Choosing a first cruise

A large ship is a resort that moves. It has the space for multiple restaurants, theatres and pools, and it suits travellers who are happy to spend sea days on board. It also means several thousand people going ashore at once.

A smaller ship reaches ports the large ones cannot enter, and the day ashore is less crowded. There is correspondingly less to do at sea.

Two itineraries visiting the same countries can be entirely different holidays. Count the sea days and look at the hours in port — an eight-hour call, minus tendering, is a half day rather than a day.

Overnight stays in port are the ones worth seeking out. They are the difference between seeing a city and seeing its cruise terminal.

This is the single biggest source of unexpected cost. Some lines build gratuities, most dining and basic drinks into the fare. Others quote a low headline fare and charge separately for nearly everything.

• Gratuities: often charged per person per day to your onboard account automatically.
• Drinks: rarely included on mass-market lines; packages are priced per person per day and usually must be bought for every adult in the cabin.
• Speciality dining: main dining rooms are included, the named restaurants generally are not.
• Shore excursions: booked through the line they cost more, but a delay returning is the line's problem rather than yours.
• Port charges and government taxes: mandatory, and quoted separately by some lines.
• Wi-Fi: almost always extra, and satellite connectivity is not comparable to a hotel's.

Fly in the day before the ship sails. A cruise will not wait for a delayed flight, and the cost of a night in a hotel is trivial against the cost of missing the departure port entirely.