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Never mind that 43 bazillion people have done it and that 42.9 bazillion of them will do it again.# Never mind that stacked up against a land vacation, the travel dollar value of a cruise vacation is still stunningly superior.# And never mind that what was once the seagoing playground of the rich and famous has come to Main street.# Cruise vacations are increasingly popular with travelers for a number of reasons.
We can move the cruise ship but we can’ t move the Earth.
In the past, it was a common sales point used by savvy travel agents for years when trying to “sell” clients on a cruise vacation over an all-inclusive land vacation on some tropical island.# If a hurricane comes along# that cruise ship can steer out of harms way, maybe skipping a port or running a modified itinerary.# Island land-vacations?# Not so much.
Now, security concerns, the naughty drug lords of Mexico, earthquakes and tsunami’s and/or civil unrest around the planet shut down land tours while cruise ships sail to happy waters.
The value is better than ever
Not long ago we tested this in Cruise vs land resort, each has their place, comparing a weekend at a Florida beachfront hotel that had similar services and amenities as we might find on an average cruise ship. # Not a top of the line luxury brand but the average mass-market cruise ship. #Prices may have gone up for cruises, availability may be less than it once was, but a cruise vacation won that test easily.
I don’t know that there was ever a doubt in my mind about the extreme value a cruise vacation represents but any notion headed in that direction was completely blown out of the water with that comparison.
Cruise Lines are paying attention to what we want.
New ships coming out have all the features we are looking for and older ships going into dry dock for maintenance are emerging with many of the popular features found on the new builds. #Royal Caribbean just did this#to Radiance of the Seas.# Applying the updated Royal Advantage programming to the older ship brought about a makeover of ginormous proportions made possible, at least in part, by importing popular features from giant sisters Oasis and Allure of the Seas.
Carnival Cruise Lines new FunShip 2.0 initiative brings a robust branding focus sure to be a hit with cruise passengers. Front and center in the Funship 2.0 package is the Food Networks Guy Fieri# offering a free shipboard dining venue called Guy’s Burger Joint, featuring the celebrity chef’s amazing hand-crafted burgers and fresh-cut fries and special recipes created exclusively for Carnival.
The multi-year $500 million Funship 2.0 initiative also involves some of Broadway’s biggest names in a reworking of entertainment options. Miami Heat songmaster DJ Erie was named official DJ of Carnival Cruise Lines and comedian George Lopez will become Carnival’s creative director for comedy to enhance the line’s Punchliner Comedy Clubs.
Another good example of cruise lines paying attention to what we want is a recent announcement by Norwegian Cruise Lines . Talking about their next two ships on order, the line has paid attention to guest comments and is “fixing” the cabin design rolled out on Norwegian Epic. #It was a bold move meant to shake things up and it sure did, but not in a happy way.
Other, more traditional reasons come into play to0.
The idea that we unpack once and see a bunch of different places is one that has always been on the table.# Now, more cruise lines are answering the call to linger a while by staying overnight in popular cruise ports.# Azamara Club Cruises is a big one in this area. zamara’s two intimate, 694-guest ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, with a combination of 347 suites and staterooms, offer a European-boutique hotel ambience with extraordinary service, fine cuisine and wines from around the world, and wellness and vitality programs, all while sailing to a host of destinations larger ships cannot reach, often staying overnight.
That there is always something for everyone to do and the customizable nature of a cruise that allows each individual to have a good time in their own way is an enduring quality of cruise vacations.# Truly, there are so many activities and features on today’s ships that doing all of them is nearly impossible.# That’s for those who want to do something all the time.# For those who want a nice, relaxing vacation in a safe, clean, controlled environment, cruise vacations have them covered.

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