Hi, I'm from the US. I've not been on a German ship, but have cruised Costa 3 times. I have enjoyed all 3 cruises with Costa. I would definitely think that language would be an obstacle, since most of us only know English and maybe some Spanish. German is taught in our schools, but it is not one of the more popular languages. I have had the privilege of being in France and Germany and was amazed by the variety of languages spoken. It seemed as though everyone knew at least 3 different languages, which made me realize how much we take for granted here. I also will say, for me, the ship is a huge part of the experience. Food is another important consideration. I personally enjoy trying different types of cuisine, however, I don't want to eat haggas or cockels or some other items I've heard of. And for me, a casino is a must. I'm hooked on video poker and that's where I'll be in the evenings after dinner. I wouldn't hesitate to book a German vessel if I knew someone could speak English, the price was right, and there was a casino on board. On Costa, they made all announcements in 5 languages, even if their English wasn't that good, you could understand. Plus, they printed the onboard news letters in different languages. I think it would be fun to experience a German vessel. Best wishes!
I am a tourism student working on my thesis on Cruise Marketing.
These questions go especially to all American passengers
1)Have you ever cruised /thought about cruising on board a German cruise vessel ??
2) What is your impression on German Cruise ships? Image? Differences to American ships?
3) Why would you/ wouldn`t you book a cruise operated by a German Cruise Line?
Many thanks for your answers, I am excited to hear what is your opinion!
Greetings,
Sophie
1) No, I have not ever cruised on a German vessel. The thought of cruising on a European cruise vessel (whether German or not) has crossed my mind.
2) Since I have never cruised on a German cruise vessel, the main impressions I have would come from descriptions by Rauol and others who have cruised on German cruise vessels.
I would also imagine that German cruise vessels would be different in some ways. The food would be different, but I do like to eat different food. I would imagine there would be allot of Germans, but also many people from other European countries. I would imagine more European people (Germans included) smoke more than Americans. I do not smoke. Therefore, I would have to tolerate cigarette smoke more. But I am more tolerant of smoking than other Americans. If I were to cruise on a German vessel, I would expect plenty of top quality beer, pretzels, and sausage.
3. In the forseeable future I most likely would not take a cruise operated by a German Cruise Line. Only because the long distances I would have to travel to reach a German cruise vessel. Right now I live in Orlando, Florida, USA. It is very easy for me to drive in my car to four very busy cruise ports: Port Canaveral, Tampa, Ft.Lauderdale (Port Everglades) and Miami .
However, taking a German cruise might be very enjoyable to me. Maybe in the future if I save enough money, I would consider it.
With regard to question #2, I forgot to mention I may expierience difficulties with the language barrier. On the cruises I have taken here in the USA, I have only heard English spoken by the crew and passengers. If I go on a German cruise...well, I will probably hear German spoken by both groups. I would imagine, the most difficult part would be trying to understand the anouncements over the Public Address system made by crew members speaking in German. I only know how to speak a few sentences in German, so I probably would need someone to translate for me. Hopefully that should not be a problem since there should be a crew member onboard that speaks English. Hopefully the same would be true with regard to the other passengers. And hopefully, if I were to take a German cruise, I would have enough time before the cruise to learn some more German.
@ Frase and penny3333:
Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate your help !
Considering the language barriers, I do not know any European vessel where announcements are only made in one language. As there are always people from different countries travelling on European cruiseliners, announcements have to be made at least in German and Englisch.
So don`t be afraid.
@ frase: I can understand that you like to start your voyage from your home country. But there are many European companies which offer world tours? Wouldn´t you be interested in that?
What ist the average length of a cruise you would take? In Germany, cruises usually take about 10-14 days.
@ frase: I can understand that you like to start your voyage from your home country. But there are many European companies which offer world tours? Wouldn´t you be interested in that?
Sure, a cruise around the world sounds great. But once again, I will need to really save allot of money (and vacation time at work) before I could do that.
Quote:
What ist the average length of a cruise you would take? In Germany, cruises usually take about 10-14 days.
Most of the cruises which leave ports near where I live (Orlando,Florida,USA) are one week long (7 nights). There are some that are shorter (3 to 5 nights). And a few that are longer (7 to 10 nights). And maybe occasionally there is one of those "world cruises" that embarks in one of these ports (they last much longer; maybe 1 month?).
As for myself, I would take a cruise that is one week long (7 nights). For me, that is probably the ideal amount of time; not too long, not too short. And as I said, most of the cruises that leave Florida ports are one week long.
quite a few German cruise ships offer round-the-world cruises during the winter months. In some cases those cruises are considerably longer than 100 nights, but you can also book segments.
I'd love to do a world cruise, but I definitely would have to work 3 jobs to save for that. If I remember correctly it was around $49K per person on Princess. Which doesn't even start to cover the sign and sail charges. It would be an easy quarter of a million dollar trip. Even if I banked my entire take home pay it would take me 10 years to save that much. I couldn't go that long without taking a cruise!
the 2007/2008 132-night world cruise of Phoenix Reisen's four-star-plus "Amadea" starts at 18,845 euros per person. Fares for their three-star-plus "Albatros" (ex "Royal Viking Sea") start at 12,999 euros per person for a 120-night cruise.
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