If you’re planning your next holiday, have you got a cruise on your list of options? If not, why not? Cruise holidays have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years, with the Telegraph quoting the figure of almost 1.79m passengers.
So why are cruises proving such a hit, and why should your next holiday be a cruise? Here are 8 reasons why…
If you want to explore and travel the world, you’ll find a cruise a brilliant way to do it. Travelling by plane is great, but you never actually see anything – aboard a cruise ship you can stand on deck and watch the ocean, spotting new countries as you approach them.
Where do you want to go on holiday next? Barbados? Excellent choice – you’ll have a very good time. With a Caribbean cruise, however, you can see several islands during the same holiday – perhaps Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Maarten, and the Azores.
If you think a cruise holiday is about sitting on a ship and counting the minutes until you dock at your next destination, you couldn’t be more wrong. Today’s cruise operators offer a huge variety of onboard entertainment – you can expect cabaret shows, theatres, casinos, comedy acts, live music, sports decks, swimming pools, and gyms.
Cruise holidays aren’t just for the older generation – far from it. Some cruises have pools with water slides, cartoon characters providing entertainment, outdoor sports complexes with rock climbing walls, basketball and mini golf, movie nights – the list goes on. Even teenagers will enjoy themselves – probably.
There’s no easier way of getting around than on a cruise. There’s nothing to worry about, no need to plan a schedule or organize where you need to be, and how you’re going to get from one place to another. You simply board the cruise ship, and all your travel needs are looked after. All you have to do is relax.
If you’re hoping to meet new people, you’ll certainly find plenty of other holidaymakers to talk to and mix with on a cruise. A cruise is a sociable holiday – you’ll be on board with hundreds, if not thousands, of others, so it’s like a community of its own. You’ll probably find a range of ages on your cruise. If you prefer to keep your own company you can, but if you like to meet new people, you will.
Let’s face it; you like to be looked after – the whole point of a holiday is able to relax and put the chores to one side for a week or two. You’ll get that on a cruise, which offers genuine downtime. On a cruise, everything will be done for you. You’ll be entertained, and your kids will be entertained, you’ll have a wide choice of activities, food and drink to consume.
There isn’t anywhere in the world you can’t reach via a cruise holiday. As this article says, ‘stick a pin into any blue area on a world map, or locate any glistening ribbon of river, and the chances are you can get there by cruise ship.’ It’s true. You can head to the Med, the Caribbean, Australasia, Las Vegas, Hawaii, South America, Canada, Norway, Greenland and Iceland…