People cruise a lot!

[Tatiana84]

After I had my two daughters, I realized how much easier it was to vacation on a ship vs. going to Disney(I'm from Miami). As a mom, you begin to appreciate having someone else to the cleaning, cooking, entertainment for you. I also work at the school district, which makes it easy to take "time off" since we get spring break and Christmas break. Cruising is not for everyone and my girls are also getting antsy to visit France and Japan, so we may begin to slow down on the cruising and start exploring other locations. I just truly enjoy the convenience of paying one price and not having to worry about anything else. 

[cheeseheads4ever]

On our first cruise was in 2008 and I was a little apprehensive about cruising. Mostly because Im claustraphobic, hate heights and motion bothers me. So what do we do?book a 10 nighter. Flying on a plane is the last mode of transportation I would do unless medically necessary. Crazy huh?

I put on the behind the ear patch, took seabands along, draminine , boniene anything that other cruisers recommended. Tryed them out seperately.

Anyway! I absolutely loved it. 

Well since then weve been on about 12 cruises and Ive become hooked on cruising. It has everything we love, great food and drinks, gambling, great fellow cruisers and a chance to see parts of the world I would have never seen not being a flyer.

The last 4-5 cruises I dont even wear the patch. Maybe there is hope for me and flying.

We generally do 1 cruise a year..we are retired but we do go on other vacations not as expensive as a cruise though..

We love to cruise! Great topic and enjoying everyones experiences.

[paulh84]

As much as I enjoy it, I'm content with 1 cruise a year. We only cruise the Caribbean in the winter as an easy getaway. I use points for flights and hotels so our all-in cost is really rather inexpensive when you start looking at alternative options. We have zero interest in cruising Europe or Asia primarily because I don't want the 'drive-by' six hour experience just to say I've been there. No offense to people who enjoy that. We usually do a longer/bigger trip in the summer or early fall for that kind of experience and aim to spend ~10 days away. We'll also sometimes rotate sun vs. ski and do a ski trip in Canada but even for a modest trip, the costs can easily climb to 2-3 times the cost of a cruise. I couldn't image doing 20-30-40 cruises on the same ships myself. I need more variety than that. 

[mrsgoggins]

10 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

We have zero interest in cruising Europe or Asia primarily because I don't want the 'drive-by' six hour experience just to say I've been there. No offense to people who enjoy that.

 

I fully understand this response.  Cruising is a great way, however, to ‘taste’ somewhere you think you might like.  As a result of cruising, we have had or have booked, longer land-based stays in both Slovenia and Croatia.

 

Very enjoyable and interesting thread. 

[mahdnc]

Since 2013, we have been taking yearly cruises to get our family back together.  My wife and I are empty nesters and the kids have professions that keep them away from home and we rarely see them.  

 

Even when the kids do make the occasional pilgrimage home, they understandably spend a lot of time visiting their friends!

 

So when we take our family cruise, I know we have them captive to ourselves in a very pleasant environment consisting of good weather, things to do/see, and no house chores to fight over.  There is plenty of together time to allow us to talk and catch up on things.

 

Jan 7 2019, Antigua (Reflection 14 nt Caribbean cruise)

Edited March 14, 2019 by mahdnc

[Tatiana84]

4 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Since 2013, we have been taking yearly cruises to get our family back together.  My wife and I are empty nesters and the kids have professions that keep them away from home and we rarely see them.  

 

Even when the kids do make the occasional pilgrimage home, they understandably spend a lot of time visiting their friends!

 

So when we take our family cruise, I know we have them captive to ourselves in a very pleasant environment consisting of good weather, things to do/see, and no house chores to fight over.  There is plenty of together time to allow us to talk and catch up on things.

 

 

This.... Life Goals!

[George C]

We did our first suite on rccl about 5 years ago, lots of cool stuf in suite , cabin steward left us a little box which we did not open for a day or so and note said congratulations on your 420 cruise, note was not for us .

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, George C said:

We did our first suite on rccl about 5 years ago, lots of cool stuf in suite , cabin steward left us a little box which we did not open for a day or so and note said congratulations on your 420 cruise, note was not for us .

Boy can that be taken a couple of ways....

