Basics of Cruising

Majestic Cruises will be offering the much south after Ocean Cruises and additional on-board and onshore activities. 

Cruising is of 2 primary kinds. There are two forms of cruising: River Cruising and Ocean Cruising.  

• River cruising, is done on rivers. The boats are flat bottomed at the bottom and linear. Most boats have only a single deck. Facilities on board are basic like a Gym and a piano room.   
• River cruising is typically a one-way cruise. You start a river cruise in one city, travel the entire night to come to rest at a new city in the morning. The entire day is free for sightseeing. Return to the ship in the evening and the cycle repeats itself.   
• River Cruising is very popular in the European Continent, as the layout of the cities and the way the rivers have been maintained, river cruises can be as long as 17 nights.   
• Some parts of the world have short river cruises, and are unique in their own right with some of more popular ones being the Nile Cruise in Egypt and the Sunderbans Cruise in Kolkata.   
• A river cruise is smaller in size compared to an ocean cruise. You have local level gourmet meals included on a table instead of a food court, in a proper sit-down restaurant. Local wines are available from the region you are cruising in. The cabins do not have categorization and there are no inside cabins. All cabins are above the water level and have a view of the outside.   
• River cruises are one way and the best way to discover hidden treasures.  

• Ocean Cruises sail on the oceans or seas. There are many types of ships for a wide range of purposes. 
• Some prefer the traditional sail boats. There are large open ocean sail boats available which can take in as many as a 100 people. This is a very niche and expensive segment. The sail boats are generally used for partying and fishing, and sometimes exploring remote locales and hidden gems.   
• There are Yachts available for cruising as well, which is high end cruising. Yachts are very expensive, for a short duration and have the same primary objectives as the sail boats.   
• The popular term is ocean cruising and this is what people identify with, where you have large ships, equivalent of floating resorts, with lots of activities. People spend a fixed amount of time on board. This is what Majestic Cruises will adopt and build a business on.   

Ocean Cruises – Ship Sizes:

• Ships are small and ships are large. Some are mega ships Majestic Cruises is vying to get a ship of 1700-2200 capacity. The new ships being purchased today by the large cruise companies have capacities of more than 6,000 people:  
• Symphony of the Seas belongs to Royal Caribbean and can hold 6,630 passengers. It is divided into 7 sections or colonies. The ship has been commissioned after they have already brought in the Harmony of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, both with guest capacity of more than 6,000.  
• The Mardi Gras, which has also recently become active, has a guest capacity of more than 6,300 passengers.   
• These large ships are proof that this business is profitable, and it can drive economies of scale, if managed properly.  

Ocean Cruises – Dining

• Typically, a cruise ship has a ticket which includes stay and meals. The included meals are served in the food court. Then there are Specialty Restaurants, which offer fine dining for an additional price. Sometimes the restaurants have a dress code to be followed. 
• Some cruise ships provide timings for guests to visit the food court, however, most cruise companies have no such restrictions. Food is available in the food court throughout the day on most cruise ships.   

Ocean Cruises – Variable Stay

• Experienced cruisers will tell you a lot about which cabins to take and which ones to avoid. The cabins towards the middle of the ship and those on higher decks are more expensive than those towards the aft or stern and on lower decks. The cabins on the inside of the ship, termed as Inside Staterooms. 
• There are cabins on the lower deck which are facing outside, which typically have a port hole or window to view the ocean. These windows do not open. 
• The cabins towards the outside and on higher decks are given a balcony and some with more space are termed as mini suites or suites.   

Ocean Cruises – General Information

• Ocean cruising rarely causes sea sickness. The motion of the ship is very steady and you can hardly feel it moving. Once the engines start, there is a hum and vibration which is felt, which one gets used to very quickly. 
• After the initial feeling of the vibration, unless you are on the sun deck and can see the sea splash by, you do not even feel the ship move. Each journey starts with a safety briefing and the ships are equipped with some of the most sophisticated safety management systems in the world.