Cruise Talk exists because most cruise information is written either by the cruise lines or by people being hosted by them. Both produce the same thing: a description of what a cruise is supposed to be like rather than what it costs and what it involves.
What this site is for
We answer the questions people actually ask before booking. What does a cruise really cost once gratuities, drinks, excursions and flights are counted? Is the balcony worth the money on this particular itinerary? Which cabin will keep you awake? Is the drink package a saving or a bet?
Those questions have specific answers, and the answers involve numbers. Most cruise content avoids both.
How we write
Prices are ranges, not promises. Cruise pricing moves constantly with season, ship and demand, so we give the range you should expect to see and explain what moves you within it. Where something is a judgement call rather than a fact, we say so.
We tell you when the answer is no. A lot of cruise advice is really upselling with a friendly tone. If a drink package does not pay for itself at your drinking rate, the useful thing to write is that it does not.
Everything carries a date. Every article shows when it was last updated, because advice about prices ages badly and you deserve to know how old it is.
What we do not do
We do not sell cruises, take bookings or handle payments. We are not a travel agency and cannot access or change your reservation.
The site carries advertising and may earn commission from some links. That does not decide what we recommend. The cheapest sensible option is frequently the right one, and we will keep saying so even when it earns us nothing.
Related reading
For one particular corner of cruising, the one-way voyages ships make when they move between seasons, our sister site Repositioning Cruises covers the routes, the lines and the pricing in detail.
Corrections
If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it. Reader corrections have improved several articles on this site already, and a correction is more useful to us than a compliment.