Have we cruised too often; do we know too much?

[knbcruisers]

This was right on time for me and I thank you! I am at that point (less than a month out) from a cruise we are doing with our whole family (first time for them) and over-thinking everything. Our excursions are booked, our meals are planned and we got the best staterooms we could afford. I need to let it be!! Thank you for a really thoughtful post.

 

 

 

I have been here several times. We've done several multi generation family trip and I'm usually the planner (DH calls me Julie McCoy from the Love Boat). I stress so much trying to make the vacation perfect and of course I fail every time because no vacation is ever perfect especially with a group. It's taken several years to learn to not feel responsible for everyone's feelings and experiences at every moment. If I didn't plan nobody would go anywhere together.

 

 

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[bobalink]

Very insightful, cruisemom42.

 

You are always the voice of reason. Not only that, but you are tremendously helpful to fellow travelers. Many times you have pointed me in the right direction, suggested routes for train travel and recommended great hotels.

 

I always enjoy reading your comments.

 

Bobbie

[SetAnOpenCourse]

You should hang out with the Disney cruisers once in a while. They cruise commando-style: how many minutes will Goofy be in the atrium for pictures, and will he be wearing his blue tie or his red tie? How many steps is it from the AquaDuck to the sandwich counter? Do they have Diet Coke Zero Sugar Caffeine Free?

 

:')Thanks for the laugh!

[NeonMoon]

Well spoken, CruiseMom42 . You come across as someone with grace and humility. I nominate you to be the gatekeeper for all posts on Cruise Critic.

 

Life is all about how you handle plan B.

[kazu]

Excellent thread cruisemom :).

 

And excellent posts.

 

While the first cruise is always somewhat "magical", for us the excitement has not waned. We choose our cruises primarily for itinerary and can't help but to look forward to visiting so many wonderful places. Add a ship on the ocean into the mix and it's a lovely combination.

 

I have certainly seen some "complainers" on cruises that just make me shake my head and ask, why are you on this ship and/or visiting this country. ;)

 

We are grateful to be able to see some of the things we have and what awaits us in the future. We are truly fortunate to be able to cruise and travel.

[Minoushka]

I love cruising .I think it is a great type of vacation ..nice cabins, usually good service and food prepared and cleaned up by someone else ...love it

I find preparing for a cruise is stressful ..flying esp ..I still have not mastered theart of packing light plus I like to pick up stuff when I travel ..so weight and baggage size impacts my pleasure

Some airlines are riddiculously strict with weight ...so many times I have had to reshuffle belongings to even out the weight l..but it is the same weight so why need to do that ...plane still takes it all ..do my extra fees make the load lighter ???and if I can shlep it so can anyone else including baggage handlers ....to me That is stupidity

Once security another royal pain ..needing to strip each time ....shoes and all ....is done ..I can breathe once allthat is done

Ships in general are fine ..I loved Koningsdam and Eurodam .When I had AC problems on Koningsdam ...many times ..i was offered free meal ay Pinnaccle ..thank you I appreiated it ..I loved everything about Koningsdam ..lovely ship

If i have a clean cabin , empty fridge, comfy bed clean bathroom ..good food ...nice shows ..good weather nice ports ..I am happy ....very happy

Give me my chair or table over the wake , in the sun with a good book , and a glass of lemonade ..with very soft background music in the backgrounf ...i am in blissful happiness ...I am easily contented

[RocketMan275]

Ridiculous complaint in my eyes. I can't believe some of the complaints people have.

 

I wonder if the crew sits around in the crew bar comparing the ridiculous things they hear the passengers complain about! Maybe the dumbest complaint wins them a free drink!

 

What was so funny about that was the woman's insistence that the cruise line was derelict in not informing her that they served pepsi products and owed her a complete refund of the entire cruise price for both suites. In her mind, the cruise line was bad for serving pepsis but even more worse for not informing her of that.

 

I'm fairly certain that one of the reasons we have so many complaints are the reports of persons complaining and receiving refunds/rebates/OBC. Some believe those reports and can't wait to try it. They also believe if they post it here on cruise critic that it enhances their possibility.

[navybankerteacher]

I read one post where a woman bragged about booking two suites for her party. After boarding, she learned the cruise line only served pepsi products which RUINED the entire cruise. She insisted that she should have been notified of the pepsi products at booking and that the cruise line owed her ......

 

The mindlessness of people seems to continually sink to new depths. I will never forget the woman at the Trevi Fountain loudly complaining to her companion about the renovation work going on - seriously talking about suing her travel agent for selling her a meaningless trip because of no water in the fountain.

