Many people ask an agent or people who have cruised in the past what is the best cruise line, cruise ship or cruise destination? First time cruisers as well as people who have cruised several times ask this question. There is only one true answer for this question. That answer is "you will have to decide for yourself which is the best cruise."

I say this is the only correct answer because only you know what you like the best in anything. I do have my preference for which cruise line, cruise ship and destination that I think is the best. My preference satisfies me and you may not have the same likes and dislikes as I do. The truth is my favorite ship is not even owned or operated by my favorite cruise line. My favorite destination, so far, is not the most cruised destination. Now that I have you confused I will try to tell you how you can try to find the best cruise for you and whoever may be cruising with you.

1) The first thing you must do is to decide how much you feel you can afford to spend on a cruise. In this process you must remember that there will be added charges you may incur, such as tours, tips, drinks, gambling and gifts. These again depend on your personal habits. There are many cruise lines to choose from and many different price ranges to choose from.

2) Second thing you must decide is how many days you may want to cruise. If it is your first time cruising you may only want a short cruise to see if you like to cruise. If you have cruised before you may have decided you want to cruise longer. You also have to decide how much time you have available for cruising. In general the shorter the cruise the higher the cost per day may be for that cruise.

3) The third thing you must decide is location of where you may want to cruise. This is not as easy as it may sound. You may say I want warm weather and beaches so you want to cruise the Caribbean. What part of the Caribbean do you want to cruise? There are Eastern, Western, and Southern as well as a circle Caribbean cruise.

4) Fourth, you need to find a cruise line and cruise ship to cruise on. Here is another thing that is not as easy as it sounds. The cruise line you thought you liked may not go to the ports you want or perhaps they go to the ports you want but they do not match the number of days that you want to cruise. They may cruise to the ports you want but they do not cruise in the area you want to cruise in during the time period that you want to cruise.

For the most part you can find a cruise line that caters to most any type of lifestyle. Most commercial cruise lines have many similarities. Of course there are exceptions to this but I will speak in general. I am talking about the cruise lines that most people have heard of, such as Princess, Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Holland America to name a few. It is the details in these cruise lines that make them different from one another. I will talk about what you and the travel agent should discuss. I will not state in here, which cruise line I feel matches the things I will discuss.

The type of service you like is a consideration for choosing a cruise line. Some cruise lines have a more formal type of service provided and the staff is very business like and very professional. Some cruise lines the staff may be more friendly and outgoing. Another cruise line may have a more casual type of service. All of these can provide great service, but you must decide which type of service you prefer.

Dining can be a big consideration for people. Some lines are known for more gourmet type meals and some are known for a more plain type of meals. Some cruise lines you must eat in the more formal dining rooms and some have alternative dining rooms. Some cruise lines have freestyle or personal choice type dining. What this means is you pick your dining time and whom you sit with. In the case of freestyle and alternative dining you also pick your dining area.

Your activity level is a consideration when choosing a cruise line. Do you want a cruise that you intend on just relaxing and you need peace and quiet. You may want a cruise that you want to be joining activities like basketball or volleyball. Perhaps you want a cruise that has a lot of trivia games or craft type events. Each cruise line has different levels of these and many more activities.

Size and age of ship can be important to some when picking a ship to cruise on. There are some people that must be on the newest and biggest ships. There are some people that prefer small or mid size ships. There are those that prefer the old ships because they enjoy a ship with some history to it. The number of passengers on a ship should not be a major concern because the number of passengers relates to the size of a ship. You can always find a quiet spot or a busy spot on any ship.

Age of passengers can be a concern to some people. You will find all ages of passengers on any cruise however the average age a cruise line caters to can vary. Another consideration for age is the length of a cruise and destination. The longer a cruise the chances are it may have an older crowd due to the fact that they may have more free time available to them. 

Cabin type is also a consideration. The majority of the cruise ships today have all types of cabins for people to book on them. The exception is the older ships may not have or may have very few of specific type cabins such as a cabin with a balcony. Also the older ships may have a lot of odd shaped and odd size rooms. If you have a preference for a specific room on a ship the best thing for you to do is to book that room early or it may be gone if you wait for a special deal.

I have tried in this article to give you a small understanding of what can be involved in finding the best cruise for you and whoever you may cruise with. I hope that I have made the point that to pick the right cruise will involve you making some decisions that are right for you. If you are new to cruising or have only cruised a few times here is where a good cruise travel agent can be of great help to you. You should find an agent that you feel comfortable talking with and an agent that shows interest in finding what the best cruise is for you. A good agent will also try to find you a good price on whatever cruise, destination or category you may want to cruise.

About Paul Bjorlin:
Paul and Shari at BPS Cruise Vacations will help find a cruise that is right for you. Contact them at BPSCruiseVac . They are also featured on our Hot Deals page. Look for Paul on our message board with the user name PEB.