Why do you cruise?

[sfaaa]

..........

Edited November 12, 2014 by sfaaa

[sfaaa]

To fix my ongoing cruise addiction. Otherwise, I would get depressed and feel left out reading all the cool stories from others on cc.

[NH Cruisers]

To fix my ongoing cruise addiction. Otherwise, I would get depressed and feel left out reading all the cool stories from others on cc.

Yep!

[SuiteCruisin14]

Because it is the only vacation where I am not required to do anything. No cooking, cleaning, laundry, nothing. Someone waits on ME!

 

I only have to unpack once and I can see amazing cities and history all over the world.

 

Lynda

[Annieban50]

Along with the reasons others have mentioned, because I am fortunate enough to have my mother, sister, two daughters and their boyfriends want to spend precious vacation time with my husband and me. Cruising provides a wide range of activities so that each of us can find something to do that we enjoy and gives us the space to be together or not!

[Snowrose]

1) I like being "away from it all".

2) I love being on the ocean and other bodies of water.

3) I love visiting new places, trying them on the way you would clothes.

[Valen9]

I find a cruise to be a little vacation from reality. Once I get on the ship, there are no worries. If I am hungry I can show up in my choice of rooms and they will feed me. If I am tired there are places to sit, or it's a short walk to my cabin where I can do whatever I want. Nobody is going to call me and expect me to do something for them. The crew will get me whatever I feel like I need, within reason.

 

So I don't have to be a responsible adult for a little while. THAT's a vacation!

[Chrissit]

1) I love that I get to go a bunch of different places - and I only have to unpack once. My hotel takes me to all the places I want to see.

 

2) I enjoy being unplugged. Maybe it's easy for some, but I've been categorized at work as "essential" which means I need to be reachable - so sometimes my work/life balance gets a bit out of whack.

 

3) I get to escape - I'm the chick and I do most of the cooking (granted I love cooking), a good chunk of the cleaning, and I work that job that sometimes doesn't get the work/life balance. Not having to do the dishes, clear a plate, fold the laundry, or take out the trash is awesome.

 

4) My boyfriend and I get a chance to reconnect. It gives us the chance to be together in an environment that fosters us doing as much or as little as we want. We get to explore and discover together - new experiences and traveling are important to us.

 

5) I can pretty much do what I want. If I want to drink a bottle of wine with dinner - I don't need to worry about getting home (and I'm a world class worry wart sometimes). I don't need to worry about breakfast, lunch or dinner (and what I'm missing in the fridge to make it). I don't need to even think about what I'm missing at work or where my phone is or who is doing what - someone else can deal with it for a week.

 

6) The balcony is one of the most soothing places ever - us, the ocean and we're happy.

 

I really just love what cruising is and what it represents!

[SASA13]

We cruise because it is a "no-brainer" vacation. With all the stress on our jobs, at home etc. when we go on vacation, all we want to think about is: what to eat, what to wear, and what slot machine to play :D

 

We have not done a land vacation since the Cruise Bug bit us about 10 years ago.

[SissasMomE]

Our lives seem so full these days. Work, family, Common Core demands for your kids, community needs, etc., put quite a bit on your plate. When you finally get to take a vacation, what are you looking for? And what about a cruise provides that?

 

We just returned from a fabulous land-based vacation on a beach. I have to say, after eons of cruising, and also mixing it up with land vacations, I think I may be burned out (with cruising). My next one isn't until the Escape in December 2015, and I may even push that back to May 2016, so hopefully I will be over the cruise blahs by then :-) This is by far the longest I have ever gone between cruises though. As for vacation in general, we take one every few months. Both hubby and I have very high stress jobs, and need the mental break that vacation offers.

[AquaAdventurer]

I have always equated water with mystery. The underwater world is really an alien environment, scary and dangerous, yet compelling. Standing on the sea shore as a youngster, staring out at the horizon, my imagination conjured up all sorts of wondrous visions of foreign lands and peoples as well as historic places and the source of ideas that were so important in creating the world we live in today.

 

I also respond to water in a visceral and emotional way. It can induce tranquility and have a very calming effect on the psyche. But the perspective can change when the schizophrenic nature of water power is witnessed first hand in huge swells and gale winds that can rock and toss huge metal ships to and fro. The best efforts of humankind is tested and often found wanting when facing off against on of nature's greatest forces.

 

Cruising facilitates reconnecting with nature and rediscovering self; it helps to keep things in perspective. Whether sitting on a chair watching the waves and whitecaps or walking the decks scanning the horizon, can be a cathartic experience.

 

But a cruise ship is more than an observation station, it is a small community of diverse individuals who have a lifetime of experiences, desires and expectations of their own. It is only a momentary community that is sharing a similar experience and that tends to loosen some of the inhibitions that bind people in their normal lives. People are more willing to talk and share stories, and mix more readily. This is another positive aspect of cruising.

