Curious....Do you really want to cruise?

[JEANSKI79]

I was glad to see the post above about people who may be limited health wise. Thats #1 reason why I cruise. The "unknown" of traveling is part of the adventure and fun of land vacations but my body just can't handle it. Maybe someday I hope. I have a list of "dream" vacations. :)

 

If I am not well I can skip port all together while my travel companion can go (doesn't mind being alone) and enjoy while I relax by the pool or inside some lounge reading and getting my refreshments handed to me. I am so excited to go to Key West this cruise (in 3 days!!:D) as it was one port I missed last time and I was looking at how nice it was from inside the ship. :(

 

Its a great comfort for me to know my bed is not too far away from me at all times and that I will never be bored even if I can't exert myself too much.

[Wavesprite]

We do both. We like to cruise because we have young children and they love camp. We alos love land vacations, have a popup camper and camp about 20 nights a year (at least).

[jpg1747]

While I am still working and have limited vacation time, for me cruising gives me the most vacation for my time and money. When family obligations no longer take some of my vacation time and/or I am retired, I do plan to take more, and longer, land based vacations. The non-European cruise destinations I go to are not places I'd likely want to spend a lot of time in anyway, so cruising is a good way to get a taste of these places, with the ship being a wonderful floating resort..

[terigo]

I can go on vacation to see more than one place without packing and unpacking.

 

I can see a show or a movie without having to hire a cab or drive my rental car.

 

I can have a bit too much to drink at a club, but I don't have to drive home.

 

I can have a resort and spa atmosphere within an elevator ride.

 

I can try new foods without worrying that I am about to spend $60.00 bucks on this dinner, so I better only order what I know I like.

 

I can try my luck at the casino without having to gear my vacation to Las Vegas or a similar destination.

 

I cannot possibly get all of this any way other than cruising.... been doing it for over 30 years. Things have changed, cruise lines have come and gone, but it is still my idea of the perfect trip....even though we have interspersed with a couple of land vacations.

[cruiser-007]

1. It's almost all-inclusive, so it's much easier to budget for.
   
2. I'm not stuck having to drive 4+ hours every day to get us where we are going.
   
3. I'm completely "away" from it all, with no worries of cell phone or emails or anything along those lines.
   
4. The food is excellent, plentiful and there's a wide variety so everyone can get what they like.
   
5. Sunsets on the Water! :rolleyes:
   

 

If I may, I'll second Edmund. These were my exact thoughts. We do alternate these long cruise vacations with weekender land trips but for the time being, the big vacations will probably be cruises until we (wife and I) feel like our hearts want to take us elseware. For the record, the only other 'big spender' vacation I toy with is going back to Disney.:)

[DC Caps]

Basically the answers I thought I would hear(hence thinking stupid question). I think I will feel the same way cruising. You just can't beat it. Like someone said I could even cruise alot of Europe. I don't have any doubt I will be hooked. Hell, I can grab a beer and watch the game and walk home with no worries:D. Sounds great to me. Cheers to my first of many cruises!

 

I'm 30 DW 25 and we will go to Harry Potter Land at Universal at some point soon. I know were dorks. Think of all the kids!!!

[tonit964]

I can go on vacation to see more than one place without packing and unpacking.

 

I can see a show or a movie without having to hire a cab or drive my rental car.

 

I can have a bit too much to drink at a club, but I don't have to drive home.

 

I can have a resort and spa atmosphere within an elevator ride.

 

I can try new foods without worrying that I am about to spend $60.00 bucks on this dinner, so I better only order what I know I like.

 

I can try my luck at the casino without having to gear my vacation to Las Vegas or a similar destination.

 

I cannot possibly get all of this any way other than cruising.... been doing it for over 30 years. Things have changed, cruise lines have come and gone, but it is still my idea of the perfect trip....even though we have interspersed with a couple of land vacations.

 

This is so true, for us anyway. These are some of the reasons we LOVE cruising. It is just so relaxing and you don't have to think about anything, everything is right there on the ship.

 

We used to go to Lake Tahoe in the summer, every year, but last year we went on the Splendor and had a great time as always, but my DH and DD want to go back to Tahoe so next August instead of a cruise, we will go there. The value won't be the same, that's for sure!

