I get bored on cruises (and vacations).. help!

[Taishartrueblood]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Perhaps it is as simple as the OP having a "Type A" or related personality.   We have a few "Type A's" on our longer cruises and most of them were miserable.  Perhaps the OP has to accept that any kind of long vacation or cruise is just not for them.  I think it is very difficult for a true Type A to overcome their internal drives.....and truly relax.

 

Hank

 

Sadly I think you are right. I LOVE my job and I love to work.. I probably average 55 hours a week but 70 hours isn't unheard of and I am happy with it :)

[clo]

1 hour ago, Taishartrueblood said:

Sadly I think you are right. I LOVE my job and I love to work.. I probably average 55 hours a week but 70 hours isn't unheard of and I am happy with it 🙂

I understand that this is an obligatory trip.  Good for you.  And take care of yourself going forward.

[DarrenM]

Bored on a cruise ship????????

 

Sea days

 

OK. Breakfast, nice long breakfast, plenty of coffee, just chillin.

 

An amble back to the room to collect anything the wife thinks she needs to relax on a deck chair recliner. She sems to think she needs a lot of stuff.

 

Find said recliner, only need one as I dont just lie down in the sun, cant bear it.

 

She settles down, I have an early dip in the pool.

 

I then go for a long walk round the walking areas. Pop back to wife to see if wants a coffee, or something more interesting.

 

I have a latte. Always a latte.

 

Spend a few minutes with wife until she decides its time to stop talking and get back to serious sunbathing.

 

I then go and explore the ship. Always something I hadnt seen previously.

 

By which time, I am craving a beer.

 

Mmmmm lunch.

 

Afternoon is usually the same unless the wife wants to try something unusual. I dont know.....crochet class or something equally dull. I mind the recliner, and check the latest sports news on phone, internet connection allowable.

 

She returns to the sport of Suntanning. With cocktail in hand.

 

I return to walking about, having a beer, a quick swim, another beer etc etc.

 

Quick check on wife, cant interupt the tanning event as its at a serious stage now. Maybe replenish her empty glass.

 

And then before we know it, its time to get dressed up, and go for a meal.

 

I say dressed up, usually jeans instead of the shorts during the day, maybe a quick shave. only maybe.

 

then its rinse and repeat.

 

I love it. I will never get bored of that.

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by DarrenM

[MicCanberra]

Perhaps bring work with you to do while away, bring a laptop and you can keep working all trip long.

[kerryincork]

I love to be active on a cruise, I get up before everyone else and go to the gym.

Then meet up with my cruise party.

 

I like doing puzzles and logic games too and am happy to have a coffee and play suduko. I participate in all the different activities.

 

I think the biggest challenge is when you travel with someone who is the opposite and wants nothing more to lounge by the pool. In this circumstances you just have to agree that at times you will do different things.

 

But a thing that has helped me was taking up Yoga and learning to calm my mind. I think learning that I don't have to be busy every second has helped the most.

[DarrenM]

My wife and I are completely different. She likes to sun bathe on sea days. I like her to sunbathe, and I can go wander. Great fun just wandering about, people watching, drinking beer, swimming, more wandering.

 

Happy days for us both. Would hate to think we had spend every day 24/7 doing exactly the same things at exactly the same time.

 

 

[sanger727]

I agree with the general sentiment that you would probably prefer an exploration based land trip. Find somewhere you really want to go that interests you; whether it be history, art, wildlife, etc. You can be as busy as you like filling your days on a land trip. Shoot, we just took a two week trip to Japan and filled all day and night with sightseeing, long walks through local areas, food/sake experiences, etc.

 

However, since it sounds like you are stuck doing a "relaxation" cruise for your next vacation. Outside of planning your port days to be full with excursions/activities and minimizing sea days. When you are on the ship do you look at the dailies and take advantage of all the activities offered? Even if it's something that doesn't interest you off the bat, you can certainly fill your days trying new things. You may find you really enjoy them. There's trivia, lectures, ship tours, shows, dance classes, fitness classes, live music, etc scheduled all day and night.

[pacruise804]

On 10/4/2019 at 5:59 PM, Taishartrueblood said:

Ok, I always enjoy the IDEA of vacationing.. but I get bored pretty quickly. I usually travel alone or with family (no spouse/kids), bring plenty of books, and do all the excursions I can. Even so, I get bored when I get back on the ship pretty quickly no matter the cruise line. I am a workaholic by nature and I like having something to do...

 

Anyone else in the same position as me? Any suggestions?

 

On 10/5/2019 at 7:02 AM, Taishartrueblood said:

Thank you all 🙂 I did want to do a land based, very heavy excursion trip this time... but my brother really needed a relaxing vacation so we are going cruising. It will be a good time... books are great 🙂

 

That is very kind of you to give of your time to your brother.  In addition to your books I recommend trying to find a class that sounds interesting, visiting the gym, or maybe writing letters.  Personally, I end up napping a few times on a cruise which while not exciting is something I don't get to do much on land and has me recharged for when I get back.

 

On 10/7/2019 at 11:00 PM, Taishartrueblood said:

Sadly I think you are right. I LOVE my job and I love to work.. I probably average 55 hours a week but 70 hours isn't unheard of and I am happy with it 🙂

I think it is great that you enjoy your job.  We should all be so fortunate that our vocation is a vacation 🙂 Enjoy your time with your brother - family time (when you like your family 😉 ) can be precious and rarer to come by as adults.

[ldubs]

On 10/8/2019 at 2:16 AM, MicCanberra said:

Perhaps bring work with you to do while away, bring a laptop and you can keep working all trip long.

 

This seems like a good option. 

 

My first thought was don't spend good money on something that will bore you.  If that is not an option, then do what you like, namely work.  Before I retired, I did a fair amount of work on every vacation.  Not because I was bored but because I had business to conduct.   Just my choice.   

