By Anita Dunham-Potter

Most cruise travelers start traveling the day their cruise starts, which often entails waking up at the crack of dawn in order to catch flights to their ship’s port. Upon embarkation many cruisers find themselves exhausted and the first day of the cruise is often overshadowed with trying to catch up on rest. Conversely upon disembarkation the whole process starts over again with an early morning wake-up call along with the subsequent rush to the airport and flights home.

Regrettably, many cruise travelers are so focused on booking their cruise they often don’t give thought to adding a few days to enjoy the city of embarkation and/or disembarkation. For those sailing on an Alaskan cruise vacation, or starting off on a European cruise, it’s a shame to fly all that way and not savor some of the world’s most exciting places. Thankfully there is a better way to enjoy your cruise vacation and its called pre-and post-cruise stays.

Pre and post cruise vacation stays

Most cruise lines offer one, two or three-night pre- or post-cruise hotel packages that are convenient, given the hotel, roundtrip airport and pier transfers are included. You can also consider alternative packages at other hotels than those offered by the cruise lines.

A day in port, and often a different port each day, defines the majority of cruise itineraries. But many of the world’s most amazing places are a bit too far from port to explore in a matter of hours. In these destinations, extended port stays and multi-day shore adventures, even the option of leaving the cruise ship in one port and re-embarking in another, add an unforgettable new dimension to many cruises.

Extended port stays – sometimes 18 hours, more often two full days – showcase some of most exciting, culture rich and unique cities on earth. The extraordinary history and culture of Istanbul in Turkey, the unique glamour and style of Rome, the fun and beauty of Sydney, the pomp and charm of London: these are among the many world capitals and great cities where cruise passengers can spend time in before or after their cruise. Other examples include striking Asian cruise destinations, including Hong Kong and Singapore. A number of itineraries feature cities with exceptional nightlife, from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Buenos Aires, Argentina or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cruises exotic destinations offer three-night adventures to the wilds of Patagonia, extended trips to legendary Machu Picchu, and African safaris to private game reserves.

Extended stays are a particularly popular feature on Alaska cruise sailings. Most cruise lines offer a variety of extended cruise-tour package options which take passengers deeper into Alaska via train and include land stays at lodges. Highlights range from hiking and sightseeing in Denali National Park to “flightseeing” across the massive Yanert Glacier via helicopter.

Just think of the true value of being able to decompress before or after your cruise. Doing pre- and post-cruise stays allow the stress to melt away and that only can enhance the overall cruise vacation experience.

Source:

http://www.princess.com/news/cruisingarticlesdetails.jsp?cruisingArticleId=20101025

About the Author: Anita Dunham-Potter is a Pittsburgh-based travel journalist specializing in cruise travel. Anita is a weekly travel columnist for MSNBC.com, Consumer Traveler, and her blog at ExpertCruiser.com, which is now part of the USA TODAY travel network. Cruise Info

Source: isnare.com

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