What are some questions I should ask a travel agent when planning a cruise?

I am in charge of organizing a cruise for my mom's side of the family. We plan to travel on Royal Caribbean. I have a travel agent through AAA. I have only cruised once before and that was last September. This cruise is tentatively planned for next summer. Help!! I want this to be a special & memorable event for my family. We decided to do this after my grandfather, my mother's father, the patriarch of our family passed in the spring of this year. We get together once a month for a dinner or cookout to promote unity and stay in touch. We are a close family and one of my grandfather's wishes was that we preserve the family bond so that it can be passed down for generations. This will be the first cruise for a lot of my family. We are southern people and some of us are weary of travelling by water but since I went and came back safely, they are willing to give it try. The cruise I went on was a high school class reunion. This is different. Give me some tips please!!!

Although your travel agent can give you all this info, here is somethings you should know before you make reservations, find out how many want inside rooms or outside rooms...outside rooms are usually larger and have a window that face the ocean...outside rooms provide a beautiful view but let them know very little time will be spent in their rooms, there are multiple levels on the ship ask your travel agent which will alllow the size of your group to be on all the same level, if there are any special needs, such as wheel chair access make sure they get a room close to elevator to avoid having to travel a distance along the narrow corridors...also if you are all going to have dinners together a early or late seatting arrangement must be indicated when registering for the cruise...hint hint...if you have early seating it will give you room to enjoy the mid-night buffets...and every cruise have one night that the foods are scuptured brilliantly and on display prior the buffet and will be on the menu as well, a must see...if there are any special diet restrictions it can be mentioned now or when ordering dinner...Be sure to ask what the earliest and latest time that you can board the ship...its been a few years since I have taken a cruise and security has changed so much that it would be wise to find out how early you can be there...its usually hours before and I'd recommend getting there at least two hours prior to departure..there is still alot to see and do prior to embarkation...Well anything I have forgotten will be answered by your travel agent..AAA is very thorough...I have traveled on Royal Carribean a few times and have always had an enjoyable cruise....enjoy and good luck.

Go to cruisecritic.com They have message boards with tons of information about cruising. You can post and read all about the actual ship/ports and everything.. I'm going on a cruise next month and I've been addicted to it since the cruise was booked. Most of all enjoy.. Happy Sailing..

It sounds like a great idea. You'll get a lot of fine answers about the cruising itself, but I would like to offer three points in addition.

1. Many cruise lines offer additional financial benefits when a group is cruising together. Call Royal Caribbean directly (not through the travel agent) and ask them what their practice is. For example, it may be that if 10 people book a cruise, the 11th person can go free. You can use it that way to help a family member with special financial needs go for no cost, or you can pool your money and give all 11 passengers (in this example) a discount. It would work like this. Let's say the cost of the cruise is $1,000 per person. So, when 10 persons have booked, the total is $10,000. But, 11 people can go because of the free trip. So, the average cost per person is $10,000 divided by 11 or $909.09 each. That is a discount of 9.09% each. I suggest you ask your travel agent whether they pass on that discount and if they have not mentioned it voluntarily, why they did not.

2. The travel agent and the cruise line will both try to sell you travel insurance. Many people think buying from them is just like putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house. To avoid any possibility of conflict of interest, get your travel insurance from an independent source. It is easy to get the best insurance from the industry leader and everyone can get just what they want on-line. Go to http://www.wavehelp.com/travel-medical/i... and click on the red phone booth next to TravelGuard. You can read about the different options. People concerned most about trip interruption issues will probably pick one of the top two policies on the page. Those who are most concerned about health issues will probably want to pick the last one on the page, "Worldwide Health". Remember to buy your trip insurance within two weeks of putting down your first deposit on the trip - VERY IMPORTANT.

3. Gradually begin to get novice cruisers accustomed to the idea that there may be slightly rough weather and there may need to be last minute changes in itinerary. Remember, hurricane season is the summer-time and even though all the ships have wonderful stabilizers, there is a limit to the size of waves they can completely damp out. Travelers may feel a little bit of movement. Obviously, you don't want to scare anyone and maybe have them decline the trip but you also don't want them to come back to you later and ask why you never warned them at all. It will be a balancing act for you but I believe you will be glad you did it.

I hope this helps and that you have a really good time.

Ask if anyone has gotten sick on that ship in the last year.

will the boat tip over?

Well dear the points u should ask ur travel agen regarding the cruiseare

the things that u want or expect the cruise to have so

ask all the members of ur family what they expect on the cruise and then check with the travel agent if they have those things or not.

Alao I would advise u to cherck the cost that u will incur and if there are some hidden costs involved or not.

lastly keep a positive attitude and u will have a blast of a holiday with ur family in this cruise

I would consider becoming a travel agent yourself. With a big group like this it would be worth buying a travel agency and then collecting the commissions from the booking. Check out my website... www.danestravel.com you would get one just like it if you signed up for the program. Also to learn more watch this presentation... www.travelproinsider.com. Let me know if you're interested.