Why Cruise?

Cruising Benefits and Features

Cruising for travel and leisure has been around for well over a century. There is something wonderful about the ability to visit exciting destinations, in grand ships, while having your needs tended to by the cruise staff. While some of the advantages of cruising remain the same today as they did a hundred years ago, there is an ongoing evolution taking place in the cruise industry. Cruises have become more affordable and cruise lines are updating their offerings to appeal to broader and different audiences. Ships are growing in size and adding new activities and features.

Below are some of the major benefits and features to cruising.

Multiple Destinations in One Trip

Cruises offer the ability to easily visit multiple destinations during a single trip. Your hotel moves with you from place to place so you only have to unpack once. As an example, a 7 night cruise will typically visit 3 - 5 ports of call.

Popular and Exotic Destinations

Cruises usually visit popular or exotic destinations. They go to ports where there are sights to see and things to do. Sure, you will run into the occasional "less than impressive" port, and some itineraries are better than others, but for the most part, if the destination wasn't worthwhile, there would be no demand for cruises that go there.

Caribbean & Bahamas

Alaska

Mediterranean

Norwegian Fjords

Activities and Entertainment

Ships offer a wide variety of activities and entertainment that are usually included in the cost of the cruise. Typical entertainment offerings include theater shows, variety acts, musical acts, game shows, contests, trivia, movies, and karaoke. On newer or larger ships you may find a sports deck, mini golf, water slides, rock climbing. Some ships (not Disney ships) even offer things like casinos, ice skating, escape rooms, laser tag, bumper cars, go karts, rock climbing, virtual reality experiences, surf simulators, and sky diving simulators. To read our article on Disney's ship features compared to other cruise lines, click here.

Cruises can accommodate people with different preferences or who enjoy different paces or activity levels, or you can choose based on your current mood. For example:

Choose Relaxation or Adventure

Most cruise itineraries offer a mixture of port days and sea days. On days that you are in port, you will typically get off the ship and go on a tour or excursion of some sort. Ports usually offer a wide variety of tour options for different preferences and activity levels. For example, you might choose something easy going like sightseeing, visiting a museum, or relaxing on a beach. However, that same port may offer ziplining, mountain hiking, or white water rafting. With the exception of Russian ports, you can also choose to just go out and explore on your own, without booking a tour. If you want, you don't even have to get off the ship. You can stay on board, while everyone else is on tour, and enjoy a nearly empty ship.

Sea days offer an opportunity to relax and enjoy the ship and onboard activities. Again, you have a variety of options to choose from that cover the range from relaxing, to more upbeat, to active. When you are on a cruise, you have the flexibility to spend your days however you want and experience a good mix of relaxation and activity. For example:

Note: River cruises don't usually have days at sea. On a river cruise, you will typically port each day, and in some cases, you may even visit two different destinations.

Family Friendly or Adults Only

Cruises are no longer just for honeymooners or retired couples. Nearly one-third of cruisers now travel with their children and the average cruising age has dropped to 47. Obviously, with Disney being a family focused cruise line, there are more children onboard than on other cruise lines.

Many cruise lines are trying to take advantage of this shift to family cruising by building ships with kids clubs, family sized staterooms, and by offering age appropriate entertainment. Even still, some cruise lines are more family friendly than others. Even within a given cruise line, it can vary vastly depending on the ship. Since family cruising is more of a recent trend, usually the newer ships have more family friendly features. This is especially true of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines, and to a smaller extent, Princess Cruise Lines.

For those who are less interested in cruising with kids, there are still options for you. Cruise lines like Celebrity and Holland America don't really market to families, though they still let kids onboard. If you absolutely don't want to see kids on your trip, Virgin and Viking offer adults only cruises.

Disney Cruise Line has been family focused since the beginning, and paved the way for other cruise lines to introduce more family oriented features. After Disney, you will find that the newer ships from Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines are good options for families.

Note: The family friendly trend really only applies to ocean cruising because the ships are larger and have enough space and staff to provide spaces and activities for kids. It is difficult to find a kid's club or a stateroom that sleeps more than 2 or 3 on a river, yacht, or expedition cruise. On occasion, certain river or expedition sail dates are marketed as family friendly sailings, which usually means they will have some sort of planned activities for the kids.

Food, Food, and More Food

The average person gains 5 to 10 pounds on a cruise, and that is because food is one of the main benefits to cruising. Ocean cruises offer a variety of dining options such as buffets, quick service (fast food), room service, fine dining, and of course, the standard meals that you get in the main dining rooms. There is typically no additional cost for food in the main dining rooms, buffets, and at most quick service restaurants. However, dining at the "specialty restaurants" which usually offer elevated food, or some sort of unique theme, often comes with an additional charge. 

Dinners on cruise ships are typically fancier than what you experience at a "regular" restaurant, and are instead what you might find at a nice hotel. The food is elevated in quality and presentation, and you are waited on by a team of 2 to 3 servers who will tend to your needs. Dinners are typically multiple courses and include a salad, appetizer, main course, and dessert. If upscale dining isn't your cup of tea, then you can always skip the main dining room and head to the buffet or even eat at one of the quick service restaurants.

On Disney Cruise Line, food eaten in the main dining rooms, the buffet, quick service restaurants, and even room service, are included with your cruise. The only place you will have to pay extra for food is (1) in the adults only fine dining restaurants, Palo, Remy, and Enchanté, (2) for pre-packaged food, such as candy, and (3) popcorn or snacks at the theaters. Disney also features the ever popular all you can eat soft serve ice cream station, which is no additional charge. However, some ships offer specialty ice cream and sweet shops that do cost more.

