Adventurous travelers have been exploring the oceans of the Caribbean and Pacific for decades. In fact, many cruise ships now have “waterskiing” on board! But what few people know is that these cruise ship journeys began over a century ago…
A cruise ship is a journey vessel, similar to a 5-star hotel on the sea. It runs around the region tables, interacting with shipmates and locals alike to share experiences and sights with them on shore. Crew members play a large role in the day-to-day life of the passengers on board.
Historically, it was the midshipmen ( mates ) of these wooden ships who were the first to venture out and explore the surrounds of their ship. They would bring in supplies for the ship by rafting down the rivers of their destination. At first, they would be captured by the local natives and be forced to live and work along side them in the workshops. But as time went on, more and more ships of this type of ship would depart from their ports and the practice soon became popular of capturing wide ranges of commerce.
The ships of these days are very modern affairs with superb amenities and double and single decked vessels with more and more shops added to them. The practice also varies according to the type of ship. Smaller ships are built to navigate through the more difficult Barswanian waters and save fuel byEGV( electric green vineyards) whereas the larger ships are more suited to navigate through the currents of the Atlantic and make double and single decked trips. There are a number of cruising clubs that offer cruises of varying lengths. The length of typical cruises ranges from 2 to 6 nights depending on the cruise club.
whereas on longer cruises you have the option to have a shore excursion which includes a local fishing night with traditional food and passage of the Greek mastic tree. Night excursions are a common feature of all range of cruise boats.
Cruise boats have once been the mode of transport for large numbers of the population of a country. These days however, due to economical, economic and population constraints most of the regular carnival type cruises apply to a smaller number of regular citizens, let alone the regular tourists. They are basically luxury yachts that pass regularly through the waters of a country. You get to enjoy luxury amenities and neighborhood hotels without the headaches of waiting for a Nassau or Freeport type resort. Most of the regular cruises have stay over in St. Maarten, commonly known as Little Amsterdam. You will find a mixture of small and large hotels and some vibrant and exciting nightlife.
Standard cruise lines offer hotel accommodations on the ship mostly at the “heart” or pension terminal of the ship. The ports of call would depend on the destinations and the length of stay of the ship. On a short cruise you could stay at a small “bactorium” and just turn around and go to another resort on the other side of the island. Most of the ports are within a 75 minute radius of the port. Some larger ships however have the added benefit of having restaurants and activities to entice the tourists along the tour.
A growing number of cruise lines now offer special student packages which are really worth exploring because they get the young people out of the resorts and into a whole new environment. These are not the behemoths that once stood at the very pinnacle of the cruise industry but are actually looking to become cruise competitors. They offer new levels of service, a unique environment and often superb food to entice the touring adult tourist away from the resorts and into a whole new world of vacation ideas.
Since there are so many different cruise companies that specialize in different tours, locations and packages, the best course of action for the independent traveler is to join a large group tour. There are too many paired cruises offered by different companies and with a significant number of daytime flights each company also offers a flight to the other side of the island, at a cost almost commensurate with that of the longer, isolated city based destinations. This offers the opportunity to really see the destination in a concentrated level of service and one of the best ways to really experience the area is of course to join one of these huge group tours.