Is cruise burn out possible and can it be cured?

[newmexicoNita]

We allow ourselves 2 vacations a year; well sometimes 3 in about 15 months: anyway, we do split them up: one is always a cruise, the other might be a time share in Vegas, a driving trip or last year we did Toronto and the surrounding areas. This makes cruising a little more exciting for us and not so boring.

[Aldeya]

It can definitely happen. Im there now....I could run the NCL games and half the shows ar this point. Love NcL, but probably time to try RCCL...

 

 

LOL That's how I feel after taking 6 cruises with NCL!

[SeagoingMom]

This sounds so bad to complain about but we just returned from a week on the Star and so many small problems annoyed me. This is our third cruise this year and we are going on the Epic in June. I am hoping a new and bigger ship will re-inspire me.

 

Has anyone else had this happen? This was our 14th NCL cruise and I felt like we knew more than many of the staff. I have expectations of how things should be and usually are.... when they did not happen it started to wear on me.

 

The things that could be fixed ( such as shampooing filthy carpet) I had done on board. Some things can't be fixed without sounding really spoiled. I am used to NCL staff always welcoming you and using your name at every opportunity. This time every time I approached a hostess even at Cagneys each day I was asked "what is your cabin number?", my name was never used. I would have preferred to hear Good morning or welcome back. The staff seemed inconvenienced even when I was the only table in a restaurant for lunch.

 

The menu selections at Blue Lagoon are becoming less and less and in the dining rooms smaller and smaller. Perhaps this is good for my waist line.

 

The menus and ship maps are now printed on copy paper. I was not given a menu all week that did not have food stains on it. There are markings for staff that say "fold here" to put the map together.

 

The towels, robes and sheets are all past their prime with tears, not comfy etc.

 

I know all businesses are under pressure to keep saving money and I wonder when it will stop.

 

Again, these are a few of the small problems and they sound so trite but sometimes you wonder if they are cutting so many things you notice what is happening behind the scenes.

 

Since I know these sound so silly to complain about I wonder if it is time for me to do an all inclusive and wait a while for my cruise spirit to return. Or, are the new big ships more updated and interesting. I am embarrassed to have noticed so many things but when are cruising more for the ship rather than the destination it seems to jump out at you.

 

Still enjoyed being a way for a week and being waited on and spending time with my family.

 

Just want to know if anyone else has felt this way and can it be fixed!!

Sounds a little like the "honeymoon" is over and you need a marriage counselor! (And I am being tongue-in-cheek, but also semi-serious.) Isn't it the little things that happen (or don't) that make us most miffed about our significant other, too? The difference is this: you are not actually wedded to, nor have you spoken any vows (I presume :rolleyes:) to NCL. Yes, just as in marriage, there are definite perks for faithfulness and loyalty, but (unlike in marriage) maybe you need to have a little "fling" (with another cruiseline ONLY!!) and see if divorce (from NCL) is inevitable or whether the "trial separation" is enough for you two to work things out...

[mugtech]

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen come to mind (A whole lot of things I ain't never done, I ain't never had too much fun). Wish I could afford to cruise 3 times a year. There are so many places, so many ships, so many new people to meet. Perhaps once I sail all the ships and hit all the ports it could start getting old, but it seems the new ships are coming out so often I will never get complacent, never get caught up. Hope NCL goes to Asia soon and/or Australia. Have not been to South America yet either, Europe is on the horizon. I agree other vacations could break things up, but cruising has been a good way for me to find places I would like to come back to for a week in the future. For me its very hard to beat a new cruise to ports I have never seen.

[nadeki]

Sounds a little like the "honeymoon" is over and you need a marriage counselor! (And I am being tongue-in-cheek, but also semi-serious.) Isn't it the little things that happen (or don't) that make us most miffed about our significant other, too? The difference is this: you are not actually wedded to, nor have you spoken any vows (I presume :rolleyes:) to NCL. Yes, just as in marriage, there are definite perks for faithfulness and loyalty, but (unlike in marriage) maybe you need to have a little "fling" (with another cruiseline ONLY!!) and see if divorce (from NCL) is inevitable or whether the "trial separation" is enough for you two to work things out...

