Increasing Popularity Of Ocean Cruises

Press, Volume C, Issue 29651, 23 October 1961, Page 9

Increasing Popularity Of Ocean Cruises

Combined ocean-air cruises to the Pacific, North America, Japanese and Far Eastern porta are becoming increasingiff popular among Chririchunh people, according to several travel agencies. They repeat a Rxrpriaing demand for this new type at hoikfay in the fast year. For many older or retired persons who have not pceviouely travelled out of New Zealand, these mixed sea and air holidays apparently offer the ideal way of taking an ntereatmg and comprebensive glimpse at the world in a rroacnsbly short time. Whereas in the United Kingdom this idea seems to be attracting widespread interest among the wealthy, some of the cruises offering to New Zealanders are much more moderately priced. For the younger people limited by two or three wrok holidays, the Pacific island cruise is also becoming popular. Usually beginning from Auckland or Sydney, these tripe Often visit the Great Barrier Reef area and make stops at several of the south Pacific islands. A typical route for the longer two to three months’ cruise includes stops at Manila in the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong. Kobe, Yokohama and Tokyo in Japan, and in North America, Vancouver, San Francisco and Loe Angeles, returning by way of Honolulu or Fiji to Sydney or Auckland. Older travellers who have been on these Longer cruises seem to be agreed on the advantages of this type of travel compared with the hustle and bustie of the normal tour by land. Using the snip as a base, they have not the same need for continual adjustment to varying accommodation. They thus have their energies freed from the normal tourists’ concerns to enjoy to the full the diversity of their tour unhampered by restricting crowds. European Crowds In Europe this problem is particularly evident. The pages of travel advertising on British newspapers and magazines from January each year, have frequent reference to sun, sea and “getting away from it all.” A crowded beach at Capri, Cannes, Corsica or the Costa Brava is no different from a hot, sunny crowded beach anywhere, say the disillusioned home-returned travellers each winter. Filled with thousands of British holiday makers, Rome or the Riviera. Vienna or Venice, inevitably lose their attractions to the British. This year the travel industry seems to have overreached the normal bounds of Europe, and is now going to the edge of North Africa

and the growing tourist services at the Middle East. “Come to the Black See Riviera in Rumania or Bulgaria,” ar “Join a Baltic cruise to Leningrad,” “jo lotus eeting in lush Corfu” or "Spend May Day in Moscow.” implore the advertisements. There are touring in Tunisia, or Turkey, expoloring the Greek isfantfa by fishing boat, taking up underwater swimming off the Costa Brava or canoeing down the Danube, Even further from the normal travel sphere are the appealingly illustrated injunctions to “Go by chartered flight to Jugoslavia's Damnation coast” or “Travel to India (the land of ten thousand images) between meals.” For the even more adventurous travel possibilities extend to Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia where a new sport entitled "Dangerous Bathing” is reputedly becoming more popular for European tourists. For the lees risky bathing, sunny Lake Balaton near Budapest is advised by one travel agency. Also on this organisation’s suggestion list is Albania—now open to tourist traffic. More and more older New Zealanders, finding the children now grown up, and palling of the endless years of "going camping” seem now to be considering the possibilities of overseas travel as an essential ingredient for understanding the changing world about them.