Cruise Passengers Seek Action-Packed Trips and Liners Deliver
Travelers who think cruise-line sightseeing tours are passive propositions are in for a surprise –nothing could be further from the truth. Today, cruise lines offer a wide variety of shore excursions including whitewater rafting, race-car driving, rappelling, diving and zip-lining atop rain-forest canopies.
The increased availability of high-activity sightseeing tours is evidence of the changing tastes of today´s seagoing vacationers, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the marketing and training organization for the world´s 19 leading cruise lines and nearly 17,000 North American travel agencies.
“Active or adventurous optional tours add excitement and enrichment to a cruise vacation,” said Terry L. Dale, president and CEO of CLIA. “A significant number of today´s cruise vacationers are seekers and explorers. They´re not the passive bus-tour type. They may kayak one day and join a mountain-bike trek the next, and they´ll find these and other activities aboard today´s ships.”
Those in search of more “traditional” tours need not worry, as cruise lines continue to feature popular visits to landmarks, historical sites, museums, botanical gardens and other mainstream sightseeing options.
Carnival Cruise Lines offers its guests a sightseeing adventure that uniquely combines cave tubing and rain forest exploration in Belize. On this tour, travelers have the opportunity to tube down the Sibun River amidst craggy cave and rock formations, as well as view the lush foliage and vegetation of the Belizean jungle during a 45-minute hike.
A Celebrity Cruises´ excursion lets guests soar between the tops of St. Martin´s 200-year-old mango and mahogany trees to experience the largest bird habitat in the northeastern Caribbean. The course comprises a sequence of zip-lines, rope swings and bridges suspended from platforms mounted from forest trees.
In the Mediterranean, Crystal Cruises´ guests have the chance to drive a Formula 1 race car with instruction both on and off the course in Monte Carlo. This Crystal Adventures extreme excursion is aimed at “driving technique purists as well as gear lever and heel-and-toe enthusiasts.”
Cunard Line´s Queen Mary 2 South America cruises offer whitewater rafting excursions in the majestic Chilean fjords from Puerto Mont. Guides take passengers on a 12-mile-long descent of the azure waters of the Petrohue River, which features spectacular waterfalls, verdant forests, mountains and volcanoes.
A guided, 40-minute nature walk to the tranquil side of Disney Cruise Line´s private island, Castaway Cay, introduces vacationers to the history and geology of the Bahamas. Once there, they embark on a one-hour kayak excursion through the ecologically sensitive mangrove environment and tidal zones.
As part of Holland America Line´s new adventuresome series of Off the Beaten Path tours, passengers journey on a photo safari via small boat from the Croatian village of Opuzen to where the Neretva River delta forms a huge marsh with numerous birds, fishes and other species.
From Skagway, Alaska, Royal Caribbean International offers a Klondike rock climbing and rappelling tour featuring the smooth granite walls of the White Pass. Travelers hike a short distance to the base of rock cliffs smoothed by retreating glaciers. There are climbing options for all abilities.
