Has cruising ever pushed you out of your comfort zone?

[feathersandnananose]

I left out an Alaska adventure: the helicopter ride and walking on a glacier...... WOW. Got to sit in front next to the pilot and was worried I'd freak out, but it was WONDERFUL!!!! And the Glacier was GREAT, too!

[Lady Chew]

In Alaska - glacier landing flight in Denali. Sour Toe Cocktail in Dawson City. Hiking in Denali, knowing there are all kinds of animals around. Walking over rope bridges (well, in Vancouver, before the cruise tour began!) Whale watching - out on a bumpy sea, in the rain, in a tiny little boat, sitting out on the prow.

 

We like to try foods we would never eat at home. We haven't eaten bugs or anything like that, though.

 

Wandering around Shanghai on our own. Wandering through Japanese ports on our own. Wandering through Viet Nam ports on our own. Exploring Australian ports on our own. Walking through a rain forest in New Zealand.

 

Climbing on the Great Wall of China. Walking across the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Climbing Diamond Head.

 

And much more ... all through cruising. And hopefully much more to come!

[gooch47]

Listening to the guide at an Australian rain forest resort telling us what critters could kill you and which we're harmless.

[luvscruising2007]

Taking 2 flight tours in Alaska in those 6 or 8 seaters. Really don't like heights.

Holding an iguana in St. Martins. Don't like critters.

Trying escargot on Carnival Pride.

Joining the conga line on our last cruise on Explorer.

[gooch47]

Listening to the guide at an Australian rain forest resort telling us what critters could kill you and which we're harmless.

 

Why does my darn autocorrect always put we're instead of were? Is my grammar bad?

[headhunterke]

Mine did not happen on a ship, but on a trip last year to NYC.

I personally know an NBA player and I let hem know that I was coming to NY and I also bought tickets for a Knicks game. The day before the game he sent me a message on Facebook. He was able to get me a courside seat (one of those real expensive ones :-)-)

and he got me a special pass that allowed me in non-visitor areas of the arena.

After seeing a game next to a whole bunch of celebs (Beyonce & Jay-Z were a couple of seats on my right) he took me along with him to hang out with a whole lot of sports legends. Needless to say I was slightly out of my comfort zone, because normally I'm not the guy that stands in the middle of everything. And all of the the group I was with, was the center of all attention. Since then, I kinda start liking it :D

Edited December 20, 2013 by headhunterke

[editor@cruisecritic]

Laughing, Ashland. There are only a few of us bathtub aficionados left, I believe, we've got to stick together!

 

Carolyn

 

Yes...But some won't believe it ...For me being pushed out of my comfort zone was when I booked a balcony cabin (great price so I thought...give it a try) that only offered a shower instead of my usual JS that has a tub...Can you tell I'm a bath only person..Yikes are those tubes of cleanliness hard to manage :eek::D

[editor@cruisecritic]

Linda, I totally had that feeling yesterday at Komodo, looking at this massive lizard that could kill any of us there! Definitely a scene outside of my usual day.

 

Carolyn

 

Listening to the guide at an Australian rain forest resort telling us what critters could kill you and which we're harmless.

[OCruisers]

:o Hate to admit it ... but NOT taking certain cruises that I know would push us out of our comfort zone ... like too many really long flights with the need to stay in several hotels on the way to and from the cruise.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[CaveDiving]

I think this is a terrific thread.

 

After all the negative posts on Cruise critic, it’s great to be reminded of some of the things I really love about cruising. And that’s including sharing with other pax as they're having the time of their lives.

 

Scott & Karen

[middlehaitch]

Well said CaveDiving,

There is nothing like going off on a daring adventure then sharing the excitement of the day with your tablemates in the MDR.

That is what I love about the two of us sharing a table with 6 - 10 strangers; you always leave the cruise with a few new friends and lots of good stories.

Cheers, h.

 

[Sandy Sails]

Besides over the years of cruising, doing all the zip-lining, snorkeling (I'm scared of deep water), speedboating, etc., I have to say that my Empress cruise was really out of my comfort zone - and it literally changed my life because I was so brave.

2006 Empress cruise (7 months after having both knees replaced):

• Jumped on the stage during Karaoke to join a complete stranger singing (I cannot carry a tune to save my life) - twice
  
• Judged the Sexy Mens Legs contest
  
• Got my face painted
  
• I'm sure there's alot more but can't think of it right now, lol
  

And because I was having so much fun and was feeling so confident, I met a guy on the ship from the other side of the country, fell in love, and married him.