Toni

[kml2000]

I am a single Mom and we LOVE to cruise. We, however can't cruise very often but would if we could. Cruising has been wonderful for us. My DD has always enjoyed the kids clubs and I don't have to do anything!!! I can read a bood, take a nap, etc and I don't have to worry about a thing. I don't have to decide what to eat, where to eat, or even WHEN to eat. I don't worry about prices at restaurants, we can order whatever we like, don't have to share a meal to save money, etc.

 

I LOVE to cruise and am looking forward to our cruise in March!

 

Karen

[truchattycathy]

I love to cruise!! Yes if I had billions, I would take more land vacations, but I don't. The relaxing and being waited on is one of the reasons I love cruising, the other......no responsibilities!!!

[ORB]

I think we like the flexibility. Our lives are fairly hectic, so we usually want a vacation that is relaxing. Many cruisers would probably find our average day on Ship incredibly boring, but the cruise lines provide a good mix for everyone's enjoyment. We catch up on reading, napping, eating, and then get to see what is usually a tolerably good show (almost never great, but almost never really awful). The ports break up the routine, but we are under no illusion that we are getting to know the local culture.

 

In addition to that, there is the sea. There is just something I can't articulate about the water, but I can watch it for hours and feel the stress melting out of my body in a big puddle from the first minute. After half an hour, I become one with my lounge chair...

[welldone60]

For the last few years DW and I have taken the month of Febuary off. We spend time on both land and sea. Last year we cruised out of PR on the Victory, then flew to Miami, then went down in the Keys, Then up to Cocoa Beach. We are planning our trip now for next Febuary which will again be a cruise along with some land based destinations. During the rest of the year we travel on short land based vacations (and maybe a short cruise somwhere).

We love to travel, and cruising is one way to travel.

[WOWGirl]

Well you ask a great question.

 

For me personally, cruising is so much fun for the price. My husband and I want to travel to Europe and see other countries, but we cant right now. Our financial situation raising kids and paying off a home, only allows us to budget a vacation. Cruising is so far the best value for what we get. I will keep cruising, I love it every time. However, I do want to go out and visit other places too, when we can. :)

[UpstateCruizer]

One of my favorite parts of cruising is being cut off from the real world for the length of the cruise. When doing land vacations the temptation to call home or to receive calls is too great. There are places that I one day may want to visit but for now I prefer the shorter port stays and variety that cruising allows. I've dreamed of Hawaii forever and can't wait to cruise there. If we find that we love it enough to spend a week or longer there then I'd consider booking it as a land vacation.

 

It's funny that for years I've heard about all the rich people who vacation in the Bahamas or own fancy homes there but when we visited I was more than happy to be back on the ship :) That is probably my second most favorite part of cruising :)

[DC Caps]

Well you ask a great question.

 

For me personally, cruising is so much fun for the price. My husband and I want to travel to Europe and see other countries, but we cant right now. Our financial situation raising kids and paying off a home, only allows us to budget a vacation. Cruising is so far the best value for what we get. I will keep cruising, I love it every time. However, I do want to go out and visit other places too, when we can. :)

 

Kinda like us minus the kids (unless you count the dogs!) We are doing Vegas as a warmup in January. Weird thing though is that I'm not really looking forward to it if you know what I mean. I want to go but the cruise fills all my thoughts in comparison. Funny thing is we were both in and met in the Airforce and have seen alot of the states but never were sent overseas. I however and from Alaska so we go there alot so we can check that off the cruise list.

[Relayer]

We got hooked on our very 1st cruise and have been pretty regular twice a year cruisers ever since. Cruising has been our 1st choice for vacations but we do take several long weekends each year to the mountains and Carolina beaches.

 

Nothing like being at sea. Sunsets and rises. Warm winds and new, or favorite, places.

 

For us cruising offers one of the few things we can do and completely disconnect from our professional responsibilites. Get completely off the net so to speak. On our land trips it seems we can always be found by someone in some way.:(

[DC Caps]

One of my favorite parts of cruising is being cut off from the real world for the length of the cruise. When doing land vacations the temptation to call home or to receive calls is too great. There are places that I one day may want to visit but for now I prefer the shorter port stays and variety that cruising allows. I've dreamed of Hawaii forever and can't wait to cruise there. If we find that we love it enough to spend a week or longer there then I'd consider booking it as a land vacation.