[Guinness1000]

I live in Florida, so I have 5 cruise ports nearby. Going on a cruise is easy, convenient and affordable. We did Panama Canal over Christmas on Island Princess, then I went with my daughter and granddaughter on Oasis in February. It's really not much difference in cost compared to going to and staying at Disney World. Except the scenery changes and there's no Mickey.  🙂

[hshowalter]

Our cruise on the Summit to Bermuda & NE will be our 125th cruise. My wife & I have done 9 european river cruises & 1 Mississippi river cruise. We have done land tours to China & Margarita island & 19 beach tours in Dominican Republic & Mexico

[mek]

I've been on 60+ cruises, but also take land vacations.  My husband and I took our first cruise together in 1982, but then we had an 7 year break when we did "See America" with our son.  We've had a few years since 1989 when we didn't cruise at all and did other things, but overall it is so easy to cruise and we love the sea. 

My husband is the world's pickiest eater, so I have been to Italy multiple times on cruises and I never would have been able to go with him on a land trip, because he hates Italian food. We never have the "where are we going to go for dinner?" conversation on a cruise, which to me is priceless.

[crazyman3]

We've loved cruising... but we also enjoy relative luxury... so we only cruise once a year and enjoy suites etc etc.

 

However, in the last 12 years we've had some very special land-based holidays: Sri Lanka, Jordan, Scotland, the Nile, Morocco, Venice (not on a cruise that time!), Dubai and Syria/Lebanon. Our favourite was Syria (just before the war) but Sri Lanka was remarkable. 

 

The cruises we'd like to do:

 

a) The West coast of Africa

 

b) UK to Iceland to Greenland to Canada to New England.

 

The former is booked! Azamara 2020! Bring it on!

 

The latter... can't find what we want unless it is a B2B. Ideas?

[tribbs1]

We first tried cruising years ago with our children (now 29,28,28, 24) and they loved it then.  It gave us an opportunity to see some different islands and then go back to the ones we liked for a land stay .  For multi-gen families it offers something for everyone in terms of entertainment, shore excursions, food, etc.  Have sailed the Caribbean, Med, Alaska, and European Rivers (Danube, Rhine, Seine).  On the river we always added extra days on both ends so have visited Germany, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Portugal.  We have traveled to Ireland two times on a fully escorted tour.  Have been to Mexico and the Caribbean to all-inclusive resorts about 20 times.  Most of the time we travel to see something new and historically interesting.  Upcoming trips: 

Celebrity Summit March 30, Costa Rica May 2019, Greece Aug/Sept. 2019, Germany, Switzerland, Austria & Oberramergau September 2020.... and I am sure it wont be long until I plan something else.  

[A Sixth?]

We use cruises to get away from the cold every winter, and in other seasons explore the places we love or have never been. Have a budget that combined with retirement equates three or four months every year. (still not Zenith either! If only we'd started with Celebrity before our fiftieth one)

 

Always spend a week or two pre or post cruise to explore land based destinations

 

Until the money or will runs out, it works for us

 

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by A Sixth?

[villauk]

On 3/14/2019 at 2:47 PM, mahdnc said:

Since 2013, we have been taking yearly cruises to get our family back together.  My wife and I are empty nesters and the kids have professions that keep them away from home and we rarely see them.  

 

Even when the kids do make the occasional pilgrimage home, they understandably spend a lot of time visiting their friends!

 

So when we take our family cruise, I know we have them captive to ourselves in a very pleasant environment consisting of good weather, things to do/see, and no house chores to fight over.  There is plenty of together time to allow us to talk and catch up on things.

 

Jan 7 2019, Antigua (Reflection 14 nt Caribbean cruise)

 

 

I do wonder if our kids will want to continue to cruise with us as they get older. They have been on all our previous cruises and even though the eldest has gone to university, he still wants to cruise with us this year. I’m not too sure how I’m going to feel when they are both gone 😥- seeing your photo gives me hope, but I bet we’ll still be paying .

 

Being retired though must be great, especially when you can benefit from all the cheap deals which aren’t available when sailing in the peak seasons.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, crazyman3 said:

We've loved cruising... but we also enjoy relative luxury... so we only cruise once a year and enjoy suites etc etc.

 

However, in the last 12 years we've had some very special land-based holidays: Sri Lanka, Jordan, Scotland, the Nile, Morocco, Venice (not on a cruise that time!), Dubai and Syria/Lebanon. Our favourite was Syria (just before the war) but Sri Lanka was remarkable. 