Life changing...

[Blk_Amish]

I do a lot of crazy things on land vacation then try to match it on sea. On one cruise I zipline in PV, did the rock wall, ice skating and line dancing. By day 5, I was barely able to move and no amount of Advil helped.

 

Five years ago I got over my fear of heights and climbed to the edge of Taft point at Yosemite, with a 3000 feet drop. Three years ago I learned to swim and did a underground snorkeling trip in Playa Del Carmen. This April stupid enough to throw out my back going under the limbo on Carnival Magic.

 

Got mooned while judging the sexy legs contest so I did the only thing one should when a butt is presented, slap it.

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This is the look before I hit the ice on RCL

 

by ,

Edited December 21, 2013 by Blk_Amish

[Paulette3028]

No question, cruise travel can be a cushy way to see the world (and don't get me wrong, I love cushy!). Still, it occurred to me today, on a shore excursion on Indonesia's Komodo island while we were chasing its infamous dragons around a national park (and it was a little bit scary) that as comfy as a cruise can be, it can also push you out of your comfort zone. Like today.

 

Wondering: Have you been on a cruise where you tried something you never would have ordinarily experienced? I can also credit bear tracking while on Celebrity Infinity in Alaska, and a chance to fish for piranha while on an Amazon cruise. A colleague, a sports nut, tells me she once met a pro NFL-er on a Royal Caribbean cruise and he let her try on his SuperBowl rings. She also snorkeled in Alaska and ran a 5K in the Caribbean.

 

Share yours with us....

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

For me, it was the FIRST cruise we had taken....that surely was out of our comfort zone. If we were uncomfortable on day 1, we had to endure until the end of our 7 day cruise....not like getting on a flight for 3 hours, if you are uncomfortable flying.

 

But alas, there was no discomfort in our comfort zone and we have gone back to 'the sea' many times since that first try.

[Mom2B&Z]

River boat ride to and tour of Lamanai in Belize. Absolutely amazing! For me, it was right up there with a riverboat ride on the Nile and exploring pyramids in Egypt (which was a land based trip I took when I was 13 yrs old).

It's not really out of my comfort zone, but definitely unusual for my children (who were 6&4 yrs at the time) and my DH who has had many fewer travelling opportunities than I. Cruising lets us take our boys places and do things we might not normally do with them at this age, which is why we like it so much!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[lifes-a-beach]

as someone else said, ever going on a criuse was way out of my comfort zone but in 1993 my wife talked me into it. we flew to orlando to board the carnavale. i had only flown about three times and that was way out of my comfort zone at the time. my wife was a couple of months pregnant with our second child. the stops were nassau and freeport. there was absolutely nothing in the bahamas back then except a casino on paradise island where i promptly lost $3,000.00 at the dice table. the return trip was so rough they were placing trash cans in the halls for folks to barf in. the return flight was the real scarey part though. as we approached houston the pilot announced our impending arrival. moments later we circled back out over the bay. after another announcement that we would be 5 more minutes in the pattern and again circling out over the bay the pilot announced that we had experienced a "hydrolic system failure" and would be landing with no steering or brakes. well needless to say everyone was thrilled. screaming and panic ensued, and that was just me. my wife, on the other hand, had flown all over the place by then as her father was an airline employee while she was growing up. they landed us on the far east (i think) runway and we hit the runway so hard that the overhead compartment lids were flying open and stuff was falling on people's heads. ambulances and firetrucks were running alongside the plane. when we finally came to a stop they hosed the plane with foam. i may had been more scared before but i surely couldn't remember when. i swore i would never fly or cruise again.

Edited December 22, 2013 by lifes-a-beach

[tigercat]

Cave tubing in Belize, White river rafting in Costa Rica, as well as holding a large turtle and swimming with the sting rays. Also, swimming with the Dolphins. All of these things I never would have thought I would do but had a blast doing them. I am now mobility disabled so am unable to do things that I would love to do.

I forgot, on the last cruise I got up and sang kareoke which was really surprising for me.

tigercat

[editor@cruisecritic]

These are such great stories (well, except for that of lifes-a-beach, wow, awful!) -- thanks for sharing them. Hope you'll keep them coming.

 

Carolyn