Holiday Cruises Make Sense - for the Right People
For some people, there's no place like home for the
holidays. But if you're single or married without children,
if you are unable or unwilling to spend Christmas with your
relatives, or if you just prefer doing things out of the
ordinary, a holiday cruise is a great idea.
Most cruise lines offer special packages that cruise over
Christmas and New Year's, typically with an upcharge that
reflects some of the extra festivities that passengers will
experience. Many holiday cruises offer special meals,
decorations, and parties to commemorate Christmas and New
Year's Eve, and the fare reflects this.
Holiday cruises can be surprisingly crowded, so book early
and don't be surprised if you can't get exactly what you
want. In fact, it might be good timing now to book for the
2008 Christmas cruise!
While the cruise lines do an outstanding job of making the
voyage as festive as possible, the fact is that Christmas
on a cruise ship is just not a traditional experience.
Particularly in the Caribbean, the warm weather, palm
trees, and pristine beaches just don't seem to match the
mood of the season. For that reason, cruise passengers for
the holidays should make certain mental as well as physical
preparations.
First, be flexible. If you have a Christmas card holiday in
mind, a cruise vacation may make you feel like you're
missing Christmas. You need to have a sense of adventure
and a desire to create new traditions and seek new
experiences.
Second, take some Christmas with you. Whether you're
traveling with one person or a group, take along some
gift-wrapped presents to exchange on the big day. If your
family always had certain holiday traditions (such as a
midnight snack on Christmas eve or chocolate candy on
Christmas day or opening stockings stuffed with presents
early in the morning) you might be able to figure out a way
to "import" that to the cruise. This will help you merge
the traditional Christmas with the cruise Christmas.
Third, dig deep into the real meaning of the holidays.
Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Eve,
holidays are holidays for a reason. Think about what they
mean to you and allow the cruise to complement that.
For example, New Year's Eve may be a time when you enjoy
getting dressed up for big parties and when you like to
relax and reflect on the year gone by. Great, you can do
that (and more) on a cruise ship.
Get in the party mood. The crew on your ship is working
this holiday and that can be hard thing. Many crew members
have long-term contracts and don't see their families or
native countries for months at a time. They are tasked with
creating a festive mood for you; do them a favor,
reciprocate. Be generous with your tips and your thank-yous.
Holiday cruises work out well in situations where you can
cruise with your family (like a combination
reunion-Christmas cruise) or in situations where you feel
like you can't face a traditional holiday. If you're
recently divorced or widowed or find yourself in a
situation where you can get some time off but can't (or
don't want to) go home, a cruise is a great solution.
Talk to your cruise line about what sorts of activities are
planned and if you might need special attire. Many cruises
offer formal or lavish holiday type events, so you may need
to bring evening clothes (or perhaps more than one set of
formal wear).
If you've grown up in a cold climate and plan on spending
Christmas or New Year's in the Carribean or other
warm-water destinations, be prepared for a jolt. Even if
you know it's going to be warm, even if you think you'll
love the fact that it's warm, even if you think you don't
care that it's warm.
Even people who grow up in warm climates will tell you that
it is an odd experience to watch an 80-degree breeze ripple
the tinsel on the Christmas tree and how odd it feels to
hum along to carols in your bathing suit. Sunbathing on
Christmas Day may sound delightful, but you will get a sort
of weird sensation if it actually happens.
Be prepared for this by making sure you do get some
familiar holiday traditions worked into your cruise
vacation.
While last-minute cruising is a bit of an art form (and can
be a good way to save a few bucks on a great cruise), it
hardly ever applies to holiday cruising. It really is a
good time right now to plan a cruise for next year's
holiday.
Why so early? Well, for one thing, holiday cruises book up
early. Some people have literally made a Christmas or New
Year's cruise a tradition. And cruises are getting
increasingly popular in general, so holiday cruising is
only going to see increasing demand.
The other reason is money with choice. Most cruise lines
are willing to discount fares to two types of passengers:
those who book early and those who book very, very late.
The late-comers are really just filling up space that would
have gone empty otherwise. Late-comers can get deals, but
they never get a choice. You pretty much have to take what
you can get.
On the other hand, most cruise lines are very generous to
early birds. It's good business. If a cruise ship can fill
up far in advance, the cruise line doesn't have to scramble
to sell fares ... less advertising, less promotion, less
last-minute discounting frenzy. It helps them to encourage
passengers to book early, so they encourage you the best
way they know. They offer discounts.
Don't expect massive discounts by booking early. But you
can probably land a pretty good deal. One thing that most
cruise lines will do for people who book cruises months
ahead of time--they will work in some upgrades. You may be
able to upgrade your stateroom or get some on-board credits
as well as a less-than-rack-rate passage.
Think it's really too early to start planning next year's
holiday cruise? Go online and look at the cruise companies.
They all have announced their schedules for 2008, some far
beyond that.
Maybe next year you can get a suntan for Christmas!
Die besten Kabel Internet Deals
Hochwertige Haarpflege Kerastase im Online-Shop kaufen