 

The cruises we'd like to do:

 

a) The West coast of Africa

 

b) UK to Iceland to Greenland to Canada to New England.

 

The former is booked! Azamara 2020! Bring it on!

 

The latter... can't find what we want unless it is a B2B. Ideas?

 

 

We tend to extend our cruises either pre or post to get the best of both worlds e.g. last year, we did a stopover in Las Vegas before joining our ship in San Francisco and sailing up to Alaska. Another time, we stopped over in Singapore and then Australia before joining a cruise from Sydney over to NZ. So it’s possible to use your flight path to extend your vacation before even arriving at the ship. Obviously, we also use the embarkation/disembarkation ports to extend too 😉.

[Baatman]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 3:33 PM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

Many are out to see new destinations, to connect with culture and scenery.  Some are there for the ship, and couldn't care less if there were any ports.  Others are there for exotic beaches and a break from the cold, different itineraries are not nessessary.

 

To get to your question, we're all hooked on cruising like cocaine.  😜  

 

 

LOL...kinda true though!

[rowingmachine]

We really love cruises, but have not done many primarily because of the cost,  but also because we enjoy more unscripted holidays. Cruise Critic is great, but it does tend to push you towards booking this and that and the other way before time because it may be a pound or two less if you cotton on to the latest Flash Sale or deal. For goodness sake, I don't know if I/We are going to want to go to Murano on Day 8 of our cruise for a slap up meal.  Past experience says I will probably be full up by then. Every minute booked is a frightful weight on me to fulfill the schedule.  Best holiday is with the bus pass and the railcard and only the bare bones prebooked,  but that does entail its own worries along with the excitement of course.  A cruise is fantastic because you pay for it all beforehand, put your wallet away,  sit back and let it happen;  you meet far more people than on other holidays.  So we are coming up to our first ever 14 days holiday, first ever Celebrity and I'm very much looking forward.  Just have to slap my  wrists when I go into 'Manage My Booking'.  Thought provoking topic though.

[Lastdance]

Well, my favorite way to cruise is taking a TA over to Europe and then staying there for a week or so.  My DH loves that his food and bed travel with him, so cruising makes sense for us.  The Caribbean is just not a place we really enjoy a lot, as we have been there several times in our early years; however, we do have a long one booked for November of 2020.  Personally, I have grown accustomed to the suite life, but my DH could care less.  Since I plan all our trips, he just allows me to be me, and knows that so far, my decisions have worked out very well for both of us.  

 

This April, we cannot stay for a week or so in Europe, due to my aging father and dog, so we are just flying back home...that is wasting money, as when you are over there, staying for a while is so wonderful.  Due to our obligations, I keep working partime, and making my own schedule.  I always thought that both of us would be free to travel for extended periods of time during the year, but life had other ideas...at least my travel fund stays well funded...However, when we are totally free, my plans are to TA over to Europe and stay for at least a couple of months, using their trains and having a blast.  Yes, we are trying to remain as healthy as possible!  So, everyone's situation is different for sure!  I am also entertaining a world cruise, but that may be too long...especially with all the food onboard staring at me!  I never thought either one of us would enjoy cruising as much as we do...

Edited March 15, 2019 by Lastdance

[Ginnyfyr]

My husband and I are far from our retirement years but we've managed to do an average of 3 cruises a year since we started sailing in 2009. We just love that we can see so many places and then return to a beautiful, clean ship with amazing food. We enjoy meeting people from all over and actually have stayed in touch with some fellow cruisers who we are looking forward to cruising with again, so that's a fun and unexpected aspect for us! Last year we decided to dial it back and only do 2 cruises, which turned into no cruises after we had to cancel one to due timing and the other due to my knee injury. When we were finally able to board Equinox in February I thought I was going to cry, I was so happy to be back on a ship!

[chemmo]

On 3/15/2019 at 7:39 PM, villauk said:

 

 

I do wonder if our kids will want to continue to cruise with us as they get older. They have been on all our previous cruises and even though the eldest has gone to university, he still wants to cruise with us this year. I’m not too sure how I’m going to feel when they are both gone 😥- seeing your photo gives me hope, but I bet we’ll still be paying .

 

Being retired though must be great, especially when you can benefit from all the cheap deals which aren’t available when sailing in the peak seasons.

 

They will still come and then there is the point where you end up with the GF coming too.....

 

Re cheap deals, we are still waiting for one!!! If we for look for a last minute one either the flight costs are horrendous or we can’t get the room category we want...

