Cruise Vacation

The fact is, there is a lot of variety in the cruise holiday you can go to, and this variety is not just in the destination where you are going or the cruise liner you are selecting. The cruise length also varies a lot. Cruises can be long or short, depending on the itinerary and the time available to the passenger. And of course the budget is also always one of the factors that help a person decide on what kind of cruise he wants to be on. Yes questions such as how long are cruises and the one you should opt for will depend on many things. So how long are cruises – while shorter cruises range from just 3 night cruise vacation plans to 10 days, there are longer cruise holiday options where the number of days can go even up to a staggering 130 nights on board the ship. These are invariably ‘world’ or ‘round the globe’ cruise plans.

A world voyage need not necessarily circumnavigate the globe but comes to something closer to that. These cruises mostly visit around a dozen ports on around four continents, offering passengers the feel of a world voyager, their port of calls as varied as Mombassa to Mumbai. Since these cruises are mostly preferred by ageing billionaires who enjoy the cruising lifestyle in a non-hectic atmosphere, the shipping companies look after their benefits in the form of simplifying their round-the-world travel paper-work and pre-arranged transportation in any alien land. And not just the port of call, when you are on these cruise liners, you often go inland as well on shore excursions to see landmarks and attractions that are close to the port. So this can give a break to the long cruise duration and the number of days you have to be on the sea.

World cruises usually visit 35 – 45 exclusive ports of call and often focus on remote destinations like Fiji, the south Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand, Panama, Alaska, Antarctica and few more countries. The ship often anchors in these places for more than a couple of days for restocking as also to give the passengers a break or allowing them to explore inland. Weather conditions also sometimes affect destination ports when the ship is allowed to head a different port of call where weather conditions are believed to be better. Being aboard a cruise ship for nearly three to four months and meeting the same people all the while creates a greater camaraderie among the passengers, some of whom eventually become lifelong friends. They often indulge in lavish birthday parties or arrange banquets on marriage anniversaries. Needless to say, these activities keep the passengers happy on the high seas.

World cruises extending to several months sometimes include special scenic cruising that includes crossing the equator, crossing the Suez Canal, sailing the Amazon River or floating around Antarctic icebergs. While passengers can join the world cruise at several points, the most frequent departure ports for the voyage include New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles.

While some long voyages operate within a single region, others combine diverse regions of the world to provide its patrons with varied samples of people, places, climates and culture. These long voyages however need advance booking to ensure availability and timely embarkation. Some of these cruises are listed below for the benefit of people desirous of seeing the world sans any jet lag attached with the pleasure of seeing a new nation state.

• Antarctica + South America
• Asia + Africa
• Australia/New Zealand + Tahiti
• Mediterranean (Eastern) + Greek isles
• Mediterranean + Black Sea
• Northern Europe + Mediterranean (Western)
• Transatlantic + Caribbean
• Transatlantic + Northern Europe
• Panama Canal + South America
• Alaska + Panama Canal

Cruising duration – vacations where the cruise time is less

Not all cruise vacations are round the world affairs where the length of cruise may extend to months. There are many shorter plans as well, and in fact, these shorter plans are more popular. Most people who are just starting out prefer these shorter duration cruises where the number of days may be from 3 nights to a week or 10 days. And even if some people wanted to go on longer cruise holidays, the high cost prevents them from doing so and they prefer one of the shorter cruises.

So if you are a first time cruiser, it is probably better if you tried this out first for a few days – perhaps select one where the extent of cruise is not too hectic and is within a week or so. There are some fantastic cruise deals out there that will give you a great time on the cruise liners. Having gathered the experience, budget permitting, you may then begin to consider a longer cruise vacation where the number of days is more.