Cruising Across The World

My earliest cruise experience was as a 10 year old in 1982, when my family was evacuated from Beirut during the war between Lebanon and Israel by a luxury ship named Azure (provided by the Government of France) for UN and other diplomatic staff and their families to leave the country. But that experience was preceded by a scary drive amidst shelling from Beirut to the harbour of Juneah with only a few hours to make it to the ship. So while I spent 4 days aboard the Azure, I was in a constant state of trepidation and worry having left my home, possessions and friends without a clue of when we would return.

Again back in 1999, I got to experience the hospitality of the P&O cruise while travelling between UK and France. At that time, I never knew that buying a bus ticket from National Express between London and Paris would entail a P&O cruise from Dover to Calais where the entire bus went on board a ship. It was the most exciting way to spend a few hours on board enjoying the sunset over the sea while having a drink and food at the restaurant or going through the many duty free stores on board.

Many people consider that the biggest advantage of cruising is that your room is constant and predictable throughout the trip. You are not constantly unpacking and repacking as you change locations since you do not change your room as you would when you hop between hotels. Also if you are travelling with young children or elderly parents, you would want the food to be predictable and timely, while you are in a new city everyday

For me the big draw of cruising is the fact that your travel time or sailing time and after-hours are filled with a choice of activities and shows. You can put on your dancing shoes and learn to Tango or Salsa or alternatively wager your luck at the on board casino or even hone your culinary skills at the open kitchens. There are also shows for every kind of interest - whether you like opera, musicals, fantasia, comedy or a bit of cabaret etc. In the MSC cruises the shows are timed according to the audience. The late shows and cabarets were meant for the adults and the early evening shows like the adaptation of popular fiction like Harry Potter is well enjoyed by the young and old alike. There are concerts on board at the various halls and galleries and there is also a discotheque if you want to pep up your spirits.

To make the most of a cruise, you need to adhere to schedules as your time at every city is limited and similarly the ability to pack as much into your day depends on pre-planning your off shore excursions and keeping up with the notices that cruise-line posts through your door every night.

Our MSC Cruise aboard MSC Magnifica in the October of 2015 took us from Venice (Italy) to Brindisi (Italy), Katakolon (Greece), Ephesus (Turkey), Istanbul (Turkey), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and back to Venice (Italy). In each city we had between 4 to 12 hours for our off-shore excursions. In Ephesus, Dubrovnik and Katakolon we took the cruise-liner's excursions for which you pay an extra fee which is reasonable. The rest we did on our own as we were familiar with the distances and the transport, besides had our own plan on what we would like to see.

Overall I would recommend cruising with family and friends for the great value it offers, the variety of experiences, the comfort of a constant room and finally the ease of travel as visas are only required for the start and end point in most cruises (since the cruise itself affords you a visa-free entry for upto 12 hours in many countries). Some of the most popular cruiselines are MSC, Costa, Princess, Royal Caribbean etc. If you book your cruise sufficiently in advance, you can avail a discount or a couple offer for the cabins and in off season kids upto the age of 18 can travel practically for free with two fare paying adults. Cruising is no longer a luxury, and in fact an affordable way to see places where hotel accommodation can be very expensive (like the French Riviera, Amalfi Coast, Greek Isles or even the Arctic Regions).