Serial Cruisers: Why do you keep cruising?

Plus, cruising is an excellent price performer. I am just completing a 10 day road trip from

Florida to the Northeast. Between hotels, gas, food and tolls, the cost is at least $1400 or more. (Even staying free with relatives a few of the days). I can do a Caribbean cruise for two for a week for about 1600, as I don't have to fly. And the service and food is much better than road trips. I've met many interesting people on cruises, something one doesn't get to do on the road. I also do cruises in Europe and even China, so I don't repeat itineraries all the time. It is a great way to travel for all the other reasons posted here.

Keep cruising!

Plus, cruising is an excellent price performer. I am just completing a 10 day road trip from

Florida to the Northeast. Between hotels, gas, food and tolls, the cost is at least $1400 or more. (Even staying free with relatives a few of the days). I can do a Caribbean cruise for two for a week for about 1600, as I don't have to fly. And the service and food is much better than road trips. I've met many interesting people on cruises, something one doesn't get to do on the road. I also do cruises in Europe and even China, so I don't repeat itineraries all the time. It is a great way to travel for all the other reasons posted here.

Keep cruising!

I always find it interesting to see people compare their vacation prices. I see a lot of folks who say cruising is cheaper for them than a land vacation, but it's just the opposite for us. We spend more on a 7 day cruise (we have to fly also) than we did on our 2 week Grand Canyon road trip. It helped that we had numerous gift cards for the road trip for gas and 1 free night at Hilton in Sedona (Hilton Honors points). Sometimes we choose a land vacation over a cruise just because of price. :)

PS--we only get a balcony cabin, never anything fancy. Except next May on Harmony....we do have Crown Loft Suite booked.

We took a five-year break from cruises after our three. When we started again in 1998, it was just one cruise a year for a few years. 2003 was the first time we managed to work in more than one cruise in a year. Since DH teaches at a community college, our cruises have to fit his school's break schedule--which can be hard to do. 2012 was the first time we fit more than two cruises, actually getting in four, including two short back-to-back cruises. Once we retire, I'm anticipating fitting in at least four a year and hopefully more.

Last summer we did an Airbnb in the mountains of Virginia. It worked out to be a lot cheaper than a cruise--but only because we economized, only eating at a fine restaurant once. It was also a lot cheaper since we drove. For most of our cruises, we have had to fly. Once we retire, I can see us driving to Florida more often for our cruises. We've only done it once so far out of the 20 or so we've taken from there. It will be a lot better when we can take our time driving to and from there before and after a cruise.

There are things we love about cruising -

being able to visit different places without having to pack/unpack and get used to new beds each day

having as much or little to do as we like

being able to do different things but still have lots of time together

not having to drive home after a nice evening meal

getting an overview of an area to see if we think we would like to go back.

There are some things we like less - such as not really getting to know the area or the people in depth.

However, I am now unable to sit for long and this makes travelling very difficult. Cruising is great because the port is less than an hour away and, after that, I don't have to sit for longer than I like.

We would love to try other destinations and/or other lines but cannot do that as, in many cases, it would involve flying. It's hardly the end of the world though, is it? :)

Edit - that's not to say that we don't get a good degree of variety, because we do

Thank you for asking. :)

I fell in love with cruising about the same time I started the job I have now. It can be very stressful and difficult to disconnect from the responsibilities, even on the weekends. When I first got on a cruise ten years ago, the internet and cell phone service were still so pricey and unreliable; I had to disconnect. That and the peace I felt looking at the water, miles from anywhere, I was in love.

I am still in love with cruising. We have cruised with our children and grandchildren several times. Any other vacation with the family, I am responsible for the planning and meal preparation, basically for everything. I don't mind once every few years, but it is not a relaxing vacation for me. At sea, we enjoy time in port together and a family meal every evening, and the service has always been wonderful. We usually take the kids for one evening and treat the kids to date night.

Several close friends caught my love of cruising and we now enjoy an annual girls' cruise. We enjoy having our time together and space to chill alone.

Our best vacation was our bucket list trip last year. We enjoyed almost a week touring on a land based vacation that was followed by an even longer cruise. I hope we can do something like that again. It was fabulous!

Finally, I love the ocean. It is my happy place. I can recall moments on balconies at night off the coast of Alaska, early morning heading to port in the Caribbean, and in the middle of the North Atlantic, that cause me to relax just thinking about them. I hope to enjoy similar experiences in the years ahead.

Living in FL. We can drive which keeps expenses

down....but we truly love it.

All 23 cruises have been to the carribean....have done different things each time....we have our favorite ports.....

We love being on the ocean, it's so peaceful, we sleep great on the ship, love the water.....its just the best for us!

