Serial Cruisers: Why do you keep cruising?

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 :)

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 :)

To date, we've been able to mix up the itineraries on our cruises, so not much repetition. But, even if there were, there's always something new to explore, even in a port we've been to before. And, we've been on different cruiselines. We've cruised the Panama Canal twice, different cruise lines, different ports.

I like just having to unpack/pack once for the trip. Basically having a moving hotel gives us this.

But, we've taken other types of trips (driving, flying/hotel, camping) even during our cruising period.

We are retired and love to cruise. We like the service. We like unpacking once. We like sailing all over the world.

I admit there is an advantage to staying in one place and exploring it in depth. But we've been on over 30 cruises from the Star Princess down to a 16 pax boat in the Galapagos and loved every one of them.

Some, on the smaller boats, do give you an opportunity to explore an area in depth that you couldn't do otherwise. The Galapagos is one. The Amazon is another. And Antarctica is a third that comes to mind. We visited the Marquesa Islands on a freighter.

My point being that there is a lot more to cruising than just the mainstream lines like Princess, Carnival and Celebrity. And we always go to our embarkation port a few days early and stay a few days extra at the end. So we've visited in depth places like Venice, Rome, and Athens. For our New Zealand to Australia cruise we flew into Christchurch, NZ 12 days early and toured the South Island by car, making our way up to Auckland to catch our ship. So it's possible to tour a place in depth AND cruise. :D

DW and I started with our children 12 years ago, kids were pre-teenager and teenager, now both grown and one has her own family and wants to cruise again. The other is single and wants us to get our family to go on a cruise. There are so many options on a cruise, and you only unpack once, while going to multiple destinations. We've been on different cruise lines and each one has different things that keep us coming back. We sail NCL often because they sail out of a port close to us year round, now we are platinum members with good perks. We find flying takes up more than a day of our vacation, whereas as soon as you step into the port terminal vacation has begun. Plus the view is unbelievable, where else can you go out on your balcony and see dolphin swimming along with you or catch sight of flying fish. Cruising is so relaxing, you have choices to keep you busy and different places to eat, either free of charge or with a small fee. I thought sleeping in a closet would be a problem but we are out of the cabin more than we are in. We may not fly anymore but we will do land vacations, but prefer cruising. We have done the same itineraries sometimes different excursions some even the same. It doesn't get old it gets better.

The older we get, the more we appreciate how much easier it is to cruise. Everything is planned by somebody else except part of port days.

We also take land bus tours for the same reason, depending on when and where we want/can go.

Some folks get really "hooked" on cruising...some don't! We like a cruise now and again, but it's not the ONLY way to vacation! I guess some just really want to "achieve" the upper echelons of cruising....Diamonds, Emeralds, VIP's, etc.....

We just want a vacation that suits us!

Since the cruise experience has degraded over the last few years, it's not our "go to" choice. We can still enjoy it..but not to excess!

Hi Jessica

I just love being able to go on deck an watch the sea. (especially at sunrise)

Sometimes I wake up and they have brought me to a port. If we have been there before...great, if not, even better.

Go on many different cruise lines so you can experience the differences for yourselves. You don't want to rely on other peoples' opinions.

If you get "bored", do something else. There are a lot of places that a ship can't take you. The more you travel, the more you will understand what it is that you like about travelling.

Enjoy yourself. Experience as much as you can, eventually you won't be able to do it anymore.

have a great cruise

We are retired and love to cruise. We like the service. We like unpacking once. We like sailing all over the world.

This probably explains most of us very well with a couple of additions: We simply love the ocean, with all its power and beauty, can watch it for hours, don't mind rough seas. We love having a different sunrise and sunset view every day.

What may not be apparent is that there are many more of us 'serial cruisers' who choose not to list all our cruises. Our first cruise together was 1981 (DH had a couple before we met), with about 20 since then and 2 more coming up. We've taken some breaks and done other things, owned a condo in Hawaii for a number of years where we could really absorb the culture, done driving trips across the country and back, etc. That list (or 'non-list'!) of cruises is only one aspect of a person's life.

As we get older and travel becomes more of a challenge, cruising offers an easier way to get around from place to place. There's no way we could manage getting to see so many places in a relatively short time span without cruising. No trip is perfect, whether on land or sea, but each one is an adventure and adds a new chapter to your life story.

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 first started cruising to see different ports and different countries so chose cruises by itinerary, on various cruise lines. But now that my husband has trouble walking we cruise mainly for the seaday vacation so do mostly transatlantic cruises. Never get bored since there are plenty of activities from which to choose. Except for a land trip to Spain/Portugal we never really did much exploring in depth. Just port day tastes were/are sufficient for us.

Some folks get really "hooked" on cruising...some don't! We like a cruise now and again, but it's not the ONLY way to vacation! I guess some just really want to "achieve" the upper echelons of cruising....Diamonds, Emeralds, VIP's, etc.....

 

We just want a vacation that suits us!

 

Since the cruise experience has degraded over the last few years, it's not our "go to" choice. We can still enjoy it..but not to excess!

We started cruising long before there were any "upper echelons" to "achieve"....and that's certainly not why we continue to cruise....and not why many do also.

BTW: Considering your number of posts I would have thought you're a professional cruiser (thanks for clarifying that)....however...considering the accuracy of some of them I guess not ;)

There are posters on CC who have hundreds of cruises. Obviously, they don't do the signature thing. In general, they are retired people of means who have integrated cruising into their lifestyle. A cruise is no longer merely a "vacation," a cruise, often multiple back-to-cruises, is a way to explore the world in the most wonderful of circumstances.

