我想搭遊輪旅行已經想了好幾年了。這些年來，不少朋友都曾經搭遊輪度假，讓我好生羨慕，特別是有好朋友是樂於此道的航海王，我不時不時就會聽到又有誰誰誰去坐船的消息。本來，我在佛羅里達念書的時候，應該是坐船最好的時機（很多加勒比海的行程都是從佛州出發），但可惜那時候外部條件難以配合（一是沒錢；再來 PhD 念到最後階段一直很忙沒有時間；而且也沒有旅伴），所以雖然想了很久，卻一直抱憾。終於，到了 2010 年，所有的外部條件終於都搭配成功了，我達成數年來的願望 (N > 3)，和全家人一起，搭公主遊輪前往阿拉斯加，享受遊輪之旅的初體驗。
I have been wanting to take a cruise trip for years. In recently years, I kept hearing about friends going to fabulous cruise trips. In particular, one of my very good friends is a frequent cruiser, and I have heard all good things about cruising from him. Naturally, the best opportunity for me to take a cruise was when I studied at Florida (many Caribbean cruises embark from Florida), however, the external conditions just did not work out at that time - I had very little money; work at school was extremely busy; and, I had no company to go on a cruise trip with. So what I badly wanted to do has remained on my to-do list for N years (N>3). Now finally, in 2010, all the stars aligned and I was able to fulfill my wish - going on a cruise trip to Alaska with my families on board of Diamond Princess.
生活中很多經驗都是這樣的，沒有嘗試過之前，總是懵懵懂懂，就算人家再怎麼形容，總是難以深切了解是怎麼一回事。真的嘗試之後，隨著恍然大悟，有時候幻滅，有時候覺得相見恨晚。做為一個愛旅行的人，出門遠遊對我來說已經不是新鮮事，但搭船旅行卻是第一回，所以這次行程，和我常進行的國家公園 road trip 相比，有更多值得記載的事情。我想，很多朋友可能對搭船旅行這件事，也像我之前一樣充滿了好奇吧？那，我不如就寫得詳細一點，讓有興趣坐船的讀者們，當個參考，究竟坐船去玩，是怎麼一回事，行前的期待又該定在什麼地方。
This is a general truth to many experiences in life: For anything new, before I personally try, no matter how hard people describe it to me, I still do not appreciate it fully. After the hands-on experience, I come to a realization how it really is, sometimes happily, and other times painfully. As a person who really likes traveling, hitting the road is a common thing to me, but hitting the sea on a cruise ship is completely new. Thus, this leaves me a lot to discover, and a lot to write and share, after I come back. Maybe, many of my friends out there are also curious, as I once was, about how a cruise trip is like. Well then, let me write, as detailed as possible, about my experience, to serve as one more reference point to whoever might be interested in this.
關於遊輪旅行，我覺得最奇妙的地方在這裡：現代人坐船遠行的機會並不多（我相信坐過飛機的人應該比坐過船的人多吧），但和常見的飛機旅行相比，搭船遠行，更能引起人心中對旅遊的想望。不知道是電視電影的宣傳太成功，還是怎麼回事，讓搭遊輪旅行，變成了豪華行程的同義詞。
One thing I consider the most peculiar about cruise trip is this: Nowadays, people no longer frequently use ships as transportation for long trips anymore (I do believe more people have taken a long flight than a long boat ride). However, being an experience so generally absent, taking a cruise trip still inspires imagination of a great vacation more than taking a flight. How this association ever comes about is really puzzling to me, but I attribute it to the success of the TV shows and movies, which imprint cruise trips in people's mind as equivalence to luxury vacations.
事實上我第一個想討論的就是這一點：遊輪旅行和一般的路面行程相比，到底是不是真的比較貴，是不是真的比較享受，最重要的是不是值回票價？價格方面，我個人的經驗和一些介紹遊輪的書上寫的差不多相同：如果你在意花費，而且認真去挑選行程和時間，事實上遊輪行程未必會比路面行程貴很多。我們可以把遊輪想成一個套裝行程，付一次錢，就包括了住宿、交通、餐費、還有基本娛樂；如果自己組合一個行程，一項項購買這些服務，所有細項加起來，也可能是同等可觀的花費。有時候，由於目的地的特殊性（像阿拉斯加的 inside passage 就是一個好例子），自行安排交通非常困難而且昂貴，遊輪反而變成最經濟合理的選擇。如果旅行的時間有彈性，可以避開旺季，選擇有折扣的船班，那就更是划算。遊輪本身，當然也分很多等級，中階遊輪和高級遊輪的價格自然差距甚大；不過更有趣的是，同一艘船，不同的艙等和時間，有時候價差也可以到兩倍以上。想去坐船的人，自然要好好慎重比較一番。
So here comes the first point for discussion: Comparing with typical road trips, are cruise trips really more luxurious and expensive, are they more enjoyable, and after all do they worth the money spent? Price-wise, my personal experience does match with what's described in the books about cruise trips - If you are mindful about what you spend, and pay attention to timing and itinerary, cruise trips are not necessarily more expensive than road trips. Consider cruise trips as a tour package, with one payment, your lodging, transportation, meals, and basic entertainment are all covered. For some particular destinations (Alaska inside passage being a perfect example), due to its geographical conditions, arranging my own transportation is both troublesome and expensive, and cruise trips emerge as a natural and economically-wise decision. On top of that, if you are flexible in time to avoid the high season, you get more bang for the bucks. Of course, there are many different options in cruise trips, and huge differences between the high-end and mid-tier ships. What makes the game more interesting is that even on the very same ship and itinerary, picking different trip date and selecting cabin class on sale can cut prices to half. Therefore, careful planning is crucial.
