First of all, cruise lines are much more similar than they are different. The cruise experience on large cruise ships have much more similarities across all cruise lines and cruise ships than they have differences. That being said, the following are some of the comparatively minor differences between them.

Carnival has more entertainment options late night and is more geared toward younger, fun seeking crowd. Carnival frequently has the lowest prices especially on Caribbean trips and many (perhaps most) first time cruisers end up going with Carnival.

Royal Caribbean is quite similar to Carnival, except it has probably slightly less nightly activities and slightly more on-board sport-type activities such as ice skating, roller boarding, basketball/tennis courts, etc.

Norwegian (NCL ) offers what is called “freestyle cruising”, which means that usually there are no fixed time dinners, assigned tables and the overall atmosphere is more casual and freewheeling than at other cruise lines.

Holland America is probably the most formal among the cruise lines with the most elegantly dressed people in tuxedos. Also, Holland America ships probably have less families and children than the ships from other cruise lines do.

Princess and Celebrity (as well as Holland America) are considered a Premium cruise lines (unlike Mainstream cruise lines – Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Costa, NCL ). This means the ships are a bit more classy, reserved and slightly more upscale. The price is also slightly higher than those of Mainstream cruise lines.

Costa is a great cruise line with mostly European and Asian itineraries. If those are the places you want to visit, Costa is a great choice.

Cunard is a bit old-style, luxury cruise line with a bit formal/semi-formal dining options. It has great ships, including Queen Mary 2 and people really enjoy Cunard’s mostly European and Transatlantic itineraries.

Again, we would like to emphasize that difference between various cruise lines are much less than their similarities. So, for example, if you are traveling with family and kids and Holland America has the best cruise option – go for it, you would love it.

The following are included in the price of your cruise vacation: your cabin, the food (and anyone who has cruised before can attest that the food on cruise ships is really good), the entertainment (Broadway type shows, comedy shows, great nightlife), many activities (art classes, dance lessons, wine tasting, art actions, yoga, ping-pong, board games, cards, movies and many, many other activities), children’s programs and great service (usually better than at good hotels).

The following are not included in your cruise price: alcoholic beverages, shore excursions and gratuities (approximately $10-$12 per person per day).

Most of the time you will be dressed casually – shorts, T-Shirts, sandals, snickers – or anything else that you would like. It’s your vacation, so dress comfortably and enjoy many interesting activities on the cruise ship.

For dinners, on most ships you would be expected to be dressed in “business casual”. However, on most cruise ships there would be one or two nights (or more if the cruise journey is long) where a formal, beautiful dress is expected for dining. Make sure that you have such a dress for those occasions.

If you’re traveling to Canada, New England or Alaska, you should also take a good, warm sweater with you. Also, it rains frequently in those areas, so raincoat and umbrella are also highly recommended.

If you have a regular US/Canadian cell phone and regular cell phone plan, your cell phones should work while on sea. However, roaming charges will apply to your calls unless you are docked in US/Canadian port.

Offering a cell phone access while at sea is actually a new service that cruise lines have added quite recently. For more information and details about this new service you may visit www.cellularatsea.com.

Yes. Pretty much all cruise ships have computer rooms where you can access the Internet. You can also bring your own laptop and connect to the WiFi networks that are available on most ships. However, Internet access, whether in computer rooms or via your laptop, can be a bit pricy – from $0.30/minute to $1/minute – so you shouldn’t plan on browsing the Internet for many hours a day.

However, there are so many activities available on cruise ships at any time that you probably wouldn’t even want to use the Internet much anyway, perhaps just for checking your email once in a while. Or you may decide to completely unplug and enjoy the cruise the old fashion way (remember the old days when there was no Internet?)

You should bring your passport with you while traveling. Please make sure that your passport is valid and, to be on the safe side, expires at least 6 months after the completion of your cruise journey.

If your cruise journey takes you to other countries, you may also need visas to visit those countries and/or port cities. Many countries do not require a visa for US and/or Canadian citizens. Some countries do. Please make sure that you have all visas that are required.

