I often say that there are 3 types of people, those who love cruising, those who hate cruising and those who haven’t gone on one yet. It’s such a unique experience because you cannot compare it to anything else. There’s so many things about cruising that makes it unique. If you stay at a hotel, people will come and go all the time. You won’t usually interact with most other hotel guest and you’ll rarely have any interaction with the hotel employees. Unless you stay at a resort, you probably won’t even see most other hotel guests. On most cruises, you’re all getting on the ship together and getting off the ship together. You’ll see the same people and you’ll eat with them, dance with them, go to shows with them, go on tours with them, etc. You’ll interact with tons of crew members from waiters, to your room steward to the entertainment staff. With a hotel you’re given a room with a few amenities. With a cruise, you’re given a menu of wide ranging activities. And the best part is, the cruise is like a hotel that moves you to different places!
Cruising appeals to so many different people because there is something for just about everyone. If you want a party vibe or a relaxing chill vibe, there are cruises for you. If you want a family atmosphere or a no kids atmosphere, there are cruises for you. There’s rock walls, go karts, ice skating, art auctions, towel folding, belly flop contests, magic, comedy, productions shows, water slides, bingo, shops, contests, trivia, music, etc. When it comes to food you can dine alone, dine with strangers, eat at the buffet, the burger joint, pizzeria, hibachi, steakhouse, noodle bar, etc. You can stay in a cheap inside cabin or have a huge suite with a butler. The customization is endless. It’s a real life choose your own adventure novel and that’s why cruising is so popular. Here’s another way to look at it. If you asked 10 people what they loved about cruising, you’d probably get 10 completely different answers. That diversity is what is so great about cruising.
Different lines, different ships
When cruising was just getting started, there wasn’t much that differentiated one ship from another. They all had cabins, a theater, a dining room and a pool. There wasn’t much else. Now, there are all sorts of different lines that cater to different people and within that, different ships that are very different from each other. Take Royal Caribbean for example. They have some of the largest ships in the world with an endless amount of amenities that wouldn’t have seemed possible not too long ago. And yet, they also have some older ships that have little more than a theater, a dining room and a pool. Of course, they also have ships in between with some really cool stuff like rock climbing walls and surfing simulators but without some of the really new things that have come out lately. And that’s just one cruise line!
Here’s my own classification of the different cruise lines out there:
Resort – this is probably what you’re most familiar with. Think Caribbean sailings, belly flop contests, over the top amenities like go karts at sea, things like that. Good value for the money. These include NCL, Royal Caribbean, MSC and Carnival.
Premium – similar to the resort style ships but somewhat higher prices and better food and other amenities. Won’t have most of the over the top amenities. These include Celebrity, Princess, Holland America
Luxury – these ships are usually smaller, more expensive, much better food and accommodations, more of a relaxed and refined vibe on the ship. These include Oceania, Silversea, Viking and Regent Seven Seas.
River cruises – mostly found in Europe, these cruises are like floating hotels with very little amenities compared to traditional cruise ships. Viking also has river cruises as that’s where they started and then branched out to include more traditional cruise ships.
Foreign cruise lines – the cruise lines you are familiar with generally cater to the American market although they sail throughout the world. Other lines cater to other countries, cultures and languages. For example, Costa caters to the Italian market while Cunard caters to the British market. You obviously can go on these other lines but as an English speaker, you may find yourself in the minority.
I could keep going and break this down even further but I’m just trying to keep it simple so you can get an idea.
How long is a cruise?
Cruises can be one night to many months (or even more than a year). I’d say the average is between 3 and 7 nights with 3, 4, 5 and 7 night cruises being the most popular. Some people string cruises together. So you can book two 7 nights back to back for a 14 night cruise. I recently met someone that booked dozens of cruises back to back so that he’s on the ship for about a year. If you’re just starting out, I’d stick to 3 to 7 nights but I highly suggest 7 nights so that you can really get a feel for what cruising is all about.
Why do people cruise?
As I indicated before, cruising is so diverse so everyone is probably going to have different opinions on this. Sure you could use a general statement like “to go on vacation” but let’s drill down further. Some people may go for the entertainment, others the food. Some might go to relax while others go to party. Some might go because they want a warm escape from the chilly temps back home. Others may go to gamble because they think it’s better than going to Vegas. With some of the new mega ships, the ship itself is the destination with all there is to see and do.
But let me tell you why we like to cruise. My wife and I really enjoy being able to explore new places while saving time and money. We’ve gone on cruises where we went to 5 different counties in 9 days! That would not be easy to do on land nor would it be cheap. You’d have to find a ton of different hotels, get yourself to all of these places, figure out what you’re gonna eat, etc. The transportation time alone would suck up a huge part of that time. Cruising solves all of those issues. Your hotel travels with you. All your food is right there. It would just not be possible to duplicate a lot of these itineraries on your own. A number of places don’t even have airports or train stations so boat is the only way in anyway!
I could keep going on and on but I think you get the point. Cruising means different things to different people. There are different lines to choose from and there, different ships within those lines. Once you’re on the ship, you can do nothing, somethings or everything! This customization is what really sets cruising apart from any other type of trip.