 

I love your metaphor.... thanks for listening and putting it into perspective....I have been researching some other options today for an upcoming family reunion on land..... feeling better now.

[aubreyc1988]

I wish I had your problems lol

 

 

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[SeaShark]

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen come to mind (A whole lot of things I ain't never done, I ain't never had too much fun). Wish I could afford to cruise 3 times a year. There are so many places, so many ships, so many new people to meet. Perhaps once I sail all the ships and hit all the ports it could start getting old, but it seems the new ships are coming out so often I will never get complacent, never get caught up. Hope NCL goes to Asia soon and/or Australia. Have not been to South America yet either, Europe is on the horizon. I agree other vacations could break things up, but cruising has been a good way for me to find places I would like to come back to for a week in the future. For me its very hard to beat a new cruise to ports I have never seen.

 

Wow...+5 points for the Commander Cody reference! :D

 

FWIW...I have sailed all the ships that NCL has to offer...and let me just say, it isn't getting old yet! There are still lots of new places to go! As an example, I've got a cruise coming up on the Norwegian Gem..5 ports on the itinerary and I've only been to one of them! Still lots of new things to see and do!

[TRIPLE M]

I felt the same way after doing the breakaway, so after a short break I went on celebrity and it made all the difference I got my cruise enjoyment back

[tarps14]

Can definitely sympathize. We have cruised on average twice a year since 2000. Different lines, but all very similar experiences. Year before last, our daughter worked with the youth program on board the Carnival Pride. In a six month time span, we cruised with her three times. Talk about overload.

 

We then decided to mix things up a bit and took several land based trips. Went out to the west coast for 11 days. Took a couple of trips to Vegas. Then we decided we would cruise again, but, this time, with a completely different line. We tried NCL and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is totally different from Carnival.

 

Trying different lines, mixing it up with land based vacations and even swapping among different sizes of ships has helped us tremendously.

[Shadow205]

It sounds to me like you need a change. My DH and I used to cruise frequently, living in Florida made it so easy & very affordable. I wouldn't say that we ever actually got "burnout" but we did get to a point where we wanted to experience other options. We love All Inclusive Resorts, kind of like a cruise on land. We actually found them to be more relaxing than a cruise. I really don't like time schedules, 8:30am excursion departures for example. At AI resorts you can take a snorkel trip, tour, etc. pretty much when ever you want. We also discovered renting fantastic houses/villa's a great vacation. We rented 2 houses in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for a family group of 17. We had 2 maids, 2 cooks and a pool man who waited on us like we were royalty. We have since rented many houses. Now after a 10 year break from cruising we are booked on the Getaway in June. We are really looking forward to this cruise and seeing all of the changes that have taken place in 10 years. We are taking 3 of our Grandchildren on this cruise, ages 5, 7, & 9 and can't wait to watch them experience their first cruise.

[GreyingJay]

Thanks everyone for your input..... I guess I did not explain... it is 3 cruises in 12 months, not in 2014.

 

I live and breathe cruises and my friends and family laugh that I am always planning something. They are going to be surprised that I am thinking about changing it up for a while.

 

Thanks for some suggestions and support..... I am sure I can get back in my cruise groove soon... perhaps this afternoon when I have done all the laundry and am thinking about cooking dinner.

 

I believe the comment about familiarity is right on. I am surprised how often we know the "rules" etc better than the staff.

 

Man I wish I had the time (and money!) for 3-4 cruises a year. Perhaps when I retire... in about 30 years.

 

I think that "familiarity breeds contempt" phrase is definitely true. The more we experience something, the more accustomed we become to the routine, the traditions, even the quirks. We come to expect it, and derive comfort from it. When things change, we resent it. We like things to be exactly what we expected. We've all said "But it was always done that way, why change it?" or "You're not doing it right, it's supposed to be like this instead".

