Cruising or not, that is the question if you want to get to a specific location. Such as crossing the Atlantic. Some interesting site I discovered is actually discussing the advantages of cruising over airline travel. [ http://cruise-compare.com/cruiseSearch.php?destination=Transatlantic&gclid=CP7pnrLE8L8CFbRzMgodJSsA2g ] . A laugh really when you think that all transatlantic cruises (or for that matter most cruises) take off from a port which is “too far to walk to”. In other words, still needs a lengthy air flight to get to the port of embarkation. Plus one or two nights extra overnight hotel for the start and the end of a cruise. Mostly add several more nights. Might as well fly directly from let’s say North America/Canada over the Atlantic to Europe. Is much faster that way.

Secondly, planning a Trans Atlantic cruise means mostly a one-way air ticket, because the return travel is via different route. Which – when you must fly via any American port – means that you get stopped at the US arrival airport (which is also where the cruise embarkation port is) by immigration because you do not have a return ticket (or something else has gone wrong with their entrance/exit visa system). In the meantime you have spent the tremendous expense of having already purchased the fare for the cruise. The cruise line itself will not be responsible for any incoming flight documents required. On cruises I made in the past (a few only) I found most passengers came from a location close to the embarkation ports. Yet, here in Canada (Pacific Coast) they are selling cruises whose embarkation port is in Florida like hot cakes. End of story.