Why do some only take cruise vacations???`

[The4Cruisers]

We owned an RV for nine years while the kids were young and did the ballparks, theme parks, beaches, cultural and historical places up an down the east coast.

 

When we sold the RV, we decided to try cruising. We're seven cruises in and still having a great time, seeing new places /things. And the cruises are a real deal financially compared to land and air vacations.

[5waldos]

We have cruised the past few years because my teenager loves the company onboard and I love the ocean. Previous to this we would fly someplace, rent a car, and go. All over Europe and Central America so far. I am ready to travel again. Cruising I see as a vacation.

[SteelerCruiser]

It's Addictive:D:p:eek:

[ferfoodle]

Growing up, I went every year on road trips all over the US and all throughout Mexico. Living in Colorado - camping trips were also numberous. We literally vacationed (parents were self-employed) about 8-12 weeks a year.

 

Raising my kids, we basically only did road trips and of course camping trips all the time.

 

I have seen more than enough amusement parks, state parks, momunents, holes in the ground, holes that spit, holes that explode, holes with no end, museums, etc. to last me the rest of my life. Road trips and camping are fun, but hard work IMO.

 

Now that the kids are grown and gone, I can vacation anyway I want. I choose cruising. Took my first cruise in 1997 and was instantly hooked. But, my career got (gets) in the way from cruising more often. So those precious vacation days I get, I prefer to spend on the ocean (instead of just looking at it from land). I prefer to be "pampered" on my vacation - instead of "working" on it. Yep - my days of driving to set up tent and baiting fishing poles have been exchanged with stewards and waiters taking care of me.

[moesyk4]

We don't only do cruises, we also do a family reunion up at a cottage in the summer in Wisconsin, a completely different type of vacation! Lots of fishing, living rustically, doing nothing more than hanging out with family and playing lots of card games. That being said, at least in this point in our life crusing will always be our "go to" big vacation. I agree with the PPs that no other vacation can touch it price wise. This year we looked at just doing a beach vacation but it was going to be about the same price if not more.

We also did an all inclusive for our honeymoon, it was perfect for that time because we just wanted to relax, but frankly, it's just not for us. Even that week we were bored by the end. We did one "excursion" and it took forever to get there and it wasn't that great. Everything else we looked into doing took so long of a drive. The shows were terrible and all the food but dinners were only so so. It was a really nice resort, gorgeous in fact, but like I said just not for us.

When we are older and hopefully! Have more money, we'd love to do more land vacations to more exotic places, but in the meantime, cruising is for us!

[kathy884]

For my dad who is in his mid 70s and doesn't have the energy level he used after cancer treatments, a cruise is one of the few vacation options he really enjoys and will still do. He has always loved the ocean and can sit out on his balcony when he's tired. No worries about food. Entertainment is right there and readily accessable. He can do as much as he has the energy level for and relax back at his cabin if he's feeling tired. (National park hiking is out for him now - something he has done a great deal of in his life. Places like Washington D.C. with tons of walking are out for him now too. He skips trips where we get together in NYC, etc. -- not a good option for him. Sking is no longer an option either -- Note, though, even though he and my mom won't ski they'll come out to see all of us in Colorado this Christmas, just to be with the whole gang. -- We have a wonderful freebie house to use in Keystone Christmas week that is big enough for the entire extended family and those of us who ski will probably just ski every other day, so will have lots of time to spend with non-skiers too).

 

Crusing is vacation pick number 1 for him for sure. He wouldn't necessarily pick it, but he also likes Orlando (can get a motorized scooter at the parks and get a great condo for a great price). He still likes a place on the beach, but likes a cruise even more with so much being so close and accessible.

 

(I'm surprised I haven't seen other posters mentioning these reasons for a preference for a cruise vacation. I think these reasons are why you see so many seniors on cruises.)

 

I totally understand in his case most of his vacations being cruises these days. That might be my number 1 choice too if I were in his shoes. These days I usually only go on a cruise every five years or so. (He has done many different cruises and cruise lines. I think Carnival is his favorite line // (thinks their cruises are really fun and offer a great value.)

[AnitaVacation]

NO cooking

NO cleaning

NO schedule (unless we want to)

NO driving (interferes with the drinking)

LOTS of things to do and see, or.....take a nap

ROOM SERVICE!!

Visit several Caribbean/Bahama Islands in the same week

 

Where else can you go and get all that for approx $100 a day (per person)

 

We did land vacations with the kids when they were little (Florida)....but they are just alot of work and not alot of relaxing....and no towel animals either...

[jzygail]

Probably for the same reason some people only go camping in tents, sleeping on the ground. And why you take a bunch of different kinds of vacations. Because they like it and it suits them.

[cschultz]

We went on a trip to Boston and New York on my last vacation. While I enjoyed it, I kept thinking the whole time, I could have been on a cruise, instead of being stuck on this tour bus. It made me realize just how much I like to cruise.

