High Seas Cruise or Country House Rentals? You Decide

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a perfect holiday and there are plenty of options to do just about anything you want on the annual break from the drudgery of work. Some swear by the idea of booking a package holiday in a Spanish resort with flights, accommodation and food all paid for in advance. No worries, no hassles and cheap as it comes. Others enjoy the car house rental option. These can be fun for the whole family, and let you wander around from one location to the next as your whims dictate.

There are those who like to spend the leisure time in a well being centre, chilling out and recharging the batteries in preparation for the next round of stress inducing work. Then there are the activity types who climb mountains or go on marine exploration trips.

It’s a whole world of variables and one where the idea of a car and house rental features strongly for families who are looking at budgets, but want the freedom of choosing their own pace and itinerary. Then there are the ones who go all out for a few weeks of total luxury aboard a cruise ship. It can be a cruise to Alaska or it can be a transatlantic voyage on one of the Cunard cruises from Southampton to New York. That service began as long ago as 1936 when the Queen Mary set the fastest time for an Atlantic crossing and won the Blue Ribband. The traditions continue with this most famous of shipping lines. But as with the choices for car and house rental, there are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the companies who can provide the service.

The biggest ships are not necessarily the most famous names and whilst a new Queen Elizabeth was being named by the British Monarch in 2010, the new Norwegian Epic was having its own naming ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, U.S.A. In terms of tonnage the ship which comes under the flag of NCL Cruises outweighs the Queen by 60,000 tons with the ship from the Norwegians grossing a massive 154,000 tons. This 19 deck vessel operates a freestyle cruising experience where there is less formality to the trip than that found on other ships. The small seabourn cruises are typically the opposite and provide a personal service which borders on exclusive. They have trips in most areas of the world, as do the MSC Cruises, and the princess cruises.

One way of finding out about all these different sea voyages is, as with car and house rentals, to read the cruise reviews and they will be able to give an assessment of the range from celebrity cruises to last minute cruises. Many writers and journalists bring their opinions to the world of travel but there is nothing like the view offered by Mrs. Jones, or who ever; basically the ordinary person who enjoys travel in all forms and that can be a luxury cruise or a fly drive holiday with car – house rental. Those reviews might point to some important points about life on board the luxury liners with information which will help to make the final decision on whether to stay on land with a car rental and rent a house in Spain or take the holiday at a more leisurely pace. The brochures which cover cruises 2011 and the following year Cruises 2012 are also good points of reference for choosing the sea based holiday.

There are plenty of cruse holidays which will not break the bank and often the costs are all inclusive. Travellers on all types of holiday assume that the cost is going to be high but the shipping lines are very well aware of the choice holiday makers have. They will be keen to get new business by offering cheap cruises which may be low season for a particular region.

That can be an advantage as the time of year may suit better, as in the Royal Caribbean cruises, or Fred Olsen cruises, which come up for offer every now and again. There can be few better ways of spending a couple of weeks than aboard a vessel such as the p and o cruises ship Arcadia.P&o cruises have made a bold move with this vessel and have made it an adult’s only ship. That will attract those who are looking for the quieter voyage, but obviously is no good for families. However, there are six other vessels in the fleet which cover all the oceans and regions of the world. As a contrast, the super looking Azura is the largest in the fleet of this long established company and that is most definitely family friendly. On board there is the Playhouse Theatre which brings Broadway shows to the oceans as well as a spa and massage facility, 5 decks of cabins plus the levels featuring the central atrium, restaurants, swimming pools and on the very top deck, the sports area for golf, and deck games. One of the features of the top quality ship experience is the range of things to do on board whilst traveling at a gentle pace of 20 knots per hour to another interesting port destination.

One of the most popular locations is the one closest to home for Europeans and that is the Mediterranean cruises which make the voyages round the calm blue sea and into the Adriatic. That takes in the Greek islands and such gems as Corsica, the Balearic Islands of Majorca, Ibiza and Minorca as well as the ports of Southern Italy. The med cruises regularly sail out of Venice so a holiday which includes a couple of days in the Italian city with a car rental and a house rental suggests a good mix of holiday experience is well worth considering on a vessel which cruises the Caribbean.

The cost of these trips is wide ranging and much depends on the type of cabin chosen. As with all accommodation and this includes house rentals, the bigger and the more stylish, the more expensive it is. Inside cabins, (many operators call them staterooms) are the cheapest, and the most expensive will be the high level suite which comes with plenty of room and a balcony or verandah looking out to sea.

The next factor is the length of the cruises, and that does depend on the location. Obviously a voyage which includes Australia and New Zealand is going to be longer than the one covering Italy and the Greek Islands. But they range from short 4 day hops across the North Sea as a cruise from UK to Holland, to the full round the world trip which takes months to complete. By taking a short journey such as the European trips, passengers can enjoy the ship life experience, at a relatively low cost. For the shipping company it is simple, re positioning its vessel for the next big voyage it may as well have paying customers on board as not, hence the lower prices. A world cruise will start in one of the European ports and this includes Southampton, Rotterdam or Barcelona. The alternative departure points are Miami, Florida, but generally the bigger cruises run from the UK. They cross the Atlantic and sail around South America, with some taking the short cut through Panama. Then it’s the Pacific, the islands, Australia and New Zealand and across to South East Asia. Some sail to Japan, but most head towards Vietnam and call in at favourite tourist centres such as Phuket and Koh Samui in Thailand, travel across the Andaman Sea and on to the sub continent to India and then Dubai and the Middle East. It’s an all embracing experience which is the ultimate holiday for those who have promised themselves this trip for most of their lives. There are obviously variations for each shipping line, but generally these round the world trips are split into segments with new passengers coming and going. For the people taking the full cruise it must make for an interesting few months as new passengers arrive and depart on their shorter holidays. It would almost be like becoming part of the crew!

That crew can be the size of an average community in the UK, America or wherever. The massive Norwegian Epic has a compliment of over 3,000 made up of a whole host of nationalities. Whilst the officers tend to be European, American and Australian, many of the crew are from the Philippines and South East Asian countries where customer service in the hospitality industry is reckoned for being excellent. The chief engineer will almost certainly hail from Scotland!

So the short or long sea voyage is worth consideration when looking to choose the next holiday and matches well against the idea of a land based tour using a car rental and booking house rentals to go with the vehicle. With the all inclusive packages, which take in accommodation and food, the cruise is a cost effective option and a great experience whilst seeing plenty of new cultures and lifestyles. The thought of all that congestion in the cities is enough to make people change their minds about a land holiday and head for the high seas to sail one of the planets seven oceans.