Anything but relaxing...???

[ZAL's Nan]

All inclusive is generally cheaper than cruising especially here in Canada. Airfare alone is just so expensive that the air included all inclusive is the way to go. As for the extras that cruising seems to cost, we find that because we can book far ahead and budget accordingly, cruising doesn't seem that expensive. Just watch for seat sales, and price drops. If you're drinkers, or like to try different drinks, try and pre-purchase the drink package and pre pay your gratuities. Our last cruise, the final bill was around $50.00. This cruise we're on a Carnival ship, and I won't be buying the drink package as it doesn't include water and it has a 15 drink limit.

[maywell]

The only 2 genuine downsides to cuising is 1) you have to back before the schedule or else they'll leave you, unless its an excursion booken through the cruise line & 2) ship might not be in port long enough for your liking.

 

Otherwise, its as others in the thread have said - its good option for what its worth and you don't have to spend anymore money on extras, if you don't want to. Personally, cruising is like appretizers or sampler before deciding if you want to spend time at full course meal aka spending days / weeks at destination like St. Lucia, for example. Its a great way to see parts of the world for however long the cruise trip is.

 

Go on your trip and afterwards, tells how you like - You can't really tell how good or bad something is for you unless you try it out 1st. You'll figure out your likes and dislikes of cruising, just like with land vacations. [emoji4] Enjoy!

 

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[PoppyandNana]

All inclusive is generally cheaper than cruising especially here in Canada. Airfare alone is just so expensive that the air included all inclusive is the way to go. As for the extras that cruising seems to cost' date=' we find that because we can book far ahead and budget accordingly, cruising doesn't seem that expensive. Just watch for seat sales, and price drops. If you're drinkers, or like to try different drinks, try and pre-purchase the drink package and pre pay your gratuities. Our last cruise, the final bill was around $50.00. This cruise we're on a Carnival ship, and I won't be buying the drink package as it doesn't include water and it has a 15 drink limit.[/quote']

 

Is that 15 drink limit per day or for the entire cruise?

[maywell]

Is that 15 drink limit per day or for the entire cruise?

Per day.

 

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[PoppyandNana]

We have done both AI's and many, many cruises (leaving next sat for #2 this year :D), we enjoy both. I will tell you that even on a land vaca if you want to do something extra you gotta pay or you stay put at the resort.

 

One of the best things about cruising is you let someone else do the driving and you get to see 3 or 4 different places in a week. Just sit back, read a good book and relax. Do nothing or do everything, do what you want.

 

We have taken 4 cruises to 1 AI in last few years, its good to have options...

 

 

One of the most common reasons we tell people why we prefer cruising to land resorts (applies to Caribbean only, Europe is a different animal) is weather. A rainy day at a land resort is a real bummer. Not much to do except hang around the lobby or in your room watching tv. On a cruise ship there are lots of things to do on a rainy day. My favorite is finding a good vantage point and stare at the ocean.

Edited August 26, 2015 by PoppyandNana

[marshhawk]

this is me, on my first day on the cruise ship

a sea day on a Carnival cruise.

 

I wake up, I go up to the lido, I have a cup of coffee and a cigarette, and I watch the sun rise, if I get hungry I grab a croissant and sit back down, relaxed.

 

When the dining room opens, I go to breakfast (I don't like buffets that much) so I go to the dining room. After breakfast, I go for a walk. I sit and watch the kids play in the water park area, and I contemplate lunch.

 

I fix lunch, I go to my cabin, I watch some movie on tv and get out of the sun for a while and at 3, I go have tea. I listen to piano music, have a cucumber sandwich, have some earl grey tea, and a bit of pastry, and then I go up and watch the pool party on the lido wind down. I go dress for dinner (tonight is formal night) I eat, I go up to the lido deck, stroll to the back, watch the sun set or the stars rise, and call it a day.

 

And that is why I love sea days.

 

Now once in port, I am about doing something. Go to a beach, go to a museum, go grab some real coffee. Take a tour. but all of these as shore excursions only take 2-5 hours. I will do things on my own, a day pass at a hotel in port, or visiting a history museum, just walking the streets and getting the feel of the place. The only time I stayed on board a ship was when it rained so hard I didn't want to go anywhere, but I didn't stay inside my cabin.

