Cruise Vacation - Anatomy of a Cruise

The Anatomy of a Cruise Overview: Planning on a Pleasure Voyage? Nothing, apart from a Cruice liner or a Cruise ship can provide you with the ultimate experience of such a vacation, where the journey itself is more fun than reaching the destination. Surely, with on-board facilities like casinos, spa, shops, library, theatre, gym etc. who could resist the temptation of a cruise vacation. World's Largest Cruise Ships Ocean Village 2 2014 passengers Gross tonnage : 70,310 Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 1,892 (all berths) passengers Gross tonnage : 70,327 Disney Wonder Cruise Ship 2,700 passengers Gross tonnage : 83,000 .....-- Norwegian Epic 4,100 passengers (double occupancy) Gross tonnage : 155,873 Royal Caribbean, Oasis of the Seas 6,296 passengers Gross tonnage : 225,282 What amenities are available Most modern cruise ships feature the following facilities: Casino - Only open when the ship is at sea Theatre with Broadway style shows Indoor andior outdoor swimming pool Spa Cinema Shops - Only open-when ship is at sea Fitness center Library What you pay: Most people connect cruise with luxory travel and imagine the costs to be fit only for the millionaries. However, they can only be far from reality, as the deals start from $100 per day, which leads to a week long cruise travel to be around $700 to several thousand dollars. An all-inclusive cruise deal is likely to cover the basic requirements, like - breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, buffets, movies, shows, dance etc. which should be enough for most cruise travelers. There are other costs involved, some like port charges etc. which is likely to be a must, others like soft drinks, alchohols etc. that can be avoided. Here are a few of such extra costs and tips to save money. 1) Plan ahead - save money 2) $9 to $12 a day for Tips. 3) $25 to $30 for excursions in the port cities visited by the ship. 4) Free for children - Look for "free children" offers with full-paying parents. 5) Air support for cruise lines - Most cruise ships offer a pick up service by air from major cities. It is mostly cheaper than regular air tickets. 6) Contact a good travel agent - most good travel agents get discount offers. 7) Spa - The starting cost of a massage can be as high as $100 and with exotic packages included, it might rise to $500 easily 8) Alcohol - Alcohol is generally, not included, in the package. And the cost of buying such drinks will be quite costly. 9) Extra Activities - Special onboard activities like yoga can cost $10 to $15, baby-sitting starts at $6 an hour, per child. 10) Shopping - The shopping opportunity on a cruise is very tempting, one can end up buying thousands of dollars worth of jewellery. 11) Pictures - The cruise photographer can charge you as much as $20 a picture, make sure to say, - "No, Thank You," to him and carry enough camera battries and memory cards from home, as prices are likely to be much higher if you buy them on cruise. 12) Net Connection - Most cruise-provided internet packages starts at 75 cents a minute and can go higher if you want a speedy connection. Work out some cheaper internet access when the ship is parked on a port. That might take up some valuable of short time, but will certainly save you some money. TRAVELTAMED Credits: Source - en.wikipedia.org | news.travel aol.com | adventure.howstuffworks.com oruisecritic.com 1-