 

I've only been on one cruise (#2 is in 2 weeks!) but I have volunteered for 20 years at a children's summer camp which, when I think about it, has many of the same elements. We have a set schedule, a menu, a core staff who know their jobs inside and out and a bunch of new staff who learn the ropes and then come back year after year doing the jobs that they know. Everyone has their own style and things do change over time, and there's always that veteran staff member who says "you're doing it wrong, we've always done it that way instead" or "kids these days just don't do it like we used to" (yeah, sometimes I'm that guy).

 

Sometimes the comments reveal that the real problem is not so much an observation of change but something else, like a desire for comfort and routine. For example, one long-time leader complained that the young staff were using X cleaning product to wipe the dining hall tables, and "didn't they know that we always use" Y product. I had to gently explain to her that we switched from X to Y years ago. For years she hadn't even noticed, and suddenly this time it bothered her. That's probably rooted in familiarity and routine (fond memories of previous years at camp -- perhaps the unique smell of X was part of that memory), rather than any rational complaint about the change (after all, Y cleans just as well as X).

 

I agree with the suggestions to switch it up. Find a new routine that will be so different from the old one that you won't have a chance to compare and complain. That could be a different cruise line, a different class of experience (upgrade to a Haven suite?), or a different kind of vacation altogether.

Edited April 22, 2014 by GreyingJay

[Mr Robberts]

The cure for cruise burn out is to go back to work for a couple of months

 

 

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[mizLORInj]

No cruise burn-out for me. Would much rather be on a ship than any land vacation.

I get a condition when I return from a cruise: CWRTW syndrome (cruise withdrawal, return to work syndrom)

[tartanexile81]

I think the OP has just been on the same line too often and now is constantly comparing the current cruise with previous ones. It's inevitable but it's true to say that many lines have had to make economies in different ways which regular cruisers with particular lines always seem to moan about.

 

When you mix things up and cruise with one of the other main-stream lines in a similar price bracket, everything is new. You may still compare it to your previous 'favourite', but hopefully you'll either decide this line is pretty good or that those niggles weren't so important after all.

[Cubechick]

My husband and I definitely started to suffer burn out. We changed it up with the Breakaway,,,and decided never to do the Florida/Nassau trip again. ...and tried two CTN. My husband is tired of the same shows over and over on the Gem. ...and on the Breakaway we have seen ROA twice already. We will continue to sail NCL cuz we love the whole freestyle thing & CAS & the good outweighs the bad.....especially living in NY

Safe Sailing

 

 

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For us it's mostly the same food over and over again that has us suffering from burn out. But that could be solved by switching lines. We just happen to like NCL, find them to usually be the most convenient for us. ;)

 

Like Budget Queen, for the most part, we focus on the destination. I kept thinking during our Faroe Islands/Norway cruise aboard the Star last year that there was no other way we would have been able visit all of the countries we did on a land-based vacation without it costing far more in time and money.

 

Not to mention all of the packing and unpacking. :D

 

We deal with food burnout by hitting the buffet more.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Cubechick

[nadeki]

For us it's mostly the same food over and over again that has us suffering from burn out. But that could be solved by switching lines. We just happen to like NCL, find them to usually be the most convenient for us. ;)

 

Like Budget Queen, for the most part, we focus on the destination. I kept thinking during our Faroe Islands/Norway cruise aboard the Star last year that there was no other way we would have been able visit all of the countries we did on a land-based vacation without it costing far more in time and money.

 

Not to mention all of the packing and unpacking. :D

 

We deal with food burnout by hitting the buffet more.

 

The food is a big part of my feelings..... and I to keep thinking the buffet has some of the best food. However I love the sit down restaurants..... and again am a contradiction myself.... I get tired of the same menus everyday ...then complain when they take away the chilled fruit soup, mozzarella sticks etc, have steaks that can't be cut with a steak knife and the worst of all.... the afternoon scones used to be amazing. They were offered in the buffet in afternoons with amazing creme and raspberry jam and good scones...they now use whipping cream, old biscuits and cheap strawberry jam. So, my afternoon ritual has changed.

 

Hopefully they keep building ships with an outdoor area to the buffet and then it is nicer to sit there.

