Cruise Control – Travel Tips for Sailing the High Seas
If you’re considering taking a cruise in the near future, there are certain things you should be knowledgeable about before you take your trip. In the past few years, cruise lines have seen their fair share of accidents and mishaps and have put into place a few precautionary measures to keep the crew and the public safe at all times. Most cruise lines have procedures for boarding or exiting a cruise ship and it’s a good idea to be properly prepared when your ship pulls into any port of call.
The very first time you board the ship, the cruise line might ask you to look into a small computer console in order to take your picture. This picture gets attached to your specific credit card that you used to book your trip on and then you are assigned what’s called a “sail and sign” card. Every time you enter or leave the ship, you’ll have to enter this photo I.D. card into a machine that counts each ticket paying passenger. This task assists the cruise line with keeping close track of the number of passengers before they leave any port and avoids the risk of leaving a traveler behind. Do yourself a favor and keep your sail and sign card handy and secure at all times.
As a traveler, you always want things to go smoothly and shopping ashore is no exception. Each cruise line should have an assigned shopper’s assistant to aid you in backing up and recommending well respected shops while at port. Shopping at the right places can sometimes be a little risky and that’s why it’s a good idea to go over what shops might be scam-free while on land. This is especially important if you are buying valuable items such as jewelry, fur coats and other items. Don’t take chances by not being able to return high priced items that are flawed or otherwise counterfeit.
Certain port shops are actually guaranteed and hand selected by the cruise line you might be traveling on. Believe it or not, travelers can actually score bigger savings on items at port of calls that are similar to those onboard the ship. Keep your cruise under control by being a smart and savvy traveler.
Today’s guest post comes from Tiersa Buckley who is a destination writer for cheapcruises.net and cheapvacations.net. Her blogs offer advice, tips and inexpensive deals on cruises for the savvy traveler on a shoestring budget. When she is not writing she does enjoy cruising and sometimes an occasional mom’s night out.