[laslomas]

My first cruise was back in 1996 from Miami. I dined each evening at a shared table where our table mates enjoyed talking about their numerous cruises taken what seemed to me to be every few weeks. I was so jealous as I expected it would be a while before I saved enough and had enough holiday time to cruise again. But what I did realise while we chatted as the days went by was that 2 of the couples lived in Florida and the other couple an easy drive away from the Florida ports. They also explained that as Florida is the 'cruise capital' of the world as long as you are flexible and could travel at short notice the bargains available are amazing. There are often 3, 4 , 5 or more ships leaving from a Florida port each day and the cruise lines want them as near capacity as possible so the prices can be so very low. I believe this is why the numbers of cruises taken by some people are so high. They are in the right place at the right time.

I wish it was like that from Southampton. I know I would be taking up the offers. But sadly the number of cruises leaving Southampton in the busiest months is probably equal to the daily total in Florida.

 

 

[MamaFej]

On 3/14/2019 at 7:25 AM, mrsgoggins said:

 

I fully understand this response.  Cruising is a great way, however, to ‘taste’ somewhere you think you might like.  As a result of cruising, we have had or have booked, longer land-based stays in both Slovenia and Croatia.

 

Very enjoyable and interesting thread. 

Exactly! When the kids were younger, we were able to save up time off, shift trade, etc. and take a total of four long summer vacations in our decrepit old RV and travel all over the US and parts of Canada. Our kids were 10, 13, and 17 when they hit their 50th state. We always said that we were having a buffet experience: sampling each place, learning  which places we would want to come back to for the full banquet experience some day. 

 

Now that cruising has entered our lives, we are doing the same thing, just on a ship (with someone else "driving," cooking, and cleaning. 

 

We are on the cusp of retirement, and our youngest will graduate high school in just over 14 months. Then, we will combine cruising, RVing and hoteling/renting in our travels to have the best of all worlds.

We have been obsessive savers and investors for over 30 years. We did without and made conscious choices in order to have the funds to travel extensively in our retirement. As I always say to my kids, "It's not my job to leave you an inheritance. It's my job to set a good example of thrifty living and wise money management, so you don't need one." 

So far, so good. Both adult children are already investing. The college student has about $5500 or so in her investment account, and is adding with every fast food paycheck. The teacher is maxing out his deferred compensation, and saving more with every paycheck. Here's hoping their little brother follows in their footsteps. 

[Hlitner]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 5:36 PM, arsenalboy said:

We are all different, that's what makes the world go round?

 

We are seniors who are UK based and will be taking our third Celebrity cruise in May. We previously sailed P and O 25 years ago.

 

I find these boards fascinating and am constantly amazed when people say they have cruised over a hundred times or have a dozen cruises in the pipeline. You guys must be living on the vessels!

 

Interested to know the driving force behind taking so many cruises? I understand there are many places to go and many places to see. That could run up a couple of dozen cruises but there are many who claim multiples of that. Where do you get the time for so many each year?

 

Don't get me wrong I think taking a cruise is fabulous, but there are so many vacation experiences that cannot be had on a boat and so many places to visit that are nowhere near water.

 

Just curious? 

We have somehow made the time, for over forty years.  But now, being retired, the time is not too much of an issue.  We absolutely agree with you that there are many terrific travel experiences outside of the cruise world.  That is why we try to combine cruises with lengthy land trips (usually self-drive in Europe).  Ideally we will take a long repositioning cruise (to get us to or from Europe) combined with a multi-week (or month) stay in Europe.  This also works in parts of Asia, Australia, and NZ.  I sometimes like to mention that crossing the "pond" on a cruise ship is often less expensive then flying Business Class :).

 

Hank

[rowingmachine]

We have been obsessive savers and investors for over 30 years. We did without and made conscious choices in order to have the funds to travel extensively in our retirement. As I always say to my kids, "It's not my job to leave you an inheritance. It's my job to set a good example of thrifty living and wise money management, so you don't need one." 

 

Oh dear, Hank,  I wish I wish.  One of our offspring spends nothing, but will probably never go on a cruise because It's too expensive.  The other will never go on a cruise because he's spent up.  Life style examples to follow  are strangely elusive.  Think I should sub them both for a surprise cruise and see what happens. Whatever else neither of them would want to go with us!