Shocked

[Kumamayo]

I love to cruise! Am booked on my fifth one in April. That will be the fourth cruise for my 5 year old daughter. We've cruised Disney, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian (which we liked the least). Travel is an important part of our family culture and I am grateful to be able to provide these experiences to my daughter. People's reactions to our frequent travel schedule range from surprise to contempt. It's amazing how many opinions there are about how I should spend my money,lol.

 

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

Don't let anyone ruin your spirit because of what you choose to do with your money. Go spend it any way you like - life is short. Enjoy!!!

[bonsai3s]

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I was shocked to read that in a pole(poll actually) one out of eight people would not admit to booking a cruise. I dont understand that.

 

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I AM in the target group and, at age 70, am taking my first cruise only because my daughter and son-in-law purchased my fare (including airline) for me as a thank you gift. For me, a vacation was always hiking in the rain forest, scuba diving in the Pacific or going to visit with family. Neither my husband nor I were the least bit interested in cruising and, though I've become excited about this trip for the pure experience of it I would not have undertaken it by myself.

 

Cruises ARE expensive and for singles, cost prohibitive if you don't want to share a room with a total stranger. For the cost of the cruise and airfare, I could have flown to Costa Rica and stayed at a nice cabina with free breakfast for a month! During that time I would have hiked, boated, seen the sights, met lots of nice people slept in every day if I wanted.

 

I think cruises cater to people with a bit more money than the average vacationer. I cone from a family that camped and took road trips and raised my kids to camp and take road trips. Daughter likes cruises only because she was taken on one when she was 19 by her then boyfriend - and she and her husband have been on several more cruises since then. I appreciate that there is a core group of people who love to cruise but, face it---there are lots of different types of vacations available to people and for many the thought of spending a week with a couple of thousand strangers on a ship doesn't sound like fun.

 

I am personally very put off by a couple of things:

...not being allowed to bring the alcohol I prefer to drink with me..I'm picky about my Scotch.

...forced tiping...This may be my North American mind set, but a tip is not given so that the employer can pay the worker less. I think cruise line employees need a good strong union and obviously better wages...forced tiping sucks..

...all the extras...when they have classes of restaurants that cost more than the regular dining room I wonder how good the food in that dining room is going to be.

 

I really hope to have a great time..I'm going with a good attitude - that this is a new experience and I'll enjoy it but it's also something I could have spend my whole life without and not missed it at all...give me another trip to Central America and I'm happy.

 

 

 

 

Plantcrone aka/elle

 

...Happy sailing. I genuinely know and understand what you are saying. Yes, with a great attitude and an open mind...perhaps you'll have a wonderful time.

 

I am compelled to respond because I was once like you. I would've been the last person you could convince to ever go on a cruise. Yes, camping, hiking, snorkeling, diving...backpacking through Europe, river rafting the Urubamba River in Peru, and boogie boarding in Hawaii were things I did before cruising. I found every excuse NOT to cruise...too expensive, too boring, too restrictive, too many old people, snobs, getting seasick, etc. etc.....I was dead wrong.

 

There are affordable cruises, there are cruises with rock climbing walls, flowriders, ice-skating rink, putting greens, batting cages, golf simulators, basketball court, tennis court, volleyball, zipline, shooting simulator, glass blowing class, lap pools, walking/jogging tracks, fitness center/gyms, libraries, music rooms, chapels,...on and on and on. It isn't just for the old and retired. Perhaps there are a few snobs but we've met numerous wonderful people we've kept in touch with for years. There are so many different ships of various sizes and itineraries that can fit your needs. Yes, we are addicted.

 

Let me first address your specific concerns:

* You can bring your favorite Scotch.

* Tipping (you called it forced tipping) will become apparent to you during and after your cruise. Please come back to Cruise Critic and at least let us know how the service was on your cruise.

* Specialty Restaurants and other extras. No need to use them. I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good the food is on your cruise.

 

May I ask what ship you'll be sailing on?

 

Bottom line...we've never had a bad cruise. Again, happy sailing and please let us know how your first cruise was. :)

[sailingmick17]

I worked in the cubicle farm of my current company and was astounded by the fact that managers bragged about how much vacation time they lost because they weren't able to "carry-over" more than 5 days. It was a point of honor to miss kids' plays, games, etc. I decided to move into sales where the only thing that counts is my production. My former coworkers are jealous of my "Freedom". I will take time over money any day!

[ducklite]

I worked in the cubicle farm of my current company and was astounded by the fact that managers bragged about how much vacation time they lost because they weren't able to "carry-over" more than 5 days. It was a point of honor to miss kids' plays, games, etc. I decided to move into sales where the only thing that counts is my production. My former coworkers are jealous of my "Freedom". I will take time over money any day!

 

 

Same here! I love having a ton of flexibility with my schedule. As long as I produce high results, no one cares what I am doing or when. I closed a quarter million in business from my cell phone sitting at the breakfast bar while wearing my sweaty running clothes before getting in the shower this morning. Does anyone really think that my boss cares what I've done for the rest of the day?

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...