Convincing a non-cruiser

[superduper123]

Has anyone tried to convince a non cruiser to give it a try? If so, what points of persuasion did you use? Was it successful? DId they become addicted?

[HappyCruiser54]

I tried for 20 years to talk my husband into cruising , then a friend of his mentioned they were going on a cruise and did we want to join them. He said yes, I booked as soon as I got home and he loved it. That was 4 cruises ago and we have another booked. However, I don't think I would try to talk anyone into a cruise if they truly don't want to try it. There is no escaping them on the ship if they decide they don't like it and complain all week. I look forward to crusing to relax, don't want any undue stress.

[mikehn]

I agree that including close friends is the best way to convince a first timer of any activity, cruise or otherwise

[sail7seas]

My advice is to never 'convince' someone to cruise.

If they do not enjoy it, they will blame you...... and maybe they'll be right. :o

 

[paul929207]

I don't feel it is my job to "convince" anyone that they should take a cruise. I am happy to discuss cruises and answer any questions a person has.

[meggie711]

I've given up. I've always tried to convince my brother-in-law but he was in the Navy and said he never needs/wants to go on a ship again. I hate it because I know my sister and her kids would love it. We did convince another friend to go with us as a group and he LOVED it! There were parts that weren't his favorite (he doesn't like dressing up at all), but we've encouraged him to try other lines where he can get just the right fit for him. We messed up and made his first cruise a 7-night with a balcony, so now he isn't interested in quick weekend trips that we find for good deals.

I also agree with those who suggest not convincing people to go. My family was always in charge of picking a family trip that involved cousins, aunts/uncles, and was really a glorified family reunion. No matter the trip, we had to hear one particular family complain every time. So, we've taken ourselves out of the planning of the trip, and only do trips for our family. Haven't gotten my sister's family to agree to a cruise, so we have dropped it. Oh well, more for us. :)

[Shorex]

No. Additionally, I am very pleased that my friends who love to go camping and fishing in the wilderness do not try to convince me "to give it a try."

[tak81288]

Never tried to convince anyone. However, I do talk about my vacations, show pictures...etc...A few people have tried cruising based off of that, but I wasn't really trying to convince them. Their interest was peaked based on what they seen/hear and they went from there.

[cb at sea]

The more you "talk it up", the less they will enjoy it.....folks need to find out the pleasures of any given place or activity on their own. So, stop trying to convince them! If they do try it, their experience will NEVER live up to the hype that you've been telling them!

[superduper123]

No. Additionally, I am very pleased that my friends who love to go camping and fishing in the wilderness do not try to convince me "to give it a try."

Ahh good point. :D

[superduper123]

I haven't tried to convince yet. I have a cruise booked in May, and wondering if I want to "encourage" my boyfriend to go with me, or just go solo.

[superduper123]

Never tried to convince anyone. However, I do talk about my vacations, show pictures...etc...A few people have tried cruising based off of that, but I wasn't really trying to convince them. Their interest was peaked based on what they seen/hear and they went from there.

I like this, maybe I will show off some of my photos! :D

[superduper123]

The more you "talk it up", the less they will enjoy it.....folks need to find out the pleasures of any given place or activity on their own. So, stop trying to convince them! If they do try it, their experience will NEVER live up to the hype that you've been telling them!

Probabaly very true...

[sail7seas]

I haven't tried to convince yet. I have a cruise booked in May, and wondering if I want to "encourage" my boyfriend to go with me, or just go solo.

 

 

I would 'invite' him to accompany you and accept his yes or no.

Don't nag or badger or get upset with him if his response is no. If he doesn't want to go, it is best for your relationship IMO that you respect his wishes and not 'punish' him for not wising to spend his money and vacation time doing something he doesn't want to do...... even though he would have had the pleasure of doing it with you.

 

JMO......

 

[Roz]

A lot depends on why they don't want to cruise. If it's because maybe they've received some wrong information, then it's just a matter of correcting it based on your experience. If it's more along the lines of a phobia, such as they have to be able to see land at all time or get deathly ill any time they're near the water, then don't waste your time.

 

Roz

[klgreen803]

I tried for 20 years to get my husband to cruise with me. He had a scary experience in a small boat on a local lake when he was in high school and made a deal that he would stay away from the water if he could just get back to shore one more time. He wants to visit Alaska very much so I offered a win/win for us and suggested a cruise/visit. He adamantly refused. Family and friends invited us to cruise with them but the answer was always the same. I cruised without out him.

 

Last year my daughter wanted us to do something different for the Christmas holiday. I wanted to visit Disney World but she and my grandchildren wanted to take a cruise. My DH was given the choice of DW or cruising. I thought he would side with me and off to Florida we would go. Surprisingly enough, DH said he would rather take a cruise than go to Florida. I thought he only agreed to the cruise because he didn't want to be home alone during the holiday, but he said he didn't know what changed his mind.