We like cruising and we love the ocean. But over the past two years we find ourselves doing much less cruising and a great more land trips. We find that although we do enjoy cruising we want to spend several days at certain cruise spots instead of 8 hours or even an overnight. Plus, we find that we miss out on the true feel of a foreign port by eating/sleeping on board and only disembarking for day trips. So, we are combining them now and pretty much stick to last minute cruises that we pick up while on a land trip.

I tend to combine cruises with land vacations. A few days spent in the embarkation city, or enroute to embarkation, the cruise, and then a few days after the cruise exploring a different area.

As to the cruises themselves, I want to see as much of this beautiful blue ball we live on as possible. So if I'm on one of the major lines, I'm using it as a floating hotel to get to the various ports. I honestly don't care about the shows and onboard activities, and I'm only on a ship's excursion if what I want to see is a couple of hours away. If I want to explore the high arctic, Antarctica, Amazon, Galapagos... I'm on a smaller expedition ship so I can really get out there onto the islands and beaches, and in among the icebergs.

I do purely land vacations as well. I have a small travel trailer I can hook up and road trip with. I equate that to cruising in the fact that my bed is made up, my clothes are in the closet, and all of my stuff is rolling along behind me in what is basically a studio apartment.

The best holidays have been apartment or house rentals in France, England, or Hawaii. Stay several weeks. Unpack and pack once. Decompress, walk around local neighborhoods. Eat at a local pub or bistro. No time constraints. No need to be any place at a particular time. No corny, mediocre comics or singers. Instead Albert Hall. The Opera Garnier.

Cruises can be fun for a varied beach vacation. But for other vacations, people who say they have "been" to Barcelona , Venice, or whatever after being on a cruise excursion from 8am to 5pm, well really? (Don't bother telling me that you overnighted so you had plenty of time to see everything.)

Cruising can be fun; I just wonder if people who only cruise have explored other vacations.

We love the ocean. Even when we do land vacations, those are to some oceanside place usually.

As for cost, sometimes a cruise is a better price. Sometimes an AI. And sometimes independent. We pay close attention to pricing and in my experience there is never one choice that is always most or least expensive.

I have a fiend who has taken about 20 cruises all over the world. In some cases it is to see things better seen by ship (Norwegian fjords, Panama Canal, Christmas Markets on a river cruise, Galapagos, etc.) in other cases it is to get a taste of a region before returning for a land based vacation. I believe this is very sound reasoning.

What I don't understand is booking the same cruise line and ports over and over. It's such a big and beautiful world out there.

........

 

What I don't understand is booking the same cruise line and ports over and over. It's such a big and beautiful world out there.

Some people have houses on the beach or in the mountains, cruising from our home ports is no different. We cruise from our home ports and go to the same places so DH can relax immediately. No thinking about what to see or do.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

My first cruise I don't remember (I was about 2). I was ten when I took the next one. Even though it was only a three day trip to the Bahamas, I loved being on a ship.

In my 30s and 40s I did a number of land tours and enjoyed them immensely. I am now glad I did them then as the idea of packing/unpacking and long coach rides does not appeal.

One of those land tours included a cruise of the Greek islands. I was once again smitten by my love of the sea and vowed I would sail around the world when I retired.

Now with over 200 days at sea (and my first World Voyage behind me), I love cruising even more. Beautiful seas, amazing ports, food, entertainment, someone making my bed and cleaning my bathroom, and only having to unpack once - what's not to love?:D

I am now planning my second World Voyage and don't see any end to my passion for cruising.

Looking forward to hearing responses from enthusiasts :)

First and foremost, I love being at sea. Second, I loved that cruises were "off the grid." Although with new technologies allowing today's narcissists to not part with their phones on board, cruises are starting to lose their appeal for me.

First and foremost, I love being at sea. Second, I loved that cruises were "off the grid." Although with new technologies allowing today's narcissists to not part with their phones on board, cruises are starting to lose their appeal for me.

While I agree with you to an extent, I am one of those "narcissists." I am sorry if the two minute call I make from my cabin or while I am in port a few times during the week is so distressing to you. Perhaps you shouldn't be eavesdropping at the door or peeking over the balcony...

Other than that or being used in the iPod docking station for some music, my phone is off and in the safe.

While I agree with you to an extent, I am one of those "narcissists." I am sorry if the two minute call I make from my cabin or while I am in port a few times during the week is so distressing to you. Perhaps you shouldn't be eavesdropping at the door or peeking over the balcony...

 

Other than that or being used in the iPod docking station for some music, my phone is off and in the safe.

