Shipshape for an adventure
There appears little middle ground in perceptions about cruising — it appears very much a love it or loathe it kind of getaway. In this Travel Guide to Cruising we speak to travellers who have grown to love cruising - and they tell us why.
MICHAEL FERRANTE talks to travellers about their on-board experiences
From short and long voyages in South-East Asia, Europe and across the Atlantic, to expeditions through the Southern Ocean to Antarctica, our guide invites readers on to the cruise deck in a very personal kind of way.
Booking a cruise nowadays is more than simply picking the best looking ship, a time and destination.
It’s fair to say cruising has come a long way, and quickly — today delivering bespoke experiences with a smorgasbord of styles and itineraries to suit just about any budget and expectation. In fact some cruise ships are a destination in their own right (think Ovation of the Seas or the Queen Mary 2).
Here, we bring alive the cruise experiences of several travellers spanning a range of styles, including long and short voyages, family cruises, couples, luxury cruises and expeditions.
Those such as cruise veteran Melanie Anderson say it’s hard to top cruising as a great value-for-money option.
“It’s a chance to sample a host of stopover destinations all in one hit and for nowhere near the cost of what it would take to do if you were organising the same itinerary, flights and accommodation costs yourself,” she says.
“Cruising gives you a taste of a place and if a location takes your fancy there’s always the option to return for a longer stay. You also unpack once!”
To add to the cruising buzz three cruise liners make their maiden calls to Fremantle this month — Silverseas’ luxurious flagship the Silver Muse docked earlier this month, the MSC Magnifica, which is stopping in Fremantle as part of a 199-day world cruise, and the Viking Sun en route to Durban, South Africa.
Furthermore, Carnival Australia returns to WA with the Sun Princess — which carries up to 2000 guests — expected to home port in the State for a record 141 days in 2019-20.