First time cruising...not too happy about the idea

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Let me restate that....obviously, going on excursions can be adventurous, but having limited time at a destination is not....cram as much stuff into limited time is not my cup of tea.

I can only imagine vendors licking their chops as the ships dock...shopping is not a destination I choose when traveling.

Regarding the time when you reach port...Grand Cayman 7:00 AM....so if you want to make the most of your day there you have to set an alarm clock?

...and regarding the experience...if I go I'll be hooked....the same was said to me about attending a Bruce Springsteen concert....I didn't enjoy it.

Bottom line for me: this trip (5 nights) would cost almost as much as a week in Curacao that I will be going to in two weeks, EVERYTHING included.

I agree with Kim on this one - you should give it a try for your wife's sake and family reunion thing and if you don't like it, next time you can say no thanks, been there done that. I personally went on my first cruise to Hawaii just cuz I wanted to do a vacation in Hawaii and this seemed like the easiest way to see all the islands. I considered it a floating hotel so I could explore each island then decide which one I wanted to stay at for a land vacation. I ended up loving the cruise and now I'm hooked.:p Planning for my next cruise which is Mexican Riviera. I loved cruising so much that my MR cruise I probably won't get off the ship much. Lots of things to do onboard too.

 

If you try to "cram" everything into a port stop then you are right. That is not always ideal. I try to limit my activities to one excursion per stop like snorkeling or parasailing. My trip to MR, I only plan to swim with the dolphins and maybe hang out at a beach in Cabo & possibly snorkel. A little adventure, lots of relaxation.:cool:

[mcamp]

I'm not talking about sex. If you don't get it, maybe you should stay home, and just send your wife and kids.(kidding)

KT

I just might...not kidding.

[qprrules]

I guess it is coming up on that time of the year! I hope your not a such a Scrooge all the time. Take the wife on a friggin cruise already! Or better idea, you take the kids to an AI and let her have the "time of her life":D

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Think of your wife and do it for her. How long have you been married? Always think of yourself or do you put her first sometime? Just a thought.

[mcamp]

I know I sound like I'm trying to talk myself out of it...but...I put a lot of research before I book a destination.

If you don't know what a place has to offer in the day and age of the internet, you're missing the boat...no pun intended.

...and regarding the family reunion thing...it's her family....cousins, aunts and uncles....I don't like traveling with my own family.....vacation is MY time...I see family plenty, but her cousin is so over bearing about cruises, even though I've told him on a number of occassions that they don't interest me, he still called us up, and stirred things up....and I'm kind of pissed.

[nasvhillecruise]

I'm assuming that for the family reunion, you'd be expected to go regardless of the location. Some places, you'd be unable to escape at all. At least on a cruise, I'll assume there are places you can hide out if you need a break.

[jwlnroe]

we are going on a cruise in March. . parents paying for it. . had given them the idea of also doing an AI but my mom loves cruising and being they are paying for it, it doesn't really matter where we go. But like alot of the posters my husband isn't all thrilled either. He is going because I want him to go. . he likes luxurious resorts, places he can relax and not be bothered. . so we will see how this goes. . this is my 3rd cruise so I hope he gets hooked cause it won't be my last no matter what he decides. . i'll take my kids next time and leave him home in the cold! LOL :D

 

he is also a computer business owner so i can hear him complaining about the onboard internet right now. . so hopefully he can live without internet 24/7 for one week with his wife

 

Give the cruise a try. . you might love it, you might not but you won't know unless you give it a try. I love cruising. . best vacation there is!!

[MrPete]

To be honest, I have no desire to go on a cruise.

Myself, I enjoy going somewhere and exploring. Spending a day or less at a port doesn't seem to adventurous.

 

You're overlooking that the ship is a destination unto itself.

 

Ports are secondary to all things cruising. Enjoy the cuisine, meeting new friends, leaving all your troubles and worries at home (unless your cruising with your in-laws :eek: ).

 

Try it, you may like it.

[Wild Bill]

I know I sound like I'm trying to talk myself out of it...but...I put a lot of research before I book a destination.

If you don't know what a place has to offer in the day and age of the internet, you're missing the boat...no pun intended.

...and regarding the family reunion thing...it's her family....cousins, aunts and uncles....I don't like traveling with my own family.....vacation is MY time...I see family plenty, but her cousin is so over bearing about cruises, even though I've told him on a number of occassions that they don't interest me, he still called us up, and stirred things up....and I'm kind of pissed.

