Luxury Cruises – Travel In A Hotel To Exciting Ports Of Call
March 16, 2009 by Dorothy Yamich
Filed under Hotels
A luxury cruise holiday can truly enrich your life. Not only will you be vacationing with like-minded people who love to cruise, you will develop great friendships among your cruising companions.
When you cruise you can sail to intriguing ports of call anywhere that cruise ships travel. Not only are there the huge cruise liners which everyone is familiar with, there are a number of different types and sizes of ships. The medium, and particularly the smaller size cruise ships can negotiate further up the inland waterways to famous cities and historic landmarks where larger ships could never go.
The larger cruise ships usually have one or two organized shore excursions at each port of call. If there are two sightseeing excursion events scheduled the same day, one may take place early in the morning and the second one in the afternoon. Most morning shore excursions normally get back to the ship in time for the people to feast on a fantastic lunch buffet.
It is possible that on a second excursion, you could arrive back at the cruise ship later on in the afternoon or early evening. You may possibly be a little late for dinner if you’ve opted for the first sitting.
It is also your prerogative to explore the city, town, or island attractions and landmarks on your own. Please remember that it is your responsibility to get back on time or your cruise ship could sail without you. However, if you choose to book a shore excursion with the cruise ship, they will not sail until everyone is back on board.
Take full advantage of the time you have in port by using it wisely. Some vacationers decide to disembark and go it alone by hiring a car and driver to take them to see and explore the sights. Usually taxi drivers charge by the carload and not per person so if you want to save some money you can split the cost with a few other fellow passengers. If you leave early in the morning you may be able to get back in time to enjoy the lunch buffet.
When you cruise you should bring a detailed guide book or books that cover each of the destinations you know that you will be visiting. Even if the weather is less than optimal for your shore excursion, always take your camera as the weather, if inclement, can improve very quickly.
Don’t judge the port by the dock and its surrounding area. Its usually a freighter loading and unloading area and the major warehouse and industrial district of a town and city. You may have to travel out of the port and into the city or town to really experience the unique tourist attractions, historical sites and the local culture.
What are the differences between a river cruise and a barge tour?
Although they have some similarities, there are differences between these two types of water sightseeing tours. Firstly, the ships that sail the rivers can handle approximately up to one hundred and eighty people, while barges usually can accommodate from five to twenty-five people. The second significant difference is that the river cruises can visit a number of countries and cities in a week, while barges traverse man-made canals from town to town and move at a much slower, leisurely pace, and can cover approximately only fifty miles in a week. Thirdly, river cruise ships have a restaurant, lounge, and entertainment, while the more intimate barges are essentially first-class, floating hotels, having a dining room and lounge as well as a sun deck. The most popular river cruises and barging tours are in Europe.
What are luxury cruise tour packages?
A cruise tour land package is similar to a cruise that stops for half-day or full day shore excursions but gives you the best of both a luxury cruise and a land holiday combined in one. The main differences between the two is the land part of your vacation includes transportation by train or motor coach travel to a quality hotel accommodation at your inland destination. You will be accompanied by an expert tour guide for the land segment of your itinerary. These combo packages are generally longer, lasting from approximately ten days to three weeks or even a month or more. On most cruise land tours you can decide to take the land part of your holiday either before or after your cruise.
Including Europe, you can book a cruise tour for Australia, South America, Asia and the United States. One of the most popular cruise tour destinations in the world is Alaska.
If you’d like to enjoy the best of both worlds – a fabulous dream cruise holiday and a land tour adventure – a luxury cruise tour is the utmost vacation experience.
These cruiselines also do some outrageous shore excursions- check out this article: http://www.cruisecompete.com/pressrelease091008.php