Cruises - Kreuzfahrten

In the form of vacation cruise opinions differ. There is the idea that on such boring ocean voyages you are forced to dine elegantly in elegant clothes, surrounded by fellow travelers who have long since reached retirement. Others see it as an opportunity to almost get to the end of the world and to get to know destinations like Antarctica or Tierra del Fuego without having to forego the usual level of comfort. Still others like to enjoy the harbor in the evening Cannes in view and the next morning on a quay in Barcelona to wake up. And there are quite a few who reject cruises for ecological reasons. No matter how you look at it, you have to realize that cruises have become increasingly popular in recent years. Not least, modern concepts have contributed to this.

In the port of Castries: Victory, Prinsendam and AIDAluna

background

Almost all cruises have one thing in common: they take place on passenger ships. If you ignore rides up Freighters and the so-called rail cruises with the Trans-Siberian Railway, the legendary Orient Express or the luxury train Pride of Africa. You go on a trip to several places, always stay in the same room and don't have to worry about transporting your luggage. Cruise ships are floating hotels, they correspond in comfort to houses with 4 or 5 stars, but also in price. Whether you get the holiday mood you want on a cruise depends on the route chosen and the ship with its leisure activities.

The trend is towards ever larger ships with more and more passengers. Two to three thousand beds are normal today, the larger ships have four to six thousand. In addition, there is the crew, which, depending on the service offer, makes up about half of the possible passengers. Disadvantage: There are less and less suitable ports for such ocean liners. Either they avoid smaller destinations or you have to disembark the guests laboriously via small boats, which takes a lot of time and is rather the exception.

Depending on the concept, some ships are equipped as floating small towns and amusement parks, and there are also numerous courses and events. Others are considerably more cautious and offer hardly any leisure opportunities apart from a sundeck. If you book a trip with several days at sea without going ashore, you should know whether you can keep yourself busy on board.

Different concepts

Ocean cruises

• Classic cruises: They still exist, the cruises where you wear the elegant evening wear to dinner, in which the stewards are like old English butlers and most of the people sitting next to you are retired. The elegant ships are exclusively geared towards a well-heeled clientele; they are more elegant ocean-going yachts with larger cabins than modern ocean liners. The large sailing ships are a special category.
• Study cruises: The route of these trips is mainly designed for sightseeing, including tours in the Mediterranean as well as the trip to the western and northern European ports. The trips around Cape Horn, in the Antarctic or in the want a little more the character of an expedition Milford Sound mediate, for this purpose special ships are usually used.
• Club character has spread widely on cruise lines in recent years. The focus of such trips is on shore excursions, wellness and fitness, and relaxation on the sun deck. The trip takes place in a casual atmosphere, the clothing at meals corresponds to the standard of an equivalent hotel. These trips are common around the world.
• Fun cruises first and foremost place value on the entertainment of their guests, including a professional entertainment program as well as the operation of discos and casinos. This Las Vegas variant of the club vacation is particularly offered by American companies in the Caribbean.
• Mini cruises often take place on board of larger ferries, they last 2-4 days and go e.g. B. to Scandinavian cities and back. Even if these are mostly new ferries, the character of the ferry can only be recognized in the routine daily routine, which is determined by the daily unloading and loading maneuvers of the rolling freight.
• Themed trips have a specific motto. This can be music or sport, wellness or gourmet trips are also offered. Star guests are often invited, such as Olympic champions, star chefs, singers or entire orchestras. This can be clearly noticeable in the price. Those who are not interested in this topic or guest should perhaps look for alternatives.
• Expedition trips are often only offered on smaller ships due to the limited number of participants and poorly accessible destinations, the prices are correspondingly high. Destinations like the Amazon or the polar regions are popular here. Polar ships with icebreaker quality will then only have a few dozen cabins. All of these trips are aimed at audiences interested in education and experience, and often offer extensive guided tours and lectures by professionals.
• World travel are a popular topic, especially when it comes to cruises. However, they take between 40 and 170 days on ships. Usually these are grouped sections that are also marketed as shorter trips. Apart from the fact that few working people get that much vacation, these trips are not cheap. As a rule, shipping companies have also specialized in these that offer expensive cruises, while cheaper providers usually operate the same loops every 7 or 14 days. If you are still interested: Among other things, they are Queen Elizabeth the Cunard Line or MS Astor from TransOcean regularly for around € 16,000 on this 110-day tour (as of 2011). AIDACruises has also been offering a trip around the world since 2017, here is a travel report of the first circumnavigation of the world.
• Freighter voyages: A ride as a paying passenger is somewhat exotic, but still possible on quite a few freighters. As a rule, some cabins are specially designed for passengers. The range of leisure activities is close to zero, the room furnishings are normal to simple. A comparison with smaller hotels or guest houses is best. Since you only travel as "ancillary cargo", the entire operational sequence of these ships is only geared towards delivering the cargo. The number of ports called varies greatly. When traveling in the Baltic Sea region, this can be up to 6 ports in a week, while long-distance trips can sometimes be more than 2 weeks between the individual ports. The motivation for such a ride can be the desire for an unusual trip. The price is probably not, it is often not that low, and the duration of the trip cannot be compared to the plane anyway.
• Maiden voyage: What appears to the inexperienced cruise novice as exquisite and worth striving for is more of a deterrent for the experienced cruise ship. For cost reasons, new ships are thrown onto the market as quickly as possible and the final work is carried out on the high seas. The crew has not yet got used to each other and there are often many newcomers on board who still have to be trained. A lot goes wrong and changes to the trip are the norm. If things go really badly, the ship will be stranded at sea because some of the machines don't work as planned. Therefore, all passengers are laboratory animals for the first few months. If you can't get an unbeatable cheap offer or if you like to argue for damages in court, you should avoid maiden voyages and the first few months of a new ship.

