Curious Question For Frequent/Long Time Cruisers

[Teacher_91]

I love this site and I love reading all the tidbits of information some of you offer daily on cruising!! :)

 

I'm amazed, impressed, and jealous ;) of all the cruises many of you list on your signature. Some of you are taking several cruises a YEAR and for MANY MANY days! Wow! So here is my curious (nosy?) question. What keeps you cruising so often? Is it the opportunity to visit (revisit) amazing ports? Or do you just enjoy the actual cruising part? Do you ever take 'land vacations' and visit cities/islands that way?

The Mr. & I are taking our first cruise together this summer to Alaska. We are already thinking cruising might be an ideal way to see Hawaii and Europe!

Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to satisfy my curiousity! TGIF!

[cindep]

Cruising for us is a very relaxing vacation. You don't have to decide where you're going to eat (or at least have very limited choices). Both of you can see the scenery at the same time, i.e. one of you isn't driving. No hotels to book, unpack once, plus you see some amazing places. We take and have taken other types of vacations, but with cruising we truly are on vacation.

[GHarkness]

Well, you're going to get as many answers as you have people who post in this thread, but for me and my husband, it's a way to get away from the pressures of daily life and do something different.

 

For us, "different" usually involves one or more writing projects (we bring our computers) and some serious reading as well. We usually don't get off the ship at a port, unless it's a new port for us (and there are few "new" ports in our usual Caribbean itinerary.) Whenever someone asks us where is this cruise going to...we usually don't know, other than in most general terms.

 

We never go to the casino, we don't buy drinks (though we love the welcome-back parties where they have free drinks...), we get up at five and head for the gym or hubby practices his piano, our usual tab at the end of the cruise has one thing only on it: internet access, and not a lot of that. Oh, and we usually go ahead and put our gratuities on the tab as well.

 

So, as you can see, our cruise doesn't look like most people's cruise, at least not on the mass-market lines.

 

No, we don't take land-based trips much any more. Too much stress with driving here and there (don't get me started on flying), and where are we going to stay tonight, and where are we going to eat....all that is no vacation for us!

 

Hope that helps a little :)

[jollyjones]

Why do I cruise? Because I can! I'm retired and have the time. The ship is a large part of my destination - I love sea days - but getting a 'taster' of many different ports is also part of the pleasure.

 

And the joy of just unpacking once ... no worries about renting a car and finding your way back to the hotel late at night ... always some entertainment, if only people watching ... exercising around the promenade deck accompanied only by the swoosh of the waves ... enrichment lectures, often fascinating ... idling around in a swimsuit all day ...

 

As a solo female traveler, the safety and security is also a consideration.

 

I do travel land-based too, I think that's the only way to really get to know a destination, but it's usually a more expensive option, particularly in high season.

 

I enjoy both types of travel, they're just different! I am so grateful that I can.

[teacherman]

We like to be "on the water". On sea days, we just enjoy being on the back of the ship and watching the wake. We enjoy unpacking one time, and visiting several different places. It is great to wake up in the morning and have breakfast while surveying a new port, and then walking off the ship to enjoy a new "adventure". We "do our own thing", not normally participating in shipboard activities, but rather reading one or two novels during a seven day cruise. We eat in the buffet, specialty restaurants, or dining room, depending on the mood that strikes us that evening. It seems that people either love or hate cruising. It depends on what you are looking for. We still do some land based trips, but now that we are retired, we are doing about 3 cruises per year. Our problem is that to far away places, the airfare can be more than the cruise cost. I hope you have a great trip.

[rollingstone]

We love to cruise. It has given us the opportunity to see much of the world and meet some amazing friends that we have stayed in touch with for years.

However....we also think it is necessary to see more than the "port cities" of a country. IMO, a cruise is not the way to see Hawaii if you have never been there before or never plan to go back. There is too much to see & do for an afternoon. IMO, also, a cruise is an economical way to see Europe since it can be pricey.

