Number of At Sea Days

[ionsys]

I was on 4 cruises in a row some 30yrs ago-- at the time I found that I liked being off the ship every day exploring. Went stir crazy when we hit an At Sea Day.

 

But now that we are 60ish, I'm inclined to wonder if more At Sea Days would materially reduce stress

 

One cruise I'm looking at for the Med is 12 days including 4 At Sea Days (longest string of visits is 4 in a row)----whereas another cruise is 11 days and 2 At Sea Days and longest string of visits is 6 in a row

 

Many folks on this thread have been on a multitude of cruises--wondering if you have any thoughts on the above

[cb at sea]

My hubbey HATES sea days--he gets antsy! I love sitting by the pool (or as near as I can get!) If you like exploring different places, than you want to book something with more ports. If the ship is the destination for you, then sea days will make you happy! As much as I like sea days, I think 4 in a row is a bit much!

[ionsys]

1 visit then 1 sea then 4 visits in a row then 1 sea then 1 visit then 1 sea then 1 visit then 1 sea

[Merion_Mom]

1 visit then 1 sea then 4 visits in a row then 1 sea then 1 visit then 1 sea then 1 visit then 1 sea

 

Sounds great! :)

[Coralc]

Us too! We love the at sea days after the early port stop days. The "at sea" days are a relaxing break...room service breakfast, coffee on the balcony. explore the ship days and play trivia, pool, mini golf, possibly cards, drink.

 

We thoroughly enjoy the at sea days. :D

[tomko2]

We fit the age profile you mentioned and are leaving on our first short cruise next week -- 3 sea days and 1 port of call. I never thought my DH would want a cruise like this because he really likes to keep busy but this was his suggestion. Last summer we did a 12 night Med. cruise which was port intensive (absolutely fabulous cruise). Before the final payment for our 10 night cruise in January to the Panama I asked my DH several times was he going to be OK with 5 sea days! Long and short of it is that he truly enjoyed the trip and a month later suggested this upcoming cruise. One thing that makes it for him (and me too) is having a balcony to sit out and read or just gaze at the ocean.

Kathy:)

[pmfan]

There is so much to do on a cruise ship these days I think you may find you like the sea days as they are relaxing but at the same time filled with activity.:D

[CPPADILLA]

For several years DH wanted to do a cruise to Hawaii. I thought he was crazy and couldn't understand and definitely had no desire for all those sea days. Well, last year we sailed from San Diego to Hawaii and back and I enjoyed everyone of those sea days. Now when I look at a cruise itinerary the first thing I check out is how many sea days there are.

 

Paula

[bigpuma]

One cruise I'm looking at for the Med is 12 days including 4 At Sea Days (longest string of visits is 4 in a row)----whereas another cruise is 11 days and 2 At Sea Days and longest string of visits is 6 in a row

 

You know they don't force you to get off the ship. :p

[GoodAsGold]

I love sea days. I don't have to wake up early to beat the rush off the ship. I can take my time and then go and park myself on a deck chair near the pool all day. I love the activity and watching the crew go all out to make the days fun for everyone. Also, except for one cruise to Alaska we've always sailed to Mexico. So, the ports aren't new to us anymore. Let's face it, I just love being pampered on my large, floating hotel all day! :D

 

 

I was on 4 cruises in a row some 30yrs ago-- at the time I found that I liked being off the ship every day exploring. Went stir crazy when we hit an At Sea Day.

 

But now that we are 60ish, I'm inclined to wonder if more At Sea Days would materially reduce stress

 

One cruise I'm looking at for the Med is 12 days including 4 At Sea Days (longest string of visits is 4 in a row)----whereas another cruise is 11 days and 2 At Sea Days and longest string of visits is 6 in a row

 

Many folks on this thread have been on a multitude of cruises--wondering if you have any thoughts on the above

[GoodAsGold]

My next dream cruise would be to sail out of Los Angeles to Hawaii. Or better yet, out of San Francisco! :) I notice the Golden Princess is doing it from L.A. this year. But I wish they would cruise there during the summer when our family can go. Any RCI ships sailing roundtrip to Hawaii then? I know I would enjoy the sea days.

 

For several years DH wanted to do a cruise to Hawaii. I thought he was crazy and couldn't understand and definitely had no desire for all those sea days. Well, last year we sailed from San Diego to Hawaii and back and I enjoyed everyone of those sea days. Now when I look at a cruise itinerary the first thing I check out is how many sea days there are.

