Why cruising beats flying: my travel hot take

If you have ever been abroad, you would have probably had to experience long airport queues, exhausting flights, and the inconvenience of spending hours at airports, all to visit a singular destination. But what if there was a way to avoid all this? Well, with a cruise, you can avoid flying, seamlessly exit and enter the cruise ship, and visit multiple different countries all in one holiday. As someone who has been on both cruises and flight holidays, it is an easy decision for me on which one I prefer. Just this year, I went on my first ever Scandinavian cruise, visiting eight different places (including six countries) in 14 days. We travelled to some awe-inspiring destinations including Copenhagen and Stockholm. It truly was a fantastic experience.

With a cruise, you can avoid flying, seamlessly exit and enter the cruise ship, and visit multiple different countries all in one holiday.

The first thing that may put you off a cruise is the price. However, when looking at this cost in closer detail, you realise it is not that bad. For a 14-day cruise holiday, I was able to find a package for £780 per person if you are going in a group of four. But what this price includes is so much more than just accommodation. It includes as much food as you can possibly eat, incredible Broadway-style shows, access to onboard amenities like swimming pools and water slides, and even the tips for your whole holiday. You get to experience world class service which includes complimentary room service and daily room cleans and a range of restaurants and bars with most cruise ships usually having a plethora of buffets and formal dining rooms.  Not to mention the great experience of being able to go to bed and wake up in the morning in a different location and sometimes even in a different country. Now, that £780 doesn’t seem like such a high price, especially when you realise it is only £55 a night!

Not to mention the great experience of being able to go to bed and wake up in the morning in a different location and sometimes even in a different country.

One of the great benefits of cruising over flying for me is the sheer amount of places you get to visit. I visited some amazing places and, even though you only stay in those places for a day, it is enough to see all the sights and take in the atmosphere of the place. For instance, when I went to Barcelona on a cruise, despite only being there for a day, I was able to visit all the sights such as the Sagrada Familia, Camp Nou, and walking down the iconic Las Ramblas! I was even able to pick up my memento as well (a magnet of the locations I’ve visited). For an even better example, despite the cruise ship not even docking there, I was able to get to Berlin from Warnemünde and do the whole city in under ten hours. I visited the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust memorial site, Charlottenburg Palace, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and even Hitler’s bunker! As a History buff, cruises are perfect for me! Being able to see all the historic sites of a country and absorbing the atmosphere of the city, you get to experience a range of different locations too. From picturesque places such as Visby (an island town built around city walls) to busy metropolitan cities such as Seville.

One of the great benefits of cruising over flying for me is the sheer amount of places you get to visit.

But the greatest benefit for me is the accessibility of a cruise compared to a flight. With no baggage allowance limits and no lengthy queues for entering and exiting the ship, you begin to realise how much of an ease it is to do a cruise. For me, I have always departed from Southampton and the whole process of leaving and getting on the ship and your holiday starting takes us under four hours. If you were doing a flight, you would have to spend however many hours at the airport, then the flight, and finally getting transported to your holiday destination when you arrive into the country. For cruises, there are no such issues! If you live up north however, I agree that it may be a bit of a pain getting all the way to Southampton for a cruise, but the beauty of UK cruises is that there are many departure locations, including Liverpool and Newcastle. So, no matter where you live in the UK, you can easily get onto a cruise ship and start your holiday in a substantially smoother fashion than if you were flying. A further pro for me is that it is so easy to embark and disembark from different countries. There is no need to take your luggage off and on the ship when getting to your destinations, so you can explore the location without worrying about your luggage. As well as this, to get off the ship the queues are not very long, all you must do is show your cruise card (a card given to you at the start of the cruise) when getting on/off the boat. This gets rid of the horrible lengthy border patrol queues and waiting around for your luggage. Just, like a plane, you need to remember to get back to the ship in time before it departs otherwise you will get left behind!

So, no matter where you live in the UK, you can easily get onto a cruise ship and start your holiday in a substantially smoother fashion than if you were flying.

I hope I have shown you why my hot-take really is not such a hot-take after all. I find cruises to be so more accessible and exploratory than a normal flying holiday. How else can you visit six countries in 14 days? Cruises are perfect for people who want to explore the world and visit different locations. Once I went on my first cruise, I never went back to flight holidays! And maybe you, when you go on your first cruise, will catch the cruise ship fever and become a cruise addict like me!