Any Virgins left?

I still find it hard to believe that many people are still “Cruise Virgins”  and have never been on a cruise and in fact many people find the whole subject quite daunting! Even my own mother thought she was not posh enough to cruise and my dad said he did not want to spend his holiday being confined to a fishing trawler. Many people have pre conceived ideas of cruising from the media which is why I found a recent article from Travelzoo very interesting.

They have recently written a non-cruisers guide to cruising and if you want you can read the full article HERE.

What I found interesting was how they categorised the cruise lines into for example family-friendly, sophisticated or British. I felt that this was too broad a spectrum. When I am talking to “Cruise Virgins” I like to find out why they are thinking of cruising and what types of holidays they have been on before so I can ascertain their needs.

Choosing your accommodation is very important and I felt slightly that the article would put people off inside cabins.  Yes they are cheapest but many of us do not have the budget for outsides or balconies, me included. I always opt for an inside cabin and as a general rule of thumb don’t find them claustrophobic as they are very cleverly decorated to enhance the feeling of space, and in fact on some of the newer ships such as Royal Caribbean’s new Quantum Class they will feature virtual balconies inside cabins.

I liked the idea of “setting your budget” as this can sometimes help to find the right cruise line for someone. An example of this would be a couple who says their budget is £1500 per person for a balcony cabin for 10 nights but when asked whether this amount is to include drinks or shore excursions they have answered no, we have another £1000 per person for this. This brings you into the realm of All Inclusive packages with companies such as Regent Seven Seas.

I think in general the article is well balanced and yes choosing a cruise is fun but getting it right for a first time cruiser is so important that nothing can be left to chance and I think that this is where people and agents like me come in to play.

We have the experience and knowledge to guide even the most worried first time cruiser to a cruise of their dreams.

Finally did my Mum and Dad ever cruise? Yes they did and here is one of the photos to prove it.