Everyone needs balance and rest time in their lives. Vacations are just like proper sleep, we need them to rejuvenate ourselves. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s hard to find the time or money to take vacations we all need. However, if it is at all possible, I strongly encourage you to do so.

By Dr. Kendra Pearsall

If you’ve never gone on a cruise and the idea sounds like a turn-off, think again! Everyone should go on a cruise once in his or her lifetime. Dr. Mercola reluctantly agreed to go with me this year and now he says he is a bona fide cruise convert. Great food, fun activities, lots of entertainment, beautiful views, exotic islands and being waited on hand and foot 24 hours a day--what’s not to like? Now that I’ve been on three cruises in my lifetime, I consider myself an expert on the subject and wanted to share with you the tips I’ve garnered from interrogating my fellow cruisers.

Cruise tips:

What to Look For in a Cruise Ship

• Always check how old the ship is, the capacity and weight of the ship. It’s best to go with cruise ships that are not more than two-years old because every time a ship is built, the cruise line also upgrades the quality and the service of a new ship. Older ships (like Carnival’s Paradise ship built in 1998) have dated service, menus, amenities, décor and are an all around disappointment.

• You may find filtered water in the Royal Caribbean’s room or you can stock up in grocery stores when you visit ports. These are cheaper than what the ship charges.

• It is wise to check the demographics of the ship. Certain cruise lines such as Princess and cruises longer than seven days often have a high elderly population which may disappoint individuals seeking a diverse population to cruise with. In addition, Carnival cruise lines are a favorite to college students and families with children. Families with children gravitate to Carnival because they have Camp Carnival, which has counselors and programs for kids.

• If you don’t want to be bothered with having to find food at the ports, order room service and put it in baggies to take with you on your shore excursions.

Making the Reservations and Finding the Deals

• Cruise lines give discounts for last minute bookings in order to fill the ship. Cruise lines will offer discounts to those who sail twice in a one- year period because they want to have repeat business. You can also get good deals when you travel off- season such as the fall. You should also know that cruises offer packages with airfare, but you should compare this with what the flight would cost separately.

• Shore excursions through the cruise ship have a high markup and can be disappointing. Many people book their own tours of the islands directly with a cab driver for a much cheaper price.

• You will be asked your dining time request when you make a reservation. If you are assigned late dining (8:00 p.m.) and you wanted early (6:00 p.m.), then put in a request to the appropriate person to have it changed. Chances are you will get your request.

• My uncle got a 5,000-square-foot suite on a cruise for 70 percent off on E-Bay. It came with it’s own full-time butler.

• Inside staterooms, without a window are the cheapest. If you don’t plan to spend much time in your room and you like a pitch-black room to sleep in, then save with a windowless room.

• I have compared cruise prices on different websites, travel agencies, and direct from the cruise line and I haven’t seen big differences in prices. Travelzoo.com sometimes has decent last minute fares. If you are friends with someone who works in the travel industry (airlines or travel agents) and has access to those discounts offered to travel employees, see if you can tag along with them on their next cruise. I did this once and $75 bought me a round trip airfare and three-day cruise on Royal Caribbean. Incredible deal!

• Cruise lines have special memberships for those who are loyal and frequent customers (similar to the frequent flyer benefits of the airline industry).

• Cruise lines may automatically add tips (in the ballpark of $10 per person per day) to your bill. Remember this is optional and can be decreased or increased at your discretion as many people think they are obligated to pay whatever the cruise ship bills them.

Enjoying the Activities and Entertainment

• Most of the fun activities take place late night. Afternoon or evening naps help you stay up late to enjoy them.

• Cruise ships have libraries where you can check out books and board games.

• Cruises are ideal for family reunions. There are lots of activities for everyone to enjoy according to their preferences and activities and dining that you can enjoy together. Much more fun than getting together for a Thanksgiving meal! Cabins can fit up to four people in them.

• People who can offer entertainment or dance lessons or be a dance partner can cruise for free. I knew an elderly gentleman who went on cruises for free in exchange for being an available dance partner to all the single elderly women.

