The World is your Oyster
Cruising - The Ultimate travel Experience, by Mike Murphy
Today, I'm going to cover some of the reasons why I feel that cruising is the ultimate form of vacation.
As of about 8 years ago, my wife and I have all but forgotten about any form of travel or vacation other than cruising. Don't' get me wrong, it's not that we don't enjoy other vacation styles, it's just the pros of cruise vacations far out weigh the cons of cruising.
We still love a good trip to Walt Disney World coupled with other Orlando hot spots such as Wet and Wild, Universal Studios, Ripley's Believe it Or Not, and Sea World to name a few but nothing quite compares to the thought of being able to wake up in a new port of call each morning and spending each evening enjoying the warm, tropical breeze on the deck of a fabulous floating paradise otherwise know as a modern cruiseship.
I suppose the ULTIMATE vacation in my eyes at least, would be one where I cruise the seas at night and then wound up at some of my favorite land vacation spots each morning. Let's face, that is just not going to happen unless someone knows of a way to sail from say Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to Las Vegas Nevada to the shores of Caribbean islands like Belize and so on.
Back to reality, I've heard some people shy away from cruising as they fear getting seasick. I get a little nauseous riding the escalator at Sears and I've never had a problem with seasickness in 8 years of cruising. There have been some rough seas and tenders (the small boat that takes you from the ship to port) where I thought I might toss my cookies, but so far so good.
Cruises are expensive. I have to disagree there too I'm afraid! Sure, you CAN spend a small fortune on some of the high end cruises, but with some careful planning, you can cruise very reasonably.
If you can avoid traveling during peak times such spring Break, Christmas etc. your airfare and cruise fares will drop considerably not to mention the fact that the ship may be a lot less crowded during off peak times.
People sometimes mention that they don't want to be "trapped" on a cruiseship or that they'll have nothing to do. First of all, having "nothing" to do can be a very beautiful thing. How many times have you come home from vacation more exhausted than when you left? It's happened to me and it's not a very good feeling. To lie out in the warm air and sunshine on a cruise ship, sipping a cool beverage spending quality time with your mate is a VERY good way to do nothing.
As far as being trapped on a cruise ship, I'm not sure I understand that statement. I mean, sure you can't just walk off and go do something else as the ship cruises along, but cruise ships of today have shopping malls, restaurants, swimming pools, spas, state-of-the-art gyms, ICE RINKS, rock climbing walls, wave pools for surfing, live entertainment, games, Vegas style shows, art auctions...the list is growing all the time as cruise lines battle each other to get your business.
As you may or may not have noticed, I'm a big fan of cruising. If you're new to cruising, I suggest you give it a whirl. Would you like help planning a great cruise filled with fun and memories? Pick up my new Cruiseship Tips books at http://www.cruisevacationparadise.com/ and we'll see you out on the water!
Mike
