Why do you Cruise?

[zonk42]

These are great replies. One thing I really enjoy is being able to visit places without having to do any driving. I can do an excursion and all the issues around driving, parking, etc. are taken care of. The ship then takes us to the next port without having to worry about anything.

 

Flying to the embarkation port sucks, but it beats driving for me.

[RuthC]

Cruising is an especially attractive way to see the world if one has mobility problems. Once you get to the ship, there are people to help with mundane tasks, and somewhat to watch over you. 
Toss in being alone, and now able to meet new people to enjoy, and cruising is ideal. 

[Mary229]

Cruising is a very effective way to travel and we choose by the ports and itinerary.    We consider it pleasant transport and lodging.  We would not cruise just to be at sea.  We also take driving vacations and have traveled great distances by car.  I take traditional fly and sightseeing vacations, tour and independent. 

[iancal]

Love the sea.

 

It makes a restful change from independent land travel.  Before, during, or at the end of a land based trip.

[Cruising-along]

We cruise to see the world, the itinerary is most important to us.  The perfect cruise for us is a sea day after every 2 or 3 ports.  After years of land travel both in north America and abroad, we discovered cruising and were hooked.  We still do land travel (pre and post cruises plus visiting our son in CA and our yearly trip to Yellowstone). And no cooking or cleaning is a *huge* plus!!

[Spire2000]

Because it is among the few options those of us from the north have to escape the cold for a week or two in the winter.

 

• All-Inclusives are fun but the areas we enjoy have really gone up in price in recent years.
• Condos are just... iffy. You never really know what you'll encounter, especially in a foreign country.
• Cruising gets us to a new place every day and is the most affordable of all the options.

[wyobean]

We cruise for the ports. It is the best way to see a lot of places that would be too expensive for us to do on our own(flying, motel, car rental, etc). Don’t get me wrong, we like sea days, too, and all the other things people have mentioned already. We like 25+ day cruises and really look for repositioning ones. They seem to give us the best bang for our buck. We cruise once a year. We are retired...live in Wyoming, spend 4-5 winter months in Mexico for obvious reasons...lol. We also have a small RV and spend time traveling around in that also. We are having a blast!

[*Miss G*]

I feel a kinship with the sea

Its many moods keep beckoning me

 

It lures me to a distant shore

To enrich the mind

and explore

 

Dark and deep

Or crystal clear

It lulls to sleep

Or instills fear

 

But most of all

It restores the soul

Returns the peace

And makes me whole 

- Miss G

[tuolumne couple]

We cruise for so many reasons;

For the open sea

for the rainbows on the water

for the sunrises and sunsets so beautiful as if to be miraculous

for the green flash, if we are lucky

for snorkeling and other fabulous excursions

for meeting new people , and those of which we remain friends

for dolphins and flying fish

for our daily dose of Vitamin Sea

for a routine that we are only able to realize and appreciate at Sea, and not at home

for the staff and crew, some of which we see from ship to ship

for our sanity

for the ability to reset our compass from a long work year; this is our reset

for the time to spend in love, carefree and without limitation

for the best nights sleep, ever

for the the best memories, even if they are repeat cruises

for another reason to do it all over again

[bennybear]

I too love being at sea, watching the wake,  reading a book, and enjoying nice food and meeting new friends.   We have made some great friends on cruises.

 

I also think of it like the best bus tour,  where you don’t have to sit on the bus but travel by night and wake up somewhere new.   What a way to travel in Europe with no planes,  trains or automobiles.   Reaching interesting destinations painlessly like Vladivostok, St Petersburg, Anchorage......

 

We too enjoy other holidays like long term stays in Hawaii,  road trips.  But at least once or even twice a year we love being at sea! 

Edited January 5, 2020 by bennybear

[Crusinsusan2]

2 hours ago, wyobean said:

We cruise for the ports. It is the best way to see a lot of places that would be too expensive for us to do on our own(flying, motel, car rental, etc). Don’t get me wrong, we like sea days, too, and all the other things people have mentioned already. We like 25+ day cruises and really look for repositioning ones. They seem to give us the best bang for our buck. We cruise once a year. We are retired...live in Wyoming, spend 4-5 winter months in Mexico for obvious reasons...lol. We also have a small RV and spend time traveling around in that also. We are having a blast!

 

We also cruise for the ports. It's been a really fun sample platter for places we either choose to return to for a land vacation (Loreto/Huatulco/Costa Rica because we liked it that much or places we are glad to have been and will return to on a cruise but would not seek out flights/hotels due to cost and travel time. We too (although jealously not retired yet) spend at least 2 months between Isla Mujeres and Loreto. The RV is on the bucket list! So much to see in our beautiful country too.     

 

 

[wwcruisers]

Why do I cruise?  'Cause that's where the ocean is...😉

[summer slope]

We cruise for the reasons given already.  We love sea days and have taken many cruises several times.  We will be doing the panama canal full transit twice this year, to and back from Florida to California.  It seems to be the only time we read. 

[Sir PMP]

16 hours ago, leerathje said:

I'm sitting here on a Saturday morning in BC, waiting for Ft Lauderdale sail aways!  lol...  

 

I'm curious as to why you all cruise?  Do you do it so you can see different places?  Do you just want a whole bunch of days doing nothing but being fed and pampered?  Combination of both?  Is cruising how yo do most of your vacations, or do you travel elsewhere?

 

For DH and myself, new to cruising, but discovered DH loves it!  (he's not a crowd person, so I'm surprised!) Times have changed for us....we used to do a lat of summer travel, but our vacations are now in the winter. Not a lay on the beach kind of person, so enjoy seeing different places and ports.  

