Before you book your first cruise, check out this comprehensive guide by an expert, from what to pack to booking tips. Cruise holidays are usually seen as intimidating, luxurious and slightly out of reach, especially for first-time travellers. But a lot of this hesitation actually comes from the lack of clear information around what a cruise holiday actually involves, from booking the right itinerary and knowing what to pack and what life onboard looks like. Once you simplify everything, you will see that cruising is actually less complicated.ALSO READ: Last-minute trip? 13 secret light packing hacks that can save your dayCruise holidays are becoming more popular among Indians. (Picture credit: Freepik)To understand the basics of cruise travel better, HT Lifestyle spoke to travel expert Varun Chadha, CEO, TIRUN Travel Marketing, who helped clarify all the essentials, including what kind of travel experience a cruise holiday offers, what first-time cruise travellers should know before booking, what they need to carry, and more.What kind of travel do cruise holidays fall under?The travel expert categorised cruise holidays as experiential travel, calling them a powerful example of the trend. Experiential travel has been on the rise lately and can be defined as a form of holiday rooted in meaningful experiences and lasting memories, instead of being focused solely on sightseeing. Varun highlighted that cruise holidays fit this idea because they turn the journey itself into an important part of the travel experience.“A cruise combines destination discovery with a wide range of curated onboard experiences, including dining, entertainment, wellness, cultural immersion, and personalised activities. Travellers can wake up in a new destination while enjoying the consistency, comfort, and convenience of travelling on a single floating resort,” he said.Cruise holiday is a form of experential travel. (Picture credit: Freepik)What are the five essentials every beginner should carry on a cruise?The travel expert outlined these essentials:Travel documents: Carry your passport, cruise tickets, booking confirmations, visas, ID proof and any cruise-related paperwork.Comfortable clothing and footwear: Pack outfits suited for both onboard activities and destination exploration, along with comfortable shoes for walking during shore excursions.Medication and personal essentials: Keep regular medicines, basic first-aid items, toiletries, and any personal care products you may need, especially for longer itineraries.Small day bag: Carry a compact bag for shore excursions to keep essentials like your phone, wallet, sunscreen, water bottle, documents, and medication handy.Weather-appropriate accessories: Pack based on the destination, such as sunglasses, hats, light jackets, swimwear, rainwear or sunscreen.How can travellers choose the right cruise based on their group size, couples, solo travellers, or families?Next, we asked whether the cruise experience differs based on who people are travelling with. Varun here believed that cruise actually offers an edge in this regard, as modern cruising caters to diverse travel preferences, whether for couples, solo travellers or families.Varun described this in detail, “One of the biggest strengths of modern cruising is its ability to cater to diverse travel preferences. The right cruise ultimately depends on understanding what each traveller or group hopes to gain from the experience.”When on a cruise, you are not confined to the ship always as there are plenty of exciting shore activities you take part in. (Picture credit: Freepik)What are the common misconceptions people have about cruise holidays?Certain inhibitions keep people away from making the most of cruise trips. These myths need to be addressed and debunked. Varun outlined a few myths and revealed the facts against each one of them:1. Myth: Cruises are only for older travellersFact-check:The cruise industry caters to a wide range of travellers, including families, couples, solo travellers, luxury seekers and adventure enthusiasts.The average age of Indian cruise traveller today is 37, showing that younger travellers are also embracing cruise vacations.2. Myth: Cruises are always expensiveFact-checkCruises may seem costly at first, but when compared with a land-based holiday, they can offer better value.Accommodation, dining, entertainment, activities and transport between destination all bundled into one vacation experience.Cruising can be up to 30 per cent more cost-effective.3. Myth: You are confined to the shipFact-check:A cruise holiday is not just about staying onboard.Travellers can explore multiple destinations through curated shore excursions, while also enjoying the ship's entertainment, wellness facilities, dining venues and recreational experiences.Why are Indians choosing cruise holidays?Varun said that more Indians are choosing cruise holidays nowadays. But aside from choosing a cruise for leisure holidays, he spotted various other reasons such as milestone celebrations, like anniversaries or birthdays, family getaways, and experiential travel. The tailored and immersive experience adds to the interest of the travellers.Adrija Dey’s proclivity for observation fuels her storytelling instinct. As a lifestyle journalist, she crafts compelling, relatable narratives across diverse touchpoints of the human experience, including wellness, mental health, relationships, interior design, home decor, food, travel, and fashion that gently nudge readers toward living a little better. For her, stories exist in flesh and bones, carried by human vessels and shaped through everyday endeavours. It is the small stories we live and share that make us human. After all, humans and their lores are the most natural and raw repositories of stories, and uncovering them, for her, is akin to peeling an orange under a winter afternoon sun. Always up for a chat, she believes the best stories come from unfiltered yapping, where "too much information" is kind of the point. A graduate of Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, and an alumna of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, Adrija spends her idle hours cocooned with herbal tea and a gripping thriller, scribbling inner monologues she loosely calls poetic pieces, often with her succulents in attendance. On lazier days, she can be found binge-watching, for the nth time, one from her comfort-show holy trinity: The Office (US), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, or Modern Family. Dancing by herself to her peppy playlists, however, is an everyday ritual she swears by religiously.Read MoreTravelCatch every big hit, every wicket with Crick-it, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Quizzes, Polls & much more. Explore now!.Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.See Less