Anyone have a significant other that doesn't like cruises?

[SissasMomE]

We didn't want to leave our 1 year old with someone(most likely would have been her parents) for 8 days, so that's why she came along. She will be almost 4 when we go in 2014, so I think that will help.

 

Oh yeah - most definitely! I bet your wife will really enjoy it this time! It really does make a big difference!!

[SissasMomE]

We brought him to the kids club and stayed with him while he was introduced to the staff and some other kids. He just did not want to stay by himself.(He really is SUPER SHY) I am hoping being a little older he will enjoy the kids club more in 2014.

 

Awww, poor boo. He's older now, so maybe he will enjoy it more this time :)

[KateQ22003]

My first two cruises I cruised with my husband. He liked it ok, but was not hooked like I was. Now I cruise with my sister and my girlfriends instead! It's much nicer for me than dragging a husband along who really doesn't want to be there.

[vent1020]

First, any family vacation with small children is not quite the cruise experience for a mom that it is for everyone else - vacations always revolve around the kids, and disruptions to the life of a 1 year old and 6 year old may be enough to turn any adult off vacations.

 

that said, to answer your question, yes, my DH is not a huge fan of cruises. In fact his idea of the perfect vacation has always been fishing trips, usually near home...which comes very close to my definition of torture.

 

Married for 43 years, we are pretty good at compromise. I do join him for some of his fishing trips, and every couple of years he'll join me for a cruise. But I travel extensively - 2 to 4 times each year for the last 10 years or so - with my best friend. Next week we fly to Rome for a Holy Lands/eastern Med cruise.

 

while i truly wish he shared my love of travel, I consider the approximately 48 weeks each year we spend together to only be enhanced by the few weeks each year we go our individual ways to fulfill each of our wishes.

 

i realize this wouldn't work for everyone, but i have been very happy both in my marriage and in my vacationing!

 

Thanks for the input. Yeah, taking care of the kids(and I did help, but just didn't let it turn me off of the awesomeness of the cruise) can be a burdon.

 

I think spending time apart is essential for a great marriage. I just don't know if she would allow me to do a cruise by myself(even if I was taking someone else, a friend of relative)

[vent1020]

We both enjoy separate vacations from time to time, because we do have different interests and dislikes.

 

OP why not go on a cruise with some of your friends, or go solo? A solo cruise is SUPER relaxing!

 

I don't think she would buy it, but maybe if I told her to go to Mexico(She LOVES Mexico) with her sister or friends, she would go for it.

[vent1020]

My DH also likes to go, but not nearly as often as I do. He thinks it will "spoil" the fun if we go do the "same thing" too often or close together. I think he's full o'crap :) I'm going and he can stay or go. Amazingly he tends to "go" just because he doesn't want to be home alone....heh.

 

LOL. That is what she says too. "Let's do something DIFFERENT" but my philosophy is, if you find something you like, stick with it!!! Problem is, she doesn't like it. :(

[jlacy1987]

My husband doesn't dislike cruising, but he doesn't like it as much as I do. I would go on a 7-day cruise or a couple of shorter cruises each year (I have 10 vacation days each year). My husband doesn't see the point in anything less than a 7-day cruise and he only wants to leave out of NOLA (closest port to us -- 5 hrs away) and only wants to cruise once every 2 years. I would happily fly to other ports.

[vent1020]

That's a nice idea for OP' sake, but if the point is to help his DW come around to the joy of cruising, I don't think OP leaving her at home with two children, one still in diapers, to take a friend's or solo cruise is going to endear her to cruising at all! :eek: Probably the opposite.

 

I like SissasMomE's idea of waiting for the next family cruise when both kids are a little older and there won't be so much baby/kid stuff to drag along. A cruise will be a totally different experience when you both have some couple time while the kids are in kids club.

 

EXACTLY Mrs. Squirrel. The kids will be older in 2014. After last night, I actually think I have my wife talked into another cruise before the 2014 one.

