Buyer's remorse?

[lovevacadays]

I never, ever experience buyer's remorse when I cruise. In 18 cruises I have only cruised once with someone who didn't seem to like cruising. She complained about everything and thought the $899.00 we paid for a mini-suite on Princess should have bought her a Crystal Cruise Lines experience! I still thoroughly enjoyed my cruise but I had to talk to myself and say that I wouldn't let her experience ruin mine. Of course, I would never cruise with this person again. I have been very fortunate in that all my cruise companions except one other have been fabulous to cruise with.

 

It sounds like your boyfriend might not have the same mindset as you do in terms of the value travel brings to your life. I hope he goes on the cruise and enjoys it. And, I hope whatever way he chooses to experience cruising that you have a wonderful cruise.

[sheeniwoo]

Like someone said above, I bet when he finally gets on the ship he will really enjoy it. He can buy a computer later! Have fun!

 

 

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[iheartbda]

Certainly wouldn't worry over $1200/person, which is "chump change" for a 7 day cruise. If anything, I'd worry about the quality of what I'd be getting for so little a cost.

Sure, maybe chump change to you, but who really knows? I guess you need to keep up your image of being oh so much more cosmopolitan, well-travelled, more appreciative and knowledgeable about the finer things in life, etc., etc.

 

This is a first...no Oceania recommendation.

Edited August 13, 2016 by iheartbda

[Langley Cruisers]

He especially agreed with the notion that he is more afraid of the unknown than the actual trip, since he has never had an experience like this before he has absolutely no idea how he will feel about it...

 

There you go, exactly. It's how so many of us feel before big events - travel, surgery, marriage, first-time parenting, exams, moving, new job.... it is the fear of the unknown probably more than the thing we fear.

 

You'll both be great. I predict a lot more cruises in future! :)

.

[AdoraBelle]

So I shared this thread with my boyfriend when he got home from work and he agrees with a lot of you! :) He especially agreed with the notion that he is more afraid of the unknown than the actual trip, since he has never had an experience like this before he has absolutely no idea how he will feel about it. But he is feeling better about going on the cruise and probably just needs to see that ship in person.

 

 

A bit late to the thread, but as a (somewhat) younger person here who understands the lure of gadgets (and slightly apprehensive boyfriends), I'm glad you didn't let some of the grouchier armchair psychiatrists here scare you off. Just ignore 'em (site also has an ignore feature).

 

BF fell in love with his first cruise, although he still only likes shorter ones. (We alternate and I go on longer solo cruises sometimes.)

[ekajun1957]

One thing I was going to suggest is make sure he tries snorkeling, as I will guarantee one or both will love it. You seemed to have picked a good spot for that. Know you may not have been asking but in Cozumel we do Nachi Cocom. With cab and all is like $75 per person.

[Strophic]

One thing I was going to suggest is make sure he tries snorkeling, as I will guarantee one or both will love it. You seemed to have picked a good spot for that. Know you may not have been asking but in Cozumel we do Nachi Cocom. With cab and all is like $75 per person.

 

Our excursions in Roatan and Cozumel include snorkeling :) I am really excited because I've never done it before, even considering getting a GoPro camera for the trip.

[simplelife]

Prepay everything. Tips, excursions, drink package or enough OBC to cover expenses. Then go on the cruise and enjoy without having to think about money.

 

 

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[Dearabby_84]

My DH is very similar, he would prefer to spend $ on tangible items as opposed to a holiday. Having said that, he knows how much I look forward to getting away and once we do, he has a blast and has not regretted any of our holidays. Plus a happy wife is a happy life, right? :D

 

My guess is once you guys get away, maybe you will recruit him and he will become an avid cruiser/vacationer or maybe not! Either way, you never know unless you try it right?

 

I do recommend prepaying all you can, gratuities, excursions, have some cash for sail and sign for photos, drinks, speciality restaurant so he won't be so focused on spending on the ship.

You could try and save some cash on excursions, by booking with the providers directly as opposed to Carnival, or see if you can find identical excursions for cheaper and provide the info to Carnival to credit the difference. (We has success when we did it for one of our excursions), also if you drink wine, you can each bring a bottle on (unsure of the size) and you can bring unopened cans of soda too! Also if your booking has price protection, monitor the Carnival website, I check once a week, if your sailing goes cheaper you could get the difference in the form of a credit from Carnival for your sail n sign account.

 

Good luck and have a fantastic holiday! :)

[Strophic]

We're back!

 

Sorry to disappoint those who predicted that our relationship would be torn apart at the atomic level—he got a lot more excited for the cruise as it drew closer and was very enthusiastic about it by the time we left for Florida. It helps that we both got a raise at our respective jobs, which alleviated a lot of the financial stress.

 

We both had a fantastic time and he begged me to book another one as soon as we got home. So...Oasis of the Seas, 10/3/18!

 

I really appreciate the advice from this thread. I did what a lot of you recommended and showed him a bunch of YouTube videos of cruises and shore excursions; it really helped. Now the only buyer's remorse we have is from our ill-fated adventure into the casino—

[rockdoctor]

You are fortunate. You are learning about you boyfriend before marriage. For the sake of any children you may have, you may want the rethink about your relationship.

[jocap]

So pleased to hear you both had a great time! :)

It seems as if we now have another addict... ;)

Thank you for coming back and sharing with us. :cool:

[VennDiagram]

Thanks for letting us know. That was VERY thoughtful of you! I am so happy you both had a great time :)

[Sea Hag]

Glad it all worked out so well. :)

[cucruizin]

Was wondering how it played out. So glad you guys had a great time!!

