Book early – Generally the rule is that the earlier you book, the more you save and the more choice you have on when you travel, your cabin type & you can take advantage of offers available for early booking.  There are always exceptions to the rule with late deals, but these tend to be restrictive with cabin types & travel times.

Pack for the weather –   Don’t be fooled during our very hot summer to think everywhere is as hot & humid.  The Mediterranean cruises in summer often sail to areas where evenings are cooler and certainly when on ships, the air conditioning in the dining room in at night can make you feel chilly.  Pack a jacket or pashmina to cover shoulders and they can double up during tours to religious sites that may require you to cover up.

Pick itineraries that include ports that are difficult to get to from Cyprus – There are more and more airline routes being added to the network of flights coming into the island, however there are certain countries that are still difficult to get to.  Pick an itinerary that takes in ports of calls in the South of France or Portugal for example so you can explore those more difficult to get to locations by ship instead.

Use low cost airlines to get to ports of embarkation – For example taking a cruise from Rome has become easier with low cost flights from Cyprus.  This means you can spend more on your cruise by keeping the cost of the flights down.

Take advantage of cruises leaving from Cyprus – There are very popular cruises leaving from Cyprus with Thomson Cruises, but occasionally there are other cruiselines coming to the island that allow embarkation here.  Register for our newsletters for up to date information on these cruises.  Normally these are due to itinerary changes where ships move from areas of concern, such as Egypt & Israel so can be last minute offers.

Write a ‘bucket list’ of places you want to visit – Get your partner to do the same and compare.  Pick the ones you both share first and challenge yourself to work through the list.  It’s the most fun you will ever have!

Check your passports – have at least 6 months validity after the date of return from your cruise.  Most cruise lines require this even if travelling in Europe.  Sending your passport to the UK during peak times can sometimes mean several weeks delay so plan early.

Use hop on hop off bus tours – in cities for a fantastic value way to see a destination.  They offer flexibility and are much cheaper than using cruise line shore excursions.

If you pack anything even slightly tight, wear it in the first few days of your cruise, because you can pretty much guarantee after the first few days of incredible food & wine it won’t fit!  The general rule is that people board as passengers and leave as cargo!

Use a cruise specialist who can give you first hand advice & in many cases offer you discounted rates and tell you about offers you may not be aware of such as onboard credits & additional packages.  Booking with an agent will never cost you more than booking direct  with a cruise line and you’ll have someone on your side in case of issues with a cruise.  Century Travel are proud to say that their staff have sailed on over 80% of the World’s cruise ships and between us we try to see as many ships as possible so we can tell you first hand about ships and destinations.  Our passion is travel and that’s what makes us different!