Like with planning any vacation, you will benefit from learning a few things about cruises prior to booking one.

How does tipping on a cruise work? Are tips included? Should you carry cash around to tip individual crew members? Should I prepay gratuities or not?

These are all common questions for someone looking into booking a cruise for the first time. Without doing the proper research, you may be shocked when you receive your statement at the end of your vacation. 

Cruise ships sail around the world, taking guests to the some of the most diverse ecologies in the world. Every cruise you take is an opportunity to experience native wildlife - and we aren't even talking about the cute towel animals you find in your stateroom every night!

While booking the right cruise ship is essential to making sure that you have a great vacation, you also need to think about how you are going to spend your days in port. The destinations are just as important as the ship! 

Once you have placed the deposit, you can start to talk with your travel party about what kinds of excursions everyone wants to do. If you are going to Jamaica, maybe you will want to spend the day at Dunns River Falls. Perhaps you would rather find a culturally immersive tour. The options are endless! 

With over seven cruise lines and 100 ships sailing across the world, picking the right cruise as a first-time cruiser can seem overwhelming. 

You will first need to decide what cruise line is the right fit for you and your travel party. Once you at least narrow that down, you can start to look at what ports of call you would like to visit and on what ship. 

We share lots of cruise updates and advice here, and this is a weekly roundup of everything you may have missed from this week.

If you're busy but want to keep up with all the helpful cruise advice we share, this is an easy-to-digest look at the recent articles and updates we've shared 

Are you planning to book a Celebrity Cruise soon or need to make a payment on an upcoming Celebrity cruise? If so, you probably want to check your American Express credit cards!

American Express cardholders started to receive lucrative Celebrity Cruise offers today through Amex Offers with a savings potential of 35% off purchases.

It’s every cruiser’s worst nightmare - arriving late to the port and missing the cruise ship's departure. You might frantically wonder if the cruise ship will wait for you when you’re late to a port.

Longtime cruisers will tell you they’ve undoubtedly seen instances of cruise ships leaving late passengers behind. If you go up to the top deck at departure time, you might catch a glimpse of passengers running back to the ship.

There's also plenty of footage online of passengers running to the end of the dock and begging for the cruise ship to let them back onboard.

When preparing for your next cruise, you should make sure that purchasing a cruise layard is on your list of things to do. 

Cruise 101 is knowing that your plastic cruise card will be your lifeline once you board the ship; there will not be any need to carry around cash, other forms of identification, or credit cards.