River cruises

The character of these trips depends heavily on the places along the rivers. River cruises are available on the Rhine and the larger tributaries on which Danube, on the Volga, on the Nile and other major waterways. For package tours to China A multi-day Yangtze River cruise with locks through the Three Gorges Dam is usually included.

The ships are much smaller than the big cruisers on the world's oceans and the leisure facilities are much more spartan.

Eclipse the Celebrity Cruises and Europe of the Hapag Lloyd shipping company anchor at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, Norway Flam

Cruise company

A look at travel agencies and the Internet reveals a bewildering variety of providers in the cruise business. However, the majority of sales are made by three companies that largely dominate the market with their numerous subsidiaries and holdings. These are

• Carnival Corporation. In addition to Carnival Cruise Lines, this group of companies also includes the renowned companies Cunard Line, P&O Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, the company Costa Cruises based in Italy and the ships of AIDA Cruises .
• Royal Caribbean International with a number of corporate subsidiaries including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, the Spanish Pullmantur and a 50% stake TUI Cruises With My ship
• Norwegian Cruise Line with NCL America

Here is a selection of the most famous companies:

The were specially built for cruises Tall ship of Star Clippers, two four-masters and one five-master.

Mini cruise providers

• The Norwegian ferry company has set out on mini cruises from Germany Color Line with their ferry ships Color Fantasy and Color Magic, which were put into service in 2004 and 2007, which run daily between Kiel and Oslo commute. On the ships that are considered by the shipping company Cruise ships with car deck you can get a taste of the cruise atmosphere for just under two days (44 hours) at very reasonable prices, depending on the season.
• Stenaline offer on the Kiel - Gothenburg Meanwhile similar travel programs, but do not explicitly aim to offer a cruise character, but call this mini-trip Göteborg.
• The shortest mini-cruise from a northern German port is with the TT-Line on the route Travemünde - Trelleborg possible. The journey, which consists of a night crossing followed by a day return (or vice versa), takes just 22.5 hours.

Other destinations of ferry routes are Newcastle or Helsinki.

Accommodation on board

River cruisers on a tributary of the Yangtze in China.

Modern ocean-going cruise ships are longer than 250 m, wider than 30 m and have more than a dozen decks. Inevitably there are rooms that have no windows or portholes. The resulting inside cabins are usually at the lower end of the price structure, but are just as equipped as the outside cabins. Both types of cabins can be found in the lower passenger decks. Even in the outside cabins, the windows can rarely be opened. Further up, also in the price sector, there are balcony cabins, here you have the opportunity to sit outside on a cozy evening. The most expensive versions are suites in various categories, with a separate bedroom and larger bathroom. Strangely enough, the expensive cabins are booked up relatively quickly.

