I'll Never Take Cruising For Granted Again.

[need2cruisesoon]

It seems we were kinda spoiled with cruising, I mean the cruise lines made it so simple to book your cabin, get you the packages you wanted included in your cruise.

So many choices in cabins, activities, events and onshore excursions.

 

Then they even offered airline packages to get you to your destination, all you had to do was show up at the pier and queue in line and voila you're onboard.

 

I mean cruising is almost mindless (in a good way) in the sense that so much is done for you ahead of the cruise and during the cruise. So stress free and relaxing as we know.

 

So once we are cruising again I'll be sure to appreciate it a bit more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by need2cruisesoon

[lenquixote66]

That is a wonderful way to think about life but I do not see cruising returning in the US from Manhattan,Baltimore and possibly Bayonne for quite some time.

[Sea Hag]

Agreed on that! I was always right there, waiting for me to book. Who can tell what it's all going to be like in the future.

[TNcruising02]

I will definitely have a new appreciate for cruising once I am finally able to do it again.   We are at a point in our lives when our schedules are flexible, but we can't cruise.  We don't even know when we will fly across the country to visit family members.  Once there's a vaccine or the virus has run its course, I will have a new appreciation for a lot of things.  My next cruise will definitely be a celebration.

[ontheweb]

18 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

That is a wonderful way to think about life but I do not see cruising returning in the US from Manhattan,Baltimore and possibly Bayonne for quite some time.

Why should those ports see a longer wait than ports in Florida, Texas, and California, 3 states that are all showing spikes in cases of the virus?

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

Why should those ports see a longer wait than ports in Florida, Texas, and California, 3 states that are all showing spikes in cases of the virus?

I am referring to cities where there has been increased crime which is definitely a factor because of people coming from different towns who want to see the city before boarding a cruise.

[chipmaster]

Many won't take simply things going out to eat or seeing spectator sports for granted either. 

 

Life won't every be the same, hopefully only for a couple years, but could easily be a decade too

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, chipmaster said:

Many won't take simply things going out to eat or seeing spectator sports for granted either. 

 

Life won't every be the same, hopefully only for a couple years, but could easily be a decade too

I agree 100 %  .

[ldubs]

"So once we are cruising again I'll be sure to appreciate it a bit more."

 

 

👍👍👍

[getting older slowly]

Cruising to us was like going to our holiday apartment... everything was familiar, but the view changes, and enjoyed revisiting some of ports..... hopefully one day we can enjoy it again......

 

We will be appreciating just being able to go on any holiday.......

 

The apartment is getting a little boring... like the last few months   a bit like groundhog day...

 

But having said that.... we feel very fortunate... we own everything we have... and have money to put food and wine on the table..... as so many people around us have lost jobs,  and a floor over their heads as well as friends and family . 

 

 

So to answer the question...... know do not take anything for granted......

 

This is now a changed world where we live.....

 

Cheers Don

[karinad]

1 hour ago, getting older slowly said:

Cruising to us was like going to our holiday apartment... everything was familiar, but the view changes, and enjoyed revisiting some of ports..... hopefully one day we can enjoy it again......

 

We will be appreciating just being able to go on any holiday.......

 

The apartment is getting a little boring... like the last few months   a bit like groundhog day...

 

But having said that.... we feel very fortunate... we own everything we have... and have money to put food and wine on the table..... as so many people around us have lost jobs,  and a floor over their heads as well as friends and family . 

 

 

So to answer the question...... know do not take anything for granted......

 

This is now a changed world where we live.....

 

Cheers Don

Thanks for posting this because I was feeling a little sad about not cruising this year. This is the time we usually book our Oct. cruise, so, I came here hoping to share a little bit of my grief with others in the same boat! No pun intended. We are one mortgage payment away to owning our home after 30 yrs! I'm retired and my dh is about to retire. We own whatever we have, for the moment! I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. This virus is just temporary,  for as bad as it is at this time. Life will go on. I pray for those that aren't so lucky! For now, I will keep looking at cruises and hoping to be able to said again!

[clo]

11 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

So to answer the question...... know do not take anything for granted......

 

This is now a changed world where we live.....

 

Exactly. Vacations mean nothing in the big picture of things.

[ontheweb]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

Exactly. Vacations mean nothing in the big picture of things.

But there are a lot of people whose livelihoods depend on people taking vacations.

 

And part of the idea of a vacation is for people to come back recharged. And also hopefully we learn by travelling and have our horizons broadened.

[evandbob]

I'm glad I have many nice memories of cruising after about 55 sailings since 2003.  I'm also happy that cruising was sometimes a "scouting" expedition and I was able to return to several ports through extended land vacations that gave me a much larger picture than a simple day in port can give.

 

Cruising allowed me to pick and choose where I wanted to return and I'm grateful I had that chance.  I'm beginning to get pessimistic about cruisings' future, so my memories cancel out any woulda coulda shoulda.

[bonsai3s]

After our first cruise...we got addicted.  We said "This is it...when we retire, we'll be cruising a lot more."

 

Fast forward almost 40 years...now both retired and no cruising...sigh.

