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

  • A cruise guide to beating overtourism

    How to beat overtourism and still see wonderful sights

    In an age where some destinations are buckling from the crowds, why not do yourself and the world’s hot spots a favour and break from the herd? Of course, it’s hard to resist the pulling power of ‘must-see’ locations – we’re only human, after all. But as more and more people make a beeline for…

  • Alaska Wildlife

    Meet the locals: top 6 animals to look out for in Alaska

    Twice the size of Texas, with more wildlife than people, Alaska overflows with superlatives. It’s one of the greatest places on Earth to be in such close proximity to such an array of animals. You can go dog sledding, head out on expeditions and even stay amongst wildlife at some of the wilderness lodges. However,…

  • Cats musical

    The best Broadway shows at sea

    Fantastic entertainment on board your cruise can be just the thing that adds extra sparkle to your holiday. And cruise lines are debuting bigger and better shows. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean regularly feature a list of shows, fresh from Broadway on their cruises. And if you’re a Disney fan, you can watch musicals…

Popular Destinations

Recommended Cruise Lines for First-Time Cruisers

Read Reviews from First-Time Cruisers