A week away from our first cruise & I'm really worried...

....that I'm going to be really bored.

Before anybody asks why I booked a cruise, it's because my wife has been asking to go on one so I gave in. I typically give her about everything she wants.

Anyway, typically we go on traditional vacations. Either long weekends (4 days) or week-long ones. We try to do 2-3 of these a year.

We both enjoy museums (although I enjoy that more than her), shopping, hiking, national parks, and road trips.

However, she enjoys laying out in the sun and the beach. The beach I can take or leave. Laying out?? No.

I'm assuming most people spend the days just lounging around. I can't handle that. It's bad enough I can't drive us from place to place. I'm just not sure what a person can do at like 2PM on a cruise ship.

Please make me excited for this. I'm actually nervous with a bit of dread mixed in.

Where are you going on a cruise and which cruiseline? I have been.on 2 cruises and themes loads to do , On the days in port go and sight see. On ship there are activities , like all holidays its what you make of it . I like you was worried but go with an open mind and if you don't like it don't do it again .

Do you and your wife do everything together? I ask this question because I feel very safe on a cruise ship and on ship organised shore excursions so my husband and I often do completely different things. On board I love to read, take part in quizes, watch cookery/fashion/girly thing demonstrations and line dancing. My husband loves the Gym, suduku,things to do with golf and sports generally. Together we play scrabble, do ballroom type dance classes, eat meals and watch shows etc. When on shore, I love to sight see and shop. DH loves bird watching and fishing. We both enjoy historical things.

Before we leave home, we check out the excursions and book our personal choices. If there is something we want to do together we often do an independent tour. Each night we look at the cruise line activity list (delivered to your cabin during the nightly 'turn down') for the next day and mark off the things that interest us so we know when we are going to be together or separate. We can then arrange times and places to meet.

I'm a great believer in going with an open mind and also I try to remember that some 'down time' from my busy live is a good thing.

Please report back and tell us how you survived. Happy cruising!!

Where are you going on a cruise and which cruiseline? I have been.on 2 cruises and themes loads to do , On the days in port go and sight see. On ship there are activities , like all holidays its what you make of it . I like you was worried but go with an open mind and if you don't like it don't do it again .

I really wanted to do a shorter one but she wanted a week. Perhaps a week will be enough to bore her, since she doesn't like doing the same thing over and over again either. We shall see. I hope we both really enjoy it or really don't enjoy it...so at least we can agree whether to include cruises on future vacation plans.

We really need to know which ship/ cruiseline your going to be on before we can give you help for whats going on via ship and what excursions there will be.

We really need to know which ship/ cruiseline your going to be on before we can give you help for whats going on via ship and what excursions there will be.

NCL Spirit 4/3. I know about shore excursions. We'll book a few of those. It's the time on the ship that worries me.

I rarely lay by the pool on a cruise (in fact I have started consciously setting aside time to do so) and I have never been bored. I can spend half a day just exploring and learnign the ship. I have gone to tea, the casino, the art auction, a lecture, the gift shops, mini-golf, rock climbing, the gym. I find a cozy place to sit with a drink and read a book or talk with my travel partner (mom or husband). I take a nap - I don't get enough of these on land! I get something to eat - really this is a constant (and dangerous) option on most ships. A spa treatment may be a bit overspriced, but they run good specials.

My mom and I plan for sea days, as the down time is welcome. My husband enjoys being active, so we choose port intesive itineraries. That way we are off the ship most of the day and the ship is a welcome change. I love cruising, I like feeling taken care (someone to cook for me, clean up after me, make my bed & turn it down, staff to entertain me) and arriving at new places each day (or most days).

If you can go in with a positive attitude it will be a better experience. "Choose your attitude" - if you think you will be miserable, you will be, because that is your expectation. If you think you will have fun, you will because that will impact your choices.

