The Cruise Experience - A brief description for the first timer

If you have never been on a cruise, we would like to introduce you to the world's best vacation value. Here are just a few of the unique features that a cruise vacation can provide:

Cruising offers multiple destinations without the hassles of packing and unpacking. The cruise ship is your floating resort. This can be particularly attractive in destinations that lack high quality hotels or "creature comforts."

Cruising is one of the most service-oriented and service-intensive vacation experiences in the world.

The cruise ship is a destination in itself, with features and amenities comparable or superior to land-based resorts.

While all modern cruise ships have state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment, including in-cabin ship-to-shore phones, life at sea feels secluded and "out of time." You have the illusion of getting away from it all.

Cruising is remarkably affordable. Here is what is typically included in the cost of your cruise, at a price that is generally lower than a comparable land-based vacation:

1. Round-trip airfare.
2. Transfers from airport to ship and from ship to airport.
3. Three main meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Special children's menus are available if you are cruising with a child.
4. Three buffet meals per day (breakfast, lunch and midnight). Some ships add a fourth buffet for late-nighters at around 1:30 a.m. Many ships also have afternoon snacks or traditional high teas.
5. 24-hour Room service on many ships. Some new ships are adding 24-hour pizzerias.
6. All shipboard facilities, including: casino, pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, gym, on-board lectures, card rooms, an unending variety of organized games and contests and more...
7. Supervised children's activities offered on a daily basis. Good to know if you are bringing along a child.
8. All entertainment, including Broadway and Las Vegas-style shows, lounges, nightclubs, movies, dancing and more.
9. Visits to three or more ports of call (depending on length of cruise).

Finally, the experience of being at sea has attracted adventurers and travelers from time immemorial. There are few experiences that compare to a pristine sunrise or sunset from the deck of a ship, the curative fresh sea air, the seemingly endless canopy of stars, or the sense of wonder as one sails into a new land for the first time.