Help me convince my parents to join us!

[JamieLogical]

Even if they don't come it sounds like you have terrific parents and that you are lucky to have them and they are lucky to have you. And just the fact that you enjoy each other so much and do like traveling together is a real blessing and not a situation most people have.

 

 

Thank you for your full post, but this paragraph in particular is key. I have great relationship with my parents and I am very fortunate to have gone on many many wonderful vacations with them over the years. Even if I can't persuade them to do a cruise, I am sure I will have many more great land-based trips with them in future.

 

An update on the situation: my mom is fully on board now and says she would do a studio cabin on the Escape if my dad doesn't come along. I'm not 100% sure if she really intends to follow through with that or if she is hoping the prospect of her going without him might help sway my dad. I am proceeding as if she will be coming alone. We watched some videos of what the studio cabins are like last night. They are super cute! I almost want to book one by myself now! :p

[billslowsky]

An update on the situation: my mom is fully on board now and says she would do a studio cabin on the Escape if my dad doesn't come along.

 

Compare to prices on solo for an inside cabin (which are larger) but they don't have the purple lights. Also compare location to where you're going to be located which may make a difference.

 

And if she is good with those, keep an eye out for the upgrade bid process, I went from inside to oceanview for an additional $10 per day (and remember that upgrade bids are x 2 for solo).

[JamieLogical]

Great news! Seems like both my parents are up for joining us! I wrote the info down on an index card for my mom this morning with the cruise date, ship, and itinerary. Then I wrote what the total cost would be for her in a studio room minus one of our cruise next deposits and the total was $1500-something. I went ahead and priced out a mid-ship balcony "in case" dad decided to join us, minus our two cruise next deposits (promo running now that lets you use two on balcony or above, even if the sailing is inside of six months) and the total was $2200-something. I think he thought that for $700 more, he might as well go too, because by the time we left my parents' to drive home, it sounded like he was coming along!

 

They are both going to look into ordering their passports this week.

[kathy884]

Thanks wonderful Jamie! I think all of you will really enjoy the cruise and being together.

[barb65]

Some people just aren't cut out for cruising. For instance, you couldn't pay me a million dollars (seriously) to go camping. Just not my idea of a vacation having to cook, clean up and sit around a campfire for entertainment. So I get it when some people say they don't like to cruise. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I like cruising. (Yes, I did try camping once and I hated it).

[bluesea777]

Great news! Seems like both my parents are up for joining us! I wrote the info down on an index card for my mom this morning with the cruise date, ship, and itinerary. Then I wrote what the total cost would be for her in a studio room minus one of our cruise next deposits and the total was $1500-something. I went ahead and priced out a mid-ship balcony "in case" dad decided to join us, minus our two cruise next deposits (promo running now that lets you use two on balcony or above, even if the sailing is inside of six months) and the total was $2200-something. I think he thought that for $700 more, he might as well go too, because by the time we left my parents' to drive home, it sounded like he was coming along!

 

They are both going to look into ordering their passports this week.

 

Warning: check the rules - you can use 2 if booking a cabin on cruises more than 6 months ahead. My advice - let them pay what they have been told, and you can cough up with the rest. ;)

 

Hope they enjoy the cruise with you two.

[JamieLogical]

Warning: check the rules - you can use 2 if booking a cabin on cruises more than 6 months ahead. My advice - let them pay what they have been told, and you can cough up with the rest. ;)

 

Hope they enjoy the cruise with you two.

 

As I said in the post, there is currently a promotion going until July 31 that lets you use two cruise next on balconies and above even inside of 6 months. I know because I JUST used it when booking this same cruise for myself and my partner.

 

But yeah, even if hey end up in a different category than I qouted or prices go up by the time they book, my intention is to just have them pay me what I quoted them and I will pay the difference.

[beerman2]

Jamielogical

 

Now we want to hear how they liked it! LOL

[JamieLogical]

Jamielogical

 

Now we want to hear how they liked it! LOL

 

 

I will definitely post back with details!

[Oedipa_maas]

That's great that they're going! Hopefully it will be the first of many cruises you can all enjoy together. (And if not, at least they gave it a try!)

[LrgPizza]

This post is interesting. Other than mentioning that your partner got you addicted to cruising, there’s no other mention of him. I remember your other post when you wanted to invite yourself along on your sister’s cruise. Now you want to invite your parents along on your cruise with your partner... I know what I’m thinking here, but I can’t put it into words. Let’s just say that my husband would have run the other way.

