before they book a cruise ?

These CC forums are fantastic. However,  should you not know certain important facts before you book?

You may use a Travel Agent or the Cruise Line to book. Either one  should be able to answer most of your questions.

Recently, subjects have surfaced related to:

Will this cabin be large enough for 4 or 6 people?

Where will my children sleep,  on a couch or bed?

Will I get a beverage packages with my cabin? Etc.

 

Cruise line ..... no longer requires a pre covid test. So, do I need one before I board my Cruise Line.

 

Things change over night. Don't rely on any source and then think that is the correct answer for all Cruise lines

 

Check with your cruise line/ TA.

JMHO!

STAY SAFE AND HAPPY CRUISING!

•  

I think that a lot of people will do some homework before booking or use a TA for advice. 
 

There are a small subset of people who don’t do their homework ho end up here on Cruise Critic claiming that cruise lines are incompetent or the cruise line cheated them or the cruise line is dishonest. All of which would not be an issue if homework was done. Or just taking 45 seconds to read about what they are buying. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, pris993 said:

I have been cruising for 40 years, I know most of the answers.  LOL

 

When we first started to cruise not much info readily available.   

 

Today, easy to find, computers have taken the mystery out of cruising if you want to do research.  

 

No where near 40 years but enough that we don't see a need to do a lot of homework before booking a cruise.   The exception would be for ports of call.  We used to do a lot of research on what to see and do at every port.  Especially what we might be able to do on our own.   Now we pretty much book the cruise that will take us where we want to go.  Any research about the cruise line or ship itself would be considered of interest but not essential to enjoying the trip.  But of course we have to know about requirements like testing, required documentation,  passports, etc.   

 

Thinking back to the early days, not knowing every detail about the cruise ship resulted in a lot of pleasant surprises.  

[MBP&O2/O]

12 hours ago, Oxo said:

People book a cruise. Then they question what they will get.

There was a question recently where someone asked why they  could not find any information about a speciality restaurant on their forthcoming cruise. The cruise was in a matter of weeks and they were panicking about reservations.

The reason there was no info? That restaurant was not on that ship! 

Good research! 

Yes .... it amazes me how many people book a cruise with little or no research.....but it does make fun reading 🙄

[fox02554]

1 minute ago, MBP&O2/O said:

There was a question recently where someone asked why they  could not find any information about a speciality restaurant on their forthcoming cruise. The cruise was in a matter of weeks and they were panicking about reservations.

The reason there was no info? That restaurant was not on that ship! 

Good research! 

Yes .... it amazes me how many people book a cruise with little or no research.....but it does make fun reading 🙄

makes you wonder sometimes how they even find CC boards to ask the questions 😂

[hallasm]

This also applies to cruise guests who have been on many Caribbean cruises and want to try something new - for example the Norwegian fjords and pack a 'standard suitcase' and then are surprised that it is cold and raining.

I have met several who have had a bad experience because they did not know what awaited them in the cold north. 

[Essiesmom]

There are two types of people:  those that do their research, and those that expect others to do it for them.  CC is full of the latter.  No one seems to teach how to research anymore.  People here are very helpful in posting links for people asking questions.  But I prefer to explain to people how to find those areas where their answers lie.  Teaching them HOW to use these boards to research.  I also do this because I no longer spend time at my PC, using an iPad upon which I haven’t mastered copy and paste…. EM

[shipgeeks]

9 hours ago, ldubs said:

   

 

Thinking back to the early days, not knowing every detail about the cruise ship resulted in a lot of pleasant surprises.  

Agreed!

I'm always puzzled by why people have to know which way their bed will face/all the menus/what time the shows are/who the CD is/etc.

[Markanddonna]

I am also surprised with people who do very little research and just trust the cruise line to provide a great experience. Their first experience with excursions is coming onboard and then checking out the flyers for ship excursions.  They are scared into using ship excursions by the old "you might miss the ship" reasoning.

 

After many cruises and trips around the world, I'm like many of you who have a pretty good sense of what to expect. However, COVID has changed so many things. The newest one is that the ship hasn't put out a excursions for many ports (we are going to 12.)  I use their info to see the possibilities and book it privately, so it isn't a huge deal. On our May TA cruise, most of the ship and private excursions were all booked months in advance. 

 

Also, some folks have little understanding of the differences between Caribbean and cruising outside a tropical area like in Europe. In November, they think Italy will still have dry beach weather. They don't seem to know to just use an online search engine for this info on what to expect.

 

I peruse the boards for all sorts of info to keep in my back pocket and thank all the regular posters who share their wisdom.

[Homosassa]

I have been cruising since 1976.

 

I have been on many different cruise lines. I have a good idea of what to expect on a cruise ship (i.e.; no surprise if a ship on the water experiences, rolling, pitching and yaw).

 

Every time I book a cruise, I either read all the information in the ticket contract, terms and conditions, and FAQs for a cruise line that I have not sailed before or has been a long time since my last booking on that line or skim the same information for changes since my last cruise on the line.

 

This is especially important for the changes made post covid as many lines are tightening up on passenger fare churning, cancellations, and no shows. 

 

 

[VMax1700]

What is 'homework'?  What is 'research'?

Can I not just complain virulently and start litigation if it is not what I anticipated or expected?

🤫

[wcook]

6 hours ago, hallasm said:

the Norwegian fjords and pack a 'standard suitcase' and then are surprised that it is cold

Yep, it’s cold in Norway. You might even say it’s “Frozen.” But you can’t worry about what other people do or don’t pack, post etc. You have to, um, what’s that phrase that means to give something up, to stip thinking or worrying about it?

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I'm always puzzled by why people have to know which way their bed will face/all the menus/what time the shows are/who the CD is/etc.

 

Some of us are interested in the details that whets are anticipation.  You may have picked up by reading some of my posts that I am quite interested in what goes on "behind the scenes".  What I keep learning leads to more questions.  

 

I am one who does do much research prior to a cruise.  The best example of this was the year before I sailed on my world cruise.  I sailed the final segment of that year's world cruise on the Amsterdam to get a bit of the "flavor" of such a cruise.  

[iancal]

I do lots of research. Mostly by ship vs cruise line. 

 

Lots of research on independent or private shore tours as well.  We tend to avoid the ship excursions. 

 

Also lots of research on pre and post cruise areas since our pre or post land travels are usually much longer than our cruise.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've been on 40+ cruises and of course know in general terms what to expect.  But I still research when looking at cruises, less for more known ships/itineraries/ports, much more for somewhere new.

 

It's part of the fun for me.  Minimal 'homework' for a cruise from Florida to the Carribbean, having been there many times.  Maximum research for our upcoming Australia-New Zealand cruises plus some land touring.  It's only common sense.

 

I am amazed sometimes at the lack of basic knowledge of cruising shown by people at times.  Just look at some of the questions posed on these boards!  We were all new cruisers once though.

Edited August 14, 2022 by Nebr.cruiser