Set Sail To See The World. (Cruises in general)

Member Name: Hitman

Product:	Cruises in general
Date:	18/08/01 (284 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get too see a whole range of places, Pleanty to do

Disadvantages: Can be a bit expensive, Can get busy

Never been on a cruise? This will help you make the most of it!!
Not pointing to any particular cruise company the following opinion is a general outline of what to expect on a cruise.

Now… this has taken me a good 2 days to write out and find out all the information and I’ve included all the important information, as I feel fit. I hope you like it.

More than 7 million people have taken cruises and that number is growing fast.
Cruising is one of the most popular holidays going now, and over 80 per cent of cruise goer’s return to cruise again.
Don’t worry if you’re single…. cruising is not just for the rich people anymore or married and old, cruising is getting popular with singles, families, honeymooners and even college buddies nowadays.
Days of different classes aboard are now long gone.
The only “difference” you find nowadays is in the types of cabins and the location of the cabin.

Trying to find a cruise should be easy.
There are thousands of different types of cruises, over 20,000 worldwide infact.

“Won’t I get bored?”
That is the biggest question that is asked before a cruise is taken, and it’s usually men that ask that question.
Reality is there won’t be enough time in the day to fit everything in, and by the time the cruise is up you will of wished you would of done even more!

So… what can I do aboard that won’t make me bored?

Well, with ships ranging from just 60m in length to well over 350m (that’s over 1000ft), there has to be something!!
Before setting off on a cruise though, bear in mind that larger more recent ships will be very big indeed and will have to anchor out away from major tourist cities.
This will mean a delay in getting to the mainland as people try to get there.
Smaller ships, one with less than 900 people aboard will not have to deal with this as
much.
Also remember to compare brochures and see how long you have in the cities.
Many times differ and you want as long as possible.
For many cruise goer’s going for a second time, a smaller ship is usually chosen than the first journey.
This will improve you’re overall standards of service but of course there will be less to do.
The larger ships will be packed with everything you expect in a first class hotel on the mainland.

Aboard The Legend Of The Seas you will even find an 18-hole golf course.
Of course it is miniature but it proves a point!
Several other ships include a golf simulator machine.

Aboard Celebrity cruises, that’s Galaxy, Century and Mercury I’ve also been told they now have interactive TV in their cabins.

If you’re undecided on where to go, here is a list of places to decide on.

Caribbean:
These cruises tend to “jam” about 5-6 ports of call into one week, which can seem quick and tiring. This will involve little time at sea for relaxing as well.
Also remember that June – November are hurricane months here, something that is usually “forgotten” in most brochures!

Europe/Med:
Using a cruise to see as much of Europe does make a lot of sense.
Just think where the following cities are situated – Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Genoa, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Monte Carlo, Nice, Oslo, Stockholm and Venice.
All extremely lovely places to visit, and all accessible by boat.

Alaska:
This is becoming a very popular place to visit now and is truly breathtaking!
Around half a million passengers visited Alaska last year, and cruise companies, in particular Princess Cruises have shore side facilities such as hotels, buses and trains for you.
The downside with Alaska is that ports are getting extremely busy and crowded now and wildlife is becoming harder to see with such busy ships a
round now.
A real shame!

Australia/Orient:
Before setting out on a cruise here, beware that you will need to fly out first and this will be very long and take up a lot of you’re energy. Jet lag is a common feature when taking cruises here.
The orient has such to offer that a long cruise should be taken here; a minimum of 15 days is about right to get in all the sights of the Orient.
Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and South Pacific Islands – I’m sure you can now see why a long cruise is necessary.


If you are setting out to book a first time cruise consider looking at the “big seven” cruise lines first as this will give you an idea of what to expect itinerary wise.

Carnival Cruises: This is the biggest cruise operator in the world and carries many first timers. It is not an upmarket ship, and with Carnival you get what you pay for.
Also to be taken note of is that any excursions on Carnival are booked through their interactive TV, so it can be difficult to track someone down if there are questions about it!

Celebrity Cruises: This is a superb company. Best known for its food. All meals are made fresh and from scratch, no packaged stuff or boxed up food, all fresh!
This cruise company also has the highest ratio of staff: passengers and so you can expect a far better service, especially in the cleaning of the ship and in the restaurant/bar.
The artwork aboard is also out of this world for you art fans!

Costa Cruises: Try these out for that “European” feel.
The food on board is apparently not too good, the same with the service but does do a good candle lit dinner, with superb pasta!
Cabins also tend to be quite small.
Although it was purchased by Carnival back in 1997 the ships still have the same qualities about them.

Holland America Line: These ships are quite famous for the teakwood decks outside, where as
most other ships use astro turf or similar. Free ice cream is available on all ships are various times as well as a Starbucks coffee. These ships claim to be 5 star and have a strong feel to being upmarket.

Norwegian Cruise Line: This suits the active youth of today. It also suits sports fans due to a strong “sporty” feel aboard and many sports are available on board. Also available is an “eat n run” service for those not wanting to have a sit down meal.

Princess Cruises: If you go on a honeymoon with Princess and want a table for 2 at dinner, make sure you go on Dawn Princess, Grand Princess or Sun Princess, as the others DON’T have tables for 2.
Food is apparently not too brilliant but cabins are very good.

Royal Caribbean International: The cabins on these ships are the smallest of all cruise liners. Passenger activity is pushed highly, so if you are one to not take part in activities this is not for you.

Which ship you decide to go on is up to you and newer ships have advantages over smaller ships and so on.
Themed cruises are also becoming popular with ones such as;
Antiques, Astronomy, Art, Chess, Music, Fashion, Films, Gardening< Gay/Lesbian, Murder Mystery, Photography, Singles and Wine Tasting.

When deciding on what cabin to have, you basically get what you pay for.
An outside cabin is by far the best. An inside has no porthole or windows.
Cabins in the centre of the ship are more stable, suffer less vibration and are noise free.
Also, use common sense, if you like early night, pick a cabin away from the disco and so on.

You could go on forever talking about cruise ships so I hope this has given you a taste of life aboard and helped you in making a choice.

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