What Would It Take?

You are absolutely right. I did not specifically say those words.

 

Truthfully, I do think some of the complaints are whiny. I do think some of the complaints are entitlement issues and self-indulgence. However, if those issues are important to those folks, then those are their hot-button issues. They are not mine.

 

Clearly, you have made up your mind to be hurt and insulted by my post. I would invite you to run along and find someone who will tell you how fabulous you are.

Oh, I'm neither hurt nor insulted by your attitude. You're one of many people who make fun of and disdain other people's priorities. It perhaps saddens me that there are people who still think it's OK to do that, but I'm neither surprised nor hurt by it.

Oh, I'm neither hurt nor insulted by your attitude. You're one of many people who make fun of and disdain other people's priorities. It perhaps saddens me that there are people who still think it's OK to do that, but I'm neither surprised nor hurt by it.

There is no pleasing some people. I did not make fun of anyone. I am sure you are going to come back with "in attitude you said...."

My point is this. Those who have computers/smartphones/tablets are all very fortunate to read and participate in these boards. Those who can cruise are very fortunate to be able to cruise. Those who can travels for weeks, months, or years on end are very fortunate to be able to do so.

The "problem" of whether you have a towel animal in your room at night just cannot compare to the "problem" of a non-verbal child with profound physical infirmities. It cannot compare with the decision of many people in the world today who have to make a decision between whether they can eat for a day or take the medicine that keeps them alive until they have enough money to make that decision another day. It cannot compare to the anguish of the families of those who got the call that their loved ones perished after the Concordia disaster. I am not making fun of anyone. I am, however, asking people to look beyond their own extremely fortunate lives, to see that maybe in the grand scheme of life- their problems may not be "problems" but "inconveniences" or "bumps in the road/cracks in the sidewalk."

If it truly is a huge burden in your life not to have five lobsters at dinner, or to be hugely burdened over an increase of less than a dollar a day in suggested gratuities, I hope that you will consider how fortunate you are that these are the biggest problems in your life. I hope you will consider that there are people in this world who may not be able to feed their families but every few days. I hope you will consider that there are people in this world who die because they do not have clean water. I hope you will consider looking at the people in your next port who live in a tiny house with a dirt yard, and realize they are human beings and not animals on display for your amusement.

Have you ever considered that they may look at the ships that come into port and wonder how much food goes to waste on that ship that could feed their family for weeks on end? Do you realize just how much it does help them when we come into their port and these folks have jobs and can feed their families? They are not just little islands dumped in the middle of the ocean for our amusement. People live there. REAL people with REAL families.

Living in a coastal town myself, and seeing people get off cruise ships and wander around town like my town was just suddenly dropped on the coast of their cruise can be a little odd. It's like you are a prop in a movie set, put there for their entertainment for the day. It has definitely given me perspective on how these people feel as we cruise. They want to nickel and dime people down like we just put on a show for them and mark things up to try to take advantage of them. We have real families here too. Real shops that give people real jobs and pay real taxes with real money.

All I am saying is whether the ship has my favorite cupcake is a minor convenience in the grand scheme of the things that could go wrong in MY life. If someone doesn't consider that a minor inconvenience, I really do feel sorry for them and hope that one day they have the good fortune of really reaching out to help someone in need. I hope one day they feel real need and a sense that the towel animals and cupcakes are just "stuff."

If you think that makes me heartless, then I guess I am.

I like both land and ocean vacations. They both offer things that we enjoy. For example sitting out on my balcony gazing at the ocean gives me that same sense of inner peace as riding in a car going through canyons in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Both offer a glimpse of the beauty God created in this world and fill me with that same awesome wonder. We try to mix our vacations up so we can see as much of our great country as we can and then get a peek outside of it on our cruises. Our bucket list for land vacations we have yet to see include driving the complete Route 66, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Washington DC, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, just to name a few. Our bucket list for cruise vacations we have yet to do include Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, Bermuda, Panama Canal, Europe, again just to name a few. There is too much to see to limit ourselves to just land or ocean vacations, but I can't imagine giving up either of them for just the other.

I agree with you, Warm Breezes, regarding the amazing beauty of the Arizona/New Mexico canyons! We drove part of Route 66 in February from Colorado to Yuma Arizona to visit my parents. The red, gold, mocha brown of those canyon walls are absolutely breathtaking! We hit the Arizona-New Mexico border at sunset and I thought I was going to cry with how stunning it was! God is amazing and must have had a field day creating all this stuff!

Cathy

Calliope Cruiser and LegalJen:

I think a problem we run into on these boards is that like any text or email, we are not able to discern the "tone or heart" in the written word that maybe would lie in the spoken word accentuated with facial expression.

I think that we can enjoy cruising, be thankful to get to do it, appreciate folks who work to ensure our enjoyment and feed their families with paychecks sent home from the ship, and still have heart for those who were not lucky enough to have a good experience on a cruise for one reason or another.

Perceptions are like finger prints: everybody's is different and that is one reason we read Cruise Critic... to read other's experiences and draw from them what we will.

Well said. I withdraw my sword.

well said. I withdraw my sword.

:) :) :)

Canadian dollar to crash anymore, that or the price of airlines

The only thing that would stop me from cruising is if my sister passed away since she is my only cruising buddy.

Most of the itineraries on the cruises that I can afford are awful. Either bad ports, horrible port times or both. When I can't find any cruises of interest, I will quit and just do land trips.

DON

If a largish boat with sleeping accommodation where cabins have their own bathrooms that visit different ports around the world is on the seas then I will still consider cruising.

I started cruising after Easycruise went under but I liked the concept and the prices.

Living in INDIANA means travel time and money not spent on the ship. So I really have to consider the cruise cost to keep on budget. Living close to a port would be wonderful. But I love my INDIANA seasons. So cost would be the deal breaker.

I had to take 5 years off due to serious health issues.

If I lost DW not sure 'd be able to go again.

Other than that going broke might stop me.

My time in life will certainly slow down if not stop my cruising, while both my DH and I love cruising, I think its our current circumstances which makes it the 'holiday du jour'.

In our twenties it was backpacking, touring, climbing, excitement and anything that was cheap.

In our thirties and forties it was children - caravan parks and camping - have to watch the budget (school fees, mortgages, etc) and kids can run wild :D

In our fifties and to mid sixties it is cruising - both work hard, saving for retirement, have busy lives but no kids to hold us back - we want to unpack and relax, have a bit of disposable income. As my DH says, he doesn't have to drive and he wakes up at a new port each morning.

Mid sixties onwards - Retirement, on a strict budget, do those long road trips us Aussies talk about but never have the time for - crossing the Nullabor anyone, Uluru the Kimberleys. With an occasional bargain cruise in an oceanview not a verandah thrown in.

So what will make us stop/slow down cruising - our time in life :)

The OP asked what would it take for you to stop cruising? My answer is terrorism. I've seen most of the world I want to see, so I'm lucky in that regard, and maybe it's my age talking, but I don't feel as safe out in the world as I once did.

That, and there's a lot of beautiful country to see in North America. I've been to Tibet but not southern Utah. Antarctica but not Oregon. Iceland but not the gold-rush area of my home state of California.