I guess I'm not one of you! : (

[mudpievelour]

[quote name='CFitz']"I'm more of a 'fly into a European city, explore for several days, then hop on a train and see where I end up' kind of person."

We share not only a name, but the same idea of the perfect vacation! That sounds absolutely fabulous.

About Alaska - I am really, really itching to see it. I would even consider another cruise in order to do it. In fact, I am planning on Alaska for our next family vacation and will be exploring all our options. :)

Dramamine - even the "no drowsy" kind - just made me want to sleep for days. Same with Bonine (meclazine). There's probably something out there that would work for me.[/quote]

Garlic tablets are quite safe and work like a charm for me and my friends. AND they are MUCH cheaper than dramamine with no side effects like drowsiness.

[GoodAsGold]

You might also give Antigua, Guatemala a try. My 16 year old daughter spent 10 days over there with a small group of students. They took part in some community service projects. But they also enjoyed the beautiful area and all the people who made them feel welcome. Lake Atitlan is gorgeous, as well as walking on active volcanoes. If you go to Honduras, try to go over to Antigua and other areas of Guatemala if you can!


[quote name='CFitz']Oh, I can't wait to go back to some of those amazing places - especially Honduras. I'm in love.[/quote]

[rtrtx2]

Just wanted to share our first cruise experience with ya.......

I spent from childhood (hearing my parents talk about that dream cruise that we never actually went on and watching the Love Boat on TV) yearning to take a cruise. We finally took our first cruise when I was in my early thirties. My expectations were probably well beyond what any cruise could deliver. We cruised the Big Red Boat with our sons. This was a very small, older ship which had alot of motion. Prior to this cruise I had always been told,"You do not feel the ship move", so when it swayed alot(we cruised on October) I took dramine out of fear of sea sickness. I hated the way the meds made me feel, so much of the cruise I really wasn't operating at 100 %. The food was good, but I probably expected 5 star fine dining at its best, which is not what you get. Because the ship was older, the main show lounge was rather small, there was not a large grand atrium, etc. I came home from that cruise very unsure of cruising, I had fun but it was not what I had dreamed for so long. So hubby and I booked a nowhere cruise on Carnival's then new ship, the Victory. Now my expectation were reasonable and the Victory blew me away, newer, bigger, more dining options, etc. The ship really can make a difference. Also I skipped the meds. My point is cruising may not be for you which is fine BUT now I look back and remember the great points of our first cruise and am glad I gave it a second chance because we have experienced so many fun places, etc by cruising ( my favorites have been Europe, Alaska and I love Belize and Roatan). .

[DqALEX]

[quote name='CFitz']After spending weeks (months) on here learning all about Carnival and the cruisin' lifestyle, we took our Legend cruise in July and I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not a cruiser. I wanted so much to be enthralled by the experience and I just couldn't be. I didn't like the mild seasickness I always felt (never terrible, but I kept a queasy feeling the whole time); I thought the food was marginal and sometimes bad; I didn't like being stuck with the same people all week; I always felt "wiped out" (probably something about the seasickness); I hated how our key cards kept not working (PITA!); I found the pools to be tiny and way overcrowded - I'm not posting this to be a downer, really. I guess I'm mourning the fact that I'm not one of you happy, cruisin people. I think I'm too high-maintenance! It sucks. The ports, however, were wonderful. I think I'm a land-vacationer at heart.

Anyway, I had a ball hanging out with you guys for those months and wish you all many happy cruises. :)[/QUOTE]
My brother in law felt the same. He won't cruise again

[LHP]

Cruising is not for everyone. But at least you were willing to give it try!!!

You could not get my brother on a cruise ship if they gave him the Owner's Suite for life!!!

My best friend is also one who will probably do it once (she has not done it yet) just to sail with me....but it will be her only time. I already know it won't be her thing. She will simply tolerate it to travel with me.

I hope you find that vacation that lights up your world!!!

[LHP]

[quote name='CFitz']Thanks to everyone for your kind words, and I read every post.

