The Cruise Line

Question: My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary and am planning a cruise. What's a good cruise line? We would like a quiet and peaceful cruise. Meaning not a lot of children running around. I am a preschool teacher and would like a real vacation :) We are looking at the Norwegien cruise line and the Carnival but would consider others. I would like formal nights but don't like the idea of sharing a table with other couples we don't know. So I am torn on the freestyle cruises. We have also decided on the Western Carribean. Thanks!

Answer: I have been on about 20 cruises on 4 different cruise lines and here's what I suggest based on my experiences. First, if you want a quiet and elegant cruise, scratch Disney, Carnival and Norwegian from your list. On Disney you will be overrun with kids. On Carnival you will be on the budget cruise lines that caters to the young party people, not quiet or reserved folks. I have been on about 8 Norwegian cruises a but just do not like their "freestyle" cruising. They stress their informal cruising not only at dinner but also on formal nights. The last cruise we did with them the called it the "dress up if you want to" night and only about 10 to 15% of the people dressed up formal or semi-formal. I prefer the traditional style cruise where most people do dress up and I have "my" table, and wait staff for the entire cruise and don't have to be bothered with making reservations or standing at the main dining room door awaiting a table at dinner. Royal Caribbean Cruise has some great ships and cruises and I do recommend them. But they do have lots of families with kids, especially if you are going to the Caribbean. The other cruise lines that are great, have great food, service, and staff are Princess, Holland America, and Celebrity. On all three of these you can go formal and feel special on that night. On all three of these you can have a table for two, just request it when you book your cruise. The main dining rooms on these lines will have a limited number of tables for two so you have to put in your request early. In addition, if you select Princess or Holland America to cruise on you can elect to go to dinner any time just like on NCL. Princess has what's called "personal choice" cruising which allows you to select a time for dinner or just go when you want. Holland America has "As You Wish" dining. This allows you to choose either traditional pre-set seating and flexible dining times. The passengers cruising on Celebrity, Princess and Holland America tend to be more reserved and older and there tend to be fewer kids. Holland America tends to have the oldest cruisers, mainly senior citizens. Cruises longer than 7 days tend to have fewer kids. Some other tips: - To get the best price, book very early, like 9 to 12 months early. All of the cruise lines give early booking discounts. -Search the cruise lines for specials and go when the price is lowest. To get the best price go when the cruise price is lowest rather than on a specific date. The price of a cruise on the exact same itinerary can vary by hundreds of prices on different dates.

Question: How do I go about getting a job as a massage therapist on a cruise line? Are there any job openings for Massage Therapists to have a business on any cruise line?

Answer: Contact the individual cruise lines that interest you. A lot of people enjoy working the cruise lines. You get to travel, you get some shore time. You have room and board while at sea. You get the opportunity to meet a lot of different people. Good Luck. You may want to go ahead and apply for a passport, the regulations will soon require this for cruise ships.

Question: How long does the hiring process for a Cruise Line Take? I am seriously considering a job with a cruise line. I have a 6 month lease at my current townhouse and I was wondering anyone out there who has gone through this - how long does the hiring process take? Should I start applying now, or wait until I get closer to my lease being up? For all who have gone through the process what method would you recommend for applying and submitting your resume? I've been looking directly at the different lines websites and sending my resume out (I started yesterday). I've found other webistes that say they will get you a job with different lines...are those worth your time?

Answer: I've seen it take 6 months to a week to get a job. All depends on what they need when. Like Kevin L said, go ahead and apply and mention when you will be available. I have been to 1 recruiter and did not like the fact, that I could have ended up with any cruise line. So I opted out of that and went directly to the cruise line which I was interested in. And the good part was, that I did not have to pay in order to get a job there. Good luck to you

Question: What is it really like working for a cruise line? How do you get started? What positions to apply for? I'm looking to try and work for a cruise line and was wondering what other peoples experiences are as employees. I don't have any specific technical skills so I'd probably be applying for a basic guest activities position. But I'd like to talk to someone who has "been there done that" or possibly "...still doing that" What are the better cruise lines to work for? What is the pay like? What was your experience? What is a good entry level position? All other tips, tidbits, comments, etc are very welcome. Thanks in advance

Answer: Ive worked for Carnival as a receptionist, then i moved to the concessions that run the shops onboard. the plus of the concession is that they hold shops on several differente lines... so you go everywhere... also, since the shops are usually duty free, they cant open while in port, so you dont work. you are staff, rather than crew, so you get better cabins, deck priviledges etc. there are 2 major concessions for the shops www.hardingbros.co.uk and starboard starboard is bigger, but i really hated and it pays less as well. hardings is easy to get in, trhu the site, send your CV. pays 160 pounds a week, plus comission. of all the lines ive worked, my favorite was Thomson... old, screwed, but very friendly. Worse, Costa. if you want more info email me...

Question: Do Cruise Lines offer group discounts and what would be the best way to inquire about it? Do you go through a travel agent, or call the cruise line? Any links would be great.

Answer: Most travel agencies and cruise lines have a separate Group Sales person so it doesn't really matter who you call. Vacations to Go has a separate division you are transferred too and it's about 10 rooms to get a group rate. It's not a big deal. Some agencies offer a free room when you buy 10 or they divide it out by the number of rooms--it came out to be about $50 per room. I'd call several agencies and see what their rates are. You don't have to commit. The cruise line directly may offer the better deal. Of course if you are doing this as a present for someone you may want to give a free room to the 10th person, the grandparents. But right now there are a lot of different ones. I know we just went through Vacations to Go group sales b/c we were right at that line. I think we have 9 rooms and not 10 but if we get that 10th room he is going to take the $50 off each room. It's not really a significant discount.