The beds usually consist of two single beds connected to each other, they cannot always be set up separately. On some ships, there are family-friendly solutions for extra beds or Pullman beds that can be folded up against the wall during the day. Before deciding on such a solution, you should consider whether the relationship between the number of people and cabin size is bearable for the duration of the trip.

There is a telephone in the cabins, the wake-up call can help to arrive in good time for booked activities (excursions, etc.). Most ships also have a safe in their cabins.

The electrical system in the cabins is very limited both in terms of performance and the number of connections. Irons and hot water devices are bulk consumers and are prohibited on all cruise ships; a hair dryer can be found in each cabin. One socket per cabin and one per bathroom is the rule, and on American ships they are designed for 120 V 60 Hz, so don't forget adapters for chargers.

Most ships have washing machines and dryers on one of the lower decks, check the on-board newspaper for use or ask at reception.

Seasickness is usually not an issue on modern cruise ships. This is due on the one hand to the size and on the other hand to the stabilizers, which effectively reduce rolling or pounding. Incidentally, such movements in the middle of a ship are less annoying. The engine noise of the ship's diesel engines only disturbs sensitive people while they are sleeping. Incidentally, most cruise ships have a diesel-electric drive.

Accessible travel

limited barrier-free For the disabled, there are barrier-free cabins with suitable toilets and showers on all larger ships. If you have slight disabilities, you should consult the ship plan before booking and choose a cabin near a lift. Problems can arise when going ashore if tender boats have to be used. Some companies expect a (healthy) companion to help with emergency exercises on the way to the assembly point. Detailed information can be found in the travel conditions of the companies.

Arrival and departure

There are two ways to get on board a cruise ship:

• Organized arrival and departure, you can usually book appropriate packages together with the cruise.
  • Advantage: you don't have to worry about anything, should a feeder (train, bus, plane) be delayed, the tour operator is responsible for ensuring that you get on board on time.
  • Disadvantage: one is often brought on or off board from home on the shortest and fastest route and has no chance to visit the port of departure or arrival. Although this is denied by the entrepreneurs, they sometimes even offer excursions for these days. These can then also be canceled at short notice.
• Individual arrival and departure. This is useful if you want to explore the port cities on departure or arrival. Disadvantage: you have to organize this yourself and you are responsible for getting on board on time.

The weight of the luggage on a ship is not officially limited, so you could definitely take several suitcases with you each weighing 25 kg plus additional hand luggage. Numerous companies have specialized in luggage transport, and some cruise companies like to work with certain companies. AIDA Cruises offers cooperation with TEfra at. The suitcases will be picked up 2-3 days before departure and brought back again.

Routes

Different focal points have emerged. This includes:

• the Mediterranean, often divided into a western and an eastern route, possibly connected to the Black Sea or the Red Sea
• Western European coasts, also in connection with the Canaries or Azores
• North European coasts, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, often designed as 3-4 day mini cruises due to the proximity to the coast. The Kiel Canal drive through.
• the Caribbean, the Amazon or the coasts of South America.
• There are also interesting routes in the southern hemisphere, along the Australian and New Zealand coasts or to the islands of the South Pacific.
• Extreme areas like Greenland, Svalbard or the Antarctic are often approached by smaller special ships. What is important here is the so-called Ice class, so what icebreaker qualities a ship has. When “normal” ships travel on such routes, they usually do not advance too far.

The ships only operate the same routes all year round in exceptional cases. An example: the AIDAluna drove the Northern Europe route in the summer of 2011 with an almost daily stop in a port, then across the Atlantic in several days at sea, in order to be in the Caribbean on time after the end of the hurricane season. On these routes, trips ashore are on the program almost every day.

