Why don't we get bored???

[kakalina]

I was just wondering about the same itinerary time after time. We tend to go to the same destinations year after year.

I know that many of you do the same. So I ask the question, why? Don't you get bored? Long for new scenery?

I know that we feel there is so much to see in most ports that we could go 100 times and not see it all.:D After all, one day isn't a lot of time.

What about you?

[bjbear]

I agree. Haven't cruised near what you have but I'm working on that! :) I'm going on my 3rd cruise to Alaska end of May and I could go their 100 times and not be bored. There's always something I didn't get to see last time. And half the fun for me is just sailing along on the ship watching the view go by. :D

 

Sue

[agabbymama]

Nope, I don't usually return to a place a second time. I have to really fall in love with it (Hungary), or have missed a lot of it the first time. Not just cruises, but land vacations as well.

 

Australia is about the size of the US, so to expect to see it all in three weeks or even four weeks, ain't gonna happen. I've spent 7 weeks downunder and caught most of the highlights.

 

I've been to Alaska twice. First time on a cruise, second time on a cruisetour with 8 days interior traveling in the Yukon and Alaska.

 

Hawaii keeps calling me back the most, I guess. I'm preparing to take my 4th trip to the Aloha state. For this trip I've rented houses on Hawaii and Oahu, so that will be something new and different from hotels or tours. My husband has been to Oahu. My sister-in-law has been to the Big Island. Our friend hasn't been at all. I've been to the four main islands, so there will be something new for each of us on this trip.

 

I've wondered myself why folks keep returning to the Caribbean time and time again. Or people that have been to Alaska 10 or 20 times. That isn't for me, when there is the WHOLE BIG WORLD out there to see. It's not that I'm bored, just a thirst to see as much as possible while I'm able.

[cusyl]

Just being on a ship at sea is what keeps calling me back, and the fact that it is easy to get to from Florida. I will admit our cruise in the Med was our favorite, but that took a lot energy and money to get to. The Caribbean is a great value from Florida.

[RuthC]

When the ship is the destination, and the ports are at best secondary, there's no reason to get bored.

Give me a long cruise on a HAL ship, sailing in cooler climes, and I have so much to do I can't keep up!

[jer_l]

We're going on our fifth and sixth Alaskan cruises this summer and aren't bored yet. In fact, we're trying to figure out if we can swing the new Amsterdam 14-day itinerary next summer.

[wdw1972]

Ports??? Who cares about ports?? I cruise for the cruising...the ship, life onboard the ship, being at sea. I could care less about the ports. The best thing about ports is most passengers get off my dam ship so I can have it to myself!

 

Sue/WDW1972

Eurodam 11/07/09 (basically repeating the Feb 2009 itinerary)

[JDinWA]

When the ship is the destination, and the ports are at best secondary, there's no reason to get bored.

Give me a long cruise on a HAL ship, sailing in cooler climes, and I have so much to do I can't keep up!

 

Well said, Ruth!

 

I just love being onboard, and sea days are the best for me. I don't cruise to go somewhere...I cruise to be there. Since I don't like to fly, I stick to cruises out of Seattle/Vancouver, so we've done Alaska a number of times and Hawaii the year that HAL did RT Seattle-Hawaii (17 lovely days!). A few times, we did no excursions in Alaska...just meandered and shopped and relaxed. I'm really looking forward to the 14-day trips next year.

 

My first cruise, I went because my mother really wanted to go and didn't want to go alone. I dreaded it. I couldn't imagine anything more boring than being stuck on a cruise ship for a full week. HA! I had no idea, did I? I discovered that it's truly a vacation because there isn't anything "useful" I can do even if I want to (which is what my at-home vacations turn into), and as a result, it's the most relaxing vacation I can have.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I can give you an answer in one word "Comfort" :) There is a lot to be said about the repeating the same ship and itinerary. Like Ruth said when the ship is the distination the ports are only secondary. For us it will probably always be the Oosterdam Mexican Riviera. We know what to expect, we have our favorite place to go and do in each port and there is no surprises, kind of like being Norm on your favorite bar stool at Cheers.

