New to cruising & I have lots of questions

[pumpkin3]

As the title says, I am new to cruising & have lots of questions. I went on one 3-day Carnival cruise over 20 years ago, but nothing since then. I have extensive experience going to and planning WDW and Universal vacations and I am usually the planner in any vacation I go on. I am considering doing 4-day RC Enchantment of the Seas out of Port Canaveral and I have a hundred questions. Primarily, where can I go to find out the basics? I've spent some time reading this forum and it seems like most posters have a lot of experience-where can I go to find the basics? I've read pieces and bits of information about drink packages, dining options, premium dining options, excursions, better ships, older ships, transportation to & from the airport, etc; but I'm wondering if there is a primer out there for newbies like me. I'm a Costco member-should I instead go thru a traditional TA and ask them bunches of questions? Your expert advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bumbershoot]

What are the basics, in your eyes?

When we were taking our first cruise I went to cruisecritic.com and read and read and read and read. I rarely create threads anywhere, so I just read what others wrote.

Booking Royal through Costco gives a pretty nice onboard credit (which can pay for drinks packages purchased onboard, can pay for tips, souvenirs, etc), so I love booking with Costcotravel.com. I rarely have deep questions to ask of TAs, preferring to read and read here and on cruisecritic.

I've recently become interested in Celebrity cruises (I'm asthmatic and highly sensitive, and Celebrity doesn't even allow smoking in their casino, which is a dream come true for my husband because he enjoys a bit of blackjack but doesn't enjoy having his clothes and skin send me into an asthma attack), so I went to the cc boards and started reading in their Celebrity forum.

But you could always ask some basics here, especially since it's questions about Royal and this is the Royal forum.

 

[VbChristy]

Google first cruise questions. And If that is not enough, a traditional TA would probably be best. They are experienced in getting you the info you need, and will help you qualify which cruise you should take, how long , etc based on your family. You won't pay the TA more, the cruise line pays them. And your price won't be different if you booked it on your own...

 

[CPT Tripss]

Go to CruiseCritic! You will get much more information there than you will get from almost any TA.