Deb Knight answers cruise question everyone's been asking
"To cruise or not to cruise": A question many ponder, and it's something millions of Australians answer with a resounding 'yes'.
Over 1.3 million Aussies hit the high seas in 2024, up almost 6 per cent on the year before, making us the 4th largest cruise market in the world behind the US, Germany and the UK.
Cruising is also no longer just the domain of cashed-up retirees, with the average age of cruise passengers falling.
Almost one third of Aussie cruisers are under the age of 40 - and I'm about to add to the numbers getting onboard.
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Deb Knight is taking the plunge and going on a cruise with her family. Instagram
After weighing up the holiday options for a short family getaway over summer, a cruise made it to the top of the list... but not without some trepidation.
Would I get seasick? How would we cope being stuck on a ship with that many people?
What about when we arrive in port - how much fun would it really be as part of a mass of humanity descending from a giant floating city for a few hours? Are we doing more harm than good to these towns by arriving in our hordes?
Having never dipped my toe in the cruising ocean before, I figure the only way I'll really know is by giving it a go.
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What's it like when you arrive in port? Getty
As a journalist, I dived straight into the research, with my first port of call being travel legend Quentin Long from Australian Traveller Media.
What Quentin doesn't know about travel is not worth knowing, and the fact that he is a cruise fan is the tick of approval I needed.
Quentin's advice is to go for a ship room with a balcony if you can afford it, book in for any onboard Spa treatments early as they'll book out fast, and treat the ship as your personal floating resort - with several thousand of your closest friends!
There are an abundance of cruise line options, but once I'd narrowed it down to the ship departing on my available dates and booked our berth, then came the next confusing choice - what to pick from the array of extra options?
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Is it worth splurging on a drinks package? Getty Images/iStockphoto
I like a glass of wine, especially while on holiday, but do I really need to spend big on a drinks package? With meals at several onboard restaurants already included in the fare, should I fork out for special meal experiences that will not appeal at all to our buffet-loving kids?
And do I really need to pay for Wi-Fi?
Should I pay for specialty dining, when travelling with kids? Royal Caribbean
And what about shore excursions - is it even possible to book your own tours or just wing it and do your own thing after pulling into port? You could end up spending just as much for the add-on extras as the cruise itself!
The experienced cruisers, of which there are many, offer great advice in online forums, but watch this space!
We embark in January for 8 days of floating fun around the South Pacific. I'll let you know how we go!