But with that being said we are going on a new itinerary and new to us ship this next week and are looking forward to the change but when it is all said and done it is still Holland America with many things that will still feel familiar and being like home ;)

[debshomespun]

I never tire of the blue meeting blue scenery! The islands are an added bonus! We are on a cruise ship and it doesn't matter where it is going as long as #1, I am on it, and #2, it is warm! :D :D

[timothy998]

We went to St Martin on our honeymoon and to Puerto Rico many times on family vacations with my in-laws, but there's something about the Caribbean water in SXM and PR is such an immense place that one can never get bored. We go to the Florida Gulf Coast on average twice a year for a week at a time, go to the same family condo, go to the same beaches, but it is familiar to us and the kids, and "we like it." No need for second-guessing or apologies if you like something.

[leoandhugh]

We don't get bored because we do not return to the same itinerary time after time. I just don't see how people can go back to the same Caribbean islands year after year, even considering eastern and western itineraries. There is so much more out there to see. Granted you can't do most of them in 7days, but Mediterranean, Baltic and British Isle ports have so much to offer. Around the tip of South America between Santiago and BuenosAires. And frankly we would not be bored on a cruise that spent most of the days at sea; we try to do a transAtlantic repositioning every other year and usually back2back with the preceding cruise prior to the TA.

One itinerary you will never find us again is Caribbean - been there, done that, same old, same old:(

[innlady1]

We own a seasonal B & B and are open the end of April to the end of October. Throw in Thanksgiving, then reopening our inn briefly for a Christmas Stroll in early December, then Christmas with family...then the birthdays of our five grandchildren...I'm not missing those...while they're still little enough to want us to be here...so that leaves January through mid March to cruise.

 

For now. When we sell our inn and "retire," then we'll be able to cruise at other times during the year. That's when we'll do Alaska, the Baltic, the Med, etc. But for now, it's pretty much the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Mexican Riviera. My next project is to get DH to fly the distance from the East Coast to the West Coast...LOL!

 

I don't get bored doing the Caribbean, though. How can it be boring to leave the frigid temps in the Northeast...and sit on our verandah reading a good book, looking out at the sea? To me, the ship is the destination, the ports, the frosting on the cake...but mostly it's about the ship and the people we meet.

 

Anyone want to innsit our inn on Nantucket while we do the Veendam to Bermuda cruise over Columbus Day in '10? LOL...

[geoherb]

The ship has been our main destination on all except two cruises--one to New England/Canada and one to Alaska. All the rest of our cruises have been in the Caribbean.

[usha]

We cruise to get away & rest, relax & romance together.:cool:

We like warm, sunny weather, and a nice ship to call home.:)

We're not all fussy about ports. If we don't like the port, there's always the ship...:cool:

We don't need tons of entertainment. We do a pretty good job of keeping ourselves entertained.:o

What I'm saying, I guess is, we don't "bore" easily.:D

[Cruisin'Lady]

I have yet to get alot of cruises under my belt. Only been on two. But I live in Alaska and prefer to cruise in warmer climates. I could never get bored of cruising. I love the ships and the sea...especially when you can walk outside and it be a balmy 75f degrees in the middle of the night!!

[kryos]

I think the reason that we don't get bored is that despite the fact that we've cruised the same itinerary repeated numbers of times, cruising is different than a land trip. A cruise only gives you a day or so in each place ... so it would probably take maybe 20 or 30 trips before you would even begin to get bored.

 

I know I've been to Hawaii numerous times now ... certainly not as many as you, though ... and I don't get bored because there's so much that I haven't seen or done yet, and even some things that I have done but would like to do again. So for now, I'm happy with Hawaii. Same with the South Pacific. Maybe if I got the chance to spend two weeks on Bora Bora, I might be tired of it and want something different. But since each trip there is really only for two days, I've barely scratched the surface.

 

Wait until you've been to Hawaii or the South Pacific about 50 times. Then maybe you'll start to see a sense of boredom set it. And, then again ... maybe you won't. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

We don't get bored because we do not return to the same itinerary time after time. I just don't see how people can go back to the same Caribbean islands year after year, even considering eastern and western itineraries.

That's why cruise lines are forever looking for new ports. They have a whole department at HAL called Itinerary Planning.

