Small Ship Cruising – What You Need to Know About Adventure Cruises
As travelers grow bored with tradition vacation options and desire an unique travel experience, more and more people are discovering small ship cruising and adventure cruises. But what is an adventure cruise and how is it different from “The Love Boat” type cruises?
Most people are familiar with the large cruise ships which carry thousands of passengers on cruises to the Caribbean, Alaska or the Mediterranean. Famous for glitzy shows, formal dinners and long lines to disembark the ship, there is another type of cruise option able, an adventure or expedition cruise.
There are a couple main points which make an adventure cruise different from a more tradition cruise. First, an adventure cruise is aboard a small ship cruise and offers itineraries to more exotic or off the beaten path locations. Most importantly, the experience aboard an adventure cruise is quite different. The cruise is casual, intimate and geared towards adventure and learning while on enjoying your travels.
What is an Adventure cruise?
Adventure cruises are geared towards people who are looking for a touch of adventure, education and a variety of locations for their vacation. Expedition ships must be small enough to navigate coves or channels to reach remote areas, so they offer a more intimidate environment than a huge mega-liner. Finally, adventure cruises focus on unique, off the beaten path cruise experiences.
How is an Adventure cruise different?
Large cruise lines are basically floating resorts with Broadway type shows, gambling casinos, shopping and even climbing walls and miniature golf! Although amenities and levels of luxury do vary, most expedition ships offer comfort surroundings with upscale touches, such as gourmet food made from local produce. Again, the focus is really more about being off the ship to explore new locations. Time aboard the ship is to relax, listen to lectures about culture, geography or learn about unique features of the next destination, and to enjoy the company of like minded passengers.