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Taking a break at sea The construction industry covers a massive range of jobs from high flying architects to plumbers, electricians and interior designers. All the jobs have their benefits and the ones who do most of the graft are those who you might find on the web, earmarked cheap builders online. It’s a very competitive business and one which does attract those that can, as well as those who cannot. The one’s who can tend to get the business because they are listed with the industry associations. The good side of that is there is a standard which is recognised in the trade, so the ones who aren’t registered can be good or not so good and that’s a bit of a gamble for clients. 
People who are looking for cheap builders do so online these days because it’s much easier than going through pages and pages of Yellow Pages builders, even though they are still appearing in the same listings, but on the internet. The builders who are most successful obviously need a good break from putting up houses, office blocks, hotels and schools, so many use their hard earned cash to do something totally different and head to sea. It might be because the work is intensive and demanding but the idea of spending time relaxing on a sea cruises really appeals. It’s a very social type of holiday and one which can be booked as a last minute holiday which is important. Time is often not easy for a builder to plan in the summer, even for the cheap builders, so getting cruise deals in the winter is more likely. That’s the best time to go to certain parts of the world anyway, so companies such as MSC cruises are ideal for the tradesman who can get away in January but not June. On the ships there are things which your average trades guy enjoys to the full and on the celebrity cruises there’s always a top entertainer or chef to chat to. This is one aspect of the Cunard cruises which has found popularity over the years. Each table will have a celebrity sat with the passengers and they move around so everyone can have a natter. Socially it’s fascinating as the table can be made up of lawyers, designers, government officials, and trades people such as builders. What is even more fascinating is how all these different people usually get on – maybe it’s the diverse nature of the group where no one is trying to out do the other which makes it work. Somewhere in the background to the seat arrangement there will be a cruise director and teams making sure the right guests are put together each night for evening dinner. That dinner is more often than not sumptuous, and is another reason the builder, who on a normal week day takes a packed lunch to work, enjoys the high life, if only for a few weeks. On the latest princess cruises much of the food is free and the builder who takes the cruise from the UK will be amused to see the lounge bar, complete with traditional British food on the menu. The company who own the Ruby Emerald may be American but they have tried their hardest to make it Brit friendly! Whilst a voyage in the sun, such as a Caribbean cruise there is also the chance to see the glacial ice caps and the wildlife on a cruise to Alaska. These voyages take the sea route north past Vancouver Island, and are operated amongst others by freed Olsen cruises and MCL cruises. The best time of year for this type of voyage is really in the middle of summer months and particularly August. However, that can be a slack time for builders as its school holidays and many home owners are away, and not thinking about house extensions just yet. That comes in the spring months and later in the year around September. The Alaskan trips head out of Seattle and Vancouver whilst the big liners from America and the Caribbean are largely based in Miami Florida. Mediterranean Cruises often depart from a port in the UK such as Southampton or from Rotterdam. Is a cruise too expensive?
Like any business - and that includes the cheap builder enterprises - there are always cruise deals and cheap cruises to be found. Its doesn’t necessarily follow that the builder will be the one found searching out the most cost effective cruise holiday, but that is sometimes the case. Cruise reviews are very useful for getting an objective view, although in some cases there is a suspicion that the reviewer has benefited from a free trip on board as a guest and then wrote glowingly about a luxury ship which cruises the Caribbean. Cruise holidays are something special so it’s worth pushing the boat out and spending a bit more. In terms of cost, one shipping line which tries to be as exclusive as possible with smaller vessels which takes only 250 or so passengers is seabourn cruises. Small is beautiful might be their ethos as they offer a very personal attention to their guests. Although they are a relatively small outfit and have more compact ships they have cruise offers all year round. At the other end of the scale and far less formal are the ships of the bright and breezy Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL cruises). They ply routes all over the world and have med cruises as just one of their destination itineraries. They bring a new sense of fun to the world of cruising which is sometimes seen as a bit stuffy. Families love this innovative approach and can enjoy the fact that there is no set eating or meal time, and there is no such thing as a formal dress code. They call this freestyle cruising and the approach certainly seems to be working as they fill their ships with excited families on every trip. They have an extensive fleet of ships all named with Norwegian in the title, so there is Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Star etc, but their latest addition is truly a monster of a vessel. Constructed in 2010, the Norwegian Epic is close to being the largest leisure cruiser afloat with a gross tonnage of 154, 000 tons. This is a vessel of truly epic proportions of 19 decks, with the top deck having the Posh Beach Club. There’s nothing too pretentious about these ships but they still bring a quality to holidays which can be left wanting in most other vacation experiences. To complete the statistics for the Epic, it is 329 meters long and has no less than 19 restaurants serving everything from sushi to steaks, and 14 bars, of which one is though to be the only ice bar to be found at sea. This is a seriously well fitted out ship, by any standards. 
This may not be the case on a voyage from one of the cruise 2011 brochures of P&O Cruises which stand by old traditions of evening dress and a set dinner schedule. There is no right or wrong to this and many like either or both forms of cruise experience. Whether it be P & O Cruises or Princes Cruises, one aspect which the builder who is not the late booking one mentioned earlier, will be the one who can take the option of looking well ahead and be thinking more in terms of cruises 2012. The world is your oyster when it comes to the world of cruises and it’s one which has become more popular in recent years. Maybe because there has been a reaction to the overcrowded airports and the intense security associated to air travel that the ships which sail the seas are getting more popular. In contrast to the air journey they offer a more relaxing experience. Taking the profession we are talking about, that of the builder, the idea of yet more stress, possibly with a family along as well are not something to look forward to. He or she wants to be thinking of a voyage aboard a Fred Olsen Cruises vessel, sitting on deck sipping a cool drink. That’s about as far as anyone can get from mixing concrete and laying bricks. So as much as anything it’s the contrast in lifestyles which appeals. But the point about air travel is valid, and with less emphasis on quality (except for a few very good airlines), and a greater emphasis on getting you there cheaply, the luxury ships as those in the fleet of silverseas cruises, provide a lifestyle many would crave for. The retired couple who save and spend their pensions on a 96 day round the world cruise can be seen as one type of customer for the likes of the P&O cruise line, but more and more ordinary folk such as builders, are joining the vessels which provide the people of greatest sea faring nations on the planet with the means to get to a destination slowly - but in style. 
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