[scgamecock]

I travel only when I can find great bargains. Airfare has gotten so ridiculously priced that I mostly only cruise nowadays. I took 2 trips to Jamaica this year and 3 cruises.

[pe4all]

I love waking up every morning to a different place!! I think it's awesome to go to sleep and then waking up to look out of the window to see where we are. I also like the fact that we are traveling to new destinations while I'm enjoying fun things to do on the ship. I don't have to worry about where my teenagers are and what they're doing. It gives them a little freedom from us while still being on the same vacation with us.

Same here! I find I now get "bored" with being in one place for more than a few days at a time - no matter how much there is to do there. Still sprinkle land vacations/AI's with cruises, but much prefer cruises. And so do my kids!

[SE NC]

We live 45 minutes from the beautiful NC / SC beaches....so the beach "land" vacation is taken care of.:p My DS and BIL has 2 cabins in the NC mountains that we use when we want to most times.....so the mountains "land" vacation is taken care of. :p

Ahhhhh cruising......is there any vacation more fun!?!:D Cruising....where 99.99% of the ships passengers are always smiling and in a great mood!!!:D

[CruiseHealing]

First, I live in Florida. The Vacation Land of the World. So, excluding cold...snow related vacations, you have everything close by. When we want to spend time at the beach, it is just down the road. Go to the Orlando attractions, once again just down the road (we're also annual pass holders), when I want casino action I go to Tampa or Miami, once again right down the road.

 

You see, I only do cruise vacations because I need to get away! All of those things that people do for vacation, excluding cruising, are just day trips for us.

 

Sure we could book a hotel on the beach or a disney theme park hotel, but why? It would be a waste of money, and beside if I did do the hotel thing, I would then have to kennel the dog, which cost me more money. Let me tell you, vacations can be expensive if you have to include the cost of a hotel. Couple that with the cost of the airlines and renting a car and a non-cruise vacations becomes very pricey. (Plus, on cruise vacation you don't see your family get feeled up by the TSA.)

 

Now that the kids are in college, we are out of the cruising during high seasonal rate business. That makes it even more cost efficient. Right now I can book a 7 day cruise for less than $500 PP. Add $20 per day for tips and $100 for parking and my 7 day getaway only cost $1,240 for two people. Or, $177 per day, which includes a room, food (whenever you want it), entertainment (including shows and casino), and getting drunk and not worring about driving. If I book at a land based vacation for those same days, I know it will cost me more money than $177 per day for two people.

 

One other benefit of taking cruise vacations, we never use our hotel points and frequent flyer miles. We are sitting on a half of million points in each. I have not cashed in any points in 5 years and do not see a reason to do it soon. But we have kicked around the idea of going to Europe (Italy). Of course as we discussed it, we started talking about doing a Med. Cruise.

[girlscruise2011]

We travel as a family of 5, sometimes 6, and I haven't found any other way to touch it pricewise. We get to see a lot of places very inexpensively and all together.

 

Same here. For a family of 5, it actually is the most affordable, even with airfare with what it includes. The kids can go do their thing, DH and I hang at the pool and we all meet up for dinner and ports. The big plus is, a cruise is truly the only vacation Moms can actually relax. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry :D. Why would I want to do anything else?

[wildcat221]

We do a little bit of all of the above. Summer months we own a Fifth Wheel RV and travel with that to different places. (Both my Wife and i have jobs where we work shift work and every other weekend.) Winter we get away for a week and go someplace WARM :D We are very new to cruising but we did fall in love with it. This Winter will be a land based vacation in Aruba. :) HOWEVER we can't hardly wait for our next cruise. Mark (thanks for starting the fun thread)

[kingoftheicedragons]

While we don't ONLY take cruises, but we do try to take a cruise a year since we first started cruising. Cruises are generally cheaper than a land vacation and definitely a lot cheaper than AIs. Plus, with a cruise, you get to be somewhere else every day without having to do the driving yourself. Not that I'd complain if they came up to me one day and asked me to be captain for a day...or even an hour.

[prattmom]

Because my wife says so... :rolleyes:

 

That would be DH's answer also...

 

For us, we live half an hour from a port. DH can't fly due to an inner ear problem, so it is cruising or a road trip with 3 kids :eek:

 

We do a lot of weekend getaways... but I don't want to spend half my vacation driving there...

 

and the kids LOVE to cruise. They picked a cruise this past summer over a trip to Disneyland...:rolleyes:

[evandbob]

I enjoy cruising. However, for me to limit myself to only cruise vacations would not be satisfying. I'm fortunate that I can can take 6 weeks of vacation a year, so I can do 3 land and 3 cruise, or any combination, 4 land and 2 cruise......cruises give me exposure to islands I was curious about visiting. In many cases, like Jamaica, Panama and Belize, I cruised there first, then decided to return for a week to Montego Bay Breezes and Dreams resorts, Panama's Playa Blanco and San Pedro's Banana Hotel for a more immersive experience.