 

I booked a 5 day cruise out of Galveston for 7 of us during the week of Christmas 2012. DH's boss wouldn't write the requested time off on the calendar because he didn't believe DH would go, and to be perfectly honest, I don't think anyone else thought he would either. I kept him informed about preparations for the cruise, shared info from CC & Carnival forums, and talked about the cruise as much as possible. I gave him a daily countdown. As time drew closer he quietly became excited and began looking forward to the cruise. He told his boss that he was definitely going on the cruise so the time needed to be marked on the calendar.

 

The day finally arrived for us to start our vacation. Everything fell into place smoothly. DH enjoyed cruising and was talking about our next cruise before we got back to Galveston. I am now planning our 7 day cruise out of New Orleans for later in 2013 and Alaska in 2014!

[Nebr.cruiser]

While I do talk up and recommend cruises to others, I would never try too hard to convince someone. If nothing else, it's just annoying to have someone trying to persuade you. Here's a related, true, story.

 

An older friend and her family had been wanting to cruise together for years. They could not get her husband, their dad, to agree to a cruise. Crusty old farmer, loved fishing and lakes, 'knew' he'd hate a cruise.

 

Finally, after years of trying, and for their 50th ann. they convinced him to go on a cruise with the family.

 

I don't remember the particulars now, but the ship (Carnival?) had some major problems while out to sea and drifted around for quite a while without power, air conditioning, much water, food except sandwiches, etc. and passengers either had to be evacuated or possibly the ship was towed back to port.

 

Needless to say they will never, ever get him to cruise again. I felt so sorry for his wife and family who had been looking forward to this for so long.

[superduper123]

While I do talk up and recommend cruises to others, I would never try too hard to convince someone. If nothing else, it's just annoying to have someone trying to persuade you. Here's a related, true, story.

 

An older friend and her family had been wanting to cruise together for years. They could not get her husband, their dad, to agree to a cruise. Crusty old farmer, loved fishing and lakes, 'knew' he'd hate a cruise.

 

Finally, after years of trying, and for their 50th ann. they convinced him to go on a cruise with the family.

 

I don't remember the particulars now, but the ship (Carnival?) had some major problems while out to sea and drifted around for quite a while without power, air conditioning, much water, food except sandwiches, etc. and passengers either had to be evacuated or possibly the ship was towed back to port.

 

Needless to say they will never, ever get him to cruise again. I felt so sorry for his wife and family who had been looking forward to this for so long.

Oh no! That's an awful story. :(

[Happy ks]

Several of our family members cruise with us and we have a great time together. However, I have one sister who is adamant that she would hate it and tries to talk people out of cruising, although they have told her how much they enjoy it.

 

We would never try to convince her to go with us because I'm more afraid she might just go one of these days.

[rarespirit]

For years friends tried to convince us to cruise but their highlights seemed to equal our nightmares, plus we were not yet old enough.

 

We were eventually tempted in 2011, again in 2012 and are now thinking about starting to pack our bags for 2013. I guess we're now old enough!

[marco]

We've chatted it up many times with friends, but we'd never try to "convince" someone to take a cruise. Cruising is not everyone's cup of tea. Folks we met recently through mutual friends went a cruise a couple of years ago and did NOT like it at all and said they would never, ever go on another cruise. Nothing "terrible" happened on their cruise, weather was good, seas were smooth, no illness outbreak on board, and they didn't complain about anything specific.......they just did not enjoy the overall cruise experience. And like I said....Cruising is not everyone's cup of tea!

[njmomof2]

I don't try to convince anyone. I have friends who have also said they would never cruise. And they have never tried it to explain why...just convinced that they would be trapped, couldn't get off, nothing to do, that sort of stuff. Plus in some cases, someone who had a bad experience (with illness or something else) has already gotten to them and told them it was awful and you'll hate it.

 

No use trying. We always enjoy ourselves, and we talk about it often. I figure if someone wants to go, they will find me for information and advice. Otherwise, I'm wasting my time.

[Gathina]

I find this thread always interesting when the topic comes up because there is an underlying assumption that something is "wrong" with the person because they don't share the same love of cruising.or have reasons why they just don't want to do it.

 

Think of it this way: if your a wife who hates fishing and you as the husband are an avid fisherman, and he doesn't understand why you don't like fishing, should he spend his energy trying to convince you when you have your mind made up your not going to go? A smart husband knows the answer to that one.

 

Not even God can make someone do something they just don't want to do.

[DoulaAnn]

My DH is a very active person and never wanted to cruise, as he didn't want to feel "trapped" on a ship. However, I had always wanted to go to Alaska, and since cruising is the best way to accomplish that, he agreed to a cruise for last May (with another couple going with us). Because Alaska had a port intensive time and a couple of days of sight-seeing from the boat (thus, not bored), he seemed to have a good time. In fact, he and his brother are now planning another cruise for this fall. Again, port intensive, but hey, they'll be there. Wish I knew what the key to unlocking his willingness was.

[willow028]

I did have to "convince" my now husband - but only because his first response when I brought one up was "roofers don't go on cruises" - well actually they do! He agreed and despite the fact he got seasick, he was the one pushing me to book another cruise as soon as possible. Yep - I've got an addict on my hands now!