These days, more and more people are choosing to stray away from the traditional two-week holiday spent in the same location, instead opting to travel around a few cities in one break. The problem is, this can be a stressful, costly and confusing way of seeing Europe, and it needs tonnes of organisation beforehand if you want your trip to go smoothly. It’s no surprise then that people are turning to cruises to help them see the world in a comfortable and affordable manner. If you want to know the many benefits of travelling across the continent via sea, read on…
- You can make the most of your time
When making your own way around Europe, you spend a lot of your time travelling and getting yourself organised. With a cruise, all of that stress is taken away from you. In most week-long cruises, you’ll visit up to six ports, often in different countries, and whilst travelling, you’re far from bored. All that time you would spend on a train or coach, you can spend indulging in the ship’s facilities. It could be salsa lessons, rock-climbing, swimming or shopping through one of the ship’s retail districts depending on the vessel. Either way, you’ll get to pack far more into your time than by travelling on land.
- Convenience is king
Once you board the ship, that’s it. You can settle into your room, you only need to un-pack your clothes once, and you never need to worry about getting lost or losing your things. If you were travelling on land, you’d have to unpack and re-pack every couple of days, spend time checking into different rooms, and of course making sure you get on the right trains and buses. You go to sleep, and wake up in a different country – it couldn’t make travelling any easier.
- You don’t need to worry about money
Cruises have steadily increased in popularity over recent years, and they’re now more affordable than ever. The best thing about them though, is that most of your expenses are already paid before you set foot on the deck. Your room, food, most drinks, facilities and so on are all paid for in advance, so you’ll only need money for additional excursions which you can book once on-board, and of course spending money if you fancy getting some souvenirs at a local market.
- You can always go off the beaten track
There will be dozens of tours and excursions hosted by the cruise ship staff in every port, but you could choose to be completely independent in order to see those dream destinations at your own pace. For example, if you’re sailing through Vienna, why not book some Vienna opera tickets in advance to be used when you’re docked, rather than going with one of their tours? Just because it’s available, doesn’t mean you have to use it – it’s just as flexible as travelling separately.
Have you ever been on a European cruise? Let us know what you thought in the comments…