Sea the Light

AFTER all, how long should a traveller endure stuffy airports, a zillion security checks, and shepherded-around package tours? Moreover, you...

AFTER all, how long should a traveller endure stuffy airports, a zillion security checks, and shepherded-around package tours? Moreover, your neighbours have done it and so have your friends, and they even have cheap tees to prove it. Where, pray, is the novelty in that?

Which is why we figure cruises are on. Big time. From a three-day Far Eastern float to week-long ones that coast around the US or pack in the glaciers and wildlife of Alaska, cutting through open seas, rivers, canals and other welcoming water bodies.

To put that in perspective, the cruise market in India has grown by nearly 30 per cent per annum.

And if you go by industry estimates, in three years India is likely to become the next largest market for cruises in Asia after Australia.

Not too surprising, considering that being at sea is like being on land.

Cruise liners are floating five-star hotels, with casinos, discotheques, spas and fitness centres and what-have-you. Plus there you are, looking out at the azure ocean.

A prospect that is increasingly attractive to the leisure travel segment, read Mr Sharma and family, and the excited, just-married Bhatias, who would otherwise probably have jumped on a flight to the same destinations.

		PICK AND CHOOSE

			Around the world at 80 knots 8226; TCI Nile river cruise 6 days Rs 17,000 approx, per person, twin-sharing l The cruise begins from Cairo, visits Luxor, Edfu and Kom Ombo and culminates at Aswan. Sailing on a Felucca boat is another feature here. Extend your holiday with an optional visit to Alexandria, and be a beach bum at Sharm El Sheikh, a resort town on the southernmost tip of the Sinai peninsula. 8226; Star Cruises Malaysian Mystique 14 days Rs 65,850 per person l Visit Bangkok, Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands and Singapore. Add on a 3-day cruise to Port Klang at Rs 13,485 per person tour price includes return economy air fare, hotel accommodation, meals, sightseeing, visa charges, airport taxes, coach tours, transfers, entrance fees, surface transportation and services of a tour manager. Story continues below this ad 8226; SOTC Eastern Wonders and Orlando 12 days Rs 99,900 per person l Take in New York, Washington DC, Niagara Falls and Orlando, with an option to add a jaunt to the Bahamas at Rs 13,900 per person.

8220;Previously, you had just the very well-heeled traveller who8217;d done the QE-II,8221; says Mahesh Shirodkar, chief operating officer at SOTC. 8220;Now Indian tourists are opting for not only the 2N/3D itineraries but also for the 5N/6D ones. They want to spend as much time as possible on the cruise and see more destinations. They also prefer to stop over for two to three days after and tour nearby destinations.8221;

And if you still want to nit-pick about seasickness, there8217;s another exclusive offering8212;river cruises.

Introduced by TCI last month, what you do out here is put your feet up and traverse European rivers such as the Rhine, Danube and Volga. If Europe8217;s not your thing, opt for the Nile, the Yangtze or the Irrawadi in Myanmar.

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Some of the popular cruises are the 5-day Dusseldorf-Basel, 8-day Frankfurt-Amsterdam, 8-day Vienna-Budapest-Vienna or the Volga in Russia, from Moscow to St Petersburg and back, for 12 days.

It8217;s not just about holiday-seekers. 8220;An emerging trend,8221; says Jehangir, director, TCI, 8220;is of the corporate incentive passenger, the conf-erence/seminar delegate attending conferences on board a cruise ship.8221;

And most people who8217;ve been on one wouldn8217;t mind doing it again8212;to different destinations, of course.

8220;The best thing about cruises is the unhurried nature of the experience,8221; says Mumbai-based Balasubramanian Ramaswamy, managing director, Caprihans, who late last year sailed the Nile, pausing at Luxor and Kom Embu en route to Aswan.

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8220;The scenery changes every minute, especially if you8217;re on a river cruise, and the food8212;we8217;re vegetarians8212;wasn8217;t much of a problem,8221; he adds.

The next time you think of a getaway, why not go bang in the middle of the big blue, dry Martini in hand while your eyes seek the horizon.

nbsp;	CRUISE CONTROL

		nbsp;	8226; Be very clear on the kind of cruise you prefer8212;a cruise with a number of days at sea or the hectic type, calling at a new port daily 8226; Keep a budget in mind and ask your travel company to chart out a package 8226; Take a good look at the reputation of the cruise liner, the ports of call, the time ashore before you go aboard 8226; Also ensure that you select dates keeping in mind weather conditions 8226; As always, check what your cruise price includes and excludes, especially what the extras involve. 8226; Plus look for special deals and early and late booking offers 8226; Check out childcare facilities on board if the kids are coming along 8226; Payment can be made in Indian rupees to the agent booking your cruise 8226; Most recognised travel agencies will help out with other formalities such visas etc. 8226; Instead of hierarchical classes like in an airplane, the only categories you find on a modern cruise liner are the different cabin categories, ranging from the cheapest inside cabin to the outside penthouse suites 8226; Nearly all famous global cruise companies are present in India, from Carnival Cruises to Star 8226; Tour firms such as SOTC, TCI and Thomas Cook are also direct sales agents of the above