 

As long as HAL "changes up" things every once in a while, I'm happy with the same itinerary ... one I know that I like. It's not all about the ports sometimes, but about the whole cruise experience. And, while I haven't been to the Caribbean for a while, I have been to Hawaii the past two years, and will be there again this year and next. I certainly don't get tired of that.

 

I think it's all a matter of what you like and what you are comfortable with.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[English_in_Spain]

Just being on a ship at sea is what keeps calling me back, and the fact that it is easy to get to from Florida. I will admit our cruise in the Med was our favorite, but that took a lot energy and money to get to. The Caribbean is a great value from Florida.

 

We are like you but the other way around.

 

We cruise in the Med as it is easy for us to get to. We have done several Caribbean cruises but it means long flights for us to get to Florida.

 

Perhaps we are slightly luckier as there are more interesting ports of call in the Med. By that I mean 'city' ports and you can do several one day stops in each of these without getting bored.

 

We go to Barcelona often (apart from when we are cruising) and I have not managed to get bored with that yet.

 

The two disadvantages with cruising the Med is that the cruises tend to be more expensive and also, if you want reasonable weather, the season is much shorter.

[mrsltg]

Well, I've only cruised the Caribbean and Hawaii thus far and have been to San Juan and Nassau so many times I now treat them as a sea day where everyone else gets off the ship! I have no problem cruising the same destination because as others have said, the ship is the destination. My feeling on most of the Caribbean is that it is lovely, but once you've seen one third world Caribbean cruise port you've seen them all. I enjoy snorkeling and sitting on the beach but it doesn't matter to me if I do that in Grand Turk or St. Croix.

[larsenbiz]

My husband and I often cruise with friends or family. It is really nice, because for us, the cruise is usually about being with people we don't see that often in a place where none of life's daily garbage get in the way. And...San Diego is close to us. We always try to find something to do in port, even if it is the same thing. We have some new trips planned so we'll have some other things to do, but we just love being on the ship.

[Beowulfpk]

I don't get bored on any cruise, but I do find new ports to be more exciting. I'll usually do repeat cruising in the Carribean or Alaska, because they have the most affordable overall costs. Otherwise while in Europe or otherwise I try to do different ports to maximize my experience.

[Nutrioso]

Bored? Bored, you ask? That immediately brought to my mind's ear my Mom saying "if you're bored, it's your own fault! Get busy and find something to do".

That memory aside, I can't say that I've ever been bored at a repeat port. We have done the Panama Canal and Central America several times as well as the Sea of Cortez four times. Loved each and every port each and every time. It's as much about the ship and the sea as it is about the ports, to us.

We have also learned that a couple of ports (Acapulco, for one) were not to our liking and wouldn't care to revisit them.

---- Penny

[ANSalberg]

I was just wondering about the same itinerary time after time. We tend to go to the same destinations year after year.

I know that many of you do the same. So I ask the question, why? Don't you get bored? Long for new scenery?

I know that we feel there is so much to see in most ports that we could go 100 times and not see it all.:D After all, one day isn't a lot of time.

What about you?

 

The SIMPLE answer is -frankly, we don't GET bored easily- Not at home and not on a cruise! BUT I am asked that question often when people hear how much we cruise now that we're retired. HOW do you explain to people what "boredom" is? Boredom to me is when you are unable to find something to do and want to be entertained 100 % of the time! So if you GET "bored" you are asking for something VERY unrealistically.

So- more specifically - we seldom if EVER get bored cruising the world and learning new things and seeing how OUR [ taking responsibility here] WORLD functions! Get BORED? NEVAH! ;) Anne

[Robin7]

We will be doing the Mexican Riviera for a third time the week of Labor Day on a Carnival monstrosity (the price was right). We don't love Cabo, Mazatlan or PV all that much. We're just looking to spend seven days relaxing and being together. Our suitcases will be heavy with books. We are looking forward to the other 3,000+ passengers getting off the ship so we can enjoy it!

 

We are never bored. We cruise to have a break from being parents (of seven children) and to remember why it was we married 26 years ago.

 

Maybe itinerary will become more important when all of our kids are gone, but that's not for ten or more years yet.

 

Robin