[psac]

We were really cruised out, so we took a two year break. Our return was on the DCL Fantasy, which totally KILLS every other cruise line we've been on (though at a price point that matches the quality). However, that reinvigorated our cruise desire, and we planned another DCL trip AND a trip on the Breakaway in the Haven. Excited for both trips this year!

[Tralfie]

So funny that I stumble across your post today, as I was having a rather similar thought process... if slightly different.

 

I have been a Disney fan for years. Not everything Disney, but specifically Walt Disney World. For the last 20 years or so, I've gone at least once a year. It is probably what I'd call my "happy place."

 

But the past two years, the trips felt... different. I noticed things that Id never noticed before, and they weren't positive things. They were small things, along the lines of things you mentioned, but they got to me. I wondered if perhaps I was suffering from Disney burnout. It seemed impossible to imagine, yet... there it was.

 

I was supposed to go to Disney in January with my family, but the plans fell through. I wasn't really all that bothered by it.

 

In March, I set sail on the Breakaway. It was my first real cruise, having previously only done a single one-nighter on the Gem.

 

It being my first cruise AND my 50th birthday, I booked myself an aft-facing balcony (despite traveling solo). And I proceeded to, in large part thanks to people I met via Cruise Critic, have what may well have been the best vacation of my life.

 

I'm now booked to go on the Gem for a week in September.

 

And Im going on a trip with my extended family to Walt Disney World in November, just after thanksgiving. Having not gone in a while, I'm looking forward to Disney again. I've been away just long enough that I long to sit in a rocking chair at Aunt Polly's in the Magic Kingdom, or have drinks at the Rose & Crown in Epcot.

 

But the House of Mouse might want to make sure everything goes smoothly, because while I still love it greatly, the sea has proven to be an enchanting mistress...

 

Richard/Tralfie

[mojomorris]

Being retired, my wife lets me plan the cruises with one stipulation: at least ONE port that is new to us (or not visited in past 5 years) OR a ship that is new to us. I figure with 2 or 3 cruises per year, we have another 3 years or so before we're done with the Caribbean and then we head back to Alaska and/or a Transatlantic cruise.

[gooch47]

Check my signature. It doesn't even tell the whole story. Eight cruises, five if you count the b2b's as one cruise, seven of them on the same ship with the same itinerary on six of them beginning in November 2013.

 

I did start to feel burned out on the one in late March. Same menus, same ports, same casino, etc. But we did this to get away from the nasty Ohio winter mostly and since seven of the eight were "free" cruises from the Caesar's casino chain, why not?

[Barb Nahoumi]

Even RCI has done cutbacks. When we returned to the ship from excursions in hot-climate ports, there was no one there to greet us with cold drinks and face cloths. This is a perk which we always enjoyed on NCL. Another thing was that RCI does not open the MDR for lunch on embarkation day. NCL does.

 

So the grass is not always greener in the other fella's yard. But, we had to try it to find out.

[nadeki]

Check my signature. It doesn't even tell the whole story. Eight cruises, five if you count the b2b's as one cruise, seven of them on the same ship with the same itinerary on six of them beginning in November 2013.

 

I did start to feel burned out on the one in late March. Same menus, same ports, same casino, etc. But we did this to get away from the nasty Ohio winter mostly and since seven of the eight were "free" cruises from the Caesar's casino chain, why not?

 

I think a free cruise would make me feel much better!!! I am thinking I need to spend more in the casino!! After all the casino guests seem to get all the VIP perks at check in etc.

 

It appears a land based Hawii trip is in my future next year with family. They are all surprised I am not pushing for a cruise....hopefully this will cure me and I will start searching again soon. Cruise critic and talking and dreaming is part of an addiction and I will have to go one day at a time.

 

It was mentioned that on our trip that the west coast is due to get a new big ship soon. It has to have the lifeboats on the inside part of the ship so it works in Alaska. Don't know if this is one of the ships being built now or if it really even in the plan. That would interest me if the costs were not prohibitive.

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback, sort of like having some AA buddies to get me through this tough time

[gooch47]

I need to say that the word free is in quotes because it isn't 100% free. You still have to pay taxes and port charges and we pay to upgrade from an inside to a balcony cabin. We play at the land based casinos to earn these, not on the ship.