Before setting off on a sea voyage for the first time, euphoria is quickly replaced by a large number of questions regarding the optimal booking time, the possibility of children participating, and the difficulties of communicating with foreign travel companions. To go on a cruise with children for the first time, you need to pay attention to special offers with free participation of small passengers.
It is worth stocking up on medications that reduce the symptoms of seasickness, and a dictionary if you do not know English. Next comes the choice of cruise company and ship.
You need to get to the starting point of the cruise on your own?
You need to drive/fly to the place from which the journey begins, most often there are no charters, exceptions are rare. You must buy tickets yourself or order a service from a travel agency (paid separately).
Check-in and boarding begins 4-5 hours before departure, theoretically you can calculate the time so that you can go to the port directly from the airport. However, you shouldn’t do this; there is a risk of losing money due to a delay in the plane’s flight.
When registering, you need a passport, visa, ticket, filling out a form, check out the full list of documents. At this point, it is necessary to determine the method of payment on the ship (by card, cash). The first option requires details, the second requires placement on a deposit.
Important! Each traveler is issued a cruise card, which serves as an identification card, a payment document.
What happens if you are late for the departure of the airliner?
From the place of departure, from the ports of stop, the liners depart exactly on schedule. Late passengers will not be welcomed, tickets will be canceled and money will not be refunded. The only option is to try to catch up with the ship at the next port, but this is not possible on all routes.
Sometimes this is very expensive and requires contacting the Russian consulate and local police, so it is very important to return to the ship on time. If you are late, it is advisable to immediately call the travel agency; the staff will advise you on the best solution to the problem for a particular case.
Please note! A nuance of some European cruises is that Russians do not have passports; they are replaced by on-board cruise cards. To go on a cruise for the first time, it is advisable to make a photocopy in advance.
What nuances need to be taken into account on the shore
The first step is to determine if sea travel is right for a particular person/family. This type of vacation is designed for people who love socializing in large, noisy companies.
Important! The presence of a Russian-speaking group is not always guaranteed, so menus, programs, excursions are in foreign languages.
On the shore it is necessary to determine:
- Are visas required (Schengen, USA, etc);
- Which cabin is better (with balcony, window or inside);
- Do I need to buy additional clothes;
- How to optimize telephone communication while traveling.
Questions about visas can be answered at travel agencies, such as ours.
When choosing a cabin, it is necessary to take into account the tendency to sea sickness. In interior cabins the risk of deterioration of well-being is higher.
You can spend most of your time in casual clothes. A swimsuit is required for the Jacuzzi and pool. If you want to attend festive events, a woman will need an evening/cocktail dress, a man a tuxedo or suit. Information about dress codetravel agencies provide a specific company or read the article what wardrobe is needed on a cruise.
Communication is expensive; at sea, a network created by satellites is used. To prevent self-updates, you must disable cellular information. But you can still stay connected on a cruise.
You can buy a cruise from a cruise company or from our travel agency, the difference in cost is minimal. The agencies have offers from various companies, you can get visas faster, air tickets if you wish, the employees speak Russian.
What conclusion should be drawn by those planning to go on a cruise for the first time
You can go on a cruise for the first time at any time, but you need to take into account the climate and weather. In Europe, in autumn and winter it is cool outside the cabins; it is sometimes impossible to leave the ports due to rain; the best option is the United Arab Emirates.
In the summer it rains in Asia, it’s too hot in the Persian Gulf, it’s much more pleasant to travel along the Norwegian fjords or the Mediterranean.
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