A holiday for me is the opportunity to spend quality time with my loved ones, whilst switching off from the daily normality, soaking up the sun, fun and making memories that last. I’m a big believer that having a holiday, whether on land or sea allows you to appreciate the things that matter and gives you that freedom of fun and relaxation all rolled into one.
I live for a holiday, and truly value every moment. I really enjoy being able to visit and experience many different cultures and destinations that help broaden my view, whilst giving my children the opportunity to see the World.
This is one important part to why I enjoy Cruise Holidays so much, as you cannot always get this benefit on a single centre land holiday. So, I thought I would share some important considerations to encourage you to try a Cruise as your next holiday adventure, or for those hearty Cruisers, the opportunity to be reminded of why you love Cruising in the first place.
Starting your holiday in style
When you choose a no-fly cruise the ʹgetting thereʹ is part of the holiday, which has to be better than queuing at the airport, seemingly endless flights and tedious transfers. In fact, the moment you step onboard your chosen ship, you can start enjoying the facilities right away. Imagine swapping your cramped plane seat and in-flight meal for a sun lounger by the pool, followed by a gourmet meal that you can eat with real cutlery. How could you resist?
Destinations
When it comes to where to go, the world is your oyster with a cruise. Why choose just one holiday destination when you can visit lots of places? Cruises even have the edge over land-based multi-centre holidays. That’s because you have the most comfortable mode of transport to whisk you between the destinations on your itinerary with lots of facilities to enjoy along the way.
Excursions
A big benefit of in-one-spot holidays is that you get more time in your chosen destination and, in theory, more opportunity to explore. However, in reality this takes time and organisation. The temptation to stay by the pool with a cocktail in hand can be strong; before you know it, a week has gone by and you have not explored further than the beach across the road.
On a cruise, amazing excursions are usually organised for you by destination experts. They will identify the best things to see and do in port, so you can make the most of every minute. If that was not enough, some cruise lines include some or all excursions in the price of the holiday, which makes for excellent value for money.
Accommodation
If it’s size that matters on your holiday, it’s safe to assume that the average four-star hotel room is larger than the average four-star cabin. Although accommodation can vary in size, the norm for a hotel room is around 300 sq. ft., which would be considered huge for cruise ship accommodation (excluding suites, of course). Smaller cabins allow space on board for all the other facilities that you’re likely to enjoy. And it’s safe to say that most cruise liners know how to make good use of the space they can offer, coming up with creative space maximising solutions that hotels don’t consider.
Facilities onboard
As with hotels, facilities vary greatly from ship to ship. However, because you’ll be confined to the vessel for part of your break, it’s likely that you’ll give more careful consideration to its facilities than you would a hotel, where you’re free to leave whenever you like.
The beauty of cruising is that there are ships to suit every traveler. Ultra-luxury like Silversea, Seabourn, Regent and Crystal offer unparalleled levels of luxury (think Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton); Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and next year’s much anticipated launch, Virgin Voyages, offer their version of modern luxury. Whereas the like of P&O Cruises and Fred. Olsen are more for a traditional cruise. Or experience something completely different on a tall sailing ship adventure that dreams are made of with Star Clippers, to River sailing with Fred. Rivers. The choice is yours.
Entertainment
Hotel entertainment can be varied at best, but on cruise ships, especially the megaships, it’s a different story. On Royal Caribbean vessels for example you can take your seat at Tony Award-winning shows like “Cats” and “Grease,” or watch synchronised swimmers and high-diving acrobats make a splash at the Aquatheater. You can even catch an ice-skating spectacular and watch anything from a futuristic Roboshow to a virtual concert in the Two70 entertainment space.
Norwegian Cruise Line also boasts some fine off-Broadway shows including “Kinky Boots” and “We Will Rock You” as well as the award winning harmony act “Choir of Man”, who will make their debut on the line’s newest ship Norwegian Encore.
Smaller ships have scaled-down entertainment, as you’d expect with a smaller hotel, but that doesn’t mean the quality slips. Saga has signed up legendary pianist Jools Holland who has leant his name to its new ship’s Jazz Club.
Food
As with all-inclusive hotels, the quality of the food you will enjoy on a cruise holiday varies according to both ship and cruise line. In general, cruises are known for fantastic variety and quality.
As a rule, the number of eateries onboard depends on the size of the vessel you choose. A small ship might have one main dining room serving up four-course gourmet dinners, a less formal alfresco dining option and room service.
At the other end of the spectrum, the number of places to eat and drink on a megaship can easily run into double figures. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas has 20 different eateries (12 of them are free to dine in), plus a room service option.
Some cruise lines run special food related cruises too. P&O Cruises for example has a roster of “Food Heroes” led by Marco Pierre White who creates the gala dinners across the fleet. You can even do your own cooking on Britannia, which has the first Cookery Club at sea. Crystal Cruises’ ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, have restaurants overseen by Japanese masterchef Nobo Matushita; Seabourn works with Thomas Keller, MSC Cruises works with Michelin-starred chef Ramon Freixa and Silversea has launched a new food enrichment programme called Sea & Land Taste (S.A.L.T.).
Of course, the benefit of on-land holidays is that you will not restricted to the restaurants in your hotel. Depending on your location, you will have your pick of eateries in the area, although this costs extra and you will have to be organised if you want to eat somewhere that’s in-demand.
Service onboard
Crew/passenger ratios are roughly 1:2 and 1:3 on the larger ships, but can be as high as 1:1 when you get down to vessels of 100 passengers or fewer.
As a rule of thumb, the smaller the ship the higher the service level and on some of the ultra-luxury lines such as Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas and Crystal, you’ll find intuitive service where crew are guessing what you want before you even ask.
On the larger vessels, you can’t expect that level of personalised service, but you’ll still be greeted with a “Good morning” and a smile, perhaps by the end of your cruise the barman may know your preferred cocktail of choice. But whatever the size of vessel, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better service than at sea.
Child-friendly activities
All age groups, from tots to teens, are well catered for on cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, P&O Cruises’ larger ships and Carnival, with fantastic clubs, facilities and activities available. On MSC Bellissima, for example, you have got an AquaPark, a huge kids club with rooms for different age groups, a science lab and a theatre; as well as a sports court, 4D cinema and an arcade complete with bowling, as well as a comprehensive children’s programme.
Keeping everyone happy
One of the biggest plus points to a cruise holiday for me, is the ability to keep everyone happy on one holiday, there is so much choice to keep everyone smiling and making those lasting memories!
For me, land holidays, I tend to view the accommodation as the base, because I am free to visit any off-site attractions that I like. However, there’s much to be said for the convenience of the ʹeverything under one roofʹ approach of cruising, because it’s a hassle-free way to get the holiday you want.
I hope the features I’ve shared gives you that desire to consider a Cruise for your next holiday. Be inspired and let our Expert Teams assist in making these considerations become reality for your next holiday experience.
Enjoy making the memories..
This article comes courtesy of GoCruise & Travel. If the Cruise Industry sounds interesting to you, please reach out to look at starting your own business with us today contact Colin on 07880 290 993 or email [email protected].