In my experience, most passengers don't spend ship time "lounging around". Each day you'll get a program that lists that day's activities. What do you like to do? That might help us to help you. Do you play sports? Watch sports? Watch movies? Drink? Gamble? Work out?

Roz

There will be many things to do and keep you out of trouble/being bored. Classes, workshops, bingo, hot tubs, eating, coffee shops, just walking on deck, looking out at sea, etc. Add in meal times taking up 4 hours a day.

It took me a week on board before I found time to sit and read a newspaper I carried on board.

Each day, you will get a schedule of activities on the ship. There are usually not too many while the ship is in port. Most people are off touring, shopping, at the beach, etc. while the ship is docked.

Hello again, fellow NODAKer. I really hope you can find ways to make your cruise a memorable one.

Every day (actually the night before) you will receive a newsletter with the next day's activities listed with times. Some things may not appeal to you but you will probably find things that you can enjoy. Like on your ship, my next cruise ship has a basketball court and I'm really looking forward to some pick-up games and they even have a freethrow shooting contest. I can imagine the challenge if the seas are a little active (lol). I think you'll find there is much to keep you occupied.

One of the things we really enjoy is the people we meet. People on cruise ships, both cruisers and staff, are from all over the world. For me, I have found I look at the nametags the staff wears because it tells where they are from, by country. It's very interesting to hear their stories. A lot of Filipinos and Thais work on these and being stationed in those countries, It has been fun to talk to them about their homeland. They really appreciate your interest.

You will find you only have a couple sea days, at best, so the time will slip away before you know it. Keep an open mind to trying new things and I think you will go away with a good experience.

Larry

Bring some books. Thats what I do, so I can relax and people watch. There might be trivia, or a dance class I want to go see, and if there isnt, I can read a book, or I wander thru the casino and watch.

I hope you enjoy reading, as that helps me at times.

on sea days the ships offer all kinds of activites -- there will be something for you to do

wine tasting, trivia, golf chipping, golf putting -- and the list goes on

i can not take a lot of sun -- but we certainly aren't bored on sea days

go and enjoy

....that I'm going to be really bored.

 

Before anybody asks why I booked a cruise, it's because my wife has been asking to go on one so I gave in. I typically give her about everything she wants.

 

Anyway, typically we go on traditional vacations. Either long weekends (4 days) or week-long ones. We try to do 2-3 of these a year.

 

We both enjoy museums (although I enjoy that more than her), shopping, hiking, national parks, and road trips.

 

However, she enjoys laying out in the sun and the beach. The beach I can take or leave. Laying out?? No.

 

I'm assuming most people spend the days just lounging around. I can't handle that. It's bad enough I can't drive us from place to place. I'm just not sure what a person can do at like 2PM on a cruise ship.

 

Please make me excited for this. I'm actually nervous with a bit of dread mixed in.

That's great, the folks with low expectations usually have the best time. Be sure and tell us about it when you return!

Perfectly stated. ;)

Bonjour,

I`ve become addicted to cruising because I think it is the perfect vacation especially when travellling with people with different tastes. You can have together time, alone time, relaxing time, activity time etc.

I`ve convinced my parents to cruise with us last year. My dad is the type of person who has always worked physically and is somewhat of a workoholic. He never ever stops always doing this or that and finding things to do. We went on two consecutive cruises last fall so were were on the ship for 20 days. Well, my dad waited til the very last night to admit that he was SURE he would be BORED and was not sure about this cruising business but, like you, he enjoys making my mom happy and he was interested in the ports (Eastern Med and Holy land cruises) but we did have several sea days on the Holy Land cruise. Well, on that last night, my dad admitted that he LOVED every minute of his two first cruises and he was now ADDICTED to cruising like me:p;):D. So two months later, we went on another cruise this time to the Carribbean.

