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Tired of the time it takes to plan an amazing vacation? Planning a cruise is about as easy as it gets.
I spent years painstakingly planning elaborate vacations. I coordinated trains, planes, and boats to take me to different places every 24 to 48 hours. It took tons of effort to find appropriate accommodations in each location. You know what it’s like—reading TripAdvisor reviews and mapping landmarks. Then I discovered cruising and learned you can have your cake and eat it too.
Choose a Place, Any Place
Where do you want to go on vacation? Name a place. Any place. I mean it. From Antarctica and Australia to Aruba and Africa, there are cruises to pretty much every part of the world. Then go to a consolidator, such as Expedia or Travelocity, and search all available offerings from every major cruise line for your chosen destination. You can filter your results by price, date, or length, whichever is most important to you.
From there, you can compare the itineraries for a few different options to see which is right for you. Simply click “Book Now,” and most of the work is done. You’ve planned the majority of your trip.
Pro tip: I usually check two or three consolidators to see if I can get a better rate or special offer. Sometimes you can get an additional onboard credit or a discount on shore excursions, for example. Once I know the cruise I want to take, I also check the rates on that cruise line’s website.
No Extra Work
The hardest part of planning a cruise is picking where you want to go. Once you’ve done that, it’s smooth sailing—pun intended. Everything is taken care of for you, except getting to your departure point. I don’t always have time to become an expert on every port, and I don’t have to. The cruise line will take you to a variety of places, feed and entertain you, and even offer daily excursions to the most popular sights.
There’s no need to coordinate any other details, aside from your flights. If there is a sight you should see, it will be offered as a shore excursion. It doesn’t get any easier than this.
There are so many reasons why a cruise vacation is one of the most budget-friendly and convenient ways to travel. And there are countless fun things you can do at sea. But the main reason why I enjoy planning a cruise is because I can do it fast, easy, and without any extra work.
Do you agree? Is planning a cruise as easy as it sounds? Share your thoughts with the Wanderlust Wayfarer Facebook group.