 

The chance to visit unique ports-of-call and gain knowledge and understanding of people and places outside of our comfort zone allows us to gain valuable insights into the wider world and, hopefully, reduce any parochialism. The additional opportunity to discover those historical and cultural places and artifacts that we've only read about or viewed on the TV screen is another invaluable benefit that can often lead to more extended visits.

 

For all that the value of cruising would be greatly reduced without someone to share the experience with. This is an opportunity to strengthen those intimate bonds that connected us with the special person who, perhaps long ago, made a choice to bind their future with yours.

 

For all these reasons and more I find cruising an experience that I almost couldn't live without.

[Aldeya]

Your #4 on your downside is my #1 for my upside! Lol

 

Harriet

Same here!

 

To be able to 'unplug" from all the phones, IPads, etc,etc,etc.. is HUGE for us! It's one of the main reasons we love cruising. We can't be reached!:D

 

:D

[biker@sea]

I have always equated water with mystery. The underwater world is really an alien environment, scary and dangerous, yet compelling. Standing on the sea shore as a youngster, staring out at the horizon, my imagination conjured up all sorts of wondrous visions of foreign lands and peoples as well as historic places and the source of ideas that were so important in creating the world we live in today.

 

I also respond to water in a visceral and emotional way. It can induce tranquility and have a very calming effect on the psyche. But the perspective can change when the schizophrenic nature of water power is witnessed first hand in huge swells and gale winds that can rock and toss huge metal ships to and fro. The best efforts of humankind is tested and often found wanting when facing off against on of nature's greatest forces.

 

Cruising facilitates reconnecting with nature and rediscovering self; it helps to keep things in perspective. Whether sitting on a chair watching the waves and whitecaps or walking the decks scanning the horizon, can be a cathartic experience.

 

But a cruise ship is more than an observation station, it is a small community of diverse individuals who have a lifetime of experiences, desires and expectations of their own. It is only a momentary community that is sharing a similar experience and that tends to loosen some of the inhibitions that bind people in their normal lives. People are more willing to talk and share stories, and mix more readily. This is another positive aspect of cruising.

 

The chance to visit unique ports-of-call and gain knowledge and understanding of people and places outside of our comfort zone allows us to gain valuable insights into the wider world and, hopefully, reduce any parochialism. The additional opportunity to discover those historical and cultural places and artifacts that we've only read about or viewed on the TV screen is another invaluable benefit that can often lead to more extended visits.

 

For all that the value of cruising would be greatly reduced without someone to share the experience with. This is an opportunity to strengthen those intimate bonds that connected us with the special person who, perhaps long ago, made a choice to bind their future with yours.

 

For all these reasons and more I find cruising an experience that I almost couldn't live without.

 

WoW !!

Best first post I have ever read . :D

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic . :)

[meatball_nyc]

Agreed. Excellent post that really describes the feelings of being at sea. Thanks for putting to words what I never could describe the way you did, AquaAdventurer.

I like to say I've never known such a life of ease as while I'm on a cruise. If only I could do it more often ;)

 

Happy Sailing!

 

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[AquaAdventurer]

Thanks meatball_nyc and biker@sea hope we cross paths one day.

 

Paul

[antique sailor]

AHOY SHIPMATE,

 

I LIKED THE NAVY BUT IT HAD SOME NEGATIVE THINGS that civilian Cruise Ships have corrected.

1) I can have a girl in my cabin.

2) I can drink on board.

3) I can gamble on board.

4) I'm not in a duty section/stand no watches.

5) Don't have to salute NOBODY if I don't want to.

6) I know when we are getting home.

 

It is a great way to spend that meager Soc Sec check my former employer sends me each month.

The list is almost endless but these seem to sum up the positive reasons that are important to me at my age. LOL

[antique sailor]

I never thought about cruises until friends and I went on an "all girls" vacation, back in 1999. Our husbands couldn't get off from work.

 

Well, we've been cruising ever since as a group with our husbands.

 

My favorite reason to cruise is to sit on my balcony or pool deck, and watch the sea.

 

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I ENVY YOU, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO AN ALL GIRLS CRUISE BUT MY WIFE REFERRED ME TO THE FINE PRINT IN THE BY-LAWS OF OUR ORIGINAL CONTRACT AND THAT IS ONE OF THE NO-NOS. i HAVE DISCOVERED THAT CRUISING WITH DW IS VERY PLEASANT .

[maywell]

AHOY SHIPMATE,

 

I LIKED THE NAVY BUT IT HAD SOME NEGATIVE THINGS that civilian Cruise Ships have corrected.

1) I can have a girl in my cabin.

2) I can drink on board.

3) I can gamble on board.

4) I'm not in a duty section/stand no watches.

5) Don't have to salute NOBODY if I don't want to.

6) I know when we are getting home.

 

It is a great way to spend that meager Soc Sec check my former employer sends me each month.

The list is almost endless but these seem to sum up the positive reasons that are important to me at my age. LOL

 

:) Good ones, can't help but laugh and giggle at that!

