5 Reasons Why You Need to Book a Cruise Right Now

Recent growth in the vacation cruise market has been impressive. More than twenty new vessels are due to be added to the worldwide fleet between 2015 and 2017, so what’s behind its rising popularity? Here, we explore a few possible reasons, and why it might be time for you to book your last minute cruises.

All-Inclusive
With more and more packages including a return airfare to the departure port, the all-inclusive facet of cruising and its money-saving potential is proving a big draw for vacationers. Whether you’re island-hopping in the Caribbean, steaming along the Dalmatian coast or criss-crossing the Mediterranean, the all-inclusive aspect makes the funding easier to plan. For just the one price, you get air travel, passage, full board and lodging and access to onboard activities and facilities.

Mini-Breaks Galore
The chance to visit several city ports in the course of just one vacation with almost universal access is also a massive attraction. Spin a globe, land on any of the bits colored blue, and it’s a fair bet there’s a cruise ship that goes there. In seven nights you can take in Barcelona, Marseilles, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Split and possibly Venice (a local ban on cruise ships was recently overturned by higher Italian authorities). In the same seven nights from Puerto Rico, you could visit the US Virgin Islands, St Maarten, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados. And a four-day cruise can take you from Copenhagen to St Petersburg via Stockholm and Helsinki, or to Dubrovnik via Split and Mostar (Ploce) with the enchanting islands of the Dalmatian coast as a fabulous bonus.

Short Notice
With the launch of so many new ships, worldwide capacity is growing fast and there’s never been a better chance to book last minute cruises. And if you’re flexible about departure dates and cabin preferences, your options are even greater. This may explain why many young people are choosing all-inclusive cruising vacations; research from 2014 shows that almost a fifth of 18-25-year-olds had been on a cruise in the last five years.

Safe & Secure
Cruising, more than any other vacation base, is a tightly controlled and managed environment with specific rules and guidelines governing any manner of behaviour. But although they still build ships with a brig, a ship’s jail, they’re almost never used: crime aboard is rare. After all, there are plenty of places to hide, but nowhere to run!

Excitement & Inspiration for All
Most imaginable tastes and interests are indulged, and with many ships now offering extended stays ashore, there’s heaps of time for organized sightseeing or independent exploration. Whether you’re looking for exciting adventure, nature, culture or history, or if you simply want to meander through the local food markets, there’s always plenty of variety.

So with many of the common myths expelled or debunked, those excuses for not booking a cruise now seem even harder to come by.

Special guest post provided to Jen is on a Journey. Images used under the Creative Commons.