Posts Tagged ‘Cruise holiday’

Thinking About a Cruise? Take It!

June 28th, 2011

I’m ready to sail again
Months passed from when we first started talking about a cruise until the time we took one. It was the notion of the expense that scared me off. I even managed to avoid making inquiries. The cruise liners leave from Miami or Fort Lauderdale right where we would be.

Travel agent
A visit to the travel agent dispelled fears of the cost; the one week cruise in an outside cabin with a verandah compared favorably to staying in a good hotel and moreover, explained the agent, everything is included in the price. Our first glimpse of crowd management came when we arrived on a shuttle from the airport car rental agency and saw two thousand other would-be cruisers milling around on the dock where the enormous ship was anchored. Our luggage disappeared and we were directed into the passport control line.

On board at last
Finally we walked up the gangplank onto the ship, our first taste of the ‘sea-legs’ sensation. It was impossible to tell that we had left ‘terra-firma’. All this took one hour from the time we arrived at the port. And that was the last time we were aware that there were 2,400 other passengers on the ship with us.

The ship
The ship itself is about two years old and is the very latest in cruise liner design and architecture. It contains every possible facility that anyone could possibly want on a holiday, including 10 restaurants, a gym and spa, bars, an internet cafe, a casino straight out of the Las Vegas strip, a library, a sports deck and a full scale theater that seats about a 1,000 people. We breakfasted with many different people: “You come from where? Wow, how interesting!” and back to their cereal. We generally ate dinner on our own in a different restaurant every evening. Every meal, needless to say, was excellent. The buffet style breakfasts are designed for the many obese guests who piled their plates high every morning. Just watching them enabled me to maintain my diet.

Service
The service was outstanding. The ship boasts a passenger to crew ratio of 2.4, in other words one crew member to every two and a half passengers. The entertainment director announced one evening that the crew came from 60 different countries. The crew were everywhere and still managed to remain unobtrusive. We chatted with members of the crew and listened to how they sail around they world month after month. Cruise destinations change with the seasons chasing warm weather and avoiding hurricane areas.

One week cruise
A one-week cruise is just about enough to get you to remember where everything is. I kept the pocket guide on me at all times. The ship is big. A turn around the walking track on deck 13 is 600 meters. The only sensation of movement – we were blessed with very calm seas – is when one is sitting on the toilet. The hard surface transmits every vibration, but our fears of motion sickness were foundless.

Great holiday
All in all, a great holiday and highly recommended to all those who hesitate about taking a cruise.

Tags: Cruise holiday, holidays, Luxury holiday
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