 

Now the picture is more clear to me. I thought you were just being an a_ _.:rolleyes: You probably wouldn't regret taking a cruise, but you might regret taking one with her cousin.:eek:

KT

[madge57]

Hey I'm not going to try and convince you to go on the cruise!! It seems to me you have already made up your mind about not going!! so why don't you tell your wife that its ok for her to go with the kids and enjoy herself!! And then give her a good excuse for the family why your not going!! Or you can go and see for yourself what cruising is all about and let your wife enjoy herself with the family and you!!:rolleyes:

[lilrosie]

I think that is a great way to have a family reunion...you can spend as much or as little time with family as you so desire..No cleaning ...cooking..for the wives (hey they can actually eat...relax...and visit with family also..It is a big ship so plenty of places to escape too...You have a formal dinner (great picture opportunity) all the food you desire..great views..shows..etc...You can do as much or as little as you wish If planned far enough in advance you can make payments (no quick out of pocket expeneses) Great romantic opportunitys for you and wife...Sometimes you can find the best adventures in the most unusual places..Keep an open mind..you may just LOVE it...

[MurfAtHome]

:D

The ships have a kids club! ;) :D

 

we all love to cruise...kids and all...ages 12-23...all 5 of them. They are so busy with their new friends and programs, we have to make them eat dinner with us a couple of the nights. As far as using your stateroom for romance....know that on carnival they have a party for the kids one night that goes until 3 am and then they bring your kids to your room so you don't have to get out. It has turned out to be the most painless way to travel with our kids.

 

give it a try

[Sneezykevina]

Don't go. You have already decided you will be miserable. If you go you will rub it off on others and they won't have any fun. Send your wife and kids so they can have fun.

[sam1148]

I think your cruise is too short.

 

5 days isn't really enough time (for me anyways) to decompress and get into the relaxing mode. You might feel rushed.

 

The best thing about a cruise is that ship moves to different locations. You stay packed and in your room and wake up in another place each day.

 

The larger ships might not be for you, You might want to try Holland or another more traditional line--but that won't be doable with a family reunion as carnival has the right prices. As for alcohol, smuggle a bottle in your CHECKED luggage, not carry on.

 

And spring for a balcony room. A sea voyage is an adventure in itself.

[dutchiegirl6]

My family has always taken vacations where we can go somewhere for a few weeks at a time. We can see what we want to see and relax when we want to be lazy. I really enjoy learning about the "culture" of the people and just hanging out at local cafes, bars, etc. My mom had been on a cruise with her best girlfriend and fell in love with it. She wanted to go on a family cruise for a long time, and last year, we finally had the opportunity. We were all a little nervous that we would be too rushed in port and not have as much fun as we usually do on our vacations. But we were wrong. Yes, it is different than our usual vacation style, but as another poster said, you can't compare apples to oranges. We viewed it as a way to celebrate the end of a very long year, and we all had a WONDERFUL time. My dad was the one who was worried the most about not having enough to do on the ship and not getting to enjoy the ports, and he insisted that we book another cruise right away after getting back on land. We view them as a nice way to get a taste of what the islands are like so we can choose to spend more time on a land vacation there later. We got hooked, so you might too. :) The most important thing is to go with an open mind. It seems from your posts that you have already decided that there's no possible way you will enjoy it, which means you probably won't. As others have mentioned, if you don't like to spend that much time with your in-laws, plan things to do on your own w/ your wife and meet up with the fam for dinner. Your kids will most likely really love Camp Carnival, so that should give you more alone time as well. Cruises are like floating cities, so if you can't find something to do that you enjoy, you're not looking hard enough. JMO

[celticd1]

Don't go. You have already decided you will be miserable. If you go you will rub it off on others and they won't have any fun. Send your wife and kids so they can have fun.

 

Sneezy, I think you hit the nail.........

 

mcamp, stay home...but it will be your loss.

[just2crz]

I was once like the op. Never really thought I wanted to do a cruise. I always thought I would feel cooped up with a bunch of drunks on a boat with no where to hide:eek: . But after 24 years of marriage I didn't know what to give my husband for Christmas. He had wanted to go on a cruise for a long time. So.. I booked a cruise and gave it to him at Christmas for our anniversary the following year. I was NOT looking forward to it, really the closer it came time to go, the more I regreted doing it:( . But.....when we got to the dock....I was hooked. The cruise was great and now this is what we will be doing once a year for our anniversary.:D

[cmsmuse]

My wife's relatives wants us to go on a cruise as kind of a family reunion thing.

They are planning to go on the Inspiration (Carnival) for the five day cruise out of Tampa (December 2008)....my wife wants to go, and I'm not too happy about the idea.

To be honest, I have no desire to go on a cruise.

Myself, I enjoy going somewhere and exploring. Spending a day or less at a port doesn't seem to adventurous.

As far as value is concerned, it also seems over priced compared to staying at an AI resort in the Caribbean...am I wrong here...being that alchohol is not included.

Well, I'm going to do my best to talk my wife out of this, unless someone here can give me some good reason why cruises are so great.