 

What about you?

 

L.

 

Because I am a masochist...☺️

[deliver42]

Combination of reasons. Love the different ships, being on the water, being pampered, seeing different places,and meeting people from all over the world.

[Chocolatemom2]

It seems to be the only way I can truly relax and get away from work. 

Unpack one time

see various new places

no cleaning

no cooking

no laundry

salt air 

warm sun

rocked to sleep at night (sort of)

and definitely the most budget friendly way of traveling 

 

although we do land travel as well

 

[wyobean]

We too (although jealously not retired yet) spend at least 2 months between Isla Mujeres and
 

Cruisinsusan2....well, well, well. Wonder if I know you. Our time in Mexico is also on Isla Mujeres....

[MamaFej]

I agree with so many of the reasons stated above, cruising is great! We went 23 years between cruises 2 & 3, but have really jumped in the last few years.

 

Most of our travel has been by RV. We bought a very used rental RV in 2007, and have put another 70,000 miles on it ourselves, with our kids visiting their 50th US state (49 by RV) at ages 17, 13, and 10. We've also taken them to over 100 National Park Service sites. We've had more than our share of break-downs and tows over the years. 

 

RV-ing and other travel are wonderful, but what I've discovered is that, on a cruise ship, Hubby truly relaxes. 

 

He has just retired after 30 years full-time, and a total of 41 years in the fire service, most as a fire investigator, but also a jack-of-most fires service trades. For decades, he has met people on the absolute worst day of their lives. He has been part of a team responsible for trying to make that day somewhat better. He was always trying to fix other people's problems. At home, he's always doing projects. When road-tripping, he's always aware that something can go wrong, and need to be fixed. We have a very active volunteer life, as well, always taking care of others, and jumping in to fix things.

 

On a ship, if something goes wrong, there is absolutely nothing Hubby can do about it. It's definitely not his job. They aren't going to let him fix the computers, pumps, navigation system, or anything else. They definitely won't let him drive. Of course, he would immediately assist in case of a medical or other emergency, but would back off as soon as ship personnel or someone more qualified arrived. 

 

I've never seen Hubby as chilled-out as he is on a cruise ship. He deserves it! 

[leerathje]

9 hours ago, Crusinsusan2 said:

 

We also cruise for the ports. It's been a really fun sample platter for places we either choose to return to for a land vacation (Loreto/Huatulco/Costa Rica because we liked it that much or places we are glad to have been and will return to on a cruise but would not seek out flights/hotels due to cost and travel time. We too (although jealously not retired yet) spend at least 2 months between Isla Mujeres and Loreto. The RV is on the bucket list! So much to see in our beautiful country too.     

 

 

 

lol...Isla Mujeres! Small world...My boss and her DH go there every year for a month....as a matter of fact, she's leaving for there on Monday.

 

L.

 

[daisy-mae]

2 hours ago, summer slope said:

It seems to be the only time we read. 

 

Same here. I can't seem to find the time to read at home -- too many distractions. I love sitting up on deck, or on my stateroom balcony, feeling the breeze and listening to the sounds of the ocean while I immerse myself in a novel. 

 

Cruising is our least "active" form of travel. We are also avid cycle tourists, and have done bike and barge trips in Europe --  a different type of cruise but no less enjoyable. The accommodations are not luxurious, the amenities are relatively few, but the camaraderie and the landscapes are always memorable. We have also done self-supported bike trips with a group of friends in France and the Eastern US. An ideal year would have us escaping the cold with a winter Caribbean cruise and extending the summer with a cycle tour in the fall.

 

Another huge bonus that we have discovered with HAL is the opportunity to play pickleball on the sports deck. We were fortunate to meet a group of like-minded guests on a Zuiderdam cruise to Panama last April and had some very enjoyable games which carried over into meals shared outside on the Lido deck.

 

 

[leerathje]

16 hours ago, RuthC said:

Cruising is an especially attractive way to see the world if one has mobility problems. Once you get to the ship, there are people to help with mundane tasks, and somewhat to watch over you. 
Toss in being alone, and now able to meet new people to enjoy, and cruising is ideal. 

 

This is the reason why we took our first cruise.....my father was travelling with us, and as he had polio, he has mobility issues.  He LOVED the cruise. 

 

L.

 

[ottahand7]

I love the relaxation and being on the sea but on reflection it is the wonderful places that I have been able to visit without having to fly or drive to them.  I doubt I would ever have made it to Nicaragua,  Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Malaga and Lisbon without cruising.   

[Hobcat]

• All of the above. 😁.  Tried cruising because DH’s coworkers talked about their  cruises. Eased into it — Mex Riviera, Alaska, Panama Canal. At some point I realized I could cruise to lots of “exotic” places without flying. I HATE to fly. Last flight was pre TSA craziness. Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, this fall Africa. Woo hoo!!!  
• We still do road trips. DH likes to drive. I like to sightsee & take photos. It works well especially now that we’re retired.  

[grest]

Being on the ocean is so peaceful...

[Saphire]

My soul is full of longing
for the secret of the sea,
and the heart of the great ocean
sends a thrilling pulse through me.
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

For us, it all about the sea. How the water looks against the changing skies. The vastness of the ocean.  We love HAL because the ships are built with sea-lovers in mind. Our lives are super busy and it so nice to escape for a brief time. We love the relaxation of the ship, and  find time to truly rest. 8 more weeks. 🙂