I was honestly so bummed that I didn't feel the same way most of you feel about it, but I guess you're all right. At least I gave it a shot. And I AM a landlubber, haha! Here I always thought I was more "pirate". Maybe I'm a ninja instead. :p

Thanks all, and I will be popping in now and again just to enjoy the company.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps one day we will cruise into a port where you are enjoying a wonderful Spa hotel and we can all party together on the beach!!!!

woo hoo

[want2cruiseagain]

I'm sorry your cruising experience was not up to your expectations. We always did land vacations and thought that was the way to go. We did our first cruise, which was the Med cruise, and fell in love. We could not have seen the places we did for the price we paid on a land tour. The Med cruise is excursion intensive, and it was nice to get back to the ship and relax for the evening. I don't think we could have done that on a land tour.

I highly recommend doing a med cruise. Give it one more shot, maybe we'll win you over. If not, that's OK too. At least you tried it right? I know people who won't even try it and I think that is sad.

[newmexicoNita]

[quote name='CFitz']Thanks to everyone for your kind words, and I read every post.

I was honestly so bummed that I didn't feel the same way most of you feel about it, but I guess you're all right. At least I gave it a shot. And I AM a landlubber, haha! Here I always thought I was more "pirate". Maybe I'm a ninja instead. :p

Thanks all, and I will be popping in now and again just to enjoy the company.[/QUOTE]

My brother went on his first and only cruise about 5 years ago. Actually when they first got home he was really excited, but the more he thought about it, the more it wasn't his thing. Of course in his case, a couple of things probably didn't help: 1-they did no tours, just got off the ship, walked around a little and got back on and 2-they did the Mexican Riv, which isn't everyones favorite itinerary and my sister in law is one of those who sees the bad before the good. She did research, had heard about the pushy vendors and the crime rate in some of the ports, so went knowing she would not like the ports. Of course, she was concerned about crime, but lives in So California. I thought that interesting. Our youngest daughter isn't into cruising either...

I do want to add, what some have said, it may have been the cruise line you were on, this isn't knocking Carnival, it is pointing out as similar as the mass marketed lines are, they each have a niche. As for even a little seasick, I would recommend patches, pills or ginger route. This seems to work for most, especially when you mention you were just a little sick.
Nita

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

[quote name='CFitz']"I'm more of a 'fly into a European city, explore for several days, then hop on a train and see where I end up' kind of person."

We share not only a name, but the same idea of the perfect vacation! That sounds absolutely fabulous.

About Alaska - I am really, really itching to see it. I would even consider another cruise in order to do it. In fact, I am planning on Alaska for our next family vacation and will be exploring all our options. :)

Dramamine - even the "no drowsy" kind - just made me want to sleep for days. Same with Bonine (meclazine). There's probably something out there that would work for me.[/quote]


Sorry you didn't really care for cruising. I love cruising but I also love land trips. I own 2 timeshares and what I do is after I've gone to a port that I really like I trade a week or two of timeshare to fly to the place to further explore and enjoy. Maybe next time you might want to try the patch behind your ear.

[Handsome58]

Thank You for not liking cruising and not blaming the cruise line. Cruising is not for everyone. No problem with that. And you may try it again and find out it was just that cruise you were on, another one may give you a better time. But you are right to have your opinion. Stay tuned in, and let us know if you ever change your mind and how it went.

[tbrown]

[quote name='CFitz']"I'm more of a 'fly into a European city, explore for several days, then hop on a train and see where I end up' kind of person."

We share not only a name, but the same idea of the perfect vacation! That sounds absolutely fabulous.

About Alaska - I am really, really itching to see it. I would even consider another cruise in order to do it. In fact, I am planning on Alaska for our next family vacation and will be exploring all our options. :)

Dramamine - even the "no drowsy" kind - just made me want to sleep for days. Same with Bonine (meclazine). There's probably something out there that would work for me.[/quote]

I also get the ewww feeling on a ship but love to cruise. I take the Dramamine at night and ginger pills during the day it works great for me.

[PickUpNgo]

Sorry you didn't like it, but at least now you know. I was leery of being on the water so long too, so I took one of those short "cruises-to-nowhere", which was only 2 nights. I figured if I hated it, at least I wouldn't be miserable for an entire week. But, I loved it and now am less than 30 days from my first week-long cruise. Hoping to do a 12-day Europe next year. :D