[pcur]

My husband and I went on our first cruise with RCCL in October 1973. We are leavng in a little over a month for a b2b2b on three different cruise lines. We still consider cruising head-and-shoulders above any other form of travel for some very basic reasons:

 

We have seen incredible places all over the world that we would never have seen by taking land trips; mostly due to expense differences.

 

We take our hotel with us.

 

We like lots of variety and flexibility in our food choices: late breakfast buffet; late traditional dinner.

 

We aren't into hype, frills, drink packages, or shore excursions. The changes cruise lines have made over the years are benign to us, while the perks we receive are improvements.

 

We are flexible when it comes to change.

[summer slope]

What bugs me is the people who have to know who will be their captain, hotel manager, cruise director, menus, etc.

 

I ask for their names because I make cards for them that I pass out at the beginning of the cruise. I like to personalize them.

[bleacher04]

I'm fairly certain that one of the reasons we have so many complaints are the reports of persons complaining and receiving refunds/rebates/OBC. Some believe those reports and can't wait to try it. They also believe if they post it here on cruise critic that it enhances their possibility.

Although I'm a relative newbie here, I also think that some people take the name of this forum just a little too seriously...

[Vict0riann]

Although I'm a relative newbie here, I also think that some people take the name of this forum just a little too seriously...

 

I agree! I think we should be "Cruise Community" or something like that!

[sail7seas]

I fully recognize that as much as HAL has changed through my years of sailing with them, I have changed equally as has my life paticularly since losing my DH and other 'life changing events.'.

 

 

Some of the things HAL has elliminated or drastically changed probab ly don't matter to me now in the ways they once did.

 

 

Anyone else see that perhaps t his might apply to others?

[cruisemom42]

 

We are flexible when it comes to change.

 

I find that's really the key to just about everything, isn't it? :D

 

I try not to be that person who goes on and on doing the same thing (and complaining that it isn't what it once was) but rather the one who continuously re-evaluates ways of doing things.

 

Travel is a very important part of my life, and I'm willing to be proactive in order to keep traveling.

[Keith1010]

cruiseMom42. very well written comments.

 

Sometimes when we are on long journeys and we hear some people complain my wife will say maybe "too much of a good thing".

 

Like most things in life often if you do things less frequently you look forward to them with greater anticipation and potentially enjoy them more.

 

Whatever one does I believe in doing things that makes one happy.

 

Keith

[OlsSalt]

My guess is HAL would be a lot happier too if the chronic complainers acted on their convictions and just stopped cruising HAL ships.

 

I just witnessed this on a recent Veendam cruise that included HAL President Orlando Asford during the 4-5 star mariner luncheon. One particularly well traveled and HAL honored passenger asked a pointed and demanding question intended to put HAL and its President on the defensive in front of everyone at this gathering. Ashford calmly said he had already answered that question from this same gentleman at another venue, and then proceeded to diffuse his now repeated verbal attack.

 

So was this high level HAL passenger really interested in raising an issue and getting answers, or simply trying to show-case his own alleged superior insights and knowledge about HAL operations? That is the sort of thing I would like to see a lot less of.

[jc3443]

What bugs me is the people who have to know who will be their captain, hotel manager, cruise director, menus, etc.

 

I have always wondered what I am missing when I see people worrying about the cruise director. Perhaps I have just "missed the boat" on this, but on none of our cruises have I really known or cared who the "director" was. They are just a talking head in my book. Certainly I have heard them making announcements and seen them during the shows, but they have zero effect on whether or not I enjoy my cruises.

[OlsSalt]

I have always wondered what I am missing when I see people worrying about the cruise director. Perhaps I have just "missed the boat" on this, but on none of our cruises have I really known or cared who the "director" was. They are just a talking head in my book. Certainly I have heard them making announcements and seen them during the shows, but they have zero effect on whether or not I enjoy my cruises.

 

This I think matters more on longer and themed cruises.. That is when we have seen cruise directors make or break the experience. Some were okay, but others we nothing less than fabulous. On shorter cruises, agree, simply does not matter other than their public speaking qualities and stage presence when they do announcements or introductions.

 

A bit of self-deprecating humor and quickness of wit are CD qualities that stand out for me. And a skill when handling a bi-lingual cruise that is seamless so you almost don't notice the language switch - you are never left hanging there wondering what is he saying while he/she is accommodating two language groups. It all clicked on the bi-lingual (Dutch/English) cruise from Rotterdam to Indonesia to Singapore on the Rotterdam a few years back. Now I can't remember his name, but as a CD he made it an outstanding cruise on every level. Same with our Tales of the South Pacific a few years ago - CD Gene Young.