 

Traveling for us, is a passion........going to the grocery store is now a significant event.😷

[Aquahound]

On 7/20/2020 at 9:30 AM, clo said:

Exactly. Vacations mean nothing in the big picture of things.

 

Speak for yourself.  I work a very stressful career.  Vacations mean a lot to my DW and me.    

[cruisemom42]

On 7/20/2020 at 12:41 PM, ontheweb said:

And also hopefully we learn by travelling and have our horizons broadened.

 

I completely agree with this. I worry that when people sit at home and only hear about what is going on elsewhere in the world second-hand, ignorance and intolerance only grow. 

 

It's harder to ignore the evidence of your own eyes when you travel -- you tend to see that all over the world most people are exactly the same. They love their families, want to earn enough to have food and a roof over their heads and mostly are decent to others. Sometimes it's hard to remember this when all you hear is what your -- or their -- government want you to hear.

 

[ilikeanswers]

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

It's harder to ignore the evidence of your own eyes when you travel -- 

 

I'm a little more cynical in this. I have met too many travellers who actively seek confirmation bias everywhere they look and do nothing but critise the local culture. You go to places with high international tourist traffic and there are so many foreign shops selling comforts of home. My cousin who is a chef in Malaysia says you can't get a job in hotel kitchens unless you know Western or Chinese cuisine because the customers don't want Malay food. I think it is pretty difficult to open a mind that has closed shut😕. 

[clo]

28 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

I'm a little more cynical in this.

I am also. We've done a half dozen or so escorted land tours in the last under ten years. We are the rare ones who seek out the locals, their neighborhoods and their food. It seems most of the others look at the sights and that's it. When we would get off the coach we'd head in the opposite direction and then up a side street.

 

Here's a photo from the Balkans. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't remember the country or the city. But while the group were in and out of the tourist shops we were having a drink with a group of local guys. The one in the photo, who spoke the best English, even gave me his name and phone number in case we had any problems. And got us this dessert 🙂

 

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm a little more cynical in this. I have met too many travellers who actively seek confirmation bias everywhere they look and do nothing but critise the local culture. 

 

I think it is pretty difficult to open a mind that has closed shut😕. 

 

There are some of those, of course. The hard-core believers. But I've also traveled with a lot of people who are well-meaning but who have only ever heard one narrative about a particular place/group of people...and some of them have had their eyes opened by travel. Maybe they are the ones with minds only half closed. 

 

9 hours ago, clo said:

I am also. We've done a half dozen or so escorted land tours in the last under ten years. We are the rare ones who seek out the locals, their neighborhoods and their food. It seems most of the others look at the sights and that's it. When we would get off the coach we'd head in the opposite direction and then up a side street.

 

 

Even if you don't go "off piste", a good guide can also do a lot to open people's eyes. I can think of a few times I've used a guide or a guided tour for partial (Turkey, Syria) or complete (Egypt) trips where I saw how a really good guide can provide context and background beyond what may be seen or experienced on the tour to broaden minds..

[George C]

19 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

Speak for yourself.  I work a very stressful career.  Vacations mean a lot to my DW and me.    

Totally agree even though I am now retired my wife works and we both look forward to every one of our many cruises. 

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Even if you don't go "off piste", a good guide can also do a lot to open people's eyes. I can think of a few times I've used a guide or a guided tour for partial (Turkey, Syria) or complete (Egypt) trips where I saw how a really good guide can provide context and background beyond what may be seen or experienced on the tour to broaden minds..

 

I agree a good guide makes a real difference and not just in terms of knowledge but openess. Most guides like to give you the rose coloured glasses version of a destination but what I have come to appreciate is the guides that give you everything, the wonderful, the good, the could be improved and the downright ugly. That really gives you great insight to a place, people and culture from the point of view of a local🤗.

[navybankerteacher]

20 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

Speak for yourself.  I work a very stressful career.  Vacations mean a lot to my DW and me.    

Which, when you think about it, tends to make life worth living.  An activity without challenges means no stress - but also none of the satisfaction of overcoming them.  Too much, of course, can be harmful - but the lack of any is deadening.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

There are some of those, of course. The hard-core believers. But I've also traveled with a lot of people who are well-meaning but who have only ever heard one narrative about a particular place/group of people...and some of them have had their eyes opened by travel. Maybe they are the ones with minds only half closed. 

 

 

Even if you don't go "off piste", a good guide can also do a lot to open people's eyes. I can think of a few times I've used a guide or a guided tour for partial (Turkey, Syria) or complete (Egypt) trips where I saw how a really good guide can provide context and background beyond what may be seen or experienced on the tour to broaden minds..

The best guide we ever had was in St. Petersburg on an Alla tour. (The guide now owns SPB Tours.) She truly answered all questions, even personal ones about growing up in a Communist regime.

[clo]

25 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

The best guide we ever had was in St. Petersburg on an Alla tour. (The guide now owns SPB Tours.) She truly answered all questions, even personal ones about growing up in a Communist regime.

I've heard great things about her also. We had a cruise booked that included that. Canceled. Hopefully another year.