Thank you for your apology. I appreciate it. :) But it's not the 2 minute call from your cabin or in port that's bothersome. It's when you text during shows causing a bright light distraction to everyone sitting behind and those annoying ring tones you downloaded to alert you and everyone around you of a text every 3 seconds, it's when you think you have to scream into a cell phone in a public venue so everyone within a 100 foot radius can hear you, it's when you can't take 1 second to look up and watch where you're walking because you can't miss a moment of updating your Facebook status and letting the whole world know you're still alive while taking your 1 millionth selfie, it's how you forgot basic human courtesies like saying "hello" or "excuse me" because social media has totally stripped you of interpersonal skills......the list of annoyances goes on and on.

My apologies to the OP for derailing the subject. Back to why we love cruising. :)

Thank you for your apology. I appreciate it. :) But it's not the 2 minute call from your cabin or in port that's bothersome. It's when you text during shows causing a bright light distraction to everyone sitting behind and those annoying ring tones you downloaded to alert you and everyone around you of a text every 3 seconds, it's when you think you have to scream into a cell phone in a public venue so everyone within a 100 foot radius can hear you, it's when you can't take 1 second to look up and watch where you're walking because you can't miss a moment of updating your Facebook status and letting the whole world know you're still alive while taking your 1 millionth selfie, it's how you forgot basic human courtesies like saying "hello" or "excuse me" because social media has totally stripped you of interpersonal skills......the list of annoyances goes on and on.

 

 

 

My apologies to the OP for derailing the subject. Back to why we love cruising. :)

I would agree with you on all of that, and add in Wilkie talkies as being equally annoying.

I would agree with you on all of that, and add in Wilkie talkies as being equally annoying.

Thank you. So you do understand I wasn't referring to your private conversations in your room, right?

Thank you. So you do understand I wasn't referring to your private conversations in your room, right?

Yes. The first post was a bit unclear but once you clarified I completely agree.

When I was in the PG a lot of us gathered at the coffee bar area in deck early in the morning with our laptops and tablets, checking emails and such. Many of the people in that cruise were either self-employed or had positions where completely disconnecting wasn't an option, but putting out the fires early in the morning allowed us to enjoy the rest of the day without worry.

There were about a dozen of us in the "morning coffee and wifi" group. We sat quietly and generally rather intently to take care of business. One morning a woman came up and rather rudely told us all that we were "ruining her cruise" because she came in board to get away from it all.

One of the guys smiled and told her that he was sorry her eyes were so nosy. It was hilarious.

These were not people with their nose in a phone all day, but spending 10 minutes to an hour quietly taking care of business before the majority of the ship was even awake (we are talking 6:30-7:00 am). I was pretty stunned at her outburst and was embarrassed for her.

Thank you. So you do understand I wasn't referring to your private conversations in your room, right?

You forgot the selfie stick addicts. The last cruise I was on, a small group of people, including me, was discussing vigilante justice ;) :eek:

Regardless, being on a cruise is a wonderful way to r-e-l-a-x :D

Forgive me if this has been asked. I see quite a few people with super long signatures detailing the dozen or more cruises they have gone on, and I wonder what keeps you coming back to a cruise rather than a more traditional plane & hotel vacation?

 

We've cruised once, and are immensely excited about our next one despite it being 5 months away, but I wonder if in 5 years, I'll have a signature a mile long or whether I'll have taken a break from it.

 

For those that do cruise so much, do you like to shake things up with different itineraries and ships and even cruise lines a lot, or do you tend to cruise in the same areas over and over? Do you ever get bored? Do you miss staying in one place and exploring in depth?

 

Looking forward to hearing responses from enthusiasts :)

We have cruised since l982, well over 50 cruises have lost count on 9 different lines... we started with the Carribbean, then moved on to the mediterrranean, northern europe, TAs, trans pacific, hawaii, alaska, mexico, north east up to Quebec .. we have visit all the signficant ports in the Mediterranen east and west; Egypt, Turkey, St Petersburg Russia, all the Scandanvian ports, London, Ireland, Scotland, most ports on the Spainish coast.

We also do land trips.. visiting Madrid, London, Televiv, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona and Paris a number of times over the years.

Why do we keep going back... because it is fun to explore many of these places... so much to see can't see it all at once. We learned a long time ago to pace ourselves.

We always assume we will be back and plan to view things we want to see and do it on our own.

We currently travel on 3 main cruise lines: Princess. Holland America, Cunard are our favorites... but also cruise Celebrity and NCL recently.

Going on different lines keeps it interesting. We usually book new ships but now find we like some of the older ones vs the newest. The newest ships are getting too big and loosing some of the traditional cruise experience.

If you love cruising, it will not get old. I still remember our first cruise, leaving St Thomas, I never dreamed we could continue to go and go, but I knew I was sorry the cruise was coming to an end.