[tigercat]

On our 25th anniversary I decided that we were going on a cruise. On our honeymoon we went to a cabin in the woods that I cooked and cleaned for the week. On that said honeymoon I told him that I wanted to plan the 25th anniversary trip. He said of course I could do it.

 

25 years later I reminded him and he agreed so I started planning for a cruise. He did decide on where we would go (Hawaii from Vancouver BC) and decided that we would go 3 days early and stay 3 days later.

 

But right away he said that he thought it would be better if we found that cabin (if it was still standing) and go back to it. I did tell him that he could go but I was going on a cruise. He complained right up the gangplank.

 

Two days into our cruise he came back to our room and told me that cruises went a lot of places didn't I know that. Since then we have been on many cruises.

 

So I was in the same situation sort of as you. He thought we could save the money to buy something else. The cruise memories have lasted a lot longer than any thing we would have bought. We celebrated our 42nd anniversary in Oct.

 

tigercat

Edited December 19, 2016 by tigercat

[dobiemom]

Another cruise addict is born. ;)

Glad you had a great time! :D

[donaldsc]

When the trip finally gets here he will be excited, and end up having a good time. He seems to be concerned with the unknown more than with the trip.

 

How do you know. As hard as you may find it to believe, there are lots of people who are just not into cruising and they would not go even if they were free. I know several of them. The boyfriend might be one of them also. At the end of the cruise and based on his single cruise, his negative cruising attitude might be even stronger.

 

Just read the OP's message that things worked out and I am glad that they did. However, my comment above still stands.

 

DON

Edited December 19, 2016 by donaldsc

[Strophic]

You are fortunate. You are learning about you boyfriend before marriage. For the sake of any children you may have, you may want the rethink about your relationship.

 

Kind of surprised that someone would jump from "My boyfriend and I disagree on something" to "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!" Disagreements happen and it's not a sign to torch the relationship to the ground. I managed to stick through it when he said that Forrest Gump was "just okay," so I think we're gonna be alright :P

 

Re: Everyone else, thanks for the responses! He has definitely caught the cruise bug. We're both really excited for the Royal Caribbean cruise next year—in fact the tables were turned this time around and I was actually slightly more apprehensive about booking than he was! He was super gung-ho about it.

 

The only thing we ended up disagreeing on was the cabin. He actually wanted to bring for a balcony next time, I was very happy with interior. Even with the raises we got at our jobs, balcony is quite a bit extra, so I think we'll probably compromise and do an oceanview.

[wowzz]

Holidays give you joint memories that will stay with you forever. My wife and I still laugh about the time I fell in the Canal du Midi while tying up our boat (to be fair, it's mainly her who does the laughing!) or being frightened out of our wits by a monkey when walking back to our hotel room in Sri Lanka. You will not be reminiscing in 30 years time about a new laptop you bought in 2017.

Just remember that there are other holidays than cruising. Cruises are great, but you are in a cocoon, and really only get a taste of the countries you visit.

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

We're back!

 

Sorry to disappoint those who predicted that our relationship would be torn apart at the atomic level—he got a lot more excited for the cruise as it drew closer and was very enthusiastic about it by the time we left for Florida. It helps that we both got a raise at our respective jobs, which alleviated a lot of the financial stress.

 

We both had a fantastic time and he begged me to book another one as soon as we got home. So...Oasis of the Seas, 10/3/18!

 

I really appreciate the advice from this thread. I did what a lot of you recommended and showed him a bunch of YouTube videos of cruises and shore excursions; it really helped. Now the only buyer's remorse we have is from our ill-fated adventure into the casino—

 

Glad everything worked out great. You will LOVE Oasis - what a beautiful ship! It truly was the first destination ship ever built and it is still every bit as fabulous today as it was in it's debut year! Make sure and make reservations for the shows. Honestly, on Oasis class, we eat in specialty restaurants EVERY night and you might want to do that - if so, do make reservations online beforehand. Don't miss riding The Rising Tide Bar at least once, it is so much fun! The ship is a bit different in that you do need reservations for the shows and specialty restaurants, but other than that, it's just a great ship with so much to do. I remember when we got off, my husband and I looked at each other and said "Wow! Let's do THAT again!"

[Strophic]

Just remember that there are other holidays than cruising. Cruises are great, but you are in a cocoon, and really only get a taste of the countries you visit.

 

That's true for sure, but ugh, you can't beat the value. I want to go to Japan for the eventual honeymoon and I was casually researching that this morning. $1700 per person just for the plane tickets! That's about how much we spent on the cruise—food, shopping, lodging, transportation, excursions and all.

 

I am going to see if we can swing a trip to DC during one of next year's holiday weekends. I love it and my boyfriend has never been, so it would be a ton of fun :)

[Hlitner]

Love this thread ::). My advice to the OP (from a man's perspective) is "keep that guy." When you posted the OP about your BF, my first thought is that I once resembled that guy. And now, as a senior, I can say that we (DW and moi) have spent our entire adult life traveling all over the world, while raising a child and maintaining two careers. Questioning cost (and making good investments) let us retire in our mid-50s and really get into our passion which is still travel. To this day, we both (DW has gotten into the tight wad spirit) question our expenses (especially for travel) and continue to take the trips. It is because we did question the cost of things, that we could retire early and continue to travel over 6 months a year. So it sounds like you got a "keeper."

 

Hank