 

I am not a bored person. I don't do bingo, I fail miserably at trivia, but I do play, i like to learn how to make towel animals :), but I do not want to have to be on the go 24/7, and I am never bored. Watching my DH checking out the girls in bikinis is entertaining enough! Watching the drunks gets entertaining, meeting new people, learning new things is always fun. No, cruising is not about going all the time non stop with a thousand things to do, it is, to me, reevaluating the time I have with others, and if just sitting is what works, that's what I do. :)

 

Be brave. do it.:D

[jazzybrue]

My husband and I have booked and cancelled a couple of cruises, and we have now once again, moved our deposit to another cruise. We are booked on Celebrity Shiloutte for April. We have, up to now, always done the all-inclusive land vacation, primarily in Mexico. I am most likely condeming something I have never done, but cruising looks anything but relaxing to me and thats what often gets us. That and the seemingly endless "extras" that make it cost so much more. It appears, looking in, that everything is so scheduled and you would be looking at your watch all the time, making sure your where you should be, ie back on the boat on time, getting off on time, eating on time, ect. And it always looks so crowded and congested in every photo I look at. Those two things, plus the constant extras, seem to inflate the price so high. Am I being totally ridiculous?? I love the whole idea of cruising, the romance of it all, and thats what we were feeling when we booked it, but we just cant seem to make ourselves actually take the cruise. I am beginning to think I must have been on the Titanic in another life. HELP!!!!:confused::confused::confused::confused:

Mrs. Nurse

I remember planning our first cruise and it was so exciting and then we went on it. We flew to Miami and we had a ball and we will never forget that first cruise. We have been on several and look forward to going many more times. Life is very short I have lost some family members and friends in the last six months so go and share the memories for a lifetime. You can do it you are a "nurse" and thank you for your service ,God bless!

Edited September 10, 2015 by jazzybrue

[Eslader]

I thought the same way as OP before my first cruise. Floating hotel at sea where I would always be shuffled here and there on a regimented schedule just like back home, only I'm not getting paid for it. The only positive I thought it would have was that it would be warm, and I'm from a deep-winter state, so that would be welcome no matter what.

 

Then I got on the ship and saw the tile in the elevator floor that had the day written on it. Hmm. Maybe you *can* lose track of time, a lot, on this thing. ;)

 

Turns out I had no idea what day it was most of the trip, and I only knew within a ~12 hour window what time it was, and that only by looking to see if the sun was out or not. Enforced relaxation is pretty liberating.

[KKB]

I have avoided all-inclusives for 2 reasons: 1--Price (have yet to find one to come close to the value of a cruise) 2--I am afraid I will be bored. I don't want to relax all day every day.

 

I love cruises because I can do EVERYTHING or NOTHING. We like to be busy with lots to do on vacation. THAT BEING SAID, we have learned to relax more & more and we do less & less on each cruise. The only time we TRULY worry about the time is when we are on port--we make SURE we are back on that ship with plenty of time to spare.

 

Otherwise, eat when you want (most ships have anytime dining for dinner; or you can go casual). Otherwise it is up to you--you can forget about all the other activities, or just choose a few. Relax in your room, on the deck or your balcony if you have one. Sit in a bar & have a drink, enjoy musical entertainment.

 

As far as the nickel & diming--again, up to you. I ignore all that. I pay for what is important to me & that is it. We enjoy our cocktails. We get 1 photo from the trip (usually a bit formal--far less $ than a sitting at home). We enjoy the casino. Otherwise we don't really spend any $.

 

TRY IT--most people who do are hooked, though there are occasionally those who find it isn't there thing. My husband was skeptical. My folks loved cruising. When we took our first cruise he was a bit grouchy until we got on (long hot lines & computers that were down didn't help...). But got on, got a drink, he looked around & said "Hey, it's Vegas on a ship!" (we love Vegas). He was hooked. More & more he, too, likes to lounge on the balcony, lounge on a beach.