All ship travel benefits
The journey by ship is closer to a slow type of tourism, which also sees in the slowness of travel reason to appreciate the routes as destinations. Last but not least, the epidemiological situation caused by Covid-19 requires avoiding gatherings and respecting the distances between people, so the ship with its larger spaces, even outdoors, has become much safer than cramped indoor spaces of airplanes. The seats are more spaced, there is the possibility to book a cabin and access to bridges and other outdoor areas. The spaces of the ships also allow more freedom of movement but above all comfort: larger armchairs, bed options, TV and video game rooms, bars and restaurants, play areas for children. You can also converse with your travel friends more freely. You can also board a vehicle, unlike by plane, estrictions are also imposed on the size of baggage. Another contraindication of the aircraft is the annoying ear filling that often occurs due to the change of air pressure in flight. At the same distance to travel, air travel is certainly less long, but we must also consider the time lost for check-in and the advance notice with which you have to show up at the airport before the flight departure. Regarding the economic convenience of low-cost air travel, it depends on the advance with which the ticket is booked and then we must not forget to add the costs to reach and to leave the airport on both routes. On the other hand, ports are most often located near urban centers. If then you have to travel with pets, the ship becomes almost an obligatory choice to avoid stress for our little friends: dogs, cats, etc. They suffer a lot the flight by airplane, both for pressure changes and for the forced distance from the owner; many times in fact they are forced to fly in the holds. Finally, give preference to the plane just if you are a smokers and want to try to quit smoking!
CO2 emissions
It is not possible to travel by ship to all destinations, but when it happens we always suggest to prefer it. For some islands it is an obligatory choice but for others you have to opt for navigation or flight. We can choose to restrict travel by airplane also because they are responsible for large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce the ecological footprint of your trip the best solution is to combine the train with the ship, to be used for inland navigation for example to reach an island from the mainland – rather than for international navigation, when the CO2 emitted by a ship may not differ much from that of an airplane. In any case, with the same emissions as regards international routes, it is better to travel by ship instead of by plane thanks to the advantages set out in the previous paragraph. Moreover, the studies that have examined the level of pollution of maritime transport have weighed especially on cruise ships, which often stationed for a long time in ports with their engines running to allow the continuous operation of all passenger services. Therefore, the use of ships dedicated exclusively to transport could be less polluting than expected, especially when it comes to recently built fleets, built with more eco-sustainable criteria.
