Ten reasons why cruises are popular holiday options

Dreaming of an exotic holiday? Consider the choice of a cruise holiday.

“The journey is more important than the destination,” whosoever coined this quote, I must have remembered him a multitude times during my recent Eid cruise getaway. Yes, this was one holiday where the journey was equivalently stunning as the destinations -Muscat and Musandam (in Oman). Onboard Jalesh cruise (India’s premium indigenous cruise on its maiden vogaye from Dubai to Oman), this was one outting where the voyage added cent percent excitement to my Omani holiday experience!

The burgeoning number of cruise options in the recent years is indicative of the meteoric rise in travellers’ love for cruises. Themed-cruises such as family cruises, adventure' cruises, golf cruises, etc are available for travelers seeking a unique brand of fun and relaxation. Considering the skyrocketing interest of holiday- seekers in cruise liners, let us take a brief insight into the reasons why cruises are getting an increasing number of thumbs up -

 Excellent value for money

 Cruises offer excellent value for the vacationers, offering fun and relaxation in a family-friendly atmosphere with great food and entertainment all in one unique location. The fact that everything can be purchased in one package, majority of your holiday needs like transportation, accommodation is included in the price. Many packages even offer airfare. Thus, if you incorporate airfare, hotel stays, rental car and meals into the cost of a vacation even a short trip can get rather expensive. Taking a cruise addresses this problem by assimilating majority of costs into one package.

 An all-inclusive vacation

There are seldom any vacation options which offer the all-in-one experience like a cruise vacation. A cruise vacation offers choice of several entertainment and fine dining options, all of which are located barely steps away from the room. Most cruises offer nightly entertainment, which may include comedians, live bands and acts. They also offer dancing, casinos and additional entertainment options for children. The deck offers sunbathing, swimming, play areas and other outdoor activities. All these can be enjoyed while traveling between destinations. When the ship docks, the various locations may be explored and local culture sampled. There is no need to browse the phone book and maps to find restaurants, they are right there on the ship.

Awesome Dining options

Multi-course, fine dining options, every single day at no extra cost is perhaps the highest selling point of a cruise holiday. Most ships offer a plethora of cuisine options and multitude of restaurants- Mediterranean, Asian, Indian, Continental, Italian, Mexican to tickle those taste buds. The awe- inspiring part is that food is available for a major chunk of time (almost 20 hours). Breakfast options start from 6 am to 10 30 am, lunch from 12 noon to 2 30pm. Evening snacks and street food from 5pm to 6pm. Dinner from 7pm to 10 30pm and the jaw dropping fact, even midnight snacks are available from 12 to 2 30 am.

 

Speaking of food, most cruise ships hire top quality chefs and cooks for their kitchens. Many of these chefs having graduated from prestigious culinary institutes and are highly recommended. Diverse menu options for every palette make the cruise experience great for families. Kid friendly cuisine, Jain cuisine, street food alongside fine dining choices; all this make family dining an extremely gratifying experience.

Luxury is the word

Everything on cruise spells luxury. From well-appointed, state of the art rooms to the stunning ambience, tongue-tickling five -star, seven-course meals topped up with premium- world class service, cruises are synonymous to a luxurious vacation.

 Great Family Vacay under same roof

Cruises offer options for families to stay together while enjoying separate vacations. Cruising is the perfect holiday for wide variety of people because you can really do as much or as little as you desire. Whether you're an adrenaline junkie, a lounge lizard or a hybrid of both, there is something for all tastes and ages. Many cruises focus on creating a vacation experience for the entire family, offering childcare facilities where children can enjoy activities designed just for them. At the same time, parents can enjoy some grown-up time. Cruises allow families to enjoy holidays together without getting in the way of each other's plans. Everyone can go their own way and then come together as a family for meals and other events.

