Cruise ships take people on vacations to beautiful and fascinating places all over the world. Each ship is like a giant floating hotel that glides gently from place to place. When it stops in a port, you can get off to go sightseeing, exploring, or shopping. Your ship might cruise around the Hawaiian Islands, stopping here and there for you to explore a volcano, go snorkling or whale watching, or enjoy a luau. You might even learn to play the ukulele or dance the hula! Here are some more places you could visit on a cruise ship: Skagway, Alaska, U.S.A. Ships follow a route called the Inside Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada, to Seward, Alaska. Along the way they visit Glacier Bay National Park and stop at historic coastal towns like Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau. There are many interesting things to see and do in Alaska. For example, you might learn about native Americans or pan for gold. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Australia is a great place to visit.. The Three Pumpkin Pirates like Sydney and its famous Opera House, the amazing New Year's Eve fireworks displays on the Harbour Bridge, and all the unusual animals in the Toronga Zoo. Australia is the home of kookaburras, koalas, and kangaroos. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands Cruise ships visit many beautiful islands in the Caribbean Sea, where vacationers can disembark to snorkle in the clear waters, shop for colorful souvenirs, sample local foods, and listen to lively and cheerful music. Venice, Italy Venice is a very popular destination for cruise ships, with its historic buildings, canals, churches and museums, but Venice sits in a shallow lagoon. Tug boats are needed at each end to help the enormous ships stay in the narrow channel from the ship terminal to the Adriatic Sea. Cruise ships can be lots of fun. Most have pools and offer many kinds of entertainment for children and adults so people can have fun while the ship travels from one port to another. Some have several choices of places to eat. Some show movies or put on plays. Just being on the ship can seem like a vacation. Many cruise ship companies are good at arranging various kinds of activities and tours in the places they visit. You might visit a castle, hike on a glacier, visit an ancient ruin, or kayak down a mountain stream during the day and go back to your ship in the evening. Cruises can be fun! Some people don't like these giant ships, however, becuse cruise ships bring thousands of tourists at a time to the places they visit, which is both good and bad. Tourists buy souvenirs and some meals, which helps local stores and restaurants, but they sleep on the ships and not in local hotels. Also, great numbers of tourists make places crowded and less fun for everyone. Huge cruise ships contribute to air and water pollution, too. So, if you want to go on a cruise, try to pick a company that acts responsibly and is liked by the communities its ships visit. Questions about cruise ships: Do you think you would like to go on a cruise ship? What place would you like to visit? Who would you take with you on a cruise? Would you rather go on a very big cruise ship or a smaller one? Why? Would it be fun to go snorkling? Create a picture of what you would see under the water. Back to top of page. © 2014 Jerry Jindrich. All rights reserved. Revised 1/25/2016.