Depending on the weather, there can always be changes in the course of the route, be it through storms or ice. It is part of the normal preparation of such a trip that the organizers have a substitute destination ready.

costs

The reputation of cruises is that they are the privilege of a well-heeled section of the population, that the passengers have reached retirement age on average and that you can only appear for dinner in evening attire. This cliché was correct until the 1980s. There are still such cruise ships to this day, and those who are willing to pay a five-digit euro amount for a tour can also afford the appropriate cloakroom. In the 90s, Aida came out with a new concept, club and fun holidays for young people at a low price. At the time, however, this concept was too revolutionary and the shipping company had to be sold. In recent years, the Club vacation on the sea Very common, young families with small children book cabins with extra beds. Boat trips were developed into mass vacations with giant ships that almost everyone should be able to afford. Cruises have been booming for years and are the biggest growth driver in tourism.

The cost of accommodation is roughly the same as in a good 4-star hotel. With simple cabin equipment, the daily prices are on average between 80 and 150 euros (excluding travel), "traditional" cruises on luxury ships can cost four-digit amounts per day. The same applies to small expedition ships in arctic regions.

When booking, it is essential to ensure that Arrival and departure are included in the offer. There are no fixed rules that have become established here. You have to study the offers carefully.

Basically, of course, you pay for what you book. If you want a cheap trip, you may have to live with the fact that the ship is a bit older, the equipment is sparse, the food is not free or in poor quality or in the (narrow) cabin the ship's engine can be heard. Those who book the same route at a significantly higher price can make higher demands accordingly.

So-called Transfer trips be. Here, for example, the ship is moved between a summer and a winter region over a longer distance without going ashore. The best example are the ships that are used in the Mediterranean in summer and cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean in autumn and return in spring. The disadvantage is of course that you don't see much apart from the Atlantic on the trip.

If it can be combined with everyday life and possibly with your job: Sometimes you can also save money with one renewal. Sometimes they are offered by the tour operator, especially if the ship is not fully booked. But it can also be worth asking yourself, even on board the ship. Due to the cruise boom, however, many trips are fully booked. So it is better not to speculate too much on it.

Singles

In the past, singles could book a single cabin with a 25% to 50% surcharge. Today singles usually pay a 50% to 100% surcharge for the sole use of a double cabin. Usually these are so-called defense conditions. Singles, even if they pay double the price for the cabin, only order one meal in the restaurant and only one cocktail in the bar, they only book a seat on the excursion or the massage and only buy for one person in the shops. You don't have to give anyone anything or invite anyone. For many shipping companies, this is apparently a significant part of the profit, which is why they prefer to forego singles, since most cruises are fully booked because of the boom.

For this reason, on cruises, which are usually offered cheaper by supermarket discounters, booking by singles is often not even possible in principle. Shipping companies usually want to offset the low price with on-board expenses. You have to know for yourself whether you will name a trusted person who is unfortunately “prevented” shortly before departure and who will accept the second travel price as a 100% surcharge.

Since providers regulate the transport of singles according to how full a ship is even without them, catalogs often do not specify a price for a single booking, but must be asked for by phone on a daily basis.

Costs on board

It is important on every cruise to yourself before inform about possible costs on board. Once you are on the ship, you can no longer avoid it. This can quickly turn into money for drinks in hot climates, for example.

Some providers also advertise cruises all inclusive-Offers. This is usually only correct to a limited extent and applies to meals and drinks in restaurants. But then the drinks at the bar on the sun deck are often not included, and the special restaurant with its specialties is not free either. Not all fitness and wellness offers are included in the price. You have to make the effort here to study the conditions exactly. For drinks z. For example, numerous variants are conceivable: Free water dispensers, free (non-alcoholic) table drinks with meals or everything free including the cocktails in the bar. This is of course also paid indirectly via the travel price.

The Take drinks on boardto save money is restricted on almost all cruisers. Alcoholic beverages are usually withheld at the entrance control for shore excursions and "kept" for the passenger until the end of the journey. He can then pick you up when you check out. Sometimes this even applies to all drinks. You have agreed to this regulation in the terms and conditions. In addition to the interest in selling on-board drinks, there is certainly also the fear that passengers will get drunk cheaply and then damage the facility by rioting.

