With the choices available today, how exactly does one go about choosing the best cruise holiday? Once you have decided that taking a cruise holiday is for you, you need to do your homework. You can ask travel agents (note the plural form!), check out brochures, and ask friends and relatives who are cruise veterans or check out the wealth of information available online.

One such cruise ship is the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line with which their "Get Out There" advertising campaign was to inform the public of all the possibilities on board.

What can people expect? Rock-climbing walls, ice skating rinks, basketball courts, inline skating tracks, miniature golf courses, bungee trampolines, splash fountains, indoor fitness facilities. Freedom of the Seas will even have surfing on-board! And there's even more planned... "In May 2006, Royal Caribbean plans to launch the giant 3,600-passenger Freedom of the Seas. This ship will have many of Royal Caribbean's newer features such as an ice rink and the largest rock wall at sea, as well as unique water activities. The ship's H2O Zone wading pool will have colorful water-spouting sculptures, which guests can use to soak each other. In one corner of the water playground, a circular pool will shoot a current of water in a river around a central island creating a small lazy river ride. Another swimming pool will be fed by a waterfall cascading from an overhanging bridge."

With all these, I am not surprised that the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is a leader in sports facilities at sea.

Then when we go on that much awaited travel, we need to prepare and book more than just our luggage, tickets and hotel. It is strongly advised to take out travel insurance, especially when we go overseas.

An adequate insurance cover would help reduce the stress of what if scenarios. And "knock on wood" should anything happen, a travel insurance would protect you from spending more than what you can afford for that medical care or loss of possession that you do not have the budget for.

In agreement is Anita of Tripso, after 16 years of cruising, she has seen many people fall victim to illness while on-board. Enough to convince her that - whether something bad happens or not - it is still worth to spend a couple hundred bucks more to insure yourself.

Cruising is exciting, but it can turn into more of an adventure than you planned if you discover that you aren't covered for the unexpected. The benefits of travel insurance can be great, but it pays to know which insurance is best for you. Go over the fine print carefully, and be sure you know what you're getting - and what you're not getting - before signing on the dotted line.