[dcollette]

I can honestly say (as someone who has sailed with a child who was just over 1 myself) that when you cruise with a child that cannot utilize the kids' program, it is less enjoyable. While NCL does have the "play time" that the parents can utilize to do with their children still it is just like being home taking care of them. That being said, taking a cruise once the little one is 3 (which is now NCL's rule) you may see that your wife enjoys herself much more. (I know I sure did) I agree with another poster about your shy child--definitely stay for a little bit when you bring them to the kids' program so they feel safe, and then usually you end up with a child that doesn't want to be picked up! All of my children have done this to me!

 

Perhaps the "stress" of having the entire family there is a bit much for her. You know her best. I can understand not wanting to wait that long to cruise. Maybe if you take a shorter cruise with just the two of you and have her just relax and enjoy things, maybe she will come around. My dh is not an active person like I am (i.e. couch potato) and travelling is not his thing, so I go with the kids and he gets his own kid free vacation at the same time. Everyone is different. Hope you can get her to enjoy cruising, for me it is the only "real" vacation I have ever had--no cooking, cleaning and the kids spend so much time in the kids' club that I actually get time to myself!

 

Good luck

[vent1020]

I'll end up sleeping on the couch for a month for this, but...

 

 

I figure any spouse who doesn't like cruising hardly qualifies to be considered "significant". :p;)

 

 

 

 

 

I'll be here if anybody is looking for me...

 

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And just so you all know. We had been together for 15 years before we took our first cruse. It was just that first one, I got bitten by the cruise bug. He must of missed biting her. :D

[Waterloomarc]

It took me 9 years to wear my wife down into going on our first cruise. Fortunately for me she enjoyed it and we pulled off 3 a year for the next 2 years.

 

I agree if she can be more specific about what she didn't like you can most likely mitigate that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vent1020]

Has she said what the issue was? I see you we're on Epic, which is so massive and so different from the more traditional experience that some just don't like it.

 

She didn't like being "confined" to the ship for so long. She isn't a gambler, so the casino didn't appeal to her. I think the small cabin(with having the kids) turned her off. But, I am hoping the 2 bedroom suite in 2014 will change that. She's not the type of person who likes to go go go, like I am. So all the stuff to do on the dailys didn't appeal to her either.

 

I just asked her over IM(I talk to her over IM at work :D ) her top three things she doesn't like about cruising. She said:

 

Being trapped, tedious after a few days, the sway of the boat.

 

Had no idea about the "sway" part. She'd never mentioned that. I asked her about never mentioning it. She said "It was only the last few days that it got on my nerves. I didn't get seasick but the constant rocking was distracting."

 

I know she had said before that 7 days was "TOO LONG" I loved 7 days. Most vacations are only 3 or 4 days and after the 3 days, you know it is already over or close to over. I LOVED that after 3 days on the 7 day cruise, you knew you still had 4 days. :D

 

Maybe a shorter cruise is what we need to focus on.

 

Sorry, I like to ramble, if you couldn't tell.

[vent1020]

I can honestly say (as someone who has sailed with a child who was just over 1 myself) that when you cruise with a child that cannot utilize the kids' program, it is less enjoyable. While NCL does have the "play time" that the parents can utilize to do with their children still it is just like being home taking care of them. That being said, taking a cruise once the little one is 3 (which is now NCL's rule) you may see that your wife enjoys herself much more. (I know I sure did) I agree with another poster about your shy child--definitely stay for a little bit when you bring them to the kids' program so they feel safe, and then usually you end up with a child that doesn't want to be picked up! All of my children have done this to me!