• The cruise line with the reputation of the highest service and quality is Celebrity, which owns Royal Caribbean. One of the largest cruise ships is Royal Caribbean’s "Explorer of the Seas," which has an ice-skating rink and a mall with cafes, restaurants and stores. All the travel agents I’ve spoken with say it is well worth the $200 extra to experience this ship.

Comparing the Royal Caribbean to Carnival

The following is a comparison of Royal Caribbean’s ship "Grandeur of the Seas" and Carnival’s "Paradise." Both ships were built in 1998 so they are a fair comparison. However, do not take this comparison as descriptive of the cruise line, just the ship. As I stated earlier, each cruise ship is very different depending on the date it was built and the size of the ship.

Check-in and Atmosphere

• Check-in--Royal Caribbean was completed in 15 minutes. With Carnival, we waited in line for over an hour. Everyone around us was very upset about this. I found out in line that I could registered on-line and gone in a fast line but I was never told this by the Carnival agent so I had to wait in the hour long line. I was not pleased about this.

• Atmosphere--Royal Caribbean has an elegant and refined atmosphere. Carnival had some elegant areas of the ship, but for the most part it appears cheap and gaudy.

Food and Service

• Service--Royal Caribbean had excellent service. Carnival was one notch below. For example, the first night in the dining room it took our waiter two hours to serve our meal. After making five errors and complaining to the maitre d, our server was as fast and efficient as a rocket ship. In Carnival’s favor, the waiters performed a silly dance for us every night (such as the Macarena), which elicited peals of laughter from our table. Our dining companions said that they had been on all the cruise lines and that by far Celebrity was the best in terms of service.

• Food--Royal Caribbean had great meals. The cafeteria was situated with 10 self-serve stations of food scattered all around the cafeteria and we never had to wait to eat. Also, with Royal Caribbean, you could order anything you wanted for room service 24 hours a day. The waiters occasionally entertained the diners at mealtimes with boring, lip-synced stuffy songs.

• Carnival’s food was not as good as Royal Caribbean and the desserts (we tried a bite here and there) were below average. We actually thought this was a blessing. Carnival had self-serve stations but only half as much. We found ourselves waiting in lines to get main entrees and the salad bar. Carnival had a very limited room service menu consisting of sandwiches, salads and baked goods.

• On the "plus" side, we asked people who had cruised various ships and they said Carnival had the best pizza hands down, as they had many selections of gourmet pizza. Although we know this is of no benefit to our newsletter, there aren’t many readers who don’t eat pizza right? Carnival’s poolside grill with cheeseburgers, hotdogs, and other sides appeared to be of much higher quality than Royal Caribbean’s. Another plus is that one day Carnival set out six kinds of sprouts to put on our salads.

Entertainment

• Entertainment--Royal Caribbean had better talent and superior shows. They featured four amazing singers accompanied by great dancers. The cruise director we had was talented, funny and very involved in the ship activities. The theater was huge, had excellent visibility anywhere in the room and we could walk in at the last minute and still find a seat close to the stage. The comedians were excellent. The big screen and television movies were plentiful and were popular new releases.

• Carnival featured one female singer who was good but nothing to rave about. She was accompanied by a large troupe of dancers who were very good. The cruise director was energetic but not very funny and we hardly ever saw her. The theater was much smaller and all the seating was on one level and was much more difficult to see the stage clearly. If you didn’t arrive 30 minutes early, you couldn’t get a seat. Unfortunately, if you arrived early you had to sit through a Bingo session which carnival conveniently positioned close to the show times. The few movies they played on the ship were dated and obscure.

Amenities and Activities

• Amenities: Royal Caribbean’s rooms were too small but had a comfortable temperature. Royal Caribbean had a beautiful solarium with a salt-water wave pool in addition to a main pool.

• Carnival’s workout room was more spacious but very warm. The fans helped but did not suffice. Carnival’s main pool was salt-water and they had a fast and twirling waterslide, however no calming solarium.

• Activities: Carnival’s activities were not nearly as fun or available.

In conclusion, don’t go on an old Carnival ship.

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