Cruises

[DubaiSis]

Gusteau mentioned something important. When you pay more you get a VERY different cruise experience. When you're ready to make a real leap, try SilverSea. They are 100% all inclusive on board. If you're big drinkers, their more expensive initial cost can end up being a bargain. There are other cruise lines (generally river cruises) where all of your shore exclusions are included. It's hard to calculate the value of that if you haven't cruised before but once you know your traveler style you can judge if that's a good deal for you.

Starting with a Carnival or Royal Caribbean is fine - they're a nice vacation. But after a couple or you've added a couple years to your driver's license, you might upgrade your line. Then if you really want a great experience, look at Seabourn or Windstar cruises. They're not anywhere near the most expensive cruise lines at sea but their on-board experience and access to much smaller ports make them a hot ticket for 40 somethings who are financially comfortable.

The nickel and diming thing is definitely new since I started cruising and it bugs the hell out of me. But the specialty restaurants are generally $20 per person, so it's not the worst ever. You DEFINITELY want to know about your ship's tipping procedure. A lot of them have gone to pre-set tipping. You can change that at the purser's desk to increase or decrease your tip, even down to zero if you're so inclined, although I don't think you can eliminate your drinks tips. If you're angry enough at the service, however, I'd go and bitch.

Regarding the days at sea versus days in port, the cruise lines don't have a whole lot of control over that because the ports are where they are and the ship can only go so fast. However, if you're going on a really intensive tour (my cruise going from Rome to Alexandria/Cairo, Kos, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul and Naples for example), you definitely have to pace yourself. And yes, it would have been nice to have a break between Ephesus and Istanbul, but you're never going to get that. They're just too close together to justify. But more experienced cruisers want fewer days in port, so once you look a step up, you will have more days at sea, particularly in the Caribbean.