Shore excursions are always chargeable, unless they belong to an expedition included in the package. They are usually considerably more expensive than comparable excursions offered by bus companies on land. On the other hand, looking for an excursion with a local provider in the destination port beforehand is very time-consuming, even during internet times. You have to know for yourself whether you will accept these increased prices for the sake of convenience. By the way: If an organized excursion by the ship comes too late, the ship usually waits. If you go on your own, probably not.

The easiest way to pay the costs is with the Boarding passthat you get when you embark. The costs incurred are debited to an on-board account, which must be paid on the day of departure, the easiest way to pay is by credit card. It is sometimes required to open an on-board account. When booking a cruise, some tour operators grant a discount, which is usually transferred as a credit to the on-board account.

Many providers charge a flat rate per day and person as a Tip and thus debited the cruise participant's on-board account. This can easily amount to € 10 per day. How and whether this "tip" is distributed among the team is mostly not documented. With some organizers, however, it is possible to reduce the mandatory tip or even to cancel it entirely; the reception of the ship provides information on this. For many it is little consolation that this can also be paid for with the usual credit cards. Tips are also common for exceptional services. If you are not currently in the euro area, it is advisable to have a few small US $ bills on hand.

activities

Active on board

Every cruise ship has one Swimming pool or more. However, for safety reasons, they are not very big, more than splashing around is not possible, after a few meters swimming is over. Whirlpools are also standard.

What kind of sporting activities are possible depends heavily on the design of the ship. As a rule, a look at the floor plans of the upper decks helps, you might discover a volleyball court or a climbing wall. Golf simulators are already standard. Treadmills, cross trainers, bikes & Co are also available almost everywhere, and use is then free of charge. Targeted training by a trained person is chargeable and should be booked in good time.

Most ships have a small circuit on deck at a certain time (usually in the morning before the sun loungers are set up) jogger cleared.

Also the Wellness area takes up a large space on most ships. All large ships offer extensive massage services. But they are usually much more expensive than on land.

If there is a sauna is on board, you should before about the customs regarding Nudity to inform. Most Germans, Austrians and Swiss are not aware that the nude sauna is almost exclusively only used in Central and Northern Europe and that even in Northern Europe it is strictly separated according to gender. In almost every other country in the world, nude sauna is unusual or even strictly prohibited. Since many large cruise lines are aimed at an international audience, the large US Americans even essentially at North Americans, the sauna on board can only be used there in swimwear. Even if there are other legends floating around in this country: It is not unhygienic, it does not result in skin diseases. This is proven by the billions of inhabitants of the countries who (are allowed) to go to the sauna only dressed.

Some European ships have one Nudist deck, it is naturally the highest of the decks so that it cannot be seen by other passengers. Since it is also the highest point of the ship and therefore the best vantage point for photographers, people with cameras often go to this deck. It goes without saying that this is not allowed.

All ships have a Theater and / or a cinema, the performances are in the evening, sometimes even several times. Depending on the travel destination, the time change can make it difficult to stay up for the late performances.

Many ships also have one Casino or slot machines. However, the "floating Las Vegas" is often only in operation on the water, in the port the legal regulations of the respective country apply. The expected value of the winnings (payout ratio, also RTP for return to player) at ship casinos is usually low.

Especially for themed trips, lectures and courses are offered around the topic of travel, depending on the individual case for free or for a fee.

Excursions ashore

The port of St. John's on Antigua. If you put the size of the cruise ships, each with several thousand passengers, in relation to the city, you can imagine how dependent some islands are on cruise tourism.

When choosing the cruise route, you should take a quick look at the berthing times of the ships. As a rule, they sail at night, then come to the next port in the morning and then lie on a quay or pier until departure. In the meantime you can go ashore - at least in theory. In practice, you have to be timely, i.e. H. be back on board about half an hour before departure. During some stays, however, it may happen that the ships are lying outside the port in the roadstead, then all that remains is to drive the way from the ship to the port and back with a tender or other boat, which limits the excursion possibilities.