Oodles of Pampering

How about trying an African hairstyle or that relaxing massage that you had always wanted but never found the time to? Cruise has its own ways of providing sheer beauty and pampering solutions for its guests. Since relaxation and rejuvenation are the ultimate goals of any vacation, the pampering options onboard a cruise ship make it an easy choice for the discerning traveler. Sunbathing, free childcare, spa treatments and hot tubs are just a sample of the pampering options that can be expected on a cruise ship.

The good news is that both parents and children alike have endless choices for pampering spree. Parents can spend a relaxing afternoon of massage, hot tubs, and sunbathing, while the children can spend a day of swimming and playing while being taken care of by qualified persons, just down the deck from where their parents are. Later, the family can come together for some fine food and relaxation. Finally, everyone can retire to their cabins for a luxurious sleep, getting ready for another day of fun and pampering.

Multifarious activities for all age groups

When I planned for a 4 - day cruise people kept on asking “Won’t you get bored staring at the sea for

so long?” The fact is that cruise entertainment itinerary hardly left us with anytime to gaze at the

ocean side. Every sea day (where you are cruising but not getting off the ship) as well as the shore day comes with a daily brochure of activities inside the cruise ship which is so entertaining. This includes activities for kids, teens (including adventure sports), families & elderly which vary from dance classes, music of all genres, comedy shows, culinary shows, late night parties, theme parties, casinos, board games, adult shows, magic & illusion shows, wine/ whiskey/Rum tasting etc. Some of them are daily and some are less frequent. However, you always have the option to ignore all of them and lie on the deck sipping your favourite cocktail!

Incredible Sailing Away views

One thing that I could hardly wait for before landing in my new destination by air is peeping through the window for the first aerial views. In a similar fashion, I just waited for that first glimpse of a port/island from the deck. Cruise’ slow motion allows you to thoroughly indulge in the moment unlike any other mode of transport.

Also, as the mercury soared down towards the evening, we would hoard down to the cruise decks for some magnificent sea views. Enjoying the gentle maritime views with mesmerizing sunsets and sunrises in the horizon is by itself a medium of great meditative therapy.

Hassle-free Travel Planning

A vacation is supposed to be relaxing, but the preparation for the trip seldom is. In many cases, planning for a vacation becomes an additional source of stress and sometimes, even takes away the glamour of travel. A cruise holiday looks after this aspect of human psychology.

No more accommodations to be arranged, tours to be researched, compared or booked. Cruises come with the options for onshore excursions which is a great way to plan your sightseeing on your shore days. Unless you choose to design your own port tours (which I chose to do) cruising takes away that added hassle of travel planning (though this comes at an additional cost than your booking fee for the cruise).  For people who manage to get last minute leave approvals or seek impromptu vacation, cruise deals come as a life saviour.

 Optional Internet Connectivity

Let’s face the fact! When you check into a hotel, the free wifi invariably sneaks into your life, whether you want it or not! But the paid wifi option on a cruise, leaves it at the discretion of the guests, whether they choose to connect with the virtual world or not. I was extremely happy with this option and chose for a digital detox on this holiday and decided to stay tuned only with the real world.

               The connectivity is not at par with what we have inland, but still, you can choose to be connected if you would like to. Cruise ships provide multiple plans for connectivity (data- based costing, social plans only connection, daily plans etc).

 Great for Elderly and less mobile

The interesting thing I noticed was the number of people bringing their elderly parents for cruise holidays. Cruises are designed with wheelchair access, so it is a great option to take less mobile relatives/friends on a cruise if they are generally in a good health condition (though there are in-house medical services, it might not be as exhaustive as on land).

Unpack for once

While on a cruise one can visit multiple destinations without shuffling rooms and constantly packing and unpacking suitcases. Thankfully on a cruise, packing and unpacking is a bare minimum affair- only on check in and check out! For people like me who suffer from packing mania, there can’t be a better holiday than cruise.

So next time you are contemplating a holiday, remember to consider the nautical option that promises an enthralling time on high seas.