 

It's funny that for years I've heard about all the rich people who vacation in the Bahamas or own fancy homes there but when we visited I was more than happy to be back on the ship :) That is probably my second most favorite part of cruising :)

Use to think the same thing until I watched a travel show the other day and saw the Bahamas were hundreds of different little islands. Some of those celebrtity ones seem perfect. But oh well, whatever we chose the Victory to see as many places as possible. Now they have cancelled Dominica from their ports of call so we will experience a sea day.

[mamacat18]

Sounds like a good time to me.... Happy first cruise!!

[MamaParrotHead]

I enjoy the fact that I don't have to worry about the MILLIONS of details a long, oveseas trip (or even the ones I've taken in the US) on our own would entail. How/when to catch transportation (both around town and between areas we want to visit), where to stay, where to eat, areas to stay out of, etc. Plus budgeting for a cruise is a LOT easier than winging it. I enjoy having a product I know is a quality one that treats me like royalty and the biggest decisions I have to make are what to do in port and what to order at dinner. The fact that the kids' programs are wonderful is a plus as well...it makes an amazing balance between adult time and family time.

 

Until I've sailed the ships I want, and visited all the ports I want, I'm sticking with cruising.

[Warm Breezes]

My first question to the family, after we find a week that we can all get off, is land or sea? The kids keep saying sea. Since the kids are going to be with us only so long before they move on, I focus my research on what they want to do for family vacations (not that DH and I don't love cruising ourselves:D). DH and I take shorter adult only vacations on land. That way we get the best of both worlds.

[Senoj84]

I love cruising and still want to continue to cruise in the years to come but I also would like to take some trips to Italy, Paris and Japan in the future but right now I can't afford that so cruising is working for me right now. ;)

[CarribbeanTina271]

It is just awesome to me!! Being out in the middle of the ocean is AMAZING! Watching the sun rise out of the water and set back in is breathtaking;) I enjoy the smell of the ocean, watching the wake of the ship, letting the ship gently rock me to sleep!! But thats not all, I enjoy not having to cook, clean or pretty do nothing that I just don't wanna do.. it is a relaxing vacation!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

My license plate cover was custom made to say "I'd rather be cruising" for a reason. I personally have never been the travel kind. I've never been interested in exploring the world and usually vacation somewhere close to home. I'm in Arizona so I go to California or Nevada or New Mexico and thats about it. I'd rather not drive and flying is so darn expensive. So to fit within my budget, I drive once to California, board a ship and for however many days, I can just kick back with drinks in hand, do karaoke everynight and never worry about a designated driver, my kids can go their way if they want or hang out with us old folks, and I get pampered the whole week. Can't go wrong. The only bad part is that aweful drive back to Arizona when I know my vacation is truly over.

[titansdave]

we do a cruise once a year and a land vaction.......but 1day soon i hope we can just do 2 cruises a year......

its just great no worries, no problems and a good time..........

[JerseyshoreBruce]

The more I thought about this question it seems to become dumber and dumber to ask but I figured whatever, I'll ask anyway. Do you who cruise multiple times year after year, vacation after vacation really want to? Even those who just started. We will be going on our first on the Victory next year and we can't wait, so I don't want to come across as knocking cruisers. But I think there is so much to do out there. Like I would love to do an entire Uk tour vacation or Scandavia, or even spend a couple weeks in Australia and New Zealand, even here in the states. Thats just to name a few. So do you guy's just do it because it's a fabulous bang for your buck vacation going to many exotic places, or do you ever want to branch out at the cost of cruising less? Like I said, no knock against cruising because I'm pretty sure I will get the bug,(and that worries me a little) but do you forsake other dream vacations to do it? I would ask the same question in reverse to people that do the same land vacation time after time.

I will still do land vacations but never do a all-inclusive again. I will return to Disney and would love to visit California but my heart is in cruising. I have never had a bad cruise yet but have had some so-so land vacations!

[Matt2000]

The only reason I do cruises(usually about 2 a year) is for pure relaxation, plain and simple. On a cruise, I have the ability to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. No cell phones, computers, etc. My company knows to not even try to reach me. There are some cruises I've gone on and not even gotten off the ship at any port(of course, this is only if I've been to the port before).

 

I LOVE land vacations, but they're not nearly as relaxing. When I go to Europe, there is so much to see and do, that I'm pretty much running around all the time. I Like this too. I get to see so much more of the culture, architecture, festivals, etc. etc. but no time to just relax. Maybe if I had more time, the land trips wouldn't be as hectic, but I usually only take 3 or 4 weeks a year for the land vacations and leave 2 for the cruises.