 

Perhaps the "stress" of having the entire family there is a bit much for her. You know her best. I can understand not wanting to wait that long to cruise. Maybe if you take a shorter cruise with just the two of you and have her just relax and enjoy things, maybe she will come around. My dh is not an active person like I am (i.e. couch potato) and travelling is not his thing, so I go with the kids and he gets his own kid free vacation at the same time. Everyone is different. Hope you can get her to enjoy cruising, for me it is the only "real" vacation I have ever had--no cooking, cleaning and the kids spend so much time in the kids' club that I actually get time to myself!

 

Good luck

 

Thanks! You actually hit the nail on the head with ALL your points and comments. I think a shorter cruise(compromising) would be the way to go.

[Barb Nahoumi]

My husband went on one cruise with me and is not a great fan. He would rather fly to one location and do day trips from there.

 

Therefore, I cruise with friends, then DH and I do other trips together.

 

It works for us------we are happily married for almost 47 years.

[MommaBear55]

DH resisted the idea of cruising for 20 years. His ship experience was in the engine room of a merchant marine ship. After all the kids graduated college I said we're going on a cruise to celebrate. Fast forward 5 years. Just got off a cruise in January. Had been on a 14 day cruise in November. Heading out in 27 more days for a 9 day cruise. I didn't care that all this cruising is "his" idea cause I get to go.

[shark with a laser]

She didn't like being "confined" to the ship for so long. She isn't a gambler, so the casino didn't appeal to her. I think the small cabin(with having the kids) turned her off. But, I am hoping the 2 bedroom suite in 2014 will change that. She's not the type of person who likes to go go go, like I am. So all the stuff to do on the dailys didn't appeal to her either.

 

I just asked her over IM(I talk to her over IM at work :D ) her top three things she doesn't like about cruising. She said:

 

Being trapped, tedious after a few days, the sway of the boat.

 

Had no idea about the "sway" part. She'd never mentioned that. I asked her about never mentioning it. She said "It was only the last few days that it got on my nerves. I didn't get seasick but the constant rocking was distracting."

 

I know she had said before that 7 days was "TOO LONG" I loved 7 days. Most vacations are only 3 or 4 days and after the 3 days, you know it is already over or close to over. I LOVED that after 3 days on the 7 day cruise, you knew you still had 4 days. :D

 

Maybe a shorter cruise is what we need to focus on.

 

Sorry, I like to ramble, if you couldn't tell.

 

I didn't even notice the boat swaying on Epic! I'd suggest sticking with the mega-ships if the swaying bothers her, as it's much more pronounced on pretty much every smaller ship I've been on.

[Freestyle Cruiser]

 

I loved 7 days. Most vacations are only 3 or 4 days and after the 3 days, you know it is already over or close to over. I LOVED that after 3 days on the 7 day cruise, you knew you still had 4 days. tell.

 

 

I agree exactly!!!!

[riddle]

DH and I both like to cruise. The difference is he likes to cruise and I LOVE to cruise. So far we have done it together but I would not hesitate to go with a friend if he did not want to go (although I admit I don't think I would enjoy it as much but who knows). We are not linked arm to arm the entire cruise. He enjoys the spa immensely so we always cruise on a ship with a very nice spa. I love to gamble (he is my banker) so he helps keep that in check.

 

He bragged to a friend that since I stay up so late gambling that I am not rousing him early in the morning and he gets to sleep in. Even after staying up late I like to get up early by myself and head up to the upper deck to drink coffee and gaze at the ocean and read my nook. He's not a coffee drinker so he just doesn't get just sitting with several cups of coffee and gazing.

 

I think it is all about compromise. Perhaps if you wife had a week free of kids and did not have to cook, clean, or basically do anything she did not want to that she would come to appreciate cruises as much as you do. That is what happened to me.

 

I admit that I sometimes get a bit upset with him not wanting to be as adventuresome as I am but what the heck, it is a vacation so we both need to enjoy it. I would go anywhere with him that he wanted "non cruise" if he asked me to.

 

The only big change we have is now that DH is retired from a lifetime of work travel he does not want to fry if at all possible. I just have to suck it up and sit back while we drive 18 hours to Miami for most cruises (he does all the driving). Anyway, that is what books on cd are for.

