Cruising. What kind of thoughts or images does that word evoke in your mind? Some of you may have already experienced a cruise vacation or had a friend/family member tell you all about their amazing vacation, so the word fills your mind pleasant thoughts and ideas. However, there are also many who think of cruising in derogatory terms: a vacation only for the retired, a boring trip on a boat, or a place where people go to drink all day and night. I fell in love with cruising while I was in college, and continue to appreciate it more and more every time I get the chance to go (5 times in the last 2.5 years, but who’s counting?). I hope this blog shares a bit of my enthusiasm and maybe even makes you consider a cruising vacation for your future.
1. Affordability
A cruise can easily be one of the most affordable vacations out there. When I look for cruises, I almost always look for options that are less than $100 per day per person for two person occupancy. When you take into account everything that is included, this almost always comes in lower than the amount you would spend on hotels, food, entertainment, etc. If your traveling party is larger, most cruise staterooms will fit at least three and potentially even four people. The third and/or fourth people are then prorated at a lesser rate. While it may be slightly more crowded, a lot of people don’t spend much time in their rooms anyway. Why would you want to when you could be out exploring or taking advantage of the many activities available on the ship?
2. Easy Budgeting
If you have a difficulty sticking to a budget on vacation, a cruise can solve these problems for you! The price paid while booking the cruise includes almost all the expenses you would incur during a land-based vacation: lodging, food, transportation, and activities/entertainment. Although you may have to pay to get to the cruise port, those expenses can usually be planned easily in advance. Once onboard, it is possible to spend virtually nothing additional. One thing that I like to splurge a bit on are excursions in the various ports that the cruise visits. In fact, on my last cruise, excursions were the only expenses on my cruise-end bill. However, these can easily be booked in advance for budgeting purposes, or avoided altogether to save money if necessary. Many cruise ports are close by some sort of town/city or attraction, which makes walking around and exploring a completely free option to enjoy! You can always even head back to the ship to eat lunch and save money on food.
3. Convenience
Sometimes planning for a vacation can feel overwhelming. First you have to figure out where and when to go, but that is just the start! Next comes booking transportation and lodging, planning activities, figuring out where to eat (not to mention trying to budget for all of it). Although some people absolutely love the planning process, it can quickly become overwhelming for many of us. With a cruise, you can absolutely still plan activities for each port, but many of the more mundane details are all taken care of for you!
4. See new places without packing/unpacking; travel while you are sleeping
This is another big one for me personally. I love visiting a lot of new places during my vacations, but I quickly grow tired of both the amount of time it takes to get new places and the effort required to lug my bag around with me or try to find a place to store it. When you are on a cruise, the majority of travel time happens while you are sleeping. It’s a wonderful experience to wake up in the morning after a refreshing night’s sleep, look out the window, and find yourself in brand new surroundings. Then, all you have to do is pack a little day bag with some essentials like money, ID, water, and sunscreen, and you are good to go! It is freeing to know that every day when you are enjoying a new adventure, you still have your home away from home to go back to. I am so not a fan of living out of suitcases or unpacking and repacking all the time, so avoiding that whole process and living out of a homey cruise stateroom is really the best of all worlds.
5. Treat it as a sampler to see where to come back to
Taking a vacation is all about experiences – seeing someplace new, meeting new people, etc. It can be absolutely wonderful to find a location that you absolutely love and return to over and over, but it can also be devastating to spend a lot of time and money visiting somewhere that just isn’t your cup of tea. While that experience is undoubtedly still rewarding in its own way, a cruise can allow you to visit a bunch of new locations in one fell swoop. It may even open your eyes to places that you would have never experienced otherwise! I spent two weeks on a Transatlantic cruise earlier this year, with several European stops at the end. One of those stops was Belgium, where I had never been and had no strong desire to visit. However, it turned into one of the highlights of the trip. I loved it there, and would absolutely like to return. Without this cruise, I may have never experienced a truly wonderful place.
6. Free child care
Quick Disclaimer – this is one thing that I have not yet experienced personally. However, I have heard great things and the whole idea just sounds amazing. Many of the parents I know often tell me that a vacation with kids is not a real vacation at all. I take that to mean that at least one major part of a vacation (relaxing and/or getting away from it all) is often missing. To help with this conundrum, almost all of the major cruise lines offer child care onboard their ships. While there may be certain restrictions (age limits, etc.), this service gives you the ability to drop off the kids while you spend some quality time with your significant other or even me-time. And, the kids get to have a great time meeting new friends and doing fun age-appropriate activities! Everybody wins!
7. True Relaxation
Have you ever been on a vacation and returned feeling like you needed another vacation to recover from it? It happens to everyone, but personally I prefer a vacation that involves more balance – exploring, adventuring, and taking it all in, combined with relaxing and spending time with friends and family. A cruise allows you to enjoy all facets of your vacation, because the things that generally take up so much time on vacation (like planning, cleaning, packing, cooking, and driving) are no longer required. This frees up your time to spend it doing exactly what you want to do every moment of your vacation. Such freedom!
8. Safety
This is an important one for me, as a woman who sometimes travels alone or with other women. While I have traveled internationally solo in the past, there are always potential risks in these situations. A cruise ship offers a lot in terms of safety. While onboard the ship, there are crew members always available to provide assistance, a full security staff, cameras, and other security measures. I have never felt uncomfortable onboard a ship, even walking around in the middle of the night. This contrasts greatly with other types of vacations, where spending too much time walking around late at night would not be recommended, and highly dangerous in some situations. Although many of these risks do apply while off the ship visiting local ports, ships generally dock during daylight hours, limiting some of these risks. Plus, you always have the option to take a cruise line sponsored excursion if you do feel uneasy about a certain location. These excursions are vetted by the cruise line, and I have always felt comfortable participating solo.
9. Onboard Activities
Many people focus only on the ports while cruising, but the cruise ship is actually a destination as well. I absolutely love being on boats and having unlimited ocean views available at all times. In fact, I equally value time on the ship with time spent in port. I often spend the majority of my time in port exploring or doing other active adventures, while I spend a lot of time on the ship relaxing or enjoying some of the myriad activities available. You can find something for almost any interest on board – things like: trivia, dancing, scavenger hunts, shows with singers/dancers/comedians/jugglers/acrobatics/etc., game shows, theme parties, silent discos, passenger meet and greets, shopping, fitness classes, charity events, flash mobs, guest choirs, instructional presentations, live music, art classes, movies, auctions, gambling, and much more. The last ship I traveled on even had a hot glass studio with 3 artists doing live demonstrations almost every day of the trip! You may find an interest in something completely new to continue to enjoy even after your trip is over. With everything to do onboard, you may never want to leave the ship!
Although some of these items are obviously subjective, this list is also by no means exclusive. I haven’t even mentioned some other major benefits (unlimited delicious food, anyone?). Hopefully this gives you a quick picture of how awesome cruising can be, and even potentially changes your mind if you thought cruising wasn’t for you. To learn more about me and my philosophy for travel, visit my About page. If you are curious about cruising and want to know more, a good place to start is Cruise Critic.