We like to do an extended land tour every year. Last year we decided to rent a condo in Rome before our Med cruise instead. Everyone has their own things that they like to do and want to see on their vacations. To us, the main thing is to be together & have fun. Anything else is a bonus!

[paul929207]

Probably each answer here will be different.

 

My wife and I love to travel and find that cruises are a great way to see many of the sights. However, we also take land trip and river cruises to see places that are either not accessible to cruise ships, or need more time than a cruise ship would allow. We like to go new places and mangae to visit four or five continents each year.

[luvtheships]

cost effectivness is our reason...

 

How else could we get our family to Spain, Monaco, several ports in Italy including Venice and Greece, and Turkey?

 

We are doing 5 days pre cruise in Rome and the cost of train fare to Venice is over 500 dollars for our family. Not to mention the high cost of pre and post cruise hotels in Rome Venice and Barcelona.

 

We have done it before and we know that transfer are expensive (we want the private service at the airports)...food is a lot..and not to mention the cost of guides at the sites (we want the kids to learn and are not interested in just roaming around aimlessly at the historic sites)

 

so the cost of hotels, transportation and food is all wrapped up into one with a cruise.

 

I would like to meet the person who can reasonably do a trip that includes Rome Athens and Istanbul without doing a cruise......a cruise wraps up cities together that one would PROBABLY not do individually on a single trip.....

 

and as an additional benefit..the cruise provides a very nice entertainment experience after a long port day.:)

 

Just a little additional info...IMHO those that cruise or travel so often make it a priority in life....

 

for us...we decided way back when before all of our kids were born and we had a much smaller family, that we would get them to Europe and elsewhere by hook or by crook...so we have done the Med, the Carib, many land trips the USA etc. etc.

 

we have also made sure that the kids have travelled abroad on their own or with school...mostly on their own dime....

 

so we have instilled a love of culture, history and travel in our modest income family....only because we have prioritized that...along with a solid education through college...

 

we could use 2 new bathrooms...but that will wait because tuition and travel are the priority.....

 

It has made a difference in our family and we would not have changed a thing!

[iriemon]

We love the sea days it is so relaxing. The other thing we like about cruising is you can do as little or as much as you want - participate or veg out. We also do land vacations. We don't like to do cruising to Europe, Orient or Hawaii, as we don't have as much time in port as we would like to explore things so we will do a land base vacation for that.

 

BTW you will have a great time in Alaska it was one of our most enjoyable vacations.

[timetravler]

What I love about cruiseing is seeing a different ports in a short period of time. I never thought in my lifetime to see Europe, Australia or Even Alaska. I dreamed of it. but never thought I would have the chance. Now that we are retired, we take two kinds of vacations, cruising and RV'ing. But sometime we do fly to Hawaii and stay there too. Like one poster said, you have to spend time in Hawaii to enjoy it.

In the past before I got into cruising, the prep work for a vacation was exausting and NOT fun. Now with cruising, the prep work is fun.

One more thing, when I am at home, I do major cooking pretty much every day. Everything in our house is made from scratch A cruise gives me a wonderful break from that. I am now really thinking of doing a world cruise maybe in a couple of years. I'm addicted!

[Kamloops50]

I love this site and I love reading all the tidbits of information some of you offer daily on cruising!! :)

 

I'm amazed, impressed, and jealous ;) of all the cruises many of you list on your signature. Some of you are taking several cruises a YEAR and for MANY MANY days! Wow! So here is my curious (nosy?) question. What keeps you cruising so often? Is it the opportunity to visit (revisit) amazing ports? Or do you just enjoy the actual cruising part? Do you ever take 'land vacations' and visit cities/islands that way?

 

The Mr. & I are taking our first cruise together this summer to Alaska. We are already thinking cruising might be an ideal way to see Hawaii and Europe!

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to satisfy my curiosity! TGIF!

 

I have a very stressful and high paced job . Also my DW's health is not the best . Cruising is a way to get away from all the things that occur at home.

