Archive for December, 2009
December 23rd, 2009 | 
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No mode of transportation can compare with being on water, and unless you’re landlocked, plan at least a small part of your journey on a boat, ship, catamaran, dinghy, long-tail boat, or skiff. (I suggest skipping the lifeboat.)
The necessity to book tickets for in-state, in-country, and inter-country ferry systems varies. Washington State has a vast route of ferries in which no advanced purchase is necessary for most sailings (as a matter of fact, it’s first come, first served).For ferries in general, however, tickets are normally required in advance for longer-distance sailings (when you will want a private sleeping berth) and shorter sailings when you need a confirmed seat.
Major ferry systems often allow online booking. The FAQ sections on each ferry system’s website should answer your questions as to whether it’s possible to book in advance, whether you can book online, and what your chances are of getting tickets if you plan to purchase just prior to departure.
Unless you’re traveling during high season, you’ll find it easy to book your tickets for short-distance boat rides just days in advance (if not the same day). Of course, if you must be in a city for a specific event, the farther ahead you book, the more you can rest easy that you’ll arrive on time. Purchase your tickets directly from the ferry company, as travel and booking agents will tack on additional charges to cover their services. However, there are times when it may be well worth having someone else handle ticketing on your behalf,especially if you don’t speak the language.
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Cruise ships have gained a reputation for being high-cost, high-reward ways of going on holiday. Sure, you may be coughing up a few dollars more, but look at what you get for your money – travelling in style to wonderful destinations, often seeing ten or more amazing cities in the one holiday. Hard for anyone to resist, when you put it that way. So it naturally follows that a cruise ship with extra luxury is yet more desirable, does it not? For anyone with a passion for travelling in style, a luxury cruise is not far away from being a Holy Grail of holidays.
If you wish to take a holiday that you will look back on in 20 years’ time and think “That was really something!”, then it is hard to look any further than a luxury cruise. On many luxury cruises every cabin is a suite – spacious, luxurious, multi-roomed and in some cases multi-level, with a balcony, 24 hour room service and even in some cases a butler. Many of us will never in our lives be able to call upon the services of a butler, and to employ one on dry land is simply prohibitively expensive for all but the higher orders of society. If it so happens that you have the disposable income to afford a luxury cruise, even once in your life, then you can live that life just for a short period – and there is something to be said for a one-off experience like that.
Although there is a lot to be said for going on a luxury cruise, there is an argument that goes as follows: “How much luxury do you need?”. Going on a cruise in the first place is quite a high-end holiday, and the experience of going on a holiday that takes you to multiple ports of call is more than some people could ever imagine themselves doing. When you have the money available to go on a luxury cruise it becomes a question of priority. You can pay the extra cash and have the extra levels of luxury, and if you want to spend the money then good luck to you. But a mid-range cruise will give you the chance to experience things that are quite magical in and of themselves, and you can still have a bit of money left in the bank at the end of it.