The cruise agencies offer shore excursions when booking, which range between € 30–100 per person, depending on the length of the tour. These excursions are carried out by local companies who also easily cope with the fact that e.g. B. half a dozen buses at the same time to excursion from Cancun to Chichen Itza moves. Of course, this only applies to places that are well developed for tourism. For excursions z. B. on a small Caribbean island like Bonaire it is not always guaranteed that the necessary infrastructure is available. In der Hochsaison können dann oft mehrere Kreuzfahrtschiffe im Hafen liegen, dann sind die wenigen interessanten Ziele oft schnell überlaufen.

Wer versucht, auf kleineren Inseln oder in kleineren Orten auf eigene Faust etwas zu unternehmen, kann auch schnell feststellen, dass die gesamte Infrastruktur schon durch die großen Schiffe belegt und eine Buchung oder ein Besuch bestimmter Attraktionen für Einzelpersonen gar nicht mehr möglich ist.

Fotografieren

• Achten Sie bei Aufnahmen am Wasser auf die Horizontale. Natürlich sind Meeresküsten in den seltensten Fällen geradlinig, aber bei Aufnahmen am Meer sollte der Horizont einigermaßen waagerecht verlaufen.
• Bei der Beobachtung von Schiffen und Meeresküsten ist seit Jahrhunderten das Fernglas ein wichtiges Hilfsmittel. Digitalkameras sollten daher möglichst gute Zoom-Eigenschaften haben, wobei ein optischer Zoom einem digitalen überlegen ist.
• Bei Spiegelreflex-Kameras ist ein Tele-Zoomobjektiv oft sinnvoller als ein Weitwinkel-Zoom. Wenn man Aufnahmen am Wasser machen möchte, sollte man sich vor Antritt der Reise damit vertraut machen, wann man einen UV-Filter (Skylight-Filter) einsetzt und in welchen Fällen ein Polarisationsfilter sinnvoller wäre.

Practical advice

• Empfehlenswert ist für eine Kreuzfahrt eine Reiserücktrittsversicherung, denn zwischen Buchung und Antritt der Reise liegt oft eine größere Zeitspanne. Die Reiseversicherungen von Kreditkarten decken meist nur eine Höchstsumme und eine begrenzte Reisedauer ab, vor Antritt der Reise überprüfen und evtl. eine andere Versicherung abschließen.
• Den Reisepass auf Gültigkeit überprüfen und evtl. notwendige Visa für Landausflüge rechtzeitig beantragen oder über das Reisebüro in Auftrag geben. Bei Landausflügen können auch Einreisegebühren fällig werden.
• Übliche Sicherheitsvorkehrungen: Kopien der persönlichen Papiere anfertigen und diese dann im Safe der Kabine deponieren.
• Die Bordkarte genügt in den meisten europäischen Hafenstädten als Ausweis, der Pass kann dann im Tresor bleiben. Dies gilt auch in zahlreichen außereuropäischen Ländern.
• Das Personal auf Schiffen stammt meist aus allen möglichen Ländern der Welt, oft sind viele von den Philippines. Selbst auf Schiffen, die ausdrücklich als deutschsprachig beworben werden, muss man damit rechnen, dass viele Servicekräfte nur Englisch können.
• Telefon: Handyempfang hat man nur im Hafen oder in Küstennähe, vorausgesetzt, der eigene Mobilfunkanbieter hat ein Roamingabkommen mit einem Unternehmen vor Ort, doch führen einige Kreuzfahrten in Regionen, wo es sich für europäische Telefonkonzerne nicht lohnt, ein Roamingabkommen zu schließen. Wenn man die Webseiten seines Telefonunternehmens studiert, fällt schnell auf, dass solche Verträge meist nur in Europa und außerhalb nur mit großen Ländern existieren. Ausnahmen können hier Überseegebiete europäischer Staaten in der Karibik sein. Schiffe haben in der Regel die Möglichkeit, von der Kabine aus per Satellit nach Hause zu telefonieren, das aber auch zu Preisen von mehreren Euro pro Minute.
• Internet: Wer nicht per Handy surft, findet an Bord sicher einige Rechner, mit denen man auch auf hoher See ins Internet kann. Aber auch hier gilt: Der Minutenpreis ist hoch und es wird schnell teuer. Inzwischen bieten einige Kreuzfahrtgesellschaften auch Volumentarife an. Eine weitere Variante sind auch relativ günstige Tarife, bei denen man nur Zugang zu sozialen Netzwerken hat (Facebook & Co).