Drinks

Theme Cruises

There are cruises available geared towards special interests and themes. For example, there are wine cruises, culinary cruises, faith based cruises, LGBT cruises, music / band themed cruises, sports cruises, cruises with celebrities, and decade themed cruises (70’s, 80’s etc.). 

Disney Cruise Line offers Marvel, Star Wars, Halloween, and Holiday themed cruises.

Great for Groups

Cruises are great for multiple families traveling together or for large groups. There are different levels of staterooms to accommodate different budgets. There are plenty of opportunities to spend time together as a group, but also the ability to spend time apart or in smaller groups.

Ships

More and more, ships are turning into destinations in and of themselves. Modern cruise ships are basically floating resorts. Larger ships and megaships offer so many activities and entertainment that you may not even care if you get off in port.

Good Value for the Money

Cruises are a really good value for the money. The price that you pay for a cruise includes your accommodations, your food, nightly entertainment, and a schedule of other fun activities. If you weren't on a cruise vacation, the cost of these items would really add up if you had to pay for them separately.

Even with all the inclusions, please be sure to plan for these items that are usually not included in the cost of your cruise: excursions and tours, drinks, souvenirs, premium activities, and gratuities. Please note that cruises have a customary gratuity that is currently around $15 per person per night.

Note: River and expedition cruises are known for including drinks and even a choice of excursions in each port, which adds more value to these types of cruises.

Easy to Plan

A cruise can be planned with relatively little effort. Certainly, there is some planning that goes into selecting the cruise line, ship, and itinerary. But once that is done, if you can get to the port that the cruise leaves from, the cruise line takes care of the rest. That’s not to say it's not wise to book your excursions and ship activities in advance. But if you prefer, you can also just show up, go with the flow, and have a perfectly nice time.

Making Friends

I've made several long lasting friendships with people I’ve met onboard cruises. Sometimes you might bond with your tablemates at dinner or someone you meet on a tour. You are a the ship for multiple days and will run into the same people in different venues and experience activities together. Sometimes friendships evolve from those enocounters.

Many cruise sailings have what is called a "Rollcall Page" on Facebook, where people who are going on a specific sailing connect. They might plan meet ups, look for people to share tours with, offer tips, or provide information about the destinations. I've seen people use this to find other cruisers with similar aged kids, so their children already have a friend before they get on board. 

Disney fans are a unique group of people with a love for Disney. On Disney Cruises, this shared passion for Disney is often a way to connect with others.

High Satisfaction

Cruises have a very high satisfaction rating. Ninety percent of people who have taken a cruise say that they are are likely to cruise again¹.

In the last 10 years, prior to COVID, the number of people taking cruises each year has almost doubled. A big factor to the increase in cruise popularity is that cruise lines are changing their offerings to appeal to a wider range of travelers. It is not just retirees taking cruises any more.

Being in the travel industry, we frequently run into people who are hesitant about cruising, who finally cruise for the first time. Perhaps they were included in a group or family cruise and felt compelled to join. It's not uncommon for these people to book their next cruise immediately upon returning. In some cases, within a couple of years they've already completed their 3rd or 4th cruise. Give cruising a try. You may just find your new favorite way to vacation. 

Limited Time in Port

Cruises typically spend 7 to 10 hours at each port. This means you will have time to get off the ship and sample a destination, but you won’t be able to fully experience it. Rome wasn't built in a day, and you certainly can't see everything it has to offer in just one day either.

Some people use cruising to sample destinations to see which places they would like to return to and experience more in depth. I've gone back to Rome and Dubrovnik for non-cruise vacations after having visited the first time on a cruise. Others will book the same itinerary again, allowing them to spend more time at destinations they enjoyed.

Note: While not common, cruise lines do occasionally stay multiple days at the same port. For example, Disney sometimes stays overnight in Bermuda and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Crowds

Cruise ships can hold a lot of people so you have to deal with crowds at time. Cruise lines do their best to spread people out around different areas of the ship, but there are times where crowds can’t be avoided. Crowd levels vary depending on how many people are on the  ship. Some cruise lines pack more people on a ship, known as the passenger space ratio. Disney is known for having a better passenger space ratio than most mainstream cruise lines.

If crowds are a big concern for you, consider booking cruises with a high passenger to space ratio. Also, consider cruising during off season, where cruises are less likely to be sold out.

Motion Sickness

It is rare to encounter someone who suffers from sea sickness aboard a modern cruise ship. The larger ships that are popular among today’s ocean liners are less susceptible to the movement of the ocean and most are equipped with stabilizers which drastically reduce movement. Still, depending on a person’s sensitivity to motion, weather or sea conditions you may experience noticeable movement. I would only recommend that those suffering from severe motion sickness avoid cruising, or test out a shorter voyage first before committing to a longer sailing. Those suffering from mild or moderate motion sickness should be prepared with motion sickness medication in the event you encounter rough seas. You may also specifically look to choose a stateroom that minimizes movement.

Health Concerns

In our post-COVID-19 world, cruising has come under a lot of scrutiny. When COVID first started, cruise ships were known for spreading COVID due to having lots of people in close quarters. When sailing resumed, as the COVID pandemic continued, cruise ships received a lot of attention when there were COVID outbreaks on a ship. The fact is, the cruise industry has taken extreme measures prevent the spread of illness. Except in extreme cases, the infection rates on the ship have been lower than those on land.