Welcome to Byte Size Cruises! We are so glad you're here. Byte Size Cruises is a travel agency in Philadelphia, PA and we specialize in all things cruises. If you are interested in cruising or absolutely love cruise vacations, you're in the right place! Our goal here is to share the most up to date and relevant information with you so you can plan and go on an amazing cruise vacation. To check out our YouTube channel, click here!
This post is the second in a short series specifically for the first-time cruisers. If you are brand new to cruising, you're in the right place! Today we are going to cover different destinations, timelines, and sea days. Let's get into it!
For any first time cruiser, we would recommend a few things regarding itinerary. First off, we would not recommend starting off with a 3, 4, or 5 day cruise. A lot of people will tell you to start small and see if you like it. We would say exactly the opposite. The thing with short cruises is that they tend to be party cruises. The people who are going on short cruises are typically weekend cruisers who are locals to the port. They're going out to have a fun, short time at sea, party hard, and then be back at work on Monday or Tuesday morning. Generally, this crowd doesn't make for the best first time experience, unless that is the type of crowd you're interested in.
The other issue with short cruises is that you won't have the time to experience everything you normally would on a full itinerary. Generally on a 3 or 4 day cruise, you'll cruise out of Florida and go overnight to the Bahamas or another local port of call, and then cruise overnight back to Florida. With a 7 day cruise, you'll have the time to actually experience ship life, all the dining options, entertainment on board, waterslides, and all the other fun things available on the ship. This is how you can dive in and really find out if cruising is right for you.
When you're looking to book your cruise, you'll want to look at the itinerary and see which days are "Port Days" and which days are "Sea Days" and this can help you decide on a cruise that is best for you. As a first time cruiser, we would recommend a cruise that has about the same amount of port days and sea days. If you choose a cruise that has a lot of port days, you're going to feel rushed the entire time. If you choose a cruise that has a lot of sea days, you may get bored of the ship and feel like you didn't get to do anything exciting. For a 7 day cruise, we would recommend about 3 or 4 sea days and 3 or 4 port days. This is a nice combination that will give you the time to experience everything a cruise has to offer.
Our favorite cruises are the ones where we have a sea day out and a sea day back. This gives us that first day to settle in, check out the ship, and take a moment to get acclimated before jumping into an adventure at port. This also gives you the final day to gather your things and relax a bit, pack, etc. at the end of your vacation.
As far as a specific itinerary, let's talk about locations. If you didn't know, cruises go all over the world and you can cruise anywhere from South America to the Mediterranean. For your first cruise, we recommend that you keep it simple. Our number 1 recommendation for first time cruisers would be to go to the Caribbean. Why? If you go in the beginning of the year, you won't be fighting a lot of crowds AND for most people, you'll be able to find an itinerary in the Caribbean that you will enjoy. For example, there are adventures there for the history buff, the beach goer, AND the theme park thrill seeker. The weather is beautiful, the water tends to be nice, and most people say they have a really great experience cruising to the Caribbean. Now, the sea of course isn't dependable - things can happen - however it is rarer here than other places.
A lot of people will recommend the Mediterranean for your first cruise and while these cruises are amazing, they are busier and less relaxed. On a European cruise, you're going to wind up doing a lot of running around and less enjoying the ship and sea life. This makes sense, you're in Europe after all, but for your first cruise this might not be the best choice.
Those are our thoughts on port vs. sea days and itineraries! Have you been on a cruise? Where did you travel to? We would love to hear from you! Share your thoughts with us.