security

The Auswärtige Amt der Bundesrepublik Deutschland hat zu diesem Land eine Reisewarnung veröffentlicht (Weblink). Von der Teilnahme an Kreuzfahrten wird aufgrund der besonderen Risiken dringend abgeraten. Hiervon ausgenommen sind Flusskreuzfahrten innerhalb der EU bzw. Schengen mit spezifischen Hygienekonzepten. Ebenfalls hiervon ausgenommen sind Kreuzfahrten auf Schiffen mit spezifischen Hygienekonzepten, deren Reise in einem Hafen in Deutschland beginnt und ohne ein Anlegen in einem ausländischen Hafen wieder in einem Hafen in Deutschland endet. Coronavirus / Covid-19: Reisewarnung für Staaten außerhalb der EU/Schengen-Gebiet. Datum der letzten Reisewarnung: 16.07.2020.

Zu Beginn jeder Kreuzfahrt findet auf jedem Schiff eine Seenot-Rettungsübung statt, Teilnahme ist Pflicht. Die Übungen werden rechtzeitig über Bordzeitung, Fernseher etc. angekündigt. Die Warnsignale, die Passagiere kennen müssen, sind nicht einheitlich geregelt und unterscheiden sich von Schiff zu Schiff.

Zu den Sicherheitsmaßnahmen gehört auch die Kontrolle des Gepäcks bei der Einschiffung. Die Sicherheitskontrollen beim Betreten und Verlassen des Schiffes sind mit Flughafenkontrollen vergleichbar. Das kann bei der Rückkehr von Ausflügen lästig sein, ist jedoch unumgänglich. Warteschlangen sollte man beim Zeitmanagement einplanen. Dazu gehört auch, dass nach Landausflügen Personen nur mit Bordkarte das Schiff betreten dürfen.

Kleinere Feuer an Bord eines Kreuzfahrers sind wegen der zahlreichen Restaurants mit ihren Küchen kein seltener Fall. Durchsagen, die einen Löschtrupp rufen, sollten einen nicht sofort in Panik versetzen.

An manchen Hafenterminals ist die Bordkarte zumindest eben so wichtig wie der Reisepass. Gerade bei Inseln, die vom Tourismus abhängig sind, kann die Bordkarte an Stelle des Passes bei den Behörden vorgezeigt werden und wird akzeptiert.

Nur weil ein Schiff einen Hafen anläuft, hat man allerdings nicht automatisch ein Einreiserecht. Länder, die ein visa verlangen, machen auch für Kreuzfahrer keine Ausnahme. In Russia beispielsweise darf man in St. Petersburg nur dann ohne Visum das Schiff verlassen, wenn man einen an Bord gebuchten Ausflug mitmacht, nicht wenn man auf eigene Faust loszieht.

Kreuzfahrtpassagiere werden meist recht schnell von Einheimischen angesprochen, die ihre Dienste als Taxifahrer oder Stadtführer anbieten. Leider kommt es bei solchen Gelegenheiten auch des öfteren zu kaum wahrnehmbaren Kontakten, bei denen das persönliche Eigentum sehr schnell und unmerklich den Besitzer wechselt. Bevor man Opfer eines Taschendiebstahls wird, sollte man die Nummern seiner EC-Karte/Kreditkarte, der Ausweispapiere im Safe hinterlegt haben, um diese Karten im Ernstfall unverzüglich sperren zu lassen, die deutschen Notruf-Nummern 49 116 116 or. 49 30 4050 4050 sollte man schon vor der Abfahrt im Handy speichern. Manchmal hilft aber auch ein Brustbeutel eine solche Notfallsituation zu vermeiden.

health

Es gilt, die Gesundheitsratschläge für die entsprechenden Regionen zu beachten und evtl. den Impfschutz rechtzeitig vor Reiseantritt auffrischen. Wichtig ist bei Seereisen auch immer ein ausreichender Sonnenschutz, da die UV-Strahlung am Meer sehr intensiv sein kann. Das Wasser auf modernen Kreuzfahrtschiffen soll man angeblich unbedenklich trinken können, geschmacklich kann es jedoch mit Mineralwasser nicht mithalten. Auf Landausflüge ausreichend Trinkwasser mitnehmen.

