- The five decisions that quietly set your final price, and how to get all five right before you ever pay a deposit

- What your fare actually includes, and the daily charges that can add $18 to $125 per person to every day aboard

- The cheapest cabin versus the balcony: when the budget pick is genius, and when it quietly ruins the trip

- Why a 3 to 4 night first cruise beats a big one, and the rookie mistake that wastes the whole trip

​- The exact payment request that means you are being scammed, no exceptions, plus the quick way to verify anyone before you pay

Fair question. Here is the straight version. A lot of people who read this guide decide to actually go, and when they do, many of them let me book it. The cruise line pays my commission, not you, so helping you start costs me nothing and might earn me a client down the road. That is the whole catch. You get a guide that would have saved me a hundred headaches on my first cruise, and I get to meet the next traveler I might help. Good deal for both of us.

I waited twenty years to take my first cruise, sure a body like mine did not belong on a ship. I was wrong, and those twenty years are gone. The cruise you keep meaning to look into is the one someone else is booking right now, at this year's price, before next year's. Someday is not a date on the calendar. Grab the guide and give someday a real date.

If part of what holds you back is wondering whether a cruise will be comfortable for you, set that down right now. Cruising fits all kinds of people and all kinds of bodies, and it may be the most comfortable vacation you ever take. The only real question is where you want to go. This guide helps you answer it.