 

Paula

[azbirdz]

We're doing the 15 night HI cruise out of San Diego this October and the sea days are perfect. We expect to destress from work and life in the first four sea days -- hit the islands hard for seven days and then relax for four MORE sea days before going back to work. I guess we are also excited it's our 25th anniversary too! I agree that balconies make the difference -- you can always find solitude and water to gaze at. When you're in the mood for company, you can wander around the ship and see what's happening!

 

So, to answer your question more succinctly -- YEP, we LOVE sea days and DO NOT think four in a row is too many! ENJOY!:)

[cruiser2101]

Now when there are so many huge ships out there, it's easy to find things to do on sea days. In fact we mainly cruise because of the ship's activities. The ports are just a bonus!

[BillB48]

We do enjoy visitng different ports, but we enjoy the seas days more. We always will pick an intinerary with more sea days. Took a TA in December with 5 sea days... no problem whatsoever.. it was great! The ship is the destination, the ports are a lagniappe.

[madforcruising]

I like both ports and seadays. The best mix for me would be the same amount of port and seadays.

Actually my next cruise will have no ports of call at all other than the embarkation and the debarkation port. I don´t expect to be bored at all.

[sandytoes03]

On 7 night cruises (the longest I've done) I prefer 5 ports of call and one day at sea. But, I usually head to the beach. Depending on how busy you are at the ports, days at sea might be really nice and relaxing.

[Icruzthere4Iam]

My favorite part of cruising is the sea days. I am planning on doing a transatlantic (possibly next year) just for the sea days. That said everyone is different and that is the beauty of cruising. Find an itineary that is port intensive and have a great time. Jim

[cruisnpat]

I love the sea days but also like getting off the ship to walk around and see something different every 2-3 days. Have never had 4 sea days in a row before.

[Sequim88]

On our upcoming Transatlantic I am really looking forward to the sea days....alll six of them with five of them in a row (Bermuda to Ireland stretch). That first sea day between Miami and Bermuda will allow us to relax after the stress of preparing. Actually the day we get to Bermuda too will mostly be a sea day because we won't arrive there until 4pm. So on a 12nt cruise we effectively have seven days to relax and look at water. Then it becomes REALLY port intensive (Cork, Plymouth, LeHavre (Paris) and Southampton disembark and xfer to London). We will need to be rested up for all the excursions. Only worry is chance of rough seas out in the middle of the pond.

[Crosboro]

We did LA to HI last year, and thought the 4 sea days each way would be great. Outbound, they were as the weather was night and our destination was ahead of us. Coming back, we wish we could have skipped them. The weather was cloudy and cool, no poolside time at all, and only the stack of mail waiting for us at home to look forward to.

[RetireeWannabee]

Too many port days in a row tires me out, mostly because I want to make the most of my time in port. Sea days are total relaxation for me. I'm not one that cares about what's to do on the ship.

 

I'd love sea day - port day - sea day - port day, etc etc

[rubrrick]

We too, like a mixture of sea days and port days. Our longest cruise was 30 days, and as I recall we had about 20 sea days and 10 port days. Our longest with RCCL was a B2B on the Jewel of the Seas, out of Ft Lauderdale for a transatlantic and then stayed aboard for a Baltic cruise. I believe that the total was 25 days combined, with wonderful sea days on the crossing.

 

Doing a 4 day getaway is just as much fun for us as a 13 night crossing.

 

Rick

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Last year we did San Diego / Hawaii / San Diego - 14 days on Infinity which was have a pod problem and traveling slower than usual. We had to cancel a port so ended up with 10 sea days and 4 port days. There was a lot of grumbling on the boards but Celebrity compensated us with OBC. We LOVED all the days at sea because we were treated like royalty by everyone on the staff. Plenty of time for the spa, reading, and the casino is open almost all day every day, as are the shops. My best suggestion is book and enjoy the largest cabin you can afford because you will be in it more.

[RWolver672]

You know they don't force you to get off the ship. :p

 

It's not the same when the ship is in port as in a sea day. None of the shops are open, nor is the casino, and usually the main dining room is closed while in ports. It's also hard to sit on your balcony and watch the sea pass you by when you're in port.