The idea of embarking on a cruise holiday is increasingly popular amongst Brits right now.
In 2016, a record 1.9 million holidaymakers from the UK and Ireland embarked on an ocean cruise for their holiday break, up from 1.7 million the year before.
Additionally, the average age of cruise guests has dropped to its lowest point in 20 years. Yep, a cruise holiday is very cool in 2017 and we’ve compiled six reasons why a cruise is for you too...
One trip - several countries
Usually when Brits head away for their summer break, they will jet into a balmy country and after a few days of soaking up the sun, they can often feel restricted and confined to their resort.
Without paying to hire a car or forking out for taxis, seeing the surrounding regions and getting a taste for the rest of the country is nigh impossible.
A cruise holiday, however, will see the ship arrive in ports in various countries, allowing you to enjoy a taste of many cities over the course of your cruise.
Rather than languish in one region on a resort holiday, MSC Cruises guests can keep things fresh and sample multiple cultures in a relatively brief space of time.
Without a whole lot of driving or flying, there’s simply no other way you could see Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, visit Marseille’s Notre-Dame de la Garde and polish off a pizza in Naples in the space of a week.
All this travelling doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on any laid-back relaxing by the pool though, or anything else for that matter...
A cruise ship has everything
For anyone who has never seen one in the metal, cruise ships are absolutely humongous. And they need to be in order to comfortably contain the long list of facilities and features on board.
If you can think of something that you’d need or like to do during a regular holiday, it’ll almost certainly be available on an MSC Cruises ship.
Wi-Fi? Yep. A fully-specced gymnasium? Check. Live theatre shows? Affirmative. High-end boutique shops? Of course. Elegant dining experiences? Indeed. A jogging track and tennis court? Why not?
Endless entertainment
Forget any dated preconceptions of washed-up cruise ship singers, because the entertainment on MSC Cruises ships rivals the standard you’d find with any Broadway production.
Don’t believe us? Well, Cirque du Soleil - one of the biggest names in world-class entertainment - recently premiered two brand new shows, created exclusively for MSC Cruises, on the MSC Meraviglia. Additionally, there are no fewer than 80 different original productions performed across the MSC Cruises fleet.
Every cruise offers at least six different shows - even on a seven-night cruise - so it is highly unlikely you’ll see the same show twice. That said, it’s possible that you’ll have been so blown away by the scale and talent involved that you might actually want to re-experience certain productions.
Elsewhere on MSC Cruises’ ships, guests can enjoy live music, from solo piano recitals to German Schlager music to swing bands and dance orchestras.
Eclectic food offering
The range of restaurants and specialty eateries means you needn’t eat the same meal twice. Enjoy exquisite sushi at the Kaito Sushi Bar or the juiciest slabs of beef at Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse, followed by artisanal Italian ice cream at the Venchi Gelateria.
For those who like to dine on the fly, the casual buffet is open 20 hours a day and reprises a similarly expansive range of food.
Diners can mix and match from 13 different corners and stations, such as the meat carvery, the dedicated kids corner, the takeaway station offering fast food favourites, a dessert corner, pasta station, bakery corner, daily special corner, wellness corner and a whole lot more.
Curious eaters can explore and try new foods, risk-free, while those who know what they like are sure to find their favourites somewhere on board.
Chill your way
The vast and varied bars on MSC Cruises’ ships means that however you prefer to relax, you’re sure to find it here.
Classic coffee bars serve up established favourites and inventive new creations made from the finest beans roasted the traditional Italian way. You could channel your inner Bond or Churchill at the classy Martini bar or cigar lounges.
Meanwhile, the wine and beer bars let guests drink their way around the world with its extensive array of international wine and beers.
You’ll never get bored
Staying in just one resort creates the potential for boredom and in case we haven’t made it clear so far, a voyage with MSC Cruises is never stuck in one place - literally and metaphorically.
Outside of the port, the ship is always moving - heading towards the next exciting destination - and on the ship, you can get up to almost anything.
Maintain your fitness routine at the gym, relax in the spa, treat yourself at the onboard shops, take in a lavish Broadway-scale show, get competitive in one of the many sports tournaments or video quiz competitions, flex your moves in a professional dance class, get creative in the kitchen in the MasterChef At Sea culinary challenge or try your luck at the casino.
That’s without mentioning the range of possibilities of what you could get up to in the various port destinations too. Boredom doesn’t stand a chance on a break with MSC Cruises.
Visit msccruises.co.uk to discover other reasons why a cruise holiday is so much more rewarding than a regular resort break.