[kodesthemoose]

This post is interesting. Other than mentioning that your partner got you addicted to cruising, there’s no other mention of him. I remember your other post when you wanted to invite yourself along on your sister’s cruise. Now you want to invite your parents along on your cruise with your partner... I know what I’m thinking here, but I can’t put it into words. Let’s just say that my husband would have run the other way.

 

Well that took an unexpected turn!

[sverigecruiser]

This post is interesting. Other than mentioning that your partner got you addicted to cruising, there’s no other mention of him. I remember your other post when you wanted to invite yourself along on your sister’s cruise. Now you want to invite your parents along on your cruise with your partner... I know what I’m thinking here, but I can’t put it into words. Let’s just say that my husband would have run the other way.

 

What do you mean with this? The thread is about har parents, why should she mention her partner?

 

I rarely mention my wife when I post, why should I do that?

[lisakoivu]

Maybe you already know this, but I didn't see it. My partner gets air sick, sea sick and car sick. Boninie does wonders for him, BUT it only works if he takes it 24 hours ahead of getting on the ship. Then he takes it for the first two sea days and then he doesn't have to take it any more.

 

I just wanted to suggest that your mom take it the night before she goes to bed in the hotel before you get on, to have the best chance of it working for her. I hope you a have a blast.

[JamieLogical]

This post is interesting. Other than mentioning that your partner got you addicted to cruising, there’s no other mention of him. I remember your other post when you wanted to invite yourself along on your sister’s cruise. Now you want to invite your parents along on your cruise with your partner... I know what I’m thinking here, but I can’t put it into words. Let’s just say that my husband would have run the other way.

 

My partner loves my family! He is estranged from most of his own family (they are a hot mess) so he has really taken to mine as like a surrogate family? I think he was instrumental in helping to persuade my parents to come along. He told them how much I'd been talking about it/hoping for it and I think it meant a lot to them coming from him. And as we were driving away from my parents' house yesterday to head home, he said "now I'm REALLY excited for this cruise!" :D

[LrgPizza]

My partner loves my family! He is estranged from most of his own family (they are a hot mess) so he has really taken to mine as like a surrogate family? I think he was instrumental in helping to persuade my parents to come along. He told them how much I'd been talking about it/hoping for it and I think it meant a lot to them coming from him. And as we were driving away from my parents' house yesterday to head home, he said "now I'm REALLY excited for this cruise!" :D

Perfect! Thank you for explaining that, even though I certainly was not entitled to it. I was merely curious, and I appreciate you not attacking me.

[WitnessProtection]

So glad this worked out for you and your family, Jamie! It sounds like it will be a fantastic cruise, no matter what, as you have a great attitude. I give you huge amounts of credit for keeping your patience and not responding in kind to some of the posts on this thread. Hoping you'll come back after the cruise and let us all know how it worked out for your parents. :)

[JamieLogical]

Maybe you already know this, but I didn't see it. My partner gets air sick, sea sick and car sick. Boninie does wonders for him, BUT it only works if he takes it 24 hours ahead of getting on the ship. Then he takes it for the first two sea days and then he doesn't have to take it any more.

 

I just wanted to suggest that your mom take it the night before she goes to bed in the hotel before you get on, to have the best chance of it working for her. I hope you a have a blast.

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I will pass it along to her.

[JamieLogical]

So glad this worked out for you and your family, Jamie! It sounds like it will be a fantastic cruise, no matter what, as you have a great attitude. I give you huge amounts of credit for keeping your patience and not responding in kind to some of the posts on this thread. Hoping you'll come back after the cruise and let us all know how it worked out for your parents. :)

 

People's posts don't upset me or make me defensive. I understand that people have a lot of different perspectives. That's why I asked for input in the first place! I take it all with a grain of salt. I don't expect everyone to fully understand my situation and only provided the most relevant info in my original post. They are basing their opinions on the info I provided through the lens of their own experiences. Had I written my life story, they might have had a better understanding of my personal situation, but there is no need. I can filter out what is useful to me and what is not on my own.

[LrgPizza]

So glad this worked out for you and your family, Jamie! It sounds like it will be a fantastic cruise, no matter what, as you have a great attitude. I give you huge amounts of credit for keeping your patience and not responding in kind to some of the posts on this thread. Hoping you'll come back after the cruise and let us all know how it worked out for your parents. :)

Actually, she did respond in kind. My post was merely a question, and not in any way an attack. She was smart enough to see it as that, and responded in a friendly manner. If more people did that, CC would be a nicer place.

