We did a 3-day Royal Caribbean cruise from Singapore with a stop in Penang, Malaysia. This was my first time cruising in Asia. Unlike the Caribbean and French Polynesia, most passengers were from Chinese and India. And this reflected well in the activities as well as food choices. The quizzes were geekier, e.g., guess the airport from the codename. Food choices were way more vegetarian friendly including a Jain food counter!
We sailed on the Windstar cruise in French Polynesia. On a 7-day cruise, we stopped on six different islands, including two days in Bora Bora. The cruise ship has a crew of 99 and 74 staterooms for~150 passengers. This ratio ensures exceptionally personalized service, and you get to know pretty much everyone else on the ship. The crew members learn everyone’s name pretty quickly, and, especially, in our case, we got custom orders for vegetarian food of our choice regularly.
We took a Norwegian cruise in the western Caribbean. The journey was seven-days long, three days on board, and four days at Falmouth (Jamaica), Georgetown (Cayman Islands), Costa Maya (Mexico), and Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas). If you are a first-time cruiser, read some of my tips for first-time cruisers.
How to book - Search and book via a travel agent like Expedia.com or cruisecompete.com. If you have to ask something then these travel agents usually provide way better customer service than the ones employed by the cruise company. Deck - The cruise floors are called decks. Larger the number, higher the deck. Most outdoor activities (including pool, spa, nightclubs) are usually located happen on the higher decks. The lower decks are usually about indoor activities and restaurants. Bidding - If your cruise line permits, always bid for a better room within your budget. Formal Dress - Carry at least one formal dress, it can turn out to be useful for some formal events on the cruise. Diet - Popular dietary restrictions like vegetarian or vegan are not hard for them to meet most of the time. But if you have a more special requirement (like halal diet or kosher), let the cruise ship know in advance. Meals - Usually all cruise ships have a buffet restaurant and multiple dine-in restaurants. Former is quick and contains prepared food. Latter is fancier but takes its own sweet time. The buffet restaurant is usually on the higher deck and is included as a part of the cruise. Some Dine-in restaurants (high brow term: “Speciality restaurants”) are complementary, some are not. An advance reservation is good to have (but not required) for the latter. Beverages - While the standard food is free on the ship. Standard addictions like Soda (soft-drinks), carbonated water, and alcohol (hard-drinks) are not free. If you really need them, buy them in advance, buy them onboard (expensive), buy and consume them whenever ship stops at a new destination or look for a promotional package which includes them for free. Water - Carry a few empty water bottles to refill or even better a hydration pack. A hydration pack is really useful for the day trips at the intermediate stops (fancily called, “port of call”). Shore Excursions - Shore Excursions at the port of call can be booked via cruise ship or on your own. The cruise ship ones are expensive but are a safer bet. If you are adventurous then book them on your own. If you are not, just go with the cruise bookings. Guest service - If you need something from the guest service, catch them early in the morning or late at night. Every other time, I have seen a queue. I wonder if they give out some raffle tickets but I digress.