What is the Best Cruise for You?
When it comes to selecting the best cruise for you, one cruise specialist leans towards selecting the ship over the cruise line.
“Large cruise lines offer a lot of the same experience,” says Tanner Callais, cruise expert and founder of Cruzely.com. “What can vary widely is the ship itself.”
Consider that on a week-long cruise, you might have three ports of call. With about eight hours at each port, you’re only off the ship about 24 hours during the week. That means the ship has to have plenty to appeal to you and keep you entertained.
Here are 5 cruise styles best for you:
1. Family Cruises
You want to make sure there is plenty for kids to do. The newer and larger ships typically offer the most for everyone to do. These days cruise-happy kids can do everything from challenging themselves to climbing a rock wall to sharing ice time skating on a cruise rink to splashing fun on board the ship’s water park.
Brands: Royal Caribbean has its Ultimate Family Suite, a two story suite of thrills on each level. RCI’s Symphony of the Seas has FlowRider, laser tag and the twisting racer slide Typhoon and Cyclone. Carnival Cruise Line are the promoters of ‘fun’ with NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal as the Chief Fun Officer. Big on kid-friendly features and its Kids Club, enjoy family time on Carnival’s Vista, Breeze, Dream and Magic.
2. Caribbean Cruises
It’s gotta entice cruisers loving beaches and sun and outdoor activities that have less museum tours and cultural activities. These historic attractions are best kept for the Mediterranean or Baltic sails.
Brands: Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Fantasy with its one-of-a-kind offerings and Caribbean crowd pleasing ports of call, and Celebrity Cruise Line with its new Celebrity Edge offers transformative spaces that morph into a resort-style atmosphere. On this edgy cruise get ready to enjoy the world’s first cantilevered floating platform called the Magic Carpet.
3. Ocean Cruises
Anticipate ultra sailing with intensive sea days where the ship could be at sea for a week.
Brands: Think of Viking Ocean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises with each ocean cruise line offering an array of “Wow” factors for the long cruise days.
4. Luxury Cruises
For more formal and fancier affairs, these cruise companies offer the same cruise destinations as let’s say those ocean cruises but the big differentiators are in the personal service and sophisticated cruise elegance. Often you’ll have butlers and a bigger crew ratio to passengers.
Brands: Cunard Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn or Silversea Cruises with its refined, relaxed experience means fewer tuxedos and more quiet elegance. Seabourn Cruise Line, which has been voted best luxury cruise line, has sister ships like the Seabourn Encore and Ovation known for their new concepts and fresh vision.
5. High Touch – High Tech Service Cruises
This cruise style aims toward out-of-this-world sometimes affiliated with AI-type approaches to entertainment but could also include old fashioned hands-on activities. It’s best seen on cruise ships that are big on interactive, immersive experiences.
Brands: The Holland America Line with its MS Eurodam and MS Nieuw Statendam which is the second in the Pinnacle class ship category have a high touch high-tech service. Evenings center around a variety of music venues from a dance club to rock n’ roll and billboard rooms as well as Lincoln Center at Sea. Over at Royal Caribbean International, do hands-on training on board the MS Freedom of the Seas with the Adventure Ocean Youth program. Think educational and fun out at sea that’s good for for first-timers too.
By: Ilona Kauremszky
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