[mi3stooges]

Yes. She is my ex-wife now.

 

lol

Yes...he is my ex-husband now!! (not because he didn't like to cruise ;))

[vent1020]

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I know not everyone is cut out for cruises. And I am hoping that one of the big reasons she didn't like the first cruise was having young kids with us. We are young still and have plenty of time to figure this out. At least I have at least ONE more to look forward to. ;)

[sail2sea]

Oh man, where do I start?

 

My girlfriend does not like to cruise very much either. This is where you have to work hard to get her to enjoy it. Book itineraries she likes, do excursions she likes, and in your case, you may want to step up your baby sitting duties. Just "help" probably would not be enough. :p;)

 

All things being equal, I would have preferred more sea days on large ships in the tropics. But now we go with itinerary and do port intensive routes because that's the way she likes it. For me, as long as I am on a ship, it's good enough. We did Alaska last year, will do Hawaii this year. Will do Europe next year and southern Caribbean, Canada, South America etc in the years to come. Just hope my wallet won't complain too loudly.

 

Also, as bad as it sounds you may have to take vacations she likes to exchange for cruises. :D like we did ski trips in winter and are going to Yellowstone this summer. She is excited about Yellowstone and I am glad in August she's coming to a cruise with me. Compromises work. Well, it better. :D

 

We are lucky that she is self employed so has flexibility. I have to be careful not to take too many days off but my work s kind of flexible too.

[vent1020]

Oh man, where do I start?

 

My girlfriend does not like to cruise very much either. This is where you have to work hard to get her to enjoy it. Book itineraries she likes, do excursions she likes, and in your case, you may want to step up your baby sitting duties. Just "help" probably would not be enough. :p;)

 

All things being equal, I would have preferred more sea days on large ships in the tropics. But now we go with itinerary and do port intensive routes because that's the way she likes it. For me, as long as I am on a ship, it's good enough. We did Alaska last year, will do Hawaii this year. Will do Europe next year and southern Caribbean, Canada, South America etc in the years to come. Just hope my wallet won't complain too loudly.

 

Also, as bad as it sounds you may have to take vacations she likes to exchange for cruises. :D like we did ski trips in winter and are going to Yellowstone this summer. She is excited about Yellowstone and I am glad in August she's coming to a cruise with me. Compromises work. Well, it better. :D

 

We are lucky that she is self employed so has flexibility. I have to be careful not to take too many days off but my work s kind of flexible too.

 

Actually the way I was able to talk her into the one in 2014 is the fact we are doing the Western Carribean which has stops to see the Mayan Ruins. She is WAY interested in the Mayan culture and that was her selling point to do another cruise.

 

And any father knows they could ALWAYS help more with the kids. ;) I think I will push more with "Where do you want to go on vacation honey?" and then use that to get my cruise every other trip or so.

[Byron_1978]

I guess I should consider myself lucky...my wife loves cruising nearly as much as I do.

 

The only thing is that I like to talk about it, and need to know everything about the ship we are sailing on very far in advance.

She on the other hand likes to be surprised by the ship, surroundings, ports, ...

 

She always says that she loves it, but that I am obsessed with it...Oh well...I guess there are worse things :cool:

 

She also prefers a lot of port days...where as I would be happy just doing a TA.

 

You should get your wife a Spa pass (and maybe get one for yourself as well). If that doesn't tip the scales in the correct direction, I don't know what would :)

[sailingnut]

I do not have a problem~~I go myself on a cruise~~it is the best~~you meet so many interesting people! My husband stays home!!!!!:o

[zlacruising]

My friend and I have logged about 20 cruises together. We are both happily married to our husbands but they would rather fish and hunt then cruise. This coming cruise will be his first on the Breakaway. I'm hoping he will enjoy it, but if not, I've always got my friend.