> Cruise Planning

Tips for First-Time Cruises (9) Cruising Weather (13) Government & Official Info (16) Romantic Cruising

A Cruise Lover's Dream Vacation
Things a cruise lover might do and places she might see if she had all the money and all the time in the world

New Cruise Ships in 2007
Description of the new cruise ships in 2007, including cruise line, size, launch date, and itineraries of the new cruise ships

Things I Love About Cruising
List of the ten things that I love about cruise travel.

Finding a Cruise Special
Finding a cruise special, cruise discount, or great cruise buy

Planning Your First Cruise - Ten Questions to Answer
Planning your first cruise can be a daunting challenge, but if you have made all the required pre-cruise decisions, the rest of the trip will be easy. Once you are on the ship, your room, meals, itinerary, and entertainment are planned. If you are planning your first cruise, answer these 10 questions and you will be on your way.

Planning a European Cruise Vacation
Useful information for planning a European cruise vacation--pros and cons of cruising Europe, when and where to cruise Europe.

Choosing a Cabin on a Cruise Ship
Choosing a cabin on your cruise ship is one of the most important decisions you make when planning your cruise vacation.

Cruise Travel Packing List
Print out this cruise travel packing list and mark off items as you pack them or decide they are unnecessary. Don't leave anything important at home on your next cruise.

Choosing a Caribbean Cruise
Selecting the 7-day Caribbean cruise itinerary that suits your interests can be a challenge. Many ships sail to the eastern Caribbean and many others to the western Caribbean. Which is best for you?

Cruising with Mom for Mother's Day or Any Day!
Planning a cruise with your mom is a perfect Mother's Day gift.

Baltic Cruises to Northern Europe
Several cruise lines sail the Baltic and northern Europe each summer. Their ships are diverse, with something for everyone.

How to Get a Passport
Starting in 2003, cruise passengers will need official proof of citizenship. A driver's license will no longer suffice! Here's how to get a passport, which is the best travel documentation of citizenship.

Ten Most Popular Cruise Lines for Families Cruising with Kids
List of the ten most popular cruise lines for families with children. Cruising with kids can be great fun for the whole family and these lines offer special facilities for children and youth counselors.

Better Your Chances for a Safe Cruise Vacation
Things to do to better your chances for having a safe cruise vacation. Tips on avoiding burglars and pickpockets when on a cruise vacation.

Public Health and Immigration Inspection Process
All persons arriving at a port-of-entry into the United States via land, sea, or air are subject to four types of inspections. Part 1 of this article addresses the first two types of inspections--public health and immigration.

Understanding the Customs Process
All persons entering the U.S. are inspected by the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The "duty free" allowance was increased to $800 per person in November 2002. Here's what you need to know about going through customs and how to determine what you may have to pay in duty taxes.

Ten Tips on Overseas Shopping to "Know Before You Go"
The regulations on what and how much you can bring into the United States from overseas are very complex. The U.S. Customs Service has Ten Tips to "Know Before You Go" with useful links to Web pages of information.

Dress for Success on Your Next Cruise
Cruise dress codes have changed with the times. More and more cruise ships are not requiring formal attire at dinner, and some have "country-club" casual for every meal. How can you determine what clothes to take on your next cruise?

Two Great Spring Cruise Ideas
Two great spring cruise ideas - repositioning cruises and a Dutch tulip river cruise in the Netherlands.

Fantastic Fall Cruises
Fall is a wonderful time to take a cruise vacation. The kids are back in school, the weather is cooler, and the prices are much less than during the summer or winter seasons.

Cruise Calendar
CruiseCal.com tracks where your favorite ship is, and often provides links to either the ship's or the port's Web cam. Very useful tool to help determine exactly how many ships are going to be in a port of call on a particular day.

CruiseDeckplans.com
One of the most complete databases of staterooms and cabins aboard cruise ships on the Internet. More than 2,300 stateroom categories, more than 106,000 cabin descriptions aboard cruise ships.

CruiseReport.com
Cruise reviews and lots of information that will be useful for planning your cruise.

CruiseMates
Excellent source of up-to-the information on cruise ships and cruise lines. Active message boards and articles useful in cruise planning.

Cruise Critic
The Cruise Critic site has all sorts of useful information from news to cruise reviews and everything in between. Also has an active message board that will help with your cruise planning.

Holland America Line Travel Club
Community site for passengers interested in Holland America Line. Highlights include a message board where users can post questions and answers about Holland America. The descriptions of each ship as well as articles about the cruise liner are also available.

Norwegian Cruise Line Travel Club
Passengers interested in Norwegian Cruse Line and America Freestyle Cruising can find informative articles, reviews and comments about the ships. Features a message board where users can exchange information about the cruise line.

Princess Cruises Travel Club
Princess Cruise Line passengers will find a community site were they can exchange information with each other, which includes a message board, ship reviews, comments, surveys and stories about Princess.

Prow's Edge
A free, online magazine with lots of great cruise information.  Ports of call, interviews with industry leaders, a bulletin board, and recipes from some chefs afloat are among the articles you will find.

Royal Caribbean International Travel Club
Independent community site dedicated to provide information about Royal Caribbean International. Features a message board where past and perspective passengers of RCI can exchange information. Also includes articles about RCI, descriptions of the ships and reviews about each ship.

The Original Tipping Page
Traveling can be complicated and tiring. People who provide exceptional service making our trips easier deserve an extra gratuity as a reward for their help. This site provides lots of useful information for travelers on gratuities and tipping.

Travel Insurance - InsureMyTrip.com
Travel insurance comparison site.