 

I will be going on my 1st cruise this year. I ,like you, love to go somewhere and get to know the people. My husband, 2 kids and I went to St Thomas 9 years ago and got a condo at Secret Harbor resort right on the beach (they had a large building with rooms set back, but the condos on the beach were sooo nice). it was a little run down, but nice and actually on a secret harbor. we would get up early in the morning to go snorkeling (never more than 4 other people snorkeling at the same time) in the protected cove with tons of fish. At night we had dinner at Red Hook or at the restaurant on the cove. One day we took the ferry to St John (absolutely gorgeous). BUT I look at this cruise as a new experience. I have already been to Cabo, but this time I am going to try something new and go on the clear bottom kayak adventure through Carnival. I look forward to seeing Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan...if the experience is good maybe I'll take a trip there in the future and stay a week. I get seasick at sea, but I'll be sure to use a patch or Bonine. I like casinos and i love trivia and games..and I hope to meet some interesting people!

 

Take the cruise and have a great time!

[buddyjo143]

There is a phrase I have long been familiar with:

 

contempt prior to investigation

 

You say, mcamp, that you did your research, however, all the research in the world cannot compare to actually taking a cruise first hand and deciding for yourself if you like it or not.

 

Now, going with your wife's family may be a deterrent but as many folks have said, you do not have to spend every waking hour with them and you would be well advised to set alone time with your wife, your children and even alone (time).

 

I wonder too, how adventurous you have been at AIs? Do you leave the comfort of your resort and go out and explore the country that you are vacationing in? Cruises are a great way to see a new country, even if for just a few hours. ;)

[SomeBeach]

...and regarding the family reunion thing...it's her family....cousins, aunts and uncles....I don't like traveling with my own family.....vacation is MY time...I see family plenty, but her cousin is so over bearing about cruises, even though I've told him on a number of occassions that they don't interest me, he still called us up, and stirred things up....and I'm kind of pissed.

 

Well mc, this puts a different slant on things. You've repeatedly told cousin that you do not want to cruise and now feel trapped into this. Feeling angry, even if you had a great time, you wouldn't give this guy the satisfaction of saying so.

Your problem now is that saying no will mean your wife loses out on the family reunion, saying yes means you'll be miserable. Five days of feeling pi$$ed is not a vacation.

I guess you could stand your ground and say no for your whole family.

You could suck it up and take the cruise.

You could send your wife and kids.

No matter which option you take, someone will not be happy.

Good luck.

[mcamp]

In all seriousness, for one, I'm a pretty mellow guy.

I may have come on a little strong at first, but before this thing took shape, I still haven't had any desire to go on a cruise...if so, I would have gone on one by now.

In years past, vacations usually revolved around renting a house for a week, and yes, exploring; getting some local flavor...it morphed into going to resorts....I'll probably go back to renting a place in the future, but my son can get into resorts at a reduced rate...because, lets face it....a vacation for a week anywhere for a family is not cheap...and most cruises cost a lot, and don't come across as a good value.

[nybumpkin]

Our first cruise in 2004 was to celebrate a promotion I received. DH really wanted to go on a trip to Ireland, but it was just too expensive. I'm the one who booked the cruise - DH really didn't think he'd like it. His idea of a boating vacation was a sailboat, or perhaps a trip on a freighter - anything but a glitzy cruise ship. He kept saying, "I'm not sure I'll like this" right up until we boarded Victory. Two weeks after we returned, he booked our next cruise - hardly even consulted me in the process!

[Randy & Kathy]

mc,

I think that sneezy was right. It sounds as though you have a mind set that is going to accentuate anything negative that you can find about the cruise, and deny enjoying anything about it (even if by some wild chance that you should discover such).

That would mean that you would be throwing a wet blanket over your family being able to enjoy themselves, not to mention providing fodder for the relatives to be used against you into the foreseeable future.

Maybe the best of all bad choices would be for you to stay home and pout, have the wife and kids go on the cruise and be able to enjoy the family reunion without having to feel as though they have to tip-toe around your preconceived negative attitude.

If that becomes your choice, just be aware of the fact that your wife and your kids will NEVER forget that you made the choice to separate yourself from them on this vacation, it will remain in their memory banks forever.

Or, you could leave your attitude at home and go and see for yourself just what it is that so many other people are out there enjoying every day.

Decision time.

Randy

[lhc2266]

I'll be going on my first cruise in a few weeks, and it will be with my husband's friends and co-employees. I have met some of these people, but I don't know them very well. Some, I have never met. It doesn't matter though. This cruise is important to my husband. Yes, it is a little expensive, and not the type of trip we would normally take. Again, that just doesn't matter. What does matter is that when we go, we try to have as much fun as possible. I have a chance to spend some quality time with my husband, and forget my cares for a while.

 

mcamp, I hope you reconsider, and try to do the same!

[kanigeta]

If you do choose to go, please do yourself & especially your family the huge favor of truly putting aside your negative reservations. Once onboard, avoid comparing things to the AI's you've enjoyed. Try not to complain, but to look for the positive things to comment on. Maybe try to review the various CC threads to look for positive info but avoid participating in the negative threads until you return.

 

And if you're really concerned about your bar bill, sneak on some alcohol. Heck, the worse thing that will happen is that you'll get it back at the end.

 

Good luck!