Cruise Preparation

Depending on your cruise itinerary and ports of call, you may require a vaccination. As regulations can and do change frequently, we advise you to contact your local GP or the National Health Service at least 12 weeks prior to travel to discuss your personal healthcare requirements. If in doubt, please check with your cruise line for more information.

Yes. If you’re taking any medical or mobility equipment with you or require any special assistance of facilities including dietary requirements, you should advise your sales agent at the time of booking. Alternatively, contact us at 0800 121 6191 or email us at CustomerServices@ROLCruise.co.uk before you travel.

Your medical requirements may change over the duration of your booking, so it’s important that you update us with any changes to your medical conditions so that we can inform the cruise line and other suppliers, as well as implement any further assistance you may require.

Yes! Whether you're in the planning stages or have already confirmed your cruise, it's vital to understand the importance of having comprehensive travel insurance to safeguard yourself and your fellow travellers.

Both cruise lines and airlines possess the authority to refuse boarding if you are unable to present, upon request, documentation demonstrating adequate travel insurance coverage. Your travel tickets will only be issued once this requisite information has been provided.

For your convenience, we suggest considering Just Travel Cover, a distinguished and award-winning travel insurance provider. Their expertise in this field ensures you'll have the peace of mind you need for your upcoming cruise

Yes, Just Travel Cover can help you find the right policy. Just Travel Cover offers services for medical conditions, Covid-19 cover, specialist cruise cover and no age-limit travel insurance. Call free on 0800 294 4345 and quote ‘ROL’ or visit http://justtravelcover.com/rol for more information.

Yes, it is very important to ensure your travel insurers are aware of any pre-existing medical conditions you may have so they can adjust your policy cover accordingly. If you don’t disclose this important information at the time of taking out travel insurance, you’ll not be covered for any treatment you may require whilst on holiday and may also invalidate your policy. It’s important to also disclose how long you’re travelling for and the cost of your holiday. It’s essential to disclose this information so you can travel with peace of mind.

It is your responsibility to ensure you have the relevant permits to travel. UK passport holders must have a passport that is less than 10 years old on the day of departure and must have at least 6 months remaining on the day of return. If your passport does not comply with these specifications, you may need to obtain a new passport before travel otherwise it may result in you being denied boarding. You can check current passport requirements by calling the Foreign Office on 0207 008 1500 or the relevant embassy. You can also check the entry into the country you’re visiting by clicking here.

You will require a visa if you are travelling to India, China, Russia, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many other destinations outside of the UK. To find out if visa requirements for the places you’re visiting, please call CIBT Visas on 0207 583 6192 and quote ‘ROL’ or visit http/www.cibtvisas.co.uk/ROLCruise

If you’re cruising from a UK port, you may want to pre-book your port parking. To book your port parking you can do so with Holiday Extras. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 121 6191 to arrange.

Please be advised that Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines send shore excursion booklets and luggage labels directly to customers booked to embark on one of their cruises approximately 6 to 8 weeks before travel. If you need to speak to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines directly, please contact the Shore Tour Department on 01473 746 163.

For those new to cruising, cruise line language can be confusing. Here are some of the most common words and phrases and their meanings:

• Aboard: On the ship
• Aft: The back of the ship
• Ashore: On land
• Berth: A bed
• Cabin/Stateroom: A room onboard
• Category: The price level of a cabin based on location, size and amenities
• Debark: To go ashore
• Deck: Each level/floor of the ship
• Disembark: To leave the ship
• Dock: A place to moor the ship
• Embark: To go aboard the ship
• Fleet: Several ships under the same ownership
• Fore/Forward: The front of the ship
• Gangway: Ramp or stairway between the ship and the shore whilst the ship is docked
• Maiden Call: When a ship visits a destination for the first time
• Maiden Voyage: The first voyage of a new ship or destination
• Master: The person who oversees the ship; the Captain

If you have entered your passport details and been notified that your passport has more than 10 years of validity, this means your passport may not be accepted by some countries. For example, if your passport was issued in January 2017 and expires in May 2017, it has 10 years + 4 months of validity.

Passports should be valid for at least 6 months from the return date. Please check the requirements for the countries you’re visiting here.

You can book your port car parking with Holiday Extras or you can call us on 0800 121 6190 option 2.

If you have booked a select fare cruise with P&O Cruises or Cunard and you have chosen car parking as your extra booking benefit, you’ll need to arrange this with Cruise & Passengers Services Ltd. You can visit their website by clicking here or call on 0345 071 3939. Bookings can be made 72 hours after making a booking and must be made a minimum of 10 days prior to the departure date. Failure to do so will result in the space being forfeited.

If you have a cruise booking with Ambassador Cruise Lines, you can book your car parking via the 'My Ambassador Sailing' portal.

Yes, many cruise lines allow you to purchase a drinks package if you did not do so at the time of booking. If you’d like to add a drinks package to your booking, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 121 6191 option 2. Depending on the cruise line, drinks packages and prices may vary. Please see below for more details:

• Ambassador Cruise Line
• Azamara
• Celebrity Cruises
• Celestyal Cruises
• Cunard
• Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
• Holland America Line
• Oceania Cruises
• P&O Cruises
• Princess Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International

Yes, from 2024 each eligible traveller, regardless of age, will require an ETIAS to visit EU member countries. The ETIAS must be applied for online prior to arrival to the EU. The following data will be required for each ETIAS application: personal biometric data (e.g. name, gender, date of birth, etc), passport or travel document information, EU member state of entry, background questions on an applicant’s health, criminal record as well as previous EU immigration history. The ETIAS can only be used for transit, tourism and business travel. As ETIAS will be checked by the traveller’s air carrier, sea carrier or international carrier transporting groups overland by coach. If an ETIAS is not approved, the traveller will not be allowed to board the travel vessel, be it an aeroplane, boat or coach vehicle.

Shore excursions may be reserved up to 300 days before departure.

You can pre-book your shore excursions. Saga Ocean Cruises will send you information relating to shore excursions around 6 to 8 weeks before departure.

Seabourn’s shore excursions are typically available to book 1 year prior to sailing.

Shore excursions are available to book in advance via My Silversea until 2 days prior to sailing.

Depending on the cruise line you’re travelling with, you may have the option to download an application to your smartphone. We highly recommend downloading the app prior to travelling to ensure your pre-departure experience is as easy as possible. Cruise line apps offer many useful features including boarding passes, pre-boarding requirements and the ability to book any extras plus much more.

Cruise line apps for iPhone users:

• Celebrity Cruises
• Celestyal Cruises
• Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
• Holland America Line
• Hurtigruten Coastal Express
• Hurtigruten Expeditions
• Regent Seven Seas
• Royal Caribbean International
• Seabourn

Cruise line apps for Android users:

• Celebrity Cruises
• Celestyal Cruises
• Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
• Holland America Line
• Hurtigruten Coastal Express
• Hurtigruten Expeditions
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International
• Seabourn