Themed Cruising Tips

Themed cruises are quite popular across both the larger and smaller cruise lines. While some cruisers purposely book a themed cruise to partake in a specialty experience, other travelers sometimes find themselves on a themed cruise unknowingly! Many theme cruises are chartered and completely reserved for these special passengers. However, some cruises may be partially full with travelers partaking in a themed cruise as well as other passengers who are either aware or unaware of the cruise specifics. So how can you ensure your successful and expected themed cruise? The first step is to contact your personal cruise consultant or travel agent- he or she can tell you if the cruise you are looking to book or are booked on is a themed cruise. Problems may come about when themed cruises don't sell out and the cruise line decides to sell reduced fares to other guests to fill up the ship. Because the typical cruise schedule is altered for a themed cruise, such as different shows and dining times, passengers who are unaware they are booked on a specialty cruise may be disappointed. There are a few other places you can look to find information out about themed cruises though. The first website is Theme Cruise Finder http://themecruisefinder.com/index.html This site allows you not only to browse the various cruise choices but it also lets you search for your cruise to see if it is a themed one. I just put in the month and year of my upcoming cruises in the  advanced search box and it pulls up any cruises scheduled with a theme. 
Cruise Critic also has a themed cruise finder-although it is a bit more cumbersome to find your exact cruise if you are checking post booking. Cruise Critic also offers a forum for themed cruise enthusiasts to share information and connect online-http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=349 
In addition to themed cruises that future passengers may encounter as an unplanned addition to their vacation, certain times of the year see extremely large groups of folks traveling together. Examples of these times are college students and families on Spring Break, which is typically in March; Yeshiva Week, which is common for cruises from the Northeast- such as the Norwegian Gem-and usually occurs the third or fourth week of January; and large family reunion cruises that normally occur in July. Of course there is no predicting who your fellow cruisers will be, but by researching your cruise ahead of time you can hopefully avert any surprises and book the cruise of your dreams!