In another episode of 60-Second Cruise Tips, Gary Bembridge, author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook", "Essential Cruise Tips" and "River Cruising Essential Tips and Tricks" shares another cruise tip. This time it is:
The Advantages of Cruising
There are many advantages that cruising has over land-based vacations. The following are some of the key ones:
Inclusive fares. A cruise fare will include your accommodation, cruising from port to port, meals, and entertainment. Some premium lines also include drinks, gratuities and excursions.
You are likely to spend a fair amount on board on items like gratuities, drinks, excursions, gambling and Internet access. However, these are at your discretion.
Packing. You only have to pack before and at the end of the cruise and not every time you visit a new destinations you would have to do on land.
Travel time is part of your vacation. You are able to relax and enjoy the facilities of the ship as you sail between destinations. You do not loose time commuting to airports and sitting on planes or in your vehicle moving between places you are visiting.
Simplified immigration. If you are visiting multiple countries you do not have to line up and pass through immigration at each one. Once you have checked in and the line has your details and passport they handle the authorities in most cases, except when disembarking. You will just have to use your cruise card to swipe off and back onto the ship.
Visiting places difficult to see by land or get to by plane. There are some parts of the world that are best, easiest or can only be seen on a ship. This includes hard to access places like Alaska and the Norwegian Fjords or passing through the Panama and Suez Canals. There are also places like the Galapagos Islands, Arctic, Antarctica and some of the Polynesian islands in the Pacific Ocean that are hard or impossible to reach by commercial plane.
Overview of a region. Cruises can provide a good overview of the highlights and attractions of a region like the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Asia by visiting up to seven different destinations in a week. It gives you a chance to get a feel for where you would like to go back and spend more time in. This would be hard to achieve on a land-based vacation as you would not have the time to get to and see as many places.
Wide variety to appeal to each member of your travel party. Ships and cruises have many options and choices available, including different cabin types and grades, activities, dining venues, entertainment and excursions. This means that different members of your travel party can enjoy very different experiences within the same shared trip. You do not have to make as many compromises and everyone has time to pursue their individual interests and passions but come together for meals and other joint activities.
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