Nowadays cruise ships are quite large and have sophisticated stabilizing devices to ensure that passengers very rarely feel that they are sailing on the ship (it’s so stable that you feel you’re on land). Very few passengers experience motion discomfort and for those passengers the medical professionals on cruise ships provide medications to address that issue.

Yes, it definitely is. First, it would be an unforgettable experience for your kids and something they would brag about to their friends. Second, it would be very educational for your kids – they’ll visit different places, learn more about other cultures, countries and marine life. Of course, they would have a lot of fun doing it. Finally, your kids would love it because cruise lines offer many interesting experiences and targeted programs for kids of all ages - from toddlers to teenagers. They would never be bored.

Almost all cruise ships offer cabins that can accommodate up to 4 passengers (sometimes even more). Because the prices for third and fourth passengers of each cabin are usually considerably lower than the prices of the first 2 passengers, bringing kids with you and sharing a cabin with them would make the per person cost of a cruise vacation considerably lower for your family.

First of all, congratulations! We hope you would live happily ever after.

Cruise vacation is a GREAT honeymoon trip. Why? Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about arranging hotels, meals or entertainment. It’s all there, free, available for you, so you can concentrate on having a great, unforgettable, romantic time together. You can see the sunset together, then dance all night long while looking into each other’s eyes and then … have a breakfast in bed while enjoying each other’s company.

In fact, you won’t be alone! On each cruise ship there usually are a few couples who are enjoying their honeymoon trip.

First of all, the difference between different cabins and cruise prices is just in cabins alone. In other words, the meals, entertainment, activities, service and everything else except cabins is the same whether you buy the most affordable inside cabin or the most luxurious suite on the ship.

That being said, most people, especially those that have taken a cruise before, prefer to pay a bit more for a balcony cabin. That’s why even though most ships have more balcony cabins than other types of cabins, the balconies are the ones that are sold out first, especially on popular journeys. Having a chance to sit outside in your own balcony and drink coffee/tea while watching the sea is an amazing and very relaxing experience.

So yes, if you can afford it, balcony cabin is really worth the price. However, if it is outside of your budget, or balconies have been sold out, don’t worry, you’ll still have a great time no matter what cabin you choose.

In one word – definitely. Traveling on a cruise ship provides probably the best vacation value for your money. You pay a single price and all your food (which is very good!), cabin, entertainment and many interesting and fun activities on the cruise ship are absolutely free. You also get to see many different ports, countries and cultures while traveling comfortably on a cruise ship.

As for the price – cruise vacations can be designed to meet pretty much any budget – from the very affordable to truly luxurious. You are on a driver’s seat to choose what’s the best option for you.

But don’t take our word for it. Ask someone who has been on a cruise if they think they’ve gotten good value for the money they paid. You are very likely to hear “Definitely”.

Yes it is. Just as you likely buy books, airline tickets, maybe even computers online, buying a cruise ticket online is just as safe. Of course, you have to be sure you buy it from a reputable company and a website.

At Cayole, we take great care to ensure that your online purchase is handled safely and securely. We employ state of the art encryption technologies to ensure your personal and credit card information is transferred and handled securely. We work with our technology partners to ensure that our computer systems are up to date against computer viruses and other security issues. Even though we designed our website to be simple and easy to use, we never compromised security to do that.

Yes, there are self-service laundry rooms available on all cruise ships that offer washing and drying machines as well as irons and ironing boards.

Also, most cruise ships have a professional laundry service that can pick up the laundry from your cabin, clean, iron it and bring it back to your cabin for your convenience. However, those services can be a bit pricy, be sure to ask how much they cost to avoid any surprises on your bill.

You will find tipping guidelines left in your cabin in the cruise ship. As a general rule, you should expect to tip approximately $10-$12 per person per day. The easiest way to pay the tip is to take cash with you on board and pay with cash. Should you not have that much cash with you on board, you would be able to pay using your credit card and/or debit card.

Yes, there will be. In fact, it will have many good channels for free. However, you probably won’t spend much time in front of TV anyway because there are going to be much more interesting activities onboard the cruise ship.