我向來是一個偏好自由行的人，自從我開始自己規畫旅遊的行程之後，我覺得自己再也無法接受旅行團那種，由別人告訴你每天什麼時候要做什麼的旅行了。在這方面，我覺得遊輪行程的自由度尚稱優秀，除了某個時間大家都要上船開航，還有船開到哪邊不在我的控制之外，我所有的行動基本上都是自由的，我可以決定在船上任何一個角落做我想做的事，或上岸探索更廣大的天地。和我完全無法忍受的旅行團相比，遊輪行程這部分的問題不大。它避免了套裝行程對我來說最嚴重的缺點，但卻保有套裝行程最好的特性：方便性，做一次選擇，就可以完成行程安排的一半以上，不用一一操心不同的項目，非常適合懶人。
Freedom always comes on top of my list when arranging a trip. Since I have learned to be my own travel agent and plan for trips myself, I can no longer tolerate group trips if I am told to do things when, where, and what. In this aspect, I consider cruise trips to be not as constraining as I previously thought, which I found as a pleasant surprise. Other than that I need to be on board of the ship when it sails away from port-of-calls, and I have absolutely no control where the ship goes the next, anything else I decide to do is completely up to me, out of my free will. I can be at any place on the ship anytime, and there are indeed many interesting choices (at least for the first timer); when the ship is at the port, I can decide when to get off, exploring the horizon far and beyond. Comparing to intolerable group trips, cruise trips avoid my number 1 no-no for vacations, while maintaining the best feature in package tours - convenience. One choice is all I need to make to complete more than 50% of my itinerary, no more handling all small details from dawn to dusk. This is indeed very nice when I am feeling lazy.
我這次坐船是和從台灣來的家人一起，後來我發現，一起去坐船，是接待從外國來的親人朋友非常合適而且方便的選項。畢竟，新到一個陌生的地方，國外來的訪客都會相當依賴本地人，才能完成基本生活所需（事實上，就算是我們去外州拜訪朋友，也得相當程度依賴朋友的接送等等）。坐船的時候，這些事情就都由船公司包辦了，我的家人們也可以自由自在地在船上到處去玩，反正船就這麼大，我也不需要擔心他們跑不見了（迷路或許還是會的，但總是還留在船上，不會不見了）、也不用擔心他們要吃什麼、或沒事做，跟大家一起去陸面行程或大家一起留在我住的城市，帶國外來的訪客坐船，相比之下大家都更輕鬆，更能充分享受休假。這是我這次坐船發現的額外收穫。同樣的理由也適用於大型的家族或朋友聚會，把瑣事都賴給船公司，主辦人就不用花太大力氣了。
I took my first cruise trip with families visiting me from Taiwan. Soon I discovered, taking on a cruise trip together is a very suitable and convenient option when families or friends visit from abroad. After all, coming to a different country, the visitors definitely rely heavily on the locals to make various arrangements for any daily chores (as a matter of fact, even when we visit other cities, we to some extent rely on the locals to drive around the town etc.). On a cruise ship, all basic needs of life are automatically taken care of, and there is nothing for me to worry about on this part. My families can also explore freely on the ship, without me worrying them disappearing (getting lost, maybe, but there is only so much room on the ship, they won't get far). There is ample options for food, amenity, and entertainment on the ship, so there is no need to constantly make various arrangements. The visitors, free to do whatever they want to without relying on the locals, could have a more relaxing time too. Comparing with a road trip, this is definitely an easier, more enjoyable vacation for all. This is another good thing I found about cruise trips by accident. Similar argument applies to big family gatherings or school reunions. Leaving the chores to the cruise company, whoever calls for the event definitely would have a much easier job.
很多人提到坐船，就會開始擔心暈船的問題。這當然跟行程中的天氣、海象有很直接的關係，不過現在遊輪都有極大的噸位，還有安定船身的設計，以我這次的經驗，七天的行程中除了一天之外，大部分的時候都像在陸地上一樣平穩，完全沒有在坐船的感覺。
Many people are concerned about sea sickness. My experience is that, with the size of current cruise ships, and its advanced stabilization technologies, unless the weather goes really bad, the passengers hardly feel anything. During the seven-day voyage, there is only part of a day that I did feel the ship moving. All other days, the boat was as stable as a rock, I hardly knew that I was at sea.
整體說來，我第一次坐船，感覺非常滿意。雖然我最近多半還是會選擇進行陸地上的旅行（我比較喜歡去國家公園，大部分的國家公園都不是坐船到得了的），但遊輪也已經被我加進可以再去的一個選項，而不是那種坐過一次，了解了之後就可以了的情形。所以，遊輪能夠吸引那麼多乘客，像我有些朋友一去再去，果然是有它的道理。
All in all, my first time on a cruise ship was a wonderful time and I was very satisfied. Although road trips are still more likely for me in near future (I like visiting national parks, and most of them are on land), cruise trips have definitely become another attractive option for me. If the circumstance is right, I will definitely go again. Now that I know what I am getting, this choice comes from real appreciation of what it has to offer, not just curiosity. I can now understand why some people choose to go cruising frequently. The attraction is definitely there.
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