Don't worry about booking a flight or a rental car and waking up in a different place almost every day? Cruises meet these requirements. In the following we show you what to consider when taking a cruise.
Unique experiences in a floating hotel
Numerous film scenes take place on cruise ships. Most of the film episodes show the outer decks of the ships. But there is also a lot to discover in the public rooms below deck. Bars and lounges or casinos are a few examples of the abundance of what is on offer. Restaurants, spacious sports and wellness areas as well as varied entertainment programs brighten up every day at sea.
Majestic Princess Grand Casino
Discover many destinations without changing accommodation
For many passengers, going ashore is one of the indispensable experiences of the trip. Before starting the cruise, find out which vaccinations are important in the destination countries and note the required times for the initial and, if necessary, post-vaccinations. Don't forget to take your vaccination certificate and your health insurance card with you. We recommend taking out travel insurance. In the event of illness, you would be 100 percent covered.
Package travel versus individual travel
Package tours generally include the cost of the return flight. When booking your cruise, make sure that travel expenses are included. The corona pandemic is currently making short-term flight bookings difficult. If you want planning security, book a cruise with an included flight package.
The development of cruises in Germany from 2004 until today
According to research by the renowned German statistics portal statista, around 2019 million passengers worldwide took a cruise in the pre-Corona year of 30. Americans in particular love cruises. The second and third places among international cruise guests are taken by Chinese and Germans. As far as Germany is concerned, the number of German cruise passengers has grown steadily since 2004. In 2019, the highest number of the last 3,67 years was reached with 15 million passengers. In 2020, there was a slump as a result of the Corona pandemic. No more than 1,41 million German "cruisers" went on river and ocean cruises. Globally, the Caribbean islands the main cruise destination. Around 30 percent of all cruise ships sail in the Caribbean. The second most important driving area is that Mediterranean.
Cruise ship at Estacio Maritima Num 2 in Palma de Mallorca
Optimal price-performance ratio across the board
Cruise company pricing is not always transparent to laypeople. A distinction is made between the classic full-board option and the so-called all-inclusive offers. For the latter, part of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as tips from the crew are included in the price.
Special advertising campaigns by the shipping companies are of interest. If such are offered, attractive price reductions are available even in the main season. Other interesting offers are free updates to higher cabin categories or early bird offers. In individual cases, an accompanying person travels with you free of charge. Parents are advised to compare the significantly reduced prices for accommodating their children with the individual shipping companies.
The beverages make up a not inconsiderable part of the on-board bill, regardless of whether they are alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. Personal consumption behavior in relation to the drinks is decisive for whether booking a drink package is worthwhile. In the case of beverage packages, it is usually the case that certain expensive alcoholic specialties are not included in the packages. In addition, inexpensive beverage packages are offered for children and young people.
Choose an environmental hero
Before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, almost 400 cruise ships were counted. Environmentalists view the ships with great reservations. And not without good reason; Older ships in particular offer considerable potential for optimization in terms of emissions. It is therefore advisable to find out about the pollutant emissions of the preferred ship before booking a cruise. An extremely negative feature is the use of heavy fuel oil, which generally causes high nitrogen and sulfur emissions.
In recent years, the discussions on the topics of climate and environmental protection have led shipping companies and ship owners to rethink their approach. Environmentally conscious companies use low-sulfur marine diesel (MDO) and install modern exhaust gas cleaning systems. Other measures on board the cruise ships are efficient sewage treatment plants, the avoidance of single-use plastics and effective waste separation. Another future-oriented step is the use of low-emission LNG liquefied natural gas. The first cruise ships are using this advanced technology; more ships are under construction. Information on environmental protection can be found on the website of the provider.
AIDAnova - Germany's first LNG ship
Calling & surfing on a cruise ship
Roaming is an important part of every trip. What about on the high seas and when calling at daily changing destinations? The cellular networks used on land are not available when traveling on the high seas. Instead, modern cruise ships have their own cellular network based on satellite technology. The stations are connected to a mobile operator on land via satellites. The prices charged for the maritime mobile radio service are high. In individual cases, however, the shipping companies have interesting Internet offers. In order to avoid unexpectedly high costs, we recommend checking the Internet costs on board the cruise ships in advance.
Only take the bare essentials with you
Last but not least: Avoid ballast, only take the bare essentials with you. Your “Sunday clothes” can be dispensed with on most cruise ships. And one more note: clarify in advance whether you want to take your laptop with you or do without your work. After all, unique experiences beckon on "your" cruise ship.