Even when I'm home on time offf , I can't help and think about the job .

On a cruise no work , quiet , no telephones , beautiful scenery and time alone with my DW . For us sea days the most important . If I could find a cruise that is mostly sea days with a couple of ports , that would be heaven.

[cnd crsr]

We take land based vacations as well as cruises. We like cruising because our 'hotel' moves with us. Only have to unpack once. We have taken several cruises to the Orient and Europe. This is a great way to see those places for the first time and get an idea of where you would like to return on a land trip or another cruise, We have also taken river cruises which offer ports we would not see on an ocean cruise. We also enjoy the relaxing sea days.

[Woobstr112G]

We cruise because we simply enjoy ship life and mostly sea days. We also enjoy visiting ports in Europe that we only read about in books or see in movies or on television. We also enjoy, as the previous poster stated that our "hotel" moves with us. While some may enjoy land-based vacations, they really arn't our favorites......

 

Bob

[clmom]

I love this site and I love reading all the tidbits of information some of you offer daily on cruising!! :)

 

I'm amazed, impressed, and jealous ;) of all the cruises many of you list on your signature. Some of you are taking several cruises a YEAR and for MANY MANY days! Wow! So here is my curious (nosy?) question. What keeps you cruising so often? Is it the opportunity to visit (revisit) amazing ports? Or do you just enjoy the actual cruising part? Do you ever take 'land vacations' and visit cities/islands that way?

The Mr. & I are taking our first cruise together this summer to Alaska. We are already thinking cruising might be an ideal way to see Hawaii and Europe!

Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to satisfy my curiousity! TGIF!

We're new to cruising, having only completed 5 cruises (so far), but it has become our choice for travel now, after many years of land based trips. We now choose our cruises based on itinerary. Where would we like to visit that we would otherwise never get to if we only did a land based trip? We've sailed around Cape Horn, gotten up close and personal with penguins in the Falkland Islands, marveled at the striking beauty of a calving glacier in Alaska, transited the Panama Canal, zip lined through the rain forest of Costa Rica, sailed into Kotor, Montenegro with the residents of that wonderful area greeting our arrival from their balconies, waving white sheets of welcome as the ship passed their homes. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Would I love to have the opportunity to stay and explore all these regions more extensively? Absolutely! But I feel so fortunate that I even had one day in each of the many places my cruises have introduced to me. The cruise ships, themselves, have become destinations in their own right. Luxurious accommodations, staff who go above and beyond to please their guests, and fellow passengers who become "5 minute friends" and some who have become life long friends.

Happy cruising!!

[wdblake]

Cruising to my wife and I is the most relaxing trip you can take. You don't have to worry about traveling since the ship takes you from port to port.

Your food is covered and is usually very good.

Free room service!

Entertainment provided.

Nice pools and hot tubs.

It really takes the stress out of traveling. Plus the sea is just beautiful. Sitting on the deck watching the sun set over the ocean night after night is fabulous.

We do plenty of land based trips but for us the lure of the seas is hard to resist!

[Crzn-Life]

We love to travel and we particularly enjoy cruising. We started doing a lot of traveling when I was a true road warrior. I accrued millions of airline and hotel (Marriott) points which we used to go to Europe every year. In those days we didn't pay for airfare or hotel and used points. We also got travel points from my TA that paid for our europass so could go to Europe for practically free. We would take the train and schlep our bags from city to city and loved every minute of it. However, because we were working the amount of time we had was pretty limited. Also because we only had a couple or so weeks at a time we could only do a limited area. We discovered cruising when we booked a Baltic cruise because we couldn't figure out any other way to see that area. It's impossible to do by train in a short period of time but the ship experience was perfect and we were hooked on cruising.

 

We love cruising and it has taken us to 7 continents and over 100 countries. We love just being on a ship and many times that is our destination. We use the QM2 as our mode of transportation to Europe where we will do a land trip or hook up on another cruise. Sometimes we transfer to another cruise in Southampton or go on to Hamburg where we travel by train to fun places like Prague, Salzburg, and on to Venice to board another ship. We've met the greatest people and had wonderful experiences as we've traveled around.