People's posts don't upset me or make me defensive. I understand that people have a lot of different perspectives. That's why I asked for input in the first place! I take it all with a grain of salt. I don't expect everyone to fully understand my situation and only provided the most relevant info in my original post. They are basing their opinions on the info I provided through the lens of their own experiences. Had I written my life story, they might have had a better understanding of my personal situation, but there is no need. I can filter out what is useful to me and what is not on my own.

Jamie,

We live in a very small town and my husband's family own a business where they all work together. As a result, we see his family (with whom we are extremely close and very loving) every single day of every year. Vacations to us mean having rare time to be away on our own. Yes, my questions like most people's are based on my own experiences. I enjoy hearing about different situations. Enjoy your cruise!

[JamieLogical]

Jamie,

We live in a very small town and my husband's family own a business where they all work together. As a result, we see his family (with whom we are extremely close and very loving) every single day of every year. Vacations to us mean having rare time to be away on our own. Yes, my questions like most people's are based on my own experiences. I enjoy hearing about different situations. Enjoy your cruise!

 

I can definitely understand needing a break once in a while in that situation! I live in Rochester, NY and my parents retired to Pennsylvania, so I only see them every couple of months. We try to make it down there for most long weekends (Memorial and Labor Days) and we ALWAYS make it for 4th of July fireworks, because the community they live in puts on a great fireworks display. When my parents come up to Rochester, they usually stay at my place, but spend the majority of their time with my sister and her kids (their only grandkids), so I actually don't get to hang out with them much when they are here. For years and years I have been staying with them in their timeshares (one in VA and one in TN) every year. But cruising is cutting into vacation time from work, so getting my parents to cruise with us is a great way to keep getting to vacation with them, but getting a change of pace from the timeshares.

[WitnessProtection]

Actually, she did respond in kind. My post was merely a question, and not in any way an attack. She was smart enough to see it as that, and responded in a friendly manner. If more people did that, CC would be a nicer place

 

 

Hmmm...didn't realize that I, in any way, referred to you in my post. Quite a few people responded in ways that were not the nicest (in my opinion) and I thought Jamie handled everything beautifully. It is definitely refreshing to see. Like I said, either way, I am sure she will have a fantastic cruise and will find the positive no matter what the outcome.

[JamieLogical]

Just got off the phone with my parents. They definitely sound like they are going to follow through and join us on the cruise. I am sooooo excited! They talked to my older sister who is going on her first cruise with her husband on the Getaway in September and now she is super excited my parents are going to be going on a cruise too. If it turns out that my sister, brother-in-law, and parents all love cruising on NCL, maybe we can plan a big family trip together!

[JamieLogical]

As of yesterday evening, my parents are officially booked! We gave them two of our CruiseNext deposits and I paid their DSC, so their total was cheap enough to convince my Dad it was a good value. We booked them a mid-ship balcony on Deck 10. Hopefully that location will be a little less subject to the movement of the ship.

[JamieLogical]

Just wanted to post a quick update. I went down to visit my parents for Labor Day weekend and helped them do their online check-in and printed out their eDocs and luggage tags. I think they are both really looking forward to the cruise now.

 

My mom told me that everyone is shocked that my Dad agreed to go along with it. She ran into a friend and mentioned she was going on a cruise. The friend said "I can't believe Jim is letting you go on a cruise!" My mom said, "no no, he's going to." And apparently the friend screamed "WHAT?!?!?!" so loud it got the attention of everyone else in the post office!

 

So it occurred to me how and why my dad actually agreed to this after having talked to my aunts who came to visit a few weeks ago and my parents again over Labor Day. I have four siblings. Over the years, *I* have been incredibly fortunate, but my siblings have all had various tragedies and financial hardships to deal with. My oldest brother's wife passed away at the age of 41, my other brother has had to be bailed out of jail more than once, my older sister lost her daughter, and my youngest sister has four young children and went through a divorce that has left her very tight on money. My parents have been there to support all of my siblings and helped out financially many times. I think that when my partner told my dad that I really really wanted them to go on this cruise, it transformed from him thinking about it being money spent on himself to money spent on *me* and somehow that is easier for him to process as a parent.