Why Americans love cruises so much

Each year, more than 11 of millions of Americans go on cruises, in general, every fifth resident of the United States visited the cruises. What exactly are cruises so attract Americans in their blog for VOA told Alexey Shumaev, a businessman with Ukrainian roots working in the tourism industry.

Фото: Depositphotos

My wife and I in the USA were led by the love of travel and cruises. Since childhood, I loved to look at the huge ships in Odessa, imagining how to sail over them to Rome or other distant, as it then seemed to me, overseas ports.

And then we started a travel startup with an office in Dallas, Texas. Having helped cruise planning more than 8000 cruisers who use our application, having visited a dozen professional conferences and carefully studied several studies, I think I found the answer to the question: why do Americans like cruises so much?

The ease of organizing such a trip

A large number of Americans prefer to come to the port by car. There are cruise ports in many states, including Florida, Texas, California, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Washington and others.

By the way, on most cruises that leave the United States, an American can go without a passport (in the US, he is only for foreign travel), with his driver's license or identification card (ID). This is convenient because only 42% of Americans have a passport.

Check-in and boarding the ship combine boarding and check-in at the hotel. As a rule, the port is a cruise terminal of several floors and is somewhat similar to an airport. After registration, inspection and security control, the tourist finds himself on the ship.

A few hours after landing, the ship leaves. It is better to meet the departure on the open decks, enjoying the view.

The opportunity to visit several completely different places during one trip

Tourists say one of the main advantages of cruises is the opportunity to see different countries, different cities, different ports during one trip. At the same time, tourists do not need to change hotels, look for transport and pack their suitcases every day. The luxury “hotel” travels with the cruiser. Moreover, everything in this “hotel” is already familiar - the tourist knows where to have dinner, what shows to watch.

When the ship visits the ports, it is possible to go out and take a walk, take a tour from the cruise company or stay on the ship. I know people who prefer to stay on a cruise ship. They say that there is some magic in the fact that you are almost alone on such a huge vessel. Everything belongs only to you. Personally, I like to explore ports.

It is very important to return to the ship on time. There is a rule that the liner does not wait for anyone. On the Internet you can find many videos of tourists who did not manage to return to the ship. There is even a certain cruise slang, such people are called “pier runners“, which can be translated as “pier runners.”

According to studies, many tourists, especially from generation X, and the so-called millenials, choose cruises as a kind of “probe”: they compare several resorts and the next time they go to where they liked most.

The most popular destinations among Americans are the Caribbean and Bahamas, Alaska and the Pacific Coast, Mexico, Hawaii, the Mediterranean Sea, Canada.

Фото: Depositphotos

The opportunity to relax and forget about everything

Modern cruise ships are essentially giant five-star hotels. The size of some ships is simply amazing. Imagine a 10 or 16-story building the length of 3 football fields. And all this is on the water.

The vast majority of tourists believe that a cruise is a good opportunity to take a break from routine and forget about all their problems, leaving them on land. On cruise ships there is almost a complete lack of communication and very expensive Internet, and it itself is located in the middle of the endless ocean. Therefore, it is difficult to do work.

On most modern liners there are a large number of good restaurants, entertainment, swimming pools, water slides, rides, shows, so the tourist does not have time to think about something other than rest.

Good food and service on ships

Service on ships is almost always top notch. By the way, at the time of the cruise, the key card becomes a kind of an official document for the vacationer. Using this card, it is possible to get out or get on the ship in the ports, it plays the role of a credit card in shops and bars on board.

Quite often, food in many restaurants on board is included in the cost of travel. Drinks are almost always paid separately.

Usually famous chefs behind the quality of the cuisine and the exquisite menu. On some ships, even chefs with Michelin stars develop menus.

Restaurants come in several types: almost 24-hour buffet, free restaurants (with certain opening hours), so-called a'la carte - restaurants that usually need to be booked in advance and which sometimes charge a fixed fee per person per visit, and - regular restaurants with fixed prices for each dish.

In free (conventionally) restaurants, as a rule, a table is fixed for a tourist for the evening during the entire cruise. Sometimes they can also have breakfast and lunch. As a rule, not only one waiter is assigned to this table, but also an assistant waiter, manager and sommelier. Therefore, from time to time at the table is already 4 person from the staff.

Фото: Depositphotos

Variety of entertainment

As a rule, the ships have a rich entertainment program. There are both the usual entertainment - swimming pools or jacuzzi - and extraordinary “attractions”.

Here is my small hit parade of attractions and entertainment: ice skating rinks and ice shows, theaters for several hundred spectators, cinemas, so-called 5D cinemas, quest rooms, climbing walls (usually near the chimney of a ship), sports courts, laser fights, racetracks, carousels, real karting tracks, attractions that simulate free fall and surfing, observation capsules that rise to a height of up to 90 meters, ziplines across the entire ship and water parks. Some of them are unique. For example, there are observation capsules on only three ships, and a racing track on one. But, as a rule, even small ships have some kind of entertainment and shows.

Very often, famous singers, winners of various talent shows, magicians perform on cruises. Some ships have Broadway shows, others have their own talent shows.

Variability of cost and quality

Another reason is the availability of this type of holiday. Many cruises are perceived as a kind of holiday for the weekend. It can be only three-or four-day trips with a small number of ports of call.

For many Americans, cruises are quite affordable. There is a wide variation in prices, depending on the type of cabins, company, route. Among the cheapest are those where hundreds of American students go every year for spring break. There are also very expensive cruises that the average US resident cannot afford.

For certain categories of Americans there are discounts or special rates, in particular for the military and the elderly, they can reach 50%.

Cruises can be both short and long. According to statistics, young tourists prefer shorter trips, up to 8 days, and older people like long cruises.

Recently, river cruises have become popular both in the USA and in Europe, which, by the way, are quite expensive.

How the "dry law" helped the popularity of cruises

The first large transatlantic passenger companies appeared in the mid-19th century, but the real boom occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. The companies competed for the Atlantic Blue Riband, an award for fast liners. Among the participants are such famous ships as the Titanic, Olympic, and Carpathia.

World War I brought passenger traffic almost to nothing. But after it there was another boom. In the USA, the “dry law” was passed. It was he who helped increase the popularity of cruises, because when the ship went outside the United States, it was possible to drink alcohol on it. Therefore, the so-called “cruises to nowhere” became popular, when people gathered on a ship to just have a drink, not paying attention to the route of the ship.

However, back then the vast majority of people boarded the ship to reach the place they needed. Everything changed with the advent of regular flights from New York to London. In the late 1950s, the number of passengers carried by airplanes became equal to that of ships. And in the 1970s, the Boeing 747 finally destroyed the popularity and feasibility of such a type of transport as transatlantic ships. Large shipping companies began to change their vector. It was from this time that the development of the modern cruise industry began.

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