[MicCanberra]

Each to their own, some people do not enjoy cruising as much as their partner does. So they go but wish to keep occupied.

[Luckiestmanonearth]

On 10/4/2019 at 5:59 PM, Taishartrueblood said:

Ok, I always enjoy the IDEA of vacationing.. but I get bored pretty quickly. I usually travel alone or with family (no spouse/kids), bring plenty of books, and do all the excursions I can. Even so, I get bored when I get back on the ship pretty quickly no matter the cruise line. I am a workaholic by nature and I like having something to do...

 

Anyone else in the same position as me? Any suggestions?

Yes I am exactly like you and have a suggestion.  
Enjoy the boredom.  For me, boredom = relaxation.

Work can be very stressful and without such mental breaks, it would be difficult to sustain work long term

 

[iancal]

We enjoyed cruising more when we were working than now when we are retired.   

[MicCanberra]

I think that may well be the case for myself as well.

[DarrenM]

16 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I think that may well be the case for myself as well.

WHAT??????????????????

 

If your photo is anywhere near recent then neither of you look old enough to retire.

[navybankerteacher]

20 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

WHAT??????????????????

 

If your photo is anywhere near recent then neither of you look old enough to retire.

A well-planned career should involve being able to retire before you are too decrepit to enjoy your retirement.

[Kate P.C]

Oh boy, I never ever get bored. From all the activities during the day, I never have the time to get bored. We come back from an excursion, we shower, get ready for dinner, watch a show or play quizzes, go to the venues and have a drink or two. By 11pm we are all almost done and crash 🙂 That is recharging batteries and get up early to embark new adventures!

[FlyingFlip]

On 10/4/2019 at 4:59 PM, Taishartrueblood said:

I get bored when I get back on the ship pretty quickly no matter the cruise line. I am a workaholic by nature and I like having something to do...

 

Anyone else in the same position as me? Any suggestions?

 

A few hours into my first cruise, I was bored out of my mind.  Now I plan better for downtime.

 

In addition to the previous suggestions (minimize sea days, bring a laptop, etc.) have you considered taking a cruise based around a special interest?  For example, my next cruise will be a dance cruise, organized by a professional dance instructor.  On sea days, we'll have dance classes to attend.  I'll automatically have a group of people on board who I will already know, or quickly get to know, who all share a common interest.  I've heard of similar cruises based on other interests (authors, photography) where the sea days have workshops related to those interests.

 

If you're interested in photography, it can provide a lot to do while on board.  During my downtime, I can start reviewing my photos, sorting them, editing them....  That can consume hours of downtime.  When cruising, I always keep a camera with me, just in case something photo-worthy catches my attention.  When I have spare time, I'll wander the ship looking for interesting photography subjects.

[MicCanberra]

7 hours ago, DarrenM said:

WHAT??????????????????

 

If your photo is anywhere near recent then neither of you look old enough to retire.

I have not retired as yet, but it is not too far away. My point was that I really look forward to getting away from work and getting on a cruise. If I was retired, that difference in how I spend my break time would not be so obvious.

[MicCanberra]

7 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

A well-planned career should involve being able to retire before you are too decrepit to enjoy your retirement.

Agreed, It won't be too far away, my wife retired 5 years ago already but hen she was an economist.

[DarrenM]

47 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I have not retired as yet, but it is not too far away. My point was that I really look forward to getting away from work and getting on a cruise. If I was retired, that difference in how I spend my break time would not be so obvious.

Phew that's a relief. I was beginning to think your photo was 30 years old.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Phew that's a relief. I was beginning to think your photo was 30 years old.

I am actually younger than I look, but wiser than I act.

[charlesjb2016]

On 10/5/2019 at 7:59 AM, Taishartrueblood said:

Ok, I always enjoy the IDEA of vacationing.. but I get bored pretty quickly. I usually travel alone or with family (no spouse/kids), bring plenty of books, and do all the excursions I can. Even so, I get bored when I get back on the ship pretty quickly no matter the cruise line. I am a workaholic by nature and I like having something to do...

 

Anyone else in the same position as me? Any suggestions?

 

My wife and I are both workaholics, though give me a decent spy novel and I'm happy (I am easily amused...)

My wife's remedy is doing about ten jigsaws a day in the ship's library.

Charles

 

[clo]

10 minutes ago, charlesjb2016 said:

 

My wife and I are both workaholics, though give me a decent spy novel and I'm happy (I am easily amused...)

My wife's remedy is doing about ten jigsaws a day in the ship's library.

Charles

 

I'm curious why you go on cruises.  There are so many ways to travel that will keep you engaged.  I can't imagine only cruising.

[charlesjb2016]

30 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm curious why you go on cruises.  There are so many ways to travel that will keep you engaged.  I can't imagine only cruising.

 

I guess there's a happy medium between rest and recreation that we are looking for 🙂

They can be brilliant, they can be too much pampering for our tastes, for instance the Rhine Cruise we did in 2017 was the best holiday that I have ever had.  An 11 day cruise to Vanuatu a few years before was too much rest for us, other cruises have fallen in between.  Our next cruise is the Caledonian Canal, we'll see.

 

Charles

 

[clo]

2 minutes ago, charlesjb2016 said:

 

I guess there's a happy medium between rest and recreation that we are looking for 🙂

They can be brilliant, they can be too much pampering for our tastes, for instance the Rhine Cruise we did in 2017 was the best holiday that I have ever had.  An 11 day cruise to Vanuatu a few years before was too much rest for us, other cruises have fallen in between.  Our next cruise is the Caledonian Canal, we'll see.

 

Charles

 

But why not fly somewhere, rent a car and do your own thing at your own pace?