Jeder Teilnehmer an einer Kreuzfahrt sollte über eine umfassende Auslandsreise-Krankenversicherung das Kostenrisiko bei Erkrankungen an Bord abdecken. Große Kreuzfahrtschiffe haben Ärzte und sogar manchmal Zahnärzte an Bord bis hin zu einem gut ausgestatteten OP-Saal. Gesetzliche Krankenkassen in der Bundesrepubilk decken die entstehenden Kosten nicht ab, die Abrechnung erfolgt als Privatpatient. Die Höhe der Kosten ist nicht abschätzbar, die Liquidation erfolgt auf unbekannter Basis weil es keine eigene Gebührenordnung gibt. Spezielle Medikamente sollte man immer ausreichend mitnehmen. Auch wenn man täglich einen Hafen ansteuert, kann es schwierig sein, sich in Entwicklungsländern die richtige Medizin zu besorgen. Auf manchen Inseln in der Karibik oder der Südsee ist die „Apotheke“ nur ein Regal im Hafensupermarkt.

Ökologische Aspekte

Kreuzfahrten wurden in den letzten Jahrzehnten immer beliebter. Sie machen Spaß und sind eine bequeme Art des Reisens. Besonders umweltfreundlich sind sie jedoch nicht. Das liegt zunächst an ihrem Antrieb. Die Dieselmotoren der meisten Kreuzfahrtschiffe schlucken billigstes Schweröl, dabei erzeugen sie Unmengen an krebserregenden Feinstaubpartikeln und Ruß, hinzu gesellen sich Stickoxide und Schwefeldioxid. Meist wird dieser Kraftstoff nur auf dem offenen Meer benutzt. In den meisten Häfen müssen dann die Maschinen mit Marinedieselöl betrieben werden, das allerdings auch nicht durch Unweltfreundlichkeit überzeugen kann. Der zur Zeit umweltfreundlichste Kraftstoff ist LNG. Dieses flüssige Erdgas kann aber zur Zeit nur von den Schiffen der neuesten Generation genutzt werden. In einigen wenigen Häfen besteht auch die Möglichkeit einer Landstromversorgung.

Wasser und Abwasser: Das Brauchwasser wird meist über eine Entsalzungsanlage gewonnen. Abwasser geht durch eine bordeigene Kläranlage und verlässte dann das Schiff. Einige Flüssigkeiten werden in den Häfen von Tankfahrzeugen aufgenommen.

Abfall: Bei den meiste Gesellschaften ist es strikt untersagt, Müll über Bord zu werfen. Das gilt für Papiertaschentücher und Zigarettenkippen. Alle Abfälle werden gesammelt, getrennt und in den Häfen über die reguläre ortsübliche Müllbeseitigung entsorgt. Ausnahme: Speisereste und andere organische Kochabfälle. Sowohl aufgrund der sehr hohen Hygiene-Anforderungen an Bord von Schiffen wie auch des Verhaltens der Passagiere kommt es zu einer recht großen Lebensmittelverschwendung. Die Abfälle werden von einigen Gesellschaften auf hoher See verklappt.

Kreuzfahrtbewertungen

• Beim Thema Kreuzfahrten und deren Qualität bzw. deren Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis sollte man sich nicht nur auf die Hochglanzprospekte der Kreuzfahrtreedereien verlassen, sondern sich die zahlreichen Kreuzfahrtbewertungsportale im Internet zunutze machen.
• The Nabu stellt jährlich ein Ranking der Kreuzfahrtschiffe in front. Sieger im Jahr 2018 ist die AIDAnova of AIDA Cruises, sie wird als graues Schaf unter schwarzen Schafen bezeichnet, in der Spitzengruppe sind 2 weitere Schiffe dieser Reederei. Aber AIDA hat noch weitere Schiffe, die teilweise am Ende der Skala landen.

Kreuzfahrt spezialisierte Reisebüros

• Kreuzfahrt Shop - Flusskreuzfahrten und Hochseekreuzfahrten

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