Cruise Vacation

Time flies and its nearing the end of the year again. To us, Singaporeans, this is the time to relax and unwind. This period also coincides with the festive season (e.g. Oktoberfest, Christmas, New Year Countdown). Because of the year end school holiday and festive season, most people would choose to go for an overseas trip since our country is so small and attractions are pretty limited and costly. For most of us, overseas trip would involve taking a plane to another country, stay for a day or two in one place and travel to another place by road, rail or even plane. Such travel plan is a norm since we want to visit as many places as possible within a limited time. With a strong currency exchange value, cost is not really an issue for long trips but rather the limited annual leaves which working professionals in Singapore can afford to take or be away from work. However, if you just looking for a short and relaxing trip to unwind, why not consider going on a cruise?

There is a local myth saying that going on a cruise trip is equivalent to going on a gambling trip. Well, if that is the case, it would also imply that staying in or visiting any of the Integrated Resorts here is for gambling purpose only. Certainly this is not true although there are some people who does that solely for the purpose of gambling only. The point I am trying to get across is that like the Integrated Resorts that we have here, cruise vessels also provide many other form of facilities and entertainments which passengers of all ages get to enjoy and best of all, at affordable prices.

The cruise vessel itself is a hotel cum transportation. It will take you to some places for visiting without the hassle of packing and moving your heavy suitcases around. Along the way when the vessel is out at the open sea or after returning from a day of land tour, you can simply relax and enjoy the facilities and entertainments provided on board. Most cruise vessel would provide the following facilities.

Food & Beverages

Food is inclusive and is usually served both in the main dining hall or cafeteria. Passengers have the option of having a three course meal in the main dining hall served by waiter/waitress or dine in a causal buffet-style manner in a cafeteria. Buffet style dining offers a wide variety of choices for Western and Asian dishes. Aside from compliment dining, passengers may choose to dine in posh restaurants which offers French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese etc cuisines. Cruise vessels operated by Americans also offers fast food and Starbucks coffee at a premium price. Regular coffee, tea and hot chocolate are usually available free-of-charge but alcoholic beverages are payable. Most vessels would provide complimentary snacks (eg. pizza, hot-dog bun, cookies etc) round the clock.


Entertainments

Most cruise vessels provide complimentary night performances by their own crew or guest performers. Performances may also include magic shows or band singing at the poolside. For passengers who prefer a quiet moment, there is library with Internet facilities available. Internet service is very costly on board. Sometimes, the crew on board would organise activities like treasure hunt, wine tasting, health talk etc to keep passengers occupied. There is also casino to cater for gambling addicts.

 
Sports & Wellness

Sports facilities like swimming pool, spas, basketball court and gymnasium are usually provided so that sports enthusiasts do not have to break their routine sports regime while on vacation. Newer cruise vessels may even have a rock climbing wall or ice-skating rink.


Shopping

Most cruise vessels have duty-free shops on board where passengers can purchase items like wines, clothing, watches, souvenirs and even tobacco. Due to the duty-free restriction, these shops can only operate when the cruise vessel is cruising in international waters. The same rule applies for the operation of casino on the vessel.


If you can afford the time, going on a longer cruise trip can be exciting as you will be waking up each morning in different locations. However, the disadvantages of cruising include longer traveling time to get to a destination and only certain destinations which are near to the sea port are accessible. In most cruise itineraries, the cruise vessel would arrive and depart from the same location within the same day which results in lesser time for passengers to spend on shore excursions, not to mention additional time spent on immigration procedures (may be necessary depending on the local immigration procedures) and in certain location where the vessel is unable to dock at the port, it is necessary for passengers to take small boats for disembarkation and embarkation. If you are planning for a short weekend getaway trip, why not consider a cruise vacation which your family members, young and old will enjoy?