• Discover the Benefits of a Cruise Vacation

• Select the Right Cruise for You

• Get Special Protection for Cruise Travelers

• Find Your Cruise on eBay

• Buy Cruise Vacation With Confidence

Discover the Benefits of a Cruise Vacation

Discover the Benefits of a Cruise Vacation

With so many vacation options, it’s important to weigh the benefits of a cruise vacation against other vacation options. Here are a few good reasons to choose a cruise:

• Value: Cruises provide excellent value. Typically room, board, meals, and entertainment are included in the cruise price. Cruises can be ideal for budget-conscious travelers.

• Excellent cuisine: Cruises offer excellent cuisine, on par with top-notch restaurants. Additionally, cruises often feature the cuisine of your destination. For example, if you’re sailing to the Bahamas, you can sample the local seafood while on board the cruise ship.

• Entertainment and adventure: With hundreds of activities from sightseeing and sports, to dancing and gambling, cruises are always entertaining. Moreover, cruise lines can help you plan and book your activities while you’re in your port of call.

• Specialty cruises: Many cruises are geared toward your special interests. Find a movie lover’s cruise, a crafting cruise, or a family-oriented cruise.

Select the Right Cruise for You

Select the Right Cruise for You

Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Disney Cruises, and Holland America Cruises offer an astonishing assortment of cruise packages. To determine which cruise is right for you, ask yourself the following questions:

• How much cruise can I afford? Cruises are all-inclusive. However, expenses such as bar drinks and sodas, spa services, and shore excursions are extra. Remember to factor these costs into your evaluation.

• How many days do I want to cruise? Cruises now range in length from two-day cruises to 130-day around-the world cruise voyages. You can even book a last-minute cruise if you want to make the most of a three-day weekend or holiday.

• Where do I want to cruise? Cruises enable you to explore virtually every continent. In the U.S., many first-time cruise passengers enjoy cruising to the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, or Bermuda.

• What kind of cruise cabin do I want? While inside cruise cabins are the least expensive, they have no windows and are often quite small. Today, more cruise ships feature balcony cabins and cabins with larger square footage. However, the larger the cruise cabin, the higher the cruise price.

• Do I want to meet lots of new people, or do I prefer a private, romantic cruise getaway with my significant other? Some cruise ships have fixed seating at dinner time and only a few tables for two. Everyone else sits at large tables. If that doesn't appeal to you, look for cruise ships that allow more flexibility or privacy when dining.

• Do I want a formal cruise or casual cruise atmosphere? If dressing for dinner isn’t your style, look for a cruise that offers a casual, relaxed environment. On the other hand, if you enjoy black-tie events, consider a cruise line that holds cocktail hours and formal dinners.

• What kind of special cruise services or activities do I want? Look for cruises that offer everything from comprehensive spa treatments to those that offer all-night gaming. Some cruises are geared especially for families, providing kids and their parents with unique, fun activities and games throughout the day.

• Can I use a cruise voucher? Cruise vouchers are travel incentives or promotional offers that define the terms of your travel, such as the length of the stay, blackout dates, restrictions, and expiration dates. Before you book a cruise, check to see if you can apply a voucher.

Get Special Protection for Cruise Travelers

Get Special Protection for Cruise Travelers

eBay has special rules limiting who can sell travel-related items on eBay, including cruises, and what can be sold. Sellers who want to list cruises must adhere to all rules outlined in the examples section below:

1. Travel service providers: Businesses that actually provide travel services, such as airlines, trains, hotels, resorts, and cruise ships, may list items such as their own gift certificates, airline tickets, lodging, cruises, or vacation packages. As providers of the actual travel service, they are often exempted from seller-of-travel laws and need not provide travel licensure information. They should clearly identify themselves in the listing, however, as the actual provider of the travel services offered.

2. Travel agents, and other businesses selling travel services: Businesses and individuals who sell and/or arrange air or sea travel or accommodations (but do not directly provide the travel service themselves) may list air- and ship-related travel items (i.e., airplane tickets and cruise trips), along with accommodations, on eBay only if they are licensed as sellers of travel lawfully able to do business in all 50 states and they themselves will be booking the travel for the winning bidder. Their listings should clearly set out their California seller-of-travel license number as well as any other license information required in other states. It is against eBay policy for travel clearinghouse affiliates, that are not actual agents booking the travel themselves, to list travel auctions on the site. Sellers are required to include the following disclaimer in all listings for travel exactly as it appears below and in a text size and color that can easily be seen and read by all bidders:

"By listing this auction I verify that I am the actual travel agent or travel provider and not a third-party affiliate. The travel/accommodations in this auction will be booked directly through me and not an outside agency. I also verify that, other than the government taxes and related government fees stated within the listing description itself, there will be absolutely no additional fees, charges, or after-auction purchases associated with booking the travel within this listing.”

For travel services other than air or sea travel, businesses and individuals may offer gift certificates or coupons that are issued by a specific provider of travel, such as a gift certificate to a particular hotel. They may not, however, offer travel club memberships or "choice travel" certificates (see below).

3. Individuals: Individual travelers who are not in the business of selling travel services, but simply wish to sell an unused air- or sea-related travel voucher or gift certificate, may do so no more than one trip per month provided that the item is not a travel club membership or "choice travel certificate" (see below), or related item. In such instances, the seller may play no role in arranging any travel other than delivering the item. Please note that many airline tickets, vouchers, and frequent flier miles are not transferable, and sellers should review any travel-related item before listing to make sure that it can be transferred legally to another party and will be accepted by the issuing provider-of-travel services.

4."Travel club memberships and "choice travel certificates": eBay will not permit listings of travel club memberships or "choice travel certificates" or similar items by any user. Travel club memberships include any service, cards, or identification number that purports to give the holder the right to free or discounted travel; that is, certificates that entitle the holder to some travel-related benefit (such as free or low-cost hotel stays) with a variety of travel providers.

eBay does not permit listings of "choice travel certificates” by any user. Choice travel certificates are documents that are not issued directly by a single provider of travel, but by travel wholesalers, consolidators, or other middleman travel sellers. These certificates generally offer the holder free or low-cost travel services with a choice of multiple hotel chains, resorts, or airlines, the exact location often being at the choice of the buyer or seller. Such certificates are highly regulated in many U.S. states and in many cases require additional purchases that violate eBay's fee-circumvention policies. They may not be listed on eBay by any user.

Violations of eBay policy may result in a range of actions, including:

• listing cancellation

• limits on account privileges

• account suspension

• forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings

• loss of PowerSeller status

Find Your Cruise on eBay

Find Your Cruise on eBay

Once you know what type of cruise vacation you want, go to the Travel portal, click Cruises, and start searching for item listings on eBay.

Search eBay title listings for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Bahamas cruise, type “Bahamas cruise” (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Cruise Vacation With Confidence

Buy Cruise Vacation With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to C$1,250.

• eBay Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.