 

We spend a few weeks each year in Puerto Vallarta and Aruba.

 

We're retired now and spend half our year cruising traveling. We tend to enjoy the cruises more than ever now because it is so much easier having everything taken care of for you, i.e. meals, excursions, etc.

 

I think I enjoy planning and booking our trips almost as much as going on them ;) With lifetime elite status with Marriott and American Airlines, we don't have problems with booking flights or stays anywhere and always get the treated well. We've also cruised on several cruise lines but now cruise primarily Princess and Cunard. The loyalty programs are nice bonuses.

[Tedferg]

We took one cruise to Alaska five years ago and really enjoyed it. The ship experience was great, very different form other vacations. The following year we did a wonderful land vacation to Southern Germany, staying two nights each in six B&B. For me the research and novelty of finding these places to stay is fun. We have a Med cruise coming in May, we would never do a land trip that would include Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens etc. Really looking forward to our second cruise.

 

I can see as we get older that cruising will become more attractive because of the ease of transportation expecially to exotic places. Though cannot imagine cruising to Hawaii unless the sea time is the primary event. Maui from Sacramento is five hours non stop. Unpack once and laze on the beach ?

[srpilo]

All of the above :)

 

 

 

 

 

Srpilo

[Teacher_91]

I have absolutely LOVED reading each and every one of your personal 'stories'. So many of you have echoed what I know the Mr. & I will enjoy about cruising. Many years ago (in another life really) my ex and I did a couple of short Carnival cruises. I adored the sea days. There was something so magical & relaxing about seeing nothing but blue water as far as the eye can see. My Mr. loves water. On our land vacations we always enjoy a harbor cruise or ferry ride. I'm predicting that he too, will love sea days!

While some have mentioned that a taking a cruise to places like Hawaii and Europe don't provide enough time to really explore the area, I like others, see it as an opportunity to 'sample' many places. Hopefully, when the Mr. & I retire, we will have a flexible enough schedule that we can do more than one cruise a year. As for now, I haven't even gone on the one we've booked and I'm searching and dreaming about our next opportunity (summer 2013).

Thank you for sharing your love of cruising with me! May each of you have MANY MANY more cruising adventures and may all your cruises be exactly what you cruise for! :)

[GloriaF]

We do not qualify as well-cruised, but we're working on it! We love cruising for most of the reasons mentioned above in other posts. It's a way to see a lot of places inexpensively and we always enjoy ship life. As you said, a "sample" of places you might like to return to for a longer stay.

 

We take time off now and then and do a camper land vacation going to national parks and seeing the USA, where we can stay at one park for a few days until we feel we've seen it thoroughly. (The land vacation we did this summer lasted 10 weeks from FL to the Grand Canyon).

 

We took a short five day Carnival cruise recently with son & d-i-l. It was their first cruise and we really enjoyed introducing them to the joys of cruising. We are currently planning a Caribbean cruise getaway for March or April 2012.

 

Both are very enjoyable to us -- we're all about travel and new adventures.

 

I feel sure you & Mr will enjoy your Alaska cruise!!

[paul929207]

I have absolutely LOVED reading each and every one of your personal 'stories'. So many of you have echoed what I know the Mr. & I will enjoy about cruising. Many years ago (in another life really) my ex and I did a couple of short Carnival cruises. I adored the sea days. There was something so magical & relaxing about seeing nothing but blue water as far as the eye can see. My Mr. loves water. On our land vacations we always enjoy a harbor cruise or ferry ride. I'm predicting that he too, will love sea days!

While some have mentioned that a taking a cruise to places like Hawaii and Europe don't provide enough time to really explore the area, I like others, see it as an opportunity to 'sample' many places. Hopefully, when the Mr. & I retire, we will have a flexible enough schedule that we can do more than one cruise a year. As for now, I haven't even gone on the one we've booked and I'm searching and dreaming about our next opportunity (summer 2013).

