Cruising is the Best Vacation Value...

I work as a Reservations agent for a cruise line and even though I have been with the company for over a year, I just recently I had the pleasure of cruising for the very first time and it was a great experience.It was something that I have always wanted to do and I used my birthday as the perfect opportunity to get time off from work. Since I work in the cruise industry, I was very knowledgeable of how everything works and also aware of the additional costs that would incur on vacation, such as gratuities, fuel charge and of course shore excursions. This background knowledge enabled me in planning my trip not only with detail but most importantly with a budget.

                            
                                      Courtesy of Celebration Cruise Line

                                                

I really enjoyed every minute of my vacation even though it was only three days and two nights. I have come up with five reasons why cruising is the best vacation value.

1. Your mind is at ease knowing that your cabin and your meals are already paid for. It felt great while I was on my cruise to know that I had a place to sleep for the nights I was onboard and also that I had the choice to dine at either of four great restaurants. This was a great feeling because with other vacations you would always worry about where to lodge, where to eat, what to eat and if it is within your budget. On the other hand with cruising, passengers feel more at ease knowing that they have paid in advance for their cabin and that it's just up to them to choose where they wish to dine.

2. You are never bored on a cruise. Many people develop a misconception that since you are on a ship, that you are confined and limited in activities and entertainment and you get bored easily, but that is not true. Cruising provides activities that caters to everyone whether young or old.While on vacation there was so much for my girlfriends and I to do that it was impossible to do them all. There were activities by the pool at designated times, a two-level nightclub, comedy club, Las Vegas style shows, a casino, karaoke and happy hour at the bar lounge. There were not only activities for adults as the children as well had their own fun. Some of which included designated areas for them depending on their age group, video game lounges, movie theatre, and pool activities.

3. Everything is in one location and you don't have to leave the ship for anything except when we dock for shore excursions. Again this puts your mind at ease because you don't have to worry about leaving the ship as all the amenities and facilities you would need are right there on the ship with you. There are no worries as to where you can go to get your laundry done, to go to the gym, the spa, to eat, to have a drink, to swim, to sleep, to gamble, to party, to shop or to get information on activities because cruising provides it all. It is like a one-stop shop.

4. You get to visit multiple destinations. Usually when I go on vacation, I am stationed at one particular resort or destination. With cruising however it provides the opportunity to visit multiple destinations, of course depending on the length of the cruise. You can find yourself on different islands or different countries day by day. You get to experience the culture of every destination, explore the area, go on excursions and when it is all over you return to the comfort of your floating resort. This I believe adds value to cruising and lays the foundation as to why cruising is the best vacation value. If you were to try to visit various destinations on land or to fly from one destination to another it can be very time consuming and costly.

5. You get so pampered by the staff that you don't want to go home. I have stayed at numerous resorts before where the staff checked up on me occasionally or only attended to me if I notified them of an issue or problem. With cruising however the staff, especially your waiters and cabin stewards provide exceptional service making the cruising experience a lot more luxurious and hassle free.  Our cabin steward checked up on us numerous times to notify us of the activities for the day, to see if we needed anything whether it was fresh towels or just ice for the room. The waiters were just as exceptional and they attended to us in a timely manner. They made me feel like the gratuities I paid up front for them wasn't enough.

The next you plan a vacation I urge you to consider a cruise and you will see it was a great investment for not only the reasons I have listed but much more. Happy sailing....