[shepherdqueen]

We cruise so we can relax. Since my husband has to drive 1000 + miles a week for work (used to be 2400 miles a week) this is the only way he can truly relax. We don't have to get behind the wheel of a car to go get dinner or entertainment.

[AquaAdventurer]

I have really enjoyed viewing responses to this question. It may be that members of Cruise Critics are a self-selected group or in a broader sense it may be that cruising attracts a certain kind of person, but there are many similarities (with a few unique differences) among attitudes. Assuming that these responses are representative, and I think they are, then cruising seems to be a healthy and cathartic form of escape from the pressures and drab routines of daily life. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, is an undercurrent of the love of the sea and the adventure of foreign ports-of-call.

 

I’m sure you’ve noticed that most people posting have a fairly lengthy list of cruises in their signatures. Makes sense or they probably wouldn’t be on CC, but it certainly is a community where love of the experience is evident. If you can’t be on a cruise - read about and discuss them! DW spends hours every day immersed in this activity.

 

One negative aspect that bothers me, though. The trend to larger and larger ships may be undermining some of what’s been so attractive about sailing. On the smaller vessels there seems to be more of the sense of the sea, you couldn’t avoid it (not that you’d want to). On the larger ships attention is turned inward - becoming a resort that floats. With those additional thousands on board, the sense of community is diluted. For all that, though, it’s still the way to go.

[antique sailor]

I have really enjoyed viewing responses to this question. It may be that members of Cruise Critics are a self-selected group or in a broader sense it may be that cruising attracts a certain kind of person, but there are many similarities (with a few unique differences) among attitudes. Assuming that these responses are representative, and I think they are, then cruising seems to be a healthy and cathartic form of escape from the pressures and drab routines of daily life. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, is an undercurrent of the love of the sea and the adventure of foreign ports-of-call.

 

I’m sure you’ve noticed that most people posting have a fairly lengthy list of cruises in their signatures. Makes sense or they probably wouldn’t be on CC, but it certainly is a community where love of the experience is evident. If you can’t be on a cruise - read about and discuss them! DW spends hours every day immersed in this activity.

 

One negative aspect that bothers me, though. The trend to larger and larger ships may be undermining some of what’s been so attractive about sailing. On the smaller vessels there seems to be more of the sense of the sea, you couldn’t avoid it (not that you’d want to). On the larger ships attention is turned inward - becoming a resort that floats. With those additional thousands on board, the sense of community is diluted. For all that, though, it’s still the way to go.

 

AHOY SHIPMATE, i WAS BORN WITH THE ''AT SEA DNA'' and now with lots'a time to spare and TV commercials gradually taking over the IDIOT BOX I find myself on Cruise Critic a lot more.

 

I SAIL on two widely different classes of ship which have completely different types of passengers. When on board,. I spend many hours a day just people-watching. I have always been an "observer" due to years of semi serious low stakes poker playing. Even the threads on CC for different Cruise Lines begins to show a vast difference in personalities. IT"s very entertaining and not condescending in the least, just very interesting.

[AquaAdventurer]

AHOY SHIPMATE, i WAS BORN WITH THE ''AT SEA DNA'' and now with lots'a time to spare and TV commercials gradually taking over the IDIOT BOX I find myself on Cruise Critic a lot more.

 

I SAIL on two widely different classes of ship which have completely different types of passengers. When on board,. I spend many hours a day just people-watching. I have always been an "observer" due to years of semi serious low stakes poker playing. Even the threads on CC for different Cruise Lines begins to show a vast difference in personalities. IT"s very entertaining and not condescending in the least, just very interesting.

 

I was in the Navy too (but not really:confused:; as a CT I went from on land based posting to another - Does being on Guam for a year and a half qualify as being at sea?:D

 

My dad was on the DD 585 Haraden in WWII and my son has owned (not all at the same time) a fleet of boats and has changed careers from drug companies to boat building. So there seems to be much truth in your DNA claim.

 

Your observation about observing is oh so true. It's always fun to people watch and more so on a ship I think. I will also admit - only to you - that I have demonstrated an inclination to eaves drop on conversations now and then.:eek:

 

Next cruise in April - not soon enough!

[AquaAdventurer]

One of the things I most love about cruising is the ability to visit places that I would never spend the money to see, but there are many places that I would love to visit but am fain (a rarely used word that just popped into my head) to visit for any length of time because of the expense (hotels and tours) and perhaps a little fear of getting around on my own.

 

I could almost say, in fact I will, that if it weren't for cruising I'd never have experienced the pleasure (and even awe) of places like Rome, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin (yes - we took a tour on the train)!

 

Yet another reason to thank the industry for making vacations more exciting! :D

[biker@sea]

I Too have " @ sea DNA " !

I was born in a navy hospital .

My first breath of life was salt air .

[luvtheships]

I cruise for most of the same reasons everyone else does but will add that being 100% Mediterranean island heritage probably has something to do with my love of ships sun and ancient ports of call.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited December 10, 2014 by luvtheships