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Cruise questions, answered
What a cruise really costs, which cabin is worth the upgrade, and what the brochures leave out. Written for people deciding, not for people already booked.
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Official cruise port parking at the major US home ports costs about $20 to $35 per day as of 2026, so a seven-night cruise usually runs $150 to $280 in parking. Port Canaveral charges $20 a day plus tax, PortMiami $28 to $35, Port Everglades and New Orleans…
Read the full answerYou cannot bring a pet dog on a Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess or other mainstream cruise. These lines accept only trained service dogs, and they refuse emotional support animals. The one exception among major lines is Cunard's Queen Mary 2, which carries dogs and cats in 24…
Read the full answerA cruise suite is worth it when you would otherwise pay for what it includes. On Carnival's seven-night Caribbean sailings in October 2026, the median suite fare was about $1,760 per person, against about $1,020 for a balcony. Entry-level suites mostly buy space and priority boarding. Top tiers…
Read the full answerNorovirus outbreaks on cruise ships are reported often but are rare per sailing. The CDC lists an outbreak when at least 3% of passengers or crew report gastrointestinal symptoms on a ship it oversees. It posted 18 such outbreaks in 2024, 23 in 2025 and nine in 2026…
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Planning a Cruise
Official cruise port parking at the major US home ports costs about $20 to $35 per day as of 2026, so a seven-night cruise usually runs $150 to $280 in parking. Port Canaveral charges $20 a day plus tax, PortMiami $28 to $35, Port Everglades and New Orleans $25, and Galveston prices by lot through its online reservation system. Private off-site lots with shuttles are often cheaper.
Planning a Cruise
You cannot bring a pet dog on a Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess or other mainstream cruise. These lines accept only trained service dogs, and they refuse emotional support animals. The one exception among major lines is Cunard's Queen Mary 2, which carries dogs and cats in 24 onboard kennels on selected transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton. Kennels cost about $1,300 to $1,500 per crossing as of 2026.
Cabins & Ships
A cruise suite is worth it when you would otherwise pay for what it includes. On Carnival's seven-night Caribbean sailings in October 2026, the median suite fare was about $1,760 per person, against about $1,020 for a balcony. Entry-level suites mostly buy space and priority boarding. Top tiers such as Royal Caribbean's Star Class, MSC Yacht Club and Celebrity's Retreat add drinks, Wi-Fi or private restaurants, which can offset much of the premium.
Your First Cruise
Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships are reported often but are rare per sailing. The CDC lists an outbreak when at least 3% of passengers or crew report gastrointestinal symptoms on a ship it oversees. It posted 18 such outbreaks in 2024, 23 in 2025 and nine in 2026 through July, most of them norovirus. Cruise ships account for about 1% of all reported norovirus outbreaks in the US.
Your First Cruise
On the last night you either put tagged luggage outside your cabin, usually by 10 or 11 pm, or keep it and carry it off yourself the next morning. Your onboard account is charged to your card automatically. You leave the cabin by about 8 to 8:30 am, walk off at your assigned time, and clear US customs in the terminal. Most lines want return flights no earlier than late morning or early afternoon.
Cabins & Ships
A cruise approved power strip is one without surge protection, usually with a few outlets and USB ports. Carnival and Princess allow those but ban surge protectors. Royal Caribbean bans all power strips and extension cords, Celebrity bans extension cords and multi-plug adapters, and MSC does not allow your own extension cords. On every line, a USB charging cube that plugs straight into the wall is the safe choice.
Your First Cruise
The most useful first cruise tips are about timing. Fly in the day before, because the ship sails without late passengers. Pack medication, documents and swimwear in a carry-on, since checked bags can arrive after sailaway. Check the daily program for all-aboard times and clock changes, watch your onboard account as you go, and do not book a flight home before about noon.
Cabins & Ships
The best cabin location on a cruise ship is midship on a low or middle deck, where the ship moves least in a swell; the CDC's advice for motion sickness is to avoid places of maximum motion such as the bow. Then check the deck plan for what is directly above and below your cabin, and avoid sleeping under the pool deck, buffet or jogging track, or above the theater, nightclub or galley.
Cabins & Ships
Which cruise cabin to book depends on the itinerary more than your taste. On a port-heavy Caribbean week, an inside or ocean view cabin is the better buy, because you are ashore all day. On Alaska, the fjords, the Panama Canal or any cruise with four or more sea days, a balcony earns its premium, about $380 per person a week over inside on Carnival in 2026. Suites pay off mainly for their perks.
Costs & Money
Cruise gratuities are a daily charge added automatically to your onboard account: $17 to $20 per person per night in standard cabins on the big mainstream lines in 2026, and $19 to $25 in suites. Children usually pay too. Bars, specialty restaurants and the spa add a separate 18 or 20 percent. For two people on a seven-night cruise, the daily charge alone comes to $238 to $280.
Costs & Money
How much a cruise costs for two comes down to choices: a seven-night Caribbean cruise for two adults costs about $3,400 all in for a typical trip in 2026, and anywhere from $1,400 to $6,300 depending on choices. The fare is less than half: Carnival's inside cabins had a median of about $635 per person. Gratuities add $238 to $280 for two, and flights, excursions, drinks and Wi-Fi make up the rest.
Costs & Money
Cruise drink packages are worth it only for heavy drinkers. Carnival's CHEERS! package costs $83.94 per person per day in 2026 once its 20 percent service charge is added, and at Carnival's own menu prices you need about seven drinks every day of the cruise to break even. Every adult in the cabin usually has to buy it. Bundles that also include Wi-Fi and gratuities, such as Princess Plus, change the math.
