Port guides, ship comparisons and outfit ideas — without the marketing gloss cruise lines hope you’ll never question.
Planning a port day, choosing the right ship or figuring out what to pack — three areas, each with guides that skip the obvious and get to what actually matters.
Which shuttle is worth it, which excursion is a rip-off, and what cruise lines never bother to tell you before you dock.
Browse cruise tipsFind the right ship for how you actually cruise — not how the brochure says you should. Honest comparisons, no commission bias.
Compare cruise linesKnow exactly what to pack before you board — what works on a ship, what wastes space, and what formal night actually requires.
See outfit guidesPort days, outfits, ships — the questions people search for before they board. Chosen because they answer things cruise lines gloss over, not because they went up last week.
Outfits
What to wear on sea days, in port, at the Captain’s dinner and everywhere in between — with specific outfit ideas that actually work on a ship.
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Caribbean
Which beaches are worth the journey from each Jamaica port, which ones to avoid, and how to get there without paying over the odds for a ship excursion.
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Mediterranean
How to beat the crowds off the ship, which parts of the old town are worth your time, and the one thing most visitors miss because they follow the tour group.
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Outfits
45 real outfit ideas for plus-size women covering every occasion on board — casual sea days, port days, smart casual evenings and formal nights — without the usual brochure assumptions.
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Mediterranean
Where to go, what to eat and how far you can realistically get from the port in the time you have — including the street food market most cruise itineraries don’t mention.
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Ships
A breakdown of every water slide on Icon of the Seas — thrill levels, wait times, age restrictions and which ones genuinely deliver versus which ones look better in the brochure.
Read the guideThe real number, not the brochure price
What formal night actually means on your ship
The maths cruise lines hope you won't do
Who gets what — and when to push back
Single supplements explained honestly
What no one tells first-time cruisers
About2Cruise exists because the gap between cruise brochures and cruise reality is wide enough to ruin a holiday. Every port guide, ship comparison and outfit recommendation on this site comes from people who’ve actually been there — not people who’ve read a press release about it.
We don’t work for cruise lines. We don’t take paid placements. When something deserves to be called out, we call it out.
More about the team
Travel writer and seasoned cruise passenger. Jo covers everything from Mediterranean port logistics to what you actually need in your cabin wardrobe — and what the brochure quietly leaves out.
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