[Sea girl 23]

My guess is HAL would be a lot happier too if the chronic complainers acted on their convictions and just stopped cruising HAL ships.

 

I just witnessed this on a recent Veendam cruise that included HAL President Orlando Asford during the 4-5 star mariner luncheon. One particularly well traveled and HAL honored passenger asked a pointed and demanding question intended to put HAL and its President on the defensive in front of everyone at this gathering. Ashford calmly said he had already answered that question from this same gentleman at another venue, and then proceeded to diffuse his now repeated verbal attack.

 

So was this high level HAL passenger really interested in raising an issue and getting answers, or simply trying to show-case his own alleged superior insights and knowledge about HAL operations? That is the sort of thing I would like to see a lot less of.

 

I get it..Orlando Ashford might not know a lot about cruise lines/cruising..but there is a very disturbing..you could almost say racist undertone to a lot of the posts about him on here.Oprah too.

[OlsSalt]

I get it..Orlando Ashford might not know a lot about cruise lines/cruising..but there is a very disturbing..you could almost say racist undertone to a lot of the posts about him on here.Oprah too.

 

Sigh. Not liking the Oprah hype is simply not liking the Oprah hype. I am not into her New Age lifestyle branding, nor her current politics. I wasn't crazy about Dancing with the Stars hype either. But keeping marketing fresh to those who have not yet tried the brand, nor yet succumbed to quieter HAL charms is high on my own personal cruise priorities. It is bad enough we are given only the NYT daily digest to read the "news" while onboard.

 

One other good line HAL President Ashford got to deliver was noting he was on vacation on this cruise, and that at least 99% of you have honored that. That got a good laugh. I wondered if I was sitting right next to that dreaded 1%.

[cbr663]

If there is one thing that is constantly show on CC, it is that some people really do sweat the small things. Some people have a difficult time adapting to change. They aren't to be criticized for it. For some, change has been disastrous and the result of some traumatic event that has left a permanent scar on their psyche. It is understandable that change can induce anxiety in many people.

 

Other people have a habit of strolling down memory lane, failing to realize that our memories are notoriously unreliable. It has been shown that every time we remember something we change it slightly. The result is that we look through our memories with rose colored glasses, remembering the good old days as even better than they ever were.

 

And for others, it is much easier to see the changes in others than it is to reflect upon ourselves, especially when those changes affect us directly. We all have our reasons for cruising and the joys that it brings are personal to each and every one of us. When you lose that joy, it may be time not to declare that you have cruised too much, but maybe that you have cruised enough.

[cruisemom42]

I think we have got to get over this inability to respect the viewpoints of others. Whether Republican or Democrat, most of us want the best for our country. If one side is always demonizing the other, we'll never, ever be able to solve any problems because that requires compromise.

 

And to make it relevant to cruising, it doesn't matter in the least to me what the political beliefs of my cruise staff, fellow passengers or entertainers are. What I can't stand is close-mindedness.

[Copper10-8]

.........................t all clicked on the bi-lingual (Dutch/English) cruise from Rotterdam to Indonesia to Singapore on the Rotterdam a few years back. Now I can't remember his name, but as a CD he made it an outstanding cruise on every level. Same with our Tales of the South Pacific a few years ago - CD Gene Young.

 

CD Michael Langley - Both he and Gene Young are at Viking Ocean Cruises now

[Sea girl 23]

Sigh. Not liking the Oprah hype is simply not liking the Oprah hype. I am not into her New Age lifestyle branding, nor her current politics. I wasn't crazy about Dancing with the Stars hype either. But keeping marketing fresh to those who have not yet tried the brand, nor yet succumbed to quieter HAL charms is high on my own personal cruise priorities. It is bad enough we are given only the NYT daily digest to read the "news" while onboard.

 

One other good line HAL President Ashford got to deliver was noting he was on vacation on this cruise, and that at least 99% of you have honored that. That got a good laugh. I wondered if I was sitting right next to that dreaded 1%.

 

OK not crazy about the O-branding either but it's easy enough to avoid it.

 

CBR:It's the Mandela Effect..in effect!

[OlsSalt]

CD Michael Langley - Both he and Gene Young are at Viking Ocean Cruises now

 

Langley does not ring a bell for that maiden Indonesia cruise on the Rotterdam at all, but you know your staff rosters. HAL's loss, but I can see why they would switch to this higher end brand. Hope their new passenger base appreciates them as much as we did. An HR officer did admit once they were having a problem with other cruise lines coming aboard as passengers and directly trying to poach HAL trained staff.