As the saying goes, “we can’t choose our family but we can choose our friends” – and let’s face it, everything’s better with friends who get us (and forgive us)! Booking a cruise holiday with friends means having mates to share when you order everything on the dinner menu, partners for trivia, dance and silent disco partners, and backup singers for karaoke.
Cruising with friends is not just the basis for a wonderful time! Heading on holiday with a group of mates means having people to keep you in a holiday mindset and together, you’ll create memories to talk about for decades to come. Here are few advantages to travelling in a group…..
The Best of Everything
The best thing about cruising is that it offers something for everyone, and you don’t have to do everything, all of the time together. On your days at sea, or in port you could do different things, and still meet up for a cocktail and dinner in the evening, and explore the shows and nightlife.
Less Organising
Depending on the type of cruise, duration and number of friends you are travelling with, a cruise holiday overall requires less organising, so no-one has to be the coordinator!
Specialty dining, dining times, and shore or self-tours are something you may want to consider planning before you go so avoid any issues onboard, particularly if you are with a large group, numbers may be tricky to book for at the last minute.
Built-in Security Blankets!
Having a friend to help keep you calm or make you laugh when the waves are rocking the boat a little too much is priceless. If you are away on a longer trip, having a friend or two with you can help feelings of being home sick. Not only do they get you, they’ll get your ‘Aussieness’, and most importantly, understand why you miss Vegemite!
BYO Friends for your Kids
If you are traveling with other families, the kids usually know each other and are hopefully on good terms. Depending on the age of the children and your need for a little time-out, there can often be no need for kids clubs when they have friends from home to hang out with.
Celebrate Holiday Festivities
A cruise with friends can be so much more than a relaxing (or partying) trip to the islands. Every festivity from across many cultures and continents are celebrated onboard most cruise lines, including Valentine’s Day, Sunday Super Bowl, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and even Dr Suess’ Birthday.
Shared Love of Themed Cruising
Increasingly popular are almost countless number of ‘themed’ cruises continue to roll out on the high-seas. If you have friends who have the same interest as you, this may be a great option for you to consider.
Themed cruise holidays may be based around:
- Food and wine appreciation
- Rock, operatic and country music cruises
- Health, wellness and yoga
- Astronomy
- Political or religious themes
- Drag stars, LGBTQIA
- Golf
- History
- Gardening
- Poker
- Crochet
- Fashion
- Sci-fi themed
Although more obscure for some but still with huge appeal are the Walking Dead Walker Stalker Cruise, Dr Who, Star Trek, Rock N’ Wrestling Rager, Clothing Optional, Meow Meow, and even Swingers themed cruises – there is almost no limit!
While travelling with friends (or family) with no one having to cook, clean or think too much, can seem like a great idea, there are a few things to keep in mind so that this isn’t the first or last trip you take together. Before you go, please consider:
Differences: Think about whether the group has different interests, budgets, travel style, ability and fitness or energy levels.
Holidaying your way: Don’t feel you have to do what everyone in your group are doing, it is your holiday so if you want to sleep, dance, be lazy, hit the gym – just do it!
Who’ll be in charge: Consider appointing someone who is happy to wear the co-ordinator hat, which might mean research pricing for the cruise, looking at shore tours or any other details or info and communicating it all to the group.
Planning Ahead: If it is a large group you will have a hard time getting the ship or cabin you may want, dinner reservations, shore tours etc.
Staying an Extra Night: If you are traveling from interstate or overseas, don’t book your flight to or from the ship on the same day as embarkation/disembarkation, anything can and does happen with travel and you may literally miss the boat, which means missing out on fun with your friends.
Let Cruise Express at Gordon help you work out which ship is best for your trip, and then place you in the best cabin/s available. Call Jo or Vanessa at Cruise Express, Gordon on 9056 1115 or drop into to the premises at 2 St Johns Avenue in Gordon (opposite the train station). Take a look at the website and let them organise your cruise, anywhere, anytime!
More cruise adventures here:
- Cruise Express
- Ship, Shape, ESCAPE! What to think about when organising a cruise
- NSM Gallery: Vivid Family Cruise 2019