I have to admit though that I`ve done two Carribbean cruises and three European and I much prefer European to Carribbean, because like you, I prefer visiting things and learning things while on holidays. BUT, on the ship I am NEVER bored...we cruise mostly with Royal Carribbean so there is always some activity going on: trivia, shows, courses, lectures, sporting activities etc. I actually rarely lay by the pool or go in the pool...no time:p!

Have fun and enjoy being pampered!!!!

when you get to your cabin, on the spirit, there will be that night's daily newsletter...take you highlighter, different colors for you and your wife. highlight the things ou want to do. when you get back from dinner, there will be a daily for the next day...do the some thing. my DH hate laying out in the sun, but this cruise is VERY port intensive. on sea days he took his book and found shade. there are games, drinking clinicis, more games, more clinics. the gym is great and free...the treadmills look out this floor to ceiling window (great views).

plus the spirit has this great area, an outer room to the galaxy of the seas lounge. you are going to 4 ports, very little time on the ship.

It's impossible to be bored on a cruise in my opinion.

My elderly father gets really bored on beach vacations. Cruises on the other hand are a joy ... so many things to do, yet at the same time you get super relaxed despite all the options.

You'll love it!

Get a guidebook on your ports, so you'll know about some of the things that might interest you....most things are easy to do on your own, but you'll discover if you might need a tour to see what you want to see.

Hubby hates "lying about", either by a pool or on a beach. Generally, I'll do the beach or pool thing, and he'll do something that is fun for him....you're together much of the day, anyway...a few hours apart won't do any harm!

....that I'm going to be really bored.

I felt exactly the same way before my first cruise. I found there was actually too much going on and there wasn't enough time to do it all.

For sea days, many ships have lecturers on board. I have been to many covering things from the history of ship propulsion all the way through to the space station and anthing you can think of in between. Then there are trivia quizes, computer classes, scrapbooking, ceramics, swimming, casino, board games, bingo, movies, shows, bands, dancing, golf simulators, some ships even have ice rinks, climbing walls and flowriders and lots lots lots more.

When you go to breakfast take the newsletter and a pen with you, mark anything you might be interested in and plan your day that way.

For port days you can have all the museums, walks and shopping that you can handle.

We book on the larger ships with RCCL because of the number of activities. My SIL was positive he would get bored, but did the rock-climbing wall, he and his son played miniature golf, basketball, ping-pong, swam in the pool, did a wine-tasting with my DD, went to the dive shop, cigar bar, and then the excursions when we were in port. He had other things he wanted to do that he never got around to so it's worked for us.

We did our first five night cruise back in November. We had a great time however we did get off saying "three days wouldn't be enough, seven day's would be too much, five days was perfect".

If you have an open mind and give all the activities a chance- you should have a great time!!!

You'll get your daily activity list with plenty of time to review and plan what you'd like!

Have no worries, think positive and you will enjoy!

And the best bit is sailing into and out of, a port. Be there, in the best spot, watching as the land recedes. Wake up early, and watch it grow larger as you sail in. There's nothing to compare to that, on a land holiday.

Jo.

We NEVER lay out by the pool - that WOULD be boring! There is so much to do onboard. The casino is always fun, but sometimes it's even more fun to walk around the ship and take photos of the various areas of the ship. There is a gym where you can workout - really fun at sea - especially if the gym has windows overlooking the water. My husband plays in Texas Hold'em tournaments sometimes. There is always something going on. Sometimes we schedule a massage for late morning, then go hang out in a hottub for a little while, go to lunch, then go to a wine tasting in the afternoon. But there are dance classes and so much more to do! We usually try to pick a port intensive cruise - where there is 1 - 2 days onboard at the start of the cruise and then lots of ports and hopefully 1 day onboard at the end of the cruise. It's a busy vacation, but a relaxing one as well.

Cruising is the only time I have time to get a massage and a facial. I play bingo, trivia, learn dances, go see the shows, work out in the gym, play cards with friends and watch movies under the stars. I go to tea, auctions, shop and listen to lectures. There are not enough sea days for me to do it all.:D