If you want the all-round service of an all-inclusive hotel on holiday, but want to visit several places or even countries at the same time, you should think about cruises. On the luxuriously equipped ships, no culinary wishes remain unfulfilled, while at the same time shows, cinema, sports and pools are available.
Travel to many places in the same hotel room
Cruises have become increasingly popular in recent years and the industry has experienced a real boom. The decades before that, there were also cruise ships for a long time, with trips on these floating luxury hotels quickly costing up to 10,000 euros.
In the meantime, cruises are also an affordable pleasure for package tourists. Especially for cruises through the Baltic Sea, in the Mediterranean or around the Canary Islands, costs are comparable to a “normal” trip.
The biggest special feature of a cruise is of course the stay on a gigantic ship, which in most cases is not only larger than a hotel on land, but also offers a wide range of activities. The unbeatable advantage of a cruise: You experience days at sea on the sea, but always head for other beaches, islands or countries. In order to travel to several places or even countries and regions on vacation, you have to take a round trip without a cruise ship.
Such a round trip can either be booked as a package tour with guides, flights and means of transport or you can organize it yourself. The disadvantage of this type of travel: You are constantly under time pressure, spend many hours in cars, buses, trains or planes. For adventurous people who don’t let anything stress them out and also like to enjoy a bit of action on vacation, such a round trip through Vietnam or other countries is a lasting experience.
If, on the other hand, you want to see different countries, beaches and islands on vacation, but want to make the transfer times much more pleasant , a cruise ship is the right place for you. The ships sail, for example, in the evening and at night, where on a classic round trip by land you tend to spend the night in a new hotel completely exhausted every day.
Cruises – thematically or regionally an experience
If you are interested in cruises, you can either determine the best trip based on the destination or make the right choice under a certain theme of the trip. Regionally, there are trips to the following regions:
- Asia
- Canary Islands
- Mediterranean Sea (East, West, whole Mediterranean)
- Caribbean
- North cape
- Baltic Sea
- World trip
For beginners, short cruises within usually 7 days through the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean or the Canary Islands are a practical idea. For Asia, the North Cape or the Caribbean, travelers should better plan 14 days of vacation. Usually, the cruisers first fly to the country where the cruise ship is anchored. There, all passengers board the ship and check in as if they were in a hotel. This is followed by get-to-know-you events and members of the crew provide information about orientation and what is on offer on the ship. At the same time, passengers can decide on the ship or when booking whether they want to take part in guided excursions or prefer to explore the day’s destination on their own.
But cruises can also focus on very different topics . For example, you can find the following cruises on a cruise ship with these focuses:
- Family cruise
- Senior Cruise
- Singles tours
- All-Inclusive
- Last-Minute
In a multifaceted variety, there are also special trips, where, for example, a rock festival is moved to a cruise ship . Other cruises are dedicated specifically to golf fans and head for ports during the trip where impressive golf courses can be played for a day trip. At the end of the journey, the cruise ship will dock in a port as planned, from where it will take a shuttle bus to the airport and back home. All this can be conveniently booked like a package tour and as a holidaymaker you hardly have to worry about anything after the start of the trip.
The cruise ship itself is worth a vacation
Without exception, every cruise ship is designed so that guests can feel completely comfortable on it . Although the cabins are much smaller compared to a normal hotel room – but you only stay in them to sleep anyway.
Cruise ships always offer a variety of different culinary offerings. There are usually several restaurants where Italian, French or other national cuisine spoils the guest with menus. Here reservations and fine wardrobe are requested. At the same time, buffet restaurants are usually open 24 hours a day, leaving nothing to be desired. Open show kitchens fry and fry different dishes every day, while every palate is satisfied, from colourful salads and seafood to ice cream and desserts. In addition, there are ice cream and snack bars on deck, various small restaurants with snack bar character and bars with drinks everywhere.
On cruise ships, however, there is not only good food and there is always a colorful cocktail to be had: The sports offer ranges from table tennis to ball sports in the ship’s own gym to the gym with all known equipment. If you like jogging, you will find marked lanes all over the ship.
Culinary delights and sports are then joined by a varied entertainment programme. A reading or a film in the cinema hall, a revue or show in the atrium, all-day painting courses and other creative offers – you almost have to be careful not to take on too much on holiday on the ship. Boutiques, hairdressers and duty-free shops, sometimes even a casino – cruise ships are small towns on the high seas.
