THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

[ TRAVEL ]
having to hurry back to the ship. Some
folks even preferred to venture out in the
morning, return for lunch to the ship and go
sightseeing again till it’s time to sail in the
evening. You can do a lot in one day if you
are reasonably organized.
To get the most out of our time in ports we
were keen to explore, we would have an early
7am breakfast and get ready to disembark as
soon as the ship docked. Deciding on ‘must
see’ places in advance is a good idea not only
to get things done but also for budgeting
purposes. For instance Pompeii is one place
you cannot miss on a Mediterranean cruise,
but it is a long taxi ride from the port of
Naples, and you need to allocate several
hours to see it. Europe is not a place for
aimless wandering, taxis are expensive and
even a simple snack can cost you ten euros
if you don’t know where to eat. Unless you
want to splurge, look for cafeterias that have
a selection of tasty snacks rather than full
meals that are waiting for you on board. You
can even pack a picnic lunch from the ship
and take it with you.
“With two children in tow, our family
vacation at sea, had more helping hands, and
that made a big difference to our vacation”
said our daughter Shana admitting how nice
it was to have her Mama and Papa along on
the cruise.
“We all had such a good time, three
generations at sea made it so much more
fun than it would have been with just two.”
More and more families seem to be finding
out about the rewards
of threegenerational
get-togethers. A survey
of 400 agents by the
American Society of
Travel Agents found
that 64.5 percent had
seen their multigenerational
groups
increase in the last five
years.
After experiencing a
floating vacation you
tend to compare the
Rivkah and friends at lunch with the Adventure Ocean staff – the program
for kids is fully supervised by qualified staff. I was not allowed to photograph
the other kids faces for security reasons.
difference between
doing Europe on a land
tour versus a cruise. Many people would
probably be just as happy to commute from
city to city by train or road, but you have to
admit it is hard work, compensated perhaps
by seeing a little more.
On a cruise you unpack your bags once
when you board the ship. If you are smitten
by the sea, you will want to do it again and
figure out ways to improve the experience.
Cruising allows you to explore by day and
relish the comfort of a cruise ship by night
or whenever you are tired and want to stay
on board to enjoy the facilities.
Based on our experience, here are some
tips for a family cruise:
• Book early if you want a connecting
cabin. For the best selection, book at least
six months in advance, and if possible, a
year in advance.
• A safe is provided in your
room for valuables and the
wardrobes are spacious
enough.You can opt for formal
dining in the evenings, so
bring along some formal
wear, but its mostly casual
dining so keep the luggage
light, wear shorts is okay
most of the time.
• Daily on-board routines
and activities are provided in
Compass – the ship’s newsletter.
It is quite detailed and the
There are plenty of Indian crew on board to make you feel at home. (Left) Anshuman
Gune, Asst F& B Manager with some of his crew in the Windjammer Café
range of activities available
is mindboggling. Pick your
favorites everyday and note
the timings carefully. Try and
experience new things like learning how to
dance the Salsa or play a round of mini-golf.
Movies are shown throughout the day in a
regular theatre and in your room TV and
Internet availability is 24 hours at fixed rates.
After dinner head to the live theatre for off
Broadway type shows, some of them are of
high caliber and worth watching. With a
discotheque, karaoke, and other options you
can be entertained 24 hours if you choose.
• Brilliance of the Seas had two formal dinner
options and since we had young children, we
opted for the first 6.30 pm seating. Dinner at
8:30 p.m would be too late for the kids. A
children’s menu is available. There are also
specialty restaurants where you must pay
separately for dining
• Besides the cruise costs consider all
expenses like air fares, en route airport
expenses, tipping, shore excursions, meals
ashore, souvenirs etc.). The cost of a basic
cruise alone is about US$ 125-200 a day,
depending on the cabin you choose and the
month you travel.
• For further details contact:
Lakshmi Durai
Executive Director - Middle East
Royal Caribbean
P.O Box 72785 Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 3314299
Fax: +971 4 3310583
E-mail: sales@royalcaribbean-arabia.com
www.royalcaribbean-arabia.com
Frank Raj is the founding editor
of The International Indian.
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THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN