Ahoy There!
Set sail for multiple nations
Prices are soaring for everything from gas to groceries, so it may come as a surprise that cruise fares are trending in the opposite direction.
Why is life on the Lido Deck the cheaper way to travel? National news sources suggest that cruise companies are trying to make up for a couple of lousy years by enticing salty dogs back to sea.
“There are nearly 2,000 cruises that cost under $100 a day for an interior stateroom through the end of the year,” reports The Wall Street Journal, including 53 sailings that cost less than $50 a day, including taxes and port fees.
“By comparison,” notes The New York Times, “the average hotel room in the United States in May ran about $149 a night.”
Many ships are piling on the extras, too, such as free airfare, open bars, no charge to bring children and a percentage off companion fares.
Before going overboard, it’s crucial to ask: Even if you’re triple vaccinated, is embarking on a voyage with thousands of strangers safe?
It comes down to your personal sense of risk. Everyone fantasizing about “The Love Boat” must make her own decision.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed its risk assessment of cruise ship travel in late March of 2022, but still advises travelers to be aware of a particular ship's risk designations and stay up to date with their vaccinations,” says ABC News.
“The agency has also recommended purchasing travel insurance before a trip and has advised travelers to continue masking up indoors.”
For those who go ahead and bet on smooth sailing, there’s another probable bonus: Visiting multiple countries during a couple of relaxing weeks. Ensconced in your own stateroom, you may go to sleep in one nation and wake up in another. And you don’t have to pack and unpack or step foot in an airport.
Who wants to explore many nations? Um...just about everyone. Some women work remotely or are thinking about ditching the 9-5. Others are excited to experience the food, language, culture and diversions of many peoples. Still others want to jot more names on their list of countries visited.
If basking on a white sand beach fringed with palm trees strikes your fancy, you’re in luck. A survey of cruise lines offering journeys to multiple countries in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America revealed many options, including:
- Silversea drops anchor at a whopping 11 countries in 15 days. The Silver Dawn checks into Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Honduras and Mexico.
- Princess Cruises breezes into 10 nations in 21 days on its Sky Princess and seven nations in 20 days on its new Enchanted Princess.
- Holland America’s Amazon Explorer takes a little more than three weeks, but it gets to eight countries: Saint Maarten, Saint Lucia, French Guiana, Brazil, Barbados, Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
- Seabourn’s Holiday Caribbean Sojourn pays a call to eight countries in 16 days, transporting travelers to the oldest rainforest in the Western hemisphere, towns awash in pastels and stunning coral formations for scuba diving.
- Oceania, with a roundtrip from Miami on its freshly renovated Insignia, lands in eight countries in 25 days, including St. Barts, The British Virgin Islands and Brazil. Its Sirena, roundtrip from Aruba, pops into eight countries in 10 days.
- The Regent Seven Seas presents Holiday Zing & New Year Zest, which makes the scene in eight countries; Spotlight on Science & Exploration, which also digs into eight countries; and Christmas on the Canal, which swings by seven countries.
- MSC Cruises’ Divina calls on seven countries - Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba and Mexico - during a12-night roundtrip from Port Canaveral, Fla. For number of countries, MSC Divinia is tied with MSC Seashore, which also chalks up seven countries, including the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands, in its 14-night itinerary.
There’s no telling how long cruise lines will continue to offer promotional rates. If you want to hit the high seas, it’s prudent to reserve as soon as you can. Bon voyage!