We've cruised to seven continents, and have five more cruises booked - as of now. We also have several land based adventures planned, including a trip on the Trans-Siberian railroad. We will have our adventures for as long as we can, then we'll retire.

It's simple - we enjoy it! Just like some people go to the beach, or the mountains, or Disney World, or skiing, or Las Vegas, etc., each year because that's what they enjoy.

We started cruising because my husbands job as a wedding photographer made it difficult to take a vacation from about March to November. Living in ND, January is not really a hot spot for local travel. :) We have found it to be a very economical way to travel too. One cruise I got all four of us in an inside RCCL cabin for less than 1500$ for the week! And I got plane ticket for 213$ each, I doubt I will see that again. Can't do any other vacation with food and entertainment for that price.

We tend to gravitate to the southern Caribbean. I think it is because we like the more natural less developed places. We are more likely to enjoy a deserted beach as compared to one that has all the water toys etc. That's just us though. You can find nature and beauty on any of the islands.

And the best part of a cruise, is that no one can get a hold of you!! Phone off. :)

We simply love the ocean, with all its power and beauty, can watch it for hours, don't mind rough seas. We love having a different sunrise and sunset view every day...

YES. This is it exactly for us as well. We love the ocean, respect it, are in awe of it. Have seen seas like glass and seas with swells, oceans many shades of blue and green... and, although it took me many sunsets prior, I did see the elusive green flash at sunset only once - and it was with my husband as we sailed out of St. Thomas. :)

It's about making memories. For us it's about loving each other and wanting to be together. It's knowing we have gone through so much as a couple and a family, and every cruise is a celebration.

We have taken land vacations, road trips, the lot - but cruising is our passion and I am so blessed to be able to share it with the man I love.

/barf off :p

.

It's simple - we enjoy it! Just like some people go to the beach, or the mountains, or Disney World, or skiing, or Las Vegas, etc., each year because that's what they enjoy.

Very True ^^^!

All of us tend to repeat what we enjoy! :)

Being at sea is an almost spiritual renewal. The ease of having a couple of weeks with different places to see (or ignore, if we've seen them too often ) is a great way of escaping part of winter. Sadly the quality of the experience has been downgraded in recent years as lines strive to reach ever-broader markets - - of people who only want low prices and do not care for quality as much as bargains -- but it does mean that we have funds for other vacations.

Looking back over the years, perhaps we cruise because we are lazy. We used to travel by air and book hotels and rental cars; lots of planning and logistics.

All of our cruises have been in the Caribbean and Southern Caribbean areas, with many stops at the same ports. Now, we usually don't get off the ship unless to stretch our legs in the dockside area. We like to just sit and read on a quiet ship.

So for us, it's the perfect, simple, no-brainer vacation since we live within a few hours driving time to 4 ports.

I cruise because it is the only form of travel I am able to do .

I do 2-3 cruises every year.

Our answer to the OP is that we simply enjoy cruising. After forty+ years, cruising on 14 cruise lines and more then 60 different vessels, and having cruised to 6 continents, we love cruising as much as ever. We also enjoy land vacations (mostly long driving trips), All Inclusive resorts, etc. But the older we get, the more we cruise (will probably cruise more then 100 days in 2016) because it is our kind of trip. We can unpack once (even on 2 month+ cruises), enjoy our days ashore, love our many relaxing sea days, do not have to forage for a decent restaurant (except when we dine off the ship), etc. Our per person cost per day on cruises is often significantly lower then our average cost per day when we do lengthy driving vacations (mostly in Europe) where we have to pay for our car, hotels, all meals, etc.

We should add that cruising in parts of the world like Europe or New Zealand....can also be combined with land trips (pre or post cruise or both)...which we find is the best of all worlds. Fly into a place such as Europe, spend a few days or weeks traveling, then get on a relaxing cruise, etc, Tough way to live...but somebody must do it.

Hank

We like cruising a lot but it isn't the only type of traveling we do - but it is,the easiest. No need for the planning of the different pieces of a vacation like car, hotels, restaurants. We live in Florida so we can drive to ports and we enjoy them over and over again. We have over 40 cruises with Royal alone, and none of them are listed in my signature.

I live and travel with my elderly mother. At home I do all the driving, prepare and serve meals, etc. On a land based vacation, like when we rent a condo at the beach, it's all the same tasks, just in a different place. On a cruise I get to put the car keys aside for a week and be the one served instead of the server. It's a real break from the everyday.

Vicki

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Some of the posts were rather lovely and definitely give me an insight into what everyone sees in cruising! I'm definitely getting hooked as well :)

<3

Love the idea that we get on a ship, visit different ports without having to live out of a suitcase for 3 weeks. Don't have to be up at a certain time and be ready to get on that bus, plane, train, etc.

We are retired and can go whenever we want to.

We love cruising, but we always love land-based vacations too. We do not limit ourselves to just cruising. One of the best vacations we ever had was a 2 week road trip from NC out to the Grand Canyon. There is so much world out there to see and it just can't all be seen from a cruise ship.

When we are looking for a more relaxed vacation, we choose a cruise. When we're wanting to really get out there and explore, it's time for a land-based vacation or a road trip! Love those road trips!