Decide what travel criteria are most important for your cruise. Departure date? Trip length? Ports visited? Price? Vessel type? Longer trips cost more. There are also many extras that are available for a fee. Enjoying "free time" can also cost money but many tour features are included, meaning they do not cost extra.
Be prepared to choose a particular cabin type such as interior, ocean view or balcony suite, etc. The price of cabin choice varies depending on occupancy, vessel, tour desirability as well as other important features.
Keep in mind that shorter voyages will place greater emphasis on New England ports of call. Longer trips can include stops in Canada.
Different cruise companies offer a variety of on board dining choices from Italian to French to sushi with around the clock service possible. Some companies, of course, offer other meal arrangements, including the option of dining on shore.
Be ready to choose between different options for day trips. In Boston, for example, you can see Fenway Park, the Freedom Trail, historic Boston, Salem and so on. Most companies give you a clear idea of what they offer on each voyage and, while it is best to stick to the companies menu, there are often opportunities to make your own plans. Keeping meeting places and time schedules uppermost on your agenda for your day trip and overall voyage itinerary is very important as people have been known to go missing for periods of time when they are separated from the main group.
Count on cash or credit cards being needed and always being s useful. Try to plan what you do and buy in advance, although unforeseen expenses always (always) crop up. Be prepared.
Pack appropriate clothing and personal items, although there will be many opportunities for emergency purchases.
Try to keep to your game basic plan so you can get the maximum enjoyment out of your cruise. In addition to on-board leisure activities, if you are a sharp eyed deck watcher, you can enjoy watching a variety of sea life and bird life in their natural habitat. Keep a camera and binoculars close at hand if you're watching the wildlife.
Plan carefully to take full advantage of each port of call. Bar Harbor is famous for the seals that crowd the beach, for Millionaires' Row, a line up of spectacular mansions dating from the nineteenth century associated with names like Rockefeller, Ford, Vanderbilt, Carnegie and the like, Mount Cadillac and Acadia National Park, among other famous attractions. Boston has many attractions including the Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, the New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall, more than one zoo and so on and on.