 

Let's face it, a port of call stop can only give you a quick snapshot of what another culture/island is all about. If one doesn't go further than the port area, or eats in only familar places like MickeyD, KFC, or Margeritaville, then it's almost impossible to learn anything about the island one is visiting. Actually, if I got off the ship and only stayed in the port areas, why bother traveling?

 

I still enjoy cruising, but it's not the be all and end of it.

[brazilgirl]

I love cruising...but as said by other posters , variety is the spice of life.

 

I cruise for the ports . It is the easiest and least expensive ( not cheap!) way for our family of 5 to see the world. My kids have already visited more than 25 countries and cruising as been a great way to broaden their horizons while seeing some amazing things.

 

There is the added plus of the wonderful Kid´s Clubs , allowing my DH and I to have some private romantic time. Our children have made some wonderful friends from places like Russia , Guatemala , Argentina and Australia while on cruises.

 

However , I love to combine our cruise with a land portion-an ideal combo. when we visited the Baltics , we did 4 days in Paris pre cruise and 3 days in London post cruise. On our recent Galapagos trip , we did a week in Ecuador visiting the Avenue of the Volcanoes and historic haciendas. Last July (2010) , we did South Dakota-the Badlands , Custer State Park and Mt. Rushmore. Land trips have a whole different dynamic. For me ( the mom) , the packing , organizing etc is more tiring on land trips. But the add a depth that cruising doesn´t have as much.

 

On our upcoming (first!) Carnival cruise , we are doing the Orlando/ Disney shebang precruise. I visit the Disboards and am amazed that some families ONLY visit Disney. Years and years and so much money only to visit the same place. That is hard for me to understand!

 

I love cruising...I love travel!

 

Kim

[cruise_girl2002]

I live in the midwest. so the more decent "vacation destinations" i have to fly to anway. Florida, hawaii, vegas etc. So when i factor in airfare (most the time i use my airmiles), hotel stays (cost per night) what i spend on food, and entertainment (vegas show, disneyworld, universal studios etc.) Its cheaper to cruise. With the cruise i just did i paid $1008 (including tips!) for just myself to cruise 5 days. it was the cruise or vegas. If i did vegas it would have been $160 round trip for airfare, almost $700 in hotel stays, figure at least $20 per day for food (and thats eating cheap at mcdonalds...yuck) plus the show i was going to go see was $200 per ticket, plus dont for get the tips or alcohol. the cruise won!!

[Houston Texas Mom]

We do other vacations but cruising wins for us. DD is an only child, and we find that on the cruise ship, when she makes friends, they can hang for the whole week. Without siblings, she was having to make new friends throughout the entire land vacation since kids were leaving for home throughout the week, next to torture for a younger kiddo. Now she is in high school and we let her take a friend on vacations. When we ask for her input, she always wants to cruise. Fine with us, because we use vacations for relaxing, so destination doesn't really matter, and the cruise gives us so many no-brainer options.

[kerrytens]

I have an exceptionally short attention span and don't want to worry about driving drunk.

Ahhh, how I've missed Lemur on these boards:D

 

Great answer!

 

As for mine, while I have done many types of vacations, I currently enjoy cruising for the no-brainer aspect. I get onboard, unpack, and then the ship does the rest ... feeds me, entertains me, has drinks for me and best of all, takes me to different places in the course of a week or so. I'm good with all of that right now:D

[sonicbuffalo]

1 Because we love it

2 I dont fly and since we live an hour from Miami and 3 hours from Port Canaveral why not? lol

 

we also do local mini weekends here since we live in South Florida....

 

Yes...we lived in West Palm Beach for 3 years. We had the resident season passes for Universal and Disney World. We've seen enough of those parks to last a lifetime. We usually went on weekend trips up to Orlando. We really enjoyed that and driving up and down the coast...and over to the gulf side too. We really loved Florida with the exception of the high prices. Since I'm retired now, we live closer to our daughter and grandkids up here in NC. We haven't had to deal with any hurricanes like we did in Florida too. We had 3 Category 2 or above storms in the three years we lived in West Palm Beach with winds in excess of 120 mph.

[deborahjo]

We cruise because we like flying to one place getting on a ship, unpacking, and enjoy seeing different ports. I love sea days alot more then most port days. There is just something about getting up in the morning, having breakfast then finding a nice peaceful, coner of the ship to sunbathe for a while then do some people watching. It is so relaxing.

 

We do go visit family and we enjoy this but to relax cruising is our thing.

[momof4boys]

We cruise and we also enjoy land vacations. However, we love cruising the best for all of those reasons mentioned by the other posters.

 

Another reason we love it is that we travel with all of our boys (and their spouses now that two are married) and our best friends and their families. Try picking a place to eat........YIKES. On the ship we know our dining time and place (Early seating) We all meet for shows at night and we use our suite and friend's suite and our adjoining balconies to entertain if we like.

 

Very relaxing and convenient!