Cruise

     

Small Boats On A Vast Ocean
Looking down out of the aircraft window as we fly south to the Canary Islands, we catch occasional glimpses of small boats on the vast expanse of the Atlanctic Ocean. Many of them only attract our attention because of the trailing white wakes which they leave behind.

Cruise Ships Heading South To The Sun
Some will be fishing and cargo boats, but others will be huge, luxury cruise ships making their way south, like ourselves, to the Atlantic Islands and the promise of sunshine.

More And More Are Choosing A Cruising Holiday
More and more people are, apparently, taking to cruising for their holidays. This is confirmed by the ever increasing number of cruise ships arriving at the Canary Islands ports.

Evidence Of The Increasing Popularity Of Cruising
For two years in succession, Arrecife's port (capital town of Lanzarote) has experienced a 30 per cent increase. By the end of 2004, a total of 200 luxury cruise ships will have docked at the port, enabling many thousands of passengers to spend the day on the island before their "cruise ship home" ups anchors to visit other islands.

The Most Important Ports Of Call
Some of the world's biggest and most luxurious cruise ships make the island ports a stop over and then pass through on their way to exotic destinations. There are seven inhabited Canarian Islands and Arrecife ranks second in popularity to all the ports of call, the most popular being Puerto Cruz in Tenerife.

What Do Passengers Do When They Disembark From Their Cruise Ship?
Many of the passengers disembarking from the cruise ships at Arrecife board luxury coaches to go on excursions to the seven Tourist Centres, returning later to walk around the island capital. The creation of the Tourist Centres has been the work of a world famous local artist, the late César Manrique, and the island government.

From Fishing Industry To Cruise Ship Terminal
At one time Arrecife was the seventh largest fishing port in Spain and served as the home base for the country's largest sardine fleet. Up to seven fish canning factories operated in the island capital. Now all the fish canning factories have gone and the emphasis is increasingly on cruising, with a modern cruise ship terminal soon to be built.

Let's Take A Look At What's Happening
I have never been on a cruise, but, gazing down at those small images on the emerald blue sea, I often wonder what it would be like. What is there to do, isolated out there on the sea? What is it like to be on a cruise ship approaching a new port of call? What is it like to visit several different islands within a very short space of time? What facilities are provided?

Cruising the Internet
As a flight of fancy, I decided to 'cruise' the Internet to get some idea of what it would be like. If, like me, you have never been on a cruise, perhaps you would like to come along.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Obvious places to start are the pages of "Frequently Asked Questions" which many of the websites of the major cruise lines display. One which I have found particularly interesting is the website of Shirley & Scott Linde. Here are extracts from their FAQ's page:

• DON´T YOU HAVE TO BE RICH TO CRUISE?
  Many times a cruise is cheaper than a land vacation because room, meals and entertainment are all included. One great advantage is that you can be comfortable while visiting some of the world´s most inaccessible and fascinating places. The ship gives you a "home away from home". You unpack once and still see many locations.
   
• WHAT ABOUT AGE? WHAT ABOUT TRAVELING SINGLE?
  Cruise passengers now are all ages. Single people go as well a couples. Small ship cruises are good for family travel too. The people who cruise usually have a spirit of adventure; they are curious about the world and ready for the next adventure around the bend.
   
• WHAT ABOUT BEING BORED OR FEELING CONFINED?
  People who haven´t cruised sometimes have the misconception that they might be bored. It´s not true of big ships or small ships. Actually being at sea gives you a sense of freedom and openness.
   
• AREN´T ALL SHIPS BASICALLY THE SAME?
  Ships come in all shapes and sizes. There are river boats that go along the Danube or Rhine, the Volga in Russia, the remote jungle tributaries of the Amazon, the Yangtze, the Nile, the Snake River in Oregon, or up and down the Mississippi and the Ohio. There are icebreakers that can slice through ice in the Antarctic and Arctic. There are barges in Europe, and freighters, and even boats that can you charter yourself.
   
• HOW ABOUT ACCOMMODATIONS? ARE THERE ANY LUXURY CRUISES?
  On some expedition type cruises, accommodations can be spare, with a shower that gets the entire bathroom wet and a rack on the wall for clothes instead of a closet. But usually you will be able to hike through rainforests, swim, or sightsee all day, then come back to fine room, a hot shower, and an excellent dinner with wine. On some ships you may have a VCR, cd, radio or phone in your cabin. Some ships have hot tubs and pools, most small ships don´t. Some vessels have a masseuse, some have a sauna and some have elaborate spa facilities.
  
  You get friendly service and personal attention on almost any ship. If you want to really be decadently spoiled, you can try the white-glove treatment of the luxury ships. Some of them have private verandahs, marble baths, terry robes, personalized stationery, and champagne and caviar at any time of day or night. And some have full spas. On the luxury ships you dress for dinner every night and one or two nights a week are formal.
   
• WHERE CAN YOU GO?
  You can go all over the world. You can cruise the inlets of Alaska or among remote Canadian islands watching eagles ride updrafts and whales breaching, or snorkel in turquoise waters in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, visit ports in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas, sail into the harbors of Tahiti and Bora Bora, dive on the great barrier reefs in Australia or Belize, visit small villages in Asia, go up the tributaries of the Amazon River or visit Indian villages in the Darien Jungle.
  
  It´s even possible to go to the North Pole or to Antarctica on a Russian icebreaker, or to Big and Little Diomede Islands on the boundary between Alaska and Russia that were closed to the outside world for decades. You can go to the outermost islands of Micronesia to see atolls populated by massive colonies of frigate and tropicbirds and be formally introduced to a village chief at each island as you go ashore.
  
  Lamu, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Desolation Sound, Glacier Bay, the Sea of Cortez, the Galapagos, Bora Bora, Bali, Fiji, Baja, St. Helena, the Norwegian fjords, Patagonia, the Northwest Passage, the Amazon, the Yangtze, Tonga. Picture your fantasy, the place you´ve always dreamed of seeing, and chances are a ship goes there.

The SMALLSHIPCRUISES.COM website features small ships and off-the-beaten-path cruising and has complete and up-to-date information about small ships. The site features in-depth reports on small ships throughout the world, with information on cabins, activities, itineraries, shore excursions, rates, and discount policies. It has an interesting series of cruise reports & travel articles.