Cruise
Information Center
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Cruise Information Center
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Choosing a Cruise and Your Ship
Thinking about taking a Cruise vacation and now you want to take the plunge, but how to start? The decisions don’t stop here. You’ve only just begun, you will be bombarded with all the glossy cruise literature and internet sites that are produced in order to tempt you in every imaginable way and to lure you in to travelling with them by using such words and phrases as "Five Star Luxury", "Gourmet Dining" and "Fabulous Destinations". Well, where does one start from to select the right ship. What appears to be a relatively easy choice is somewhat overwhelming and now is turning into a chore. We at the CruiseInformationCenter.com are here to assist you in making the right choice of cruise that is going to meet your requirements. There is no sense in selecting a wrong cruise and being miserable throughout your holiday. We want you to have an enjoyable and satisfactory vacation and to come back and tell us about it so we can pass the news on to other visitors to our site. There are all kinds of different ships and destinations that they travel to, which will meet your individual needs. Despite all the advertising, hype and constant claims by the cruise lines that they have been named the "Best Cruise Line" or "Best Cruise Ship", at the end of the day they make a lot of noise to attract your attention, but only one thing matters is that you have made a choice that is right for you. Most passengers aspire to sail aboard a top rated 5 Star Luxury ship, while most cruise lines aspire to be a Luxury Cruise operator. But in reality, only a few cruise lines can really deliver a five star cruise product. What is a Cruise? A cruise, is a vacation aboard a ship that is designed to carry passengers with ease and in comfort to several destinations. A cruise vacation will provide you with a relaxing environment free from the stresses and strains of your normal life ashore. It provides you with an opportunity to relax and unwind in comfortable surroundings, with good food and service. It also provides the opportunity to explore and pamper your self. Everything is always close at hand along with the crew and fellow passengers that are polite and will lend a helping hand. You will be provided with virtually hassle free vacation. How Long are Cruises? As, long or short as you want. Cruise lines offer itineraries from three days to three months or even longer. The average cruise is usually 7 days accounting for about 49% of cruisers, then followed by 10 days or longer, which accounts for 30% of cruisers and 5 days or less accounting for 21% of cruises. As rule of thumb, the longer the cruise, the smaller the cruise ship, the higher the standard of comfort, luxury and service along with the high the cost of a cruise. The length of cruise will depend on what disposable time and money is available, along with the standard of comfort and service that you require. A word of advise if you are new to cruising, take a short cruise and get you feet wet first. Which Ship? Cruise ships today are a self-contained resort and despite all the advertising, the glossy literature and the hype, there is a cruise ship to suit virtually all tastes. It is very important that you take into account your personal requirements and preferences. A good example of this is when you take a land based vacation and usually stay at a four star hotel and you select a 2 Star ship because of price, or if you usually take a vacation at a quiet resort with few people around and then find your self on a ship 2000 people, it is with almost certainty that you will come back disappointed. A good suggestion is to write down your top 10 requirements and stick to them and not be distracted by a discounted price or a glossy brochure. Another recommendation is to read the reviews that have been post on this Internet site by fellow cruise passengers and the Cruise Information Center staff.
Three Important Factors
Size of Ship Cruise ship are measured by Gross Registered Tonnes (GRT, a measurement of a 100 cubic feet of enclosed revenue generating space with in a ship). The Cruise Information Center rates them into 5 different categories. With 5 categories this provides for a more equal footing and accommodates the new and large cruise ship that are being build today. With regards to passengers we refer only to lower berth and do not take into count lower berths. Once a ship has reach the maximum in a particular category whether it be by Gross Registered Tonnes or the number of passengers, we will automatically move the ship to the next category. This method will provide for fairer comparison and better analyst, which will lead to a better choice of cruise vacation and a satisfied passenger. Space To have an idea of how much space is around you, you need to look at the Passenger Space Ratio. Which simply put is the maximum number passenger in lower berths vs the ships gross registered tonnes and it also can be measured by the total number of berths available on cruise ship vs the ships gross registered tonnes. Crew to Passenger Ratio The number of crew to for every passenger can determine the standard of service onboard. The lower the ratio will usually provide for a higher level of service. The best service onboard ships are those that have a ratio 1 crewmember to 2 passengers or lower. Divide the number of passengers in lower berths by the number of crew to obtain the crew to Passenger ratio.
Crew In today’s world many cruise lines hire a multinational crew, which provides for a diverse range of individual skills that are very complimentary in providing the highest standard of service. It is almost like the United Nations. Also the better ships in the world provide their crew with the best living and working conditions and this tends to be the most expensive ships.
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