The Ultimate Guide for First Time Cruisers

First time cruisers

For first time cruisers, choosing your first cruise can make or break whether you love this holiday style. If you decide to go down the travel agent route, they’ll give you a list of questions to determine the cruise line, fit for the destination.

But there are many other factors to consider for your first cruise: the cabin, the itinerary, the shore excursions, and even the additional packages.

Lucky for you, we’ve put together a handy guide to ensure your first cruise goes without any hiccups.

As the cruise industry has grown, so have the offerings. There is something to suit everyone’s taste – whether you’re travelling with the kids, grandma, and grandpa, if you’re on a budget, or if you want something super opulent.

Make sure you do your research – whether it be speaking to friends or family members who have cruised or speaking to a travel agent to navigate through the options.

When first time cruisers do their research, make sure you understand the demographics of each cruise line, during the year as well as the itinerary. It comes as no surprise that, for obvious reasons, during the school holidays, you’ll find more kids sailing.

If you are looking for a destination-specific cruise, like if you want to explore the Arctic or Antarctica, then it is also important to pick the right cruise line for your budget, and the differences between each line.

But perhaps if seasickness and the number of people are issues, consider taking a river cruise where you are always close to land and these ships won’t have more than 180 people onboard.

Find out more information in our guide to first-time cruisers.

First Time Cruisers Tips

  • Gluten-free cruise travel

    Gluten-free, vegan or macrobiotic? Now there’s a cruise for you!

    Every year, more people are diagnosed with food intolerances. Coeliac disease affects one in 70 Australians. The immune system reacts abnormally to a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. The result: violent sickness. Thankfully, awareness has spread to the cruising world. NSW-based Chisholm & Turner Travel Associates has partnered with Avalon Waterways to…

  • Solo traveller

    Solo travel tips and deals

    Want to get best out of a trip when you’re travelling alone? There are more people than ever taking holidays as singles – so you won’t be alone for long. Cruise director – your new bestie First up, if you see the cruise director floating around the ship, flag them down and let them know…

  • The best land-sea combos around

    The best land-sea combos around

    It’s a common problem: One of you wants to cruise and one of you would rather holiday on solid ground. Thankfully, tour companies have taken this into account when tailoring new routes. Here are three of the best of the land-sea combos around. For homebodies New to Evergreen Tours is the 25-day New Zealand Explorer…

Popular Destinations

Recommended Cruise Lines for First-Time Cruisers

Read Reviews from First-Time Cruisers