Thank you for sharing your love of cruising with me! May each of you have MANY MANY more cruising adventures and may all your cruises be exactly what you cruise for! :)

We always go early. First, it eliminates the stress when you worry about missing the ship.

 

Second it gives us a chance to tour the area. So last year, we spent six days in Shanghai before sailing from there.

[Pam in CA]

I was introduced to sailing on a ship at a fairly young age when my Mom took my sister and I to and from Europe on a Norwegian coal freighter in 1955. It was brand new and owned by a friend of my parents, and we spent two weeks each way going and coming. By today's standards, it was very small (perhaps 350 feet long) and very, very bouncy. There was nothing to do other than what I could amuse myself with, so I did a lot of reading, spent time in the bridge, was allowed into the engine room and totally explored the ship. We ate with the ship's officers and there were no menu options; it was fish, fish and more fish. I loved every minute and still love sea days, the more the better.

 

My parents introduced me to traveling and allowed me to go places and do things many others haven't had a chance to do. I spent the summer with a friend in Caracas, Venezuela when I was 16; I lived for a year in France on my own when I was 19. I'm very fortunate to be able to have the means, time and interest to be able to travel the world. Some of that is luck but most of it was old-fashioned hard work. Now that I'm in my 70's, I know that your life can change overnight so while I have my health, I'm taking advantage of every opportunity. In the past five years, I've been to all seven continents and even sailed on a (small) cruise ship into the Arctic polar icecap.

 

I cruise now because I can go to many places and experience adventures I wouldn't ever have the opportunity to do otherwise.

[jbu]

I was introduced to sailing on a ship at a fairly young age when my Mom took my sister and I to and from Europe on a Norwegian coal freighter in 1955. It was brand new and owned by a friend of my parents, and we spent two weeks each way going and coming. By today's standards, it was very small (perhaps 350 feet long) and very, very bouncy. There was nothing to do other than what I could amuse myself with, so I did a lot of reading, spent time in the bridge, was allowed into the engine room and totally explored the ship. We ate with the ship's officers and there were no menu options; it was fish, fish and more fish. I loved every minute and still love sea days, the more the better.

 

My parents introduced me to traveling and allowed me to go places and do things many others haven't had a chance to do. I spent the summer with a friend in Caracas, Venezuela when I was 16; I lived for a year in France on my own when I was 19. I'm very fortunate to be able to have the means, time and interest to be able to travel the world. Some of that is luck but most of it was old-fashioned hard work. Now that I'm in my 70's, I know that your life can change overnight so while I have my health, I'm taking advantage of every opportunity. In the past five years, I've been to all seven continents and even sailed on a (small) cruise ship into the Arctic polar icecap.

 

I cruise now because I can go to many places and experience adventures I wouldn't ever have the opportunity to do otherwise.

 

 

Hi, Pam!

 

I've always been so fascinated by every one of your responses on these boards! You are, in my opinion, the most articulate and creative of all the responders, and I have to say that, as a Learning and Development professional, I very much appreciate your editorial exactness!!! I've always been curious about something, and just decided that I'd ask: What is - or was - your profession? Were you by any chance a teacher, or a communicator of some type?

 

Thanks for always answering so completely and respectfully. I'm a fan!

[Pam in CA]

Were you by any chance a teacher, or a communicator of some type?

Thanks for the kind words. I had a variety of jobs, sometimes two full-time positions at once. Among other things, I owned, wrote and edited an international newsletter for 30 years and was a Senior Program Manager for a major online service, creating content, editing and publishing about 30 screens for five major channels. The AP Style Guide was my bible. :)

[wdblake]

While in Alaska in Ketchikan look into Family Air Tours to Anan Creek. It's a bit pricey but the greatest bear viewing experience you will ever have in your entire life. You get to see tons of bears in their natural environment. It's one of my best Alaska memories!