Cruise Planning 101

I'm usually someone who books a last minute cruise. However, this time I am cruising with a companion who has never cruised before. This puts more pressure on my to get it right.

I figured I would walk you through my rationale during the planning process. 

Step 1: find the cruise I want to book.

I have to find a cruise that meets both our scheduling requirements and our budget as well as our destination preferences. My cruise companion is big into history and archaeology. I've been watching this particular cruise for a while because it seems to tick all the boxes.

The downside to this 12 day cruise is that it is on an older Norwegian ship, the NCL Gem. The upside is a fantastic itinerary with many bucket list stops.

Step 2: Check the budget. Vacations to Go currently lists this cruise at $749 per person with a 15% discount promotion, a double up cruisenext promotion, and $125 on board credit. I was able to apply 2 cruisenext certificates onto my booking. Total price for 2 passengers was just over $1500 US. I will have to consider $480 in gratuities. For me, I consider around $2000US for two passengers for 12 days as a good deal. (not great, but good enough)

Step 3: Check the cost of airfare. I do not book airfare with the cruise lines. I will explain why in a future post. I found some great reward tickets round trip to Rome. However, the one way ticket to Istanbul was $200 each. When I added up the total cost, it was a better deal to just book the airfare and pay with my credit card. I checked Delta, American Airlines, and United. Delta had the best price in that there is a flight through Paris that gets us in two days before the cruise in the late afternoon. Also, there is a direct flight back from Rome at 9AM the next day after the cruise disembarks. The airfare also includes a checked bag for each and will also give me miles towards status. Because of previous status, I also get a free upgrade for both of us to comfort plus. I paid for the airline tickets. They offer free cancellation within 24 hours.

Step 4: Identify hotels within walking distance of the sights I want to see in Istanbul. I wanted to see the Hagia Sofia and the Cistern and the Blue Mosque. I checked Bonvoy, Hilton, and Booking.com. I have a TON of Hilton miles that are losing value the longer I hang onto them. I elected to book a reward stay with the Doubletree in Istanbul and Hilton Garden Inn at the Rome airport. I can cancel these reward stays if the rates drop or if I find a great deal somewhere else.

Step 5: Book the actual cruise. Believe it or not, it takes a couple hours to book the cruise with a travel agent. He has to follow a script to be sure to cover all the bases. NCL is offering a double points offer on European cruises at the moment. Status counts on NCL. Unfortunately, I was never able to confirm if I am getting the extra points or not. At this point, I am sapphire and get free specialty dining and a load of laundry anyway. I also get a discount on shore excursions and wifi. Extra points are less important, but they are nice and I will definitely watch for them. I paid a little extra to get a discount on wifi and two extra meals of specialty dining. In this case, I really wanted an inside cabin that was mid-ship. No one wants a new cruiser to get seasick because you were all the way in the front or aft of a ship. It wasn't worth saving the $100 in my opinion. 

Step 6: Once the cruise was booked, I joined the cruise critic roll call and the Facebook groups to see what people were chatting about. If you can make friends with someone on the cruise, you can book private excursions and save a ton of money and hassle of large group tours.

Step 7: Assess each port and determine the top things you want to see. Then prioritize the list. Do I have a Rick Steves guide with enough information to do a self tour of these destinations? Is there an NCL "on your own" available?

Istanbul- Rick Steves

Kusadasi- Cheap NCL Tour of Ephesus after shore excursion credit and discount.

Piraeus- Cheap NCL Athens on your Own shore excursion. Use Rick Steves for Acropolis and Archaeology Museum and the Antikythera Mechanism.

Rhodes- walk to the Palace of the Grand Masters and use Rick Steves info.

Alanya- walk up to and explore the castle.

Ashdod- I considered Jerusalem but it will be packed and crazy. I loved Masada when I was there. I booked a private tour to Masada and the Dead Sea. They need 10 people to run the tour. I posted the tour to Facebook and Cruise Critic to encourage others to join. This is a risk!

Haifa- this is an easy train ride to Tel Aviv. I may meet up with a friend I used to work with and see if we can drive around.

Alexandria- we overnight in Alexandria and I would love to do a 2 day tour with an overnight in Cairo. That said, the facebook group claims an overnight is not allowed. I booked the essentials with an NCL excursion called Pyramids, Memphis and Sakkara for $430. I may cancel and book with a private tour company. So far, I can't find a decent alternative. My goal will be to visit the new Grand Egypion Museum the first day.

Syracuse (Siracusa)- Rick Steves walk to the Archaeology Park and do the RS Walks

Naples (Napoli)- Rick Steves walks or maybe Pompeii again. Definitely pizza for lunch at a restaurant.

Rome- book a transfer to the airport through NCL to use the $50 excursion credit if a decent tour and price is available. If not, grab a train to the airport and drop the luggage at the hotel. Spend the day in Rome. Up early to check in and spend time at the lounge before flying home.

Step 8: Make a Google Sheet calendar to plot everything out and identify remaining things to do.

Step 9: Obtain Turkish E-Visas.

Step 10: Book Transport to the hotel when we land. No one wants to deal with a taxi driver when you can prebook a transfer for 2 for $20. I used a transfer service recommended in the Rick Steves guide.

That is my current status for this cruise. The hardest part is choosing the "best" cruise for you. There is no right answer. I have put in a bid for a balcony but don't expect an upgrade. For me, the price was double for a balcony and not worth the cost.  I will say, I watch the rates daily and if they drop, I will call back for an upgrade or on board credit.

I also saw a better flight option for the same price and rebooked using deltas ecredit policy which means it didn't cost me extra.

I hope this has helped someone. Feel free to ask questions.

Happy Cruising!!!