My wife and I booked our first cruise for Christmas after much deliberation. The cost, what are the rooms like, are we going to sleep next to the anchor or the engine? Thank goodness for the internet because we were able to cross-reference the rooms that were available with the rooms that had a video of them that was put up on the internet. We were able to look at the rooms and figure out if we were going to have to travel with one suitcase or the usual five. Just kidding, I pack three and carry two more. The next item on the agenda is to get passports so you can explore the Island. We found that if you don’t have a passport and something happens and you have to fly back to the United States then the situation becomes quite complex. The Consulate comes into play and probably many other costly expenses that could be avoided. Two different sources strongly suggested a passport, so let’s take photos, get our fingerprints, and let’s be “legal.”
We got a room with a down payment of only $500 and payments were allowed which I thought was great in this day and age. Also, the booking agency said they would organize a group and offer discounted prices if we could get enough people to sign up for the cruise. This was great and we are already planning our 2015 cruise which will be heavily discounted due to the group AND we found that cruise lines cost twice as much in the winter. Thank God for “senior status” and discounts.
My wife has researched our cruise and it turns out that it will be a seven day cruise departing from Los Angeles and we will be in Puerta Vallarta on Christmas day. To me that is amazing. I always wanted to give my wife something special and now we are both excited. Oh, and with groups, they offer discounts and special “perks” like extra money to play with. Also, we discovered that we can order room service and it doesn’t cost anything extra. That’s amazing because we can avoid the crowds and focus on what we want to do instead of standing in line for meals.
My wife and I have traveled to 40 of the 50 states and now our first cruise and we are going to book another one as well. I wish each of you the best of luck and would appreciate any advice for first-time cruisers.
Thanks again!!