Loving my Princess cruises More...now that I'm....

[OuiOnboard]

Sometimes more is more and sometimes less is more. We're having more fun cruising as we've learned which is which for us. We are cruising better now that we are eating less, being more active, reading more, ignoring thoughts of home/work, and letting our excursions happen rather attacking like a work assignment. How has your approach to cruising changed as you have matured as cruisers?....providing you can remember way back when. Comments?

[Toto2Kansas]

I totally agree with your outlook. After many cruises, you learn to have a relazing and fun vacation, instead of coming home from a cruise actually needing a vacation.

If everything doesn't go perfectly (as it never does cause nothing is perfect) and you learn to roll with the punches.

We definitely eat less as it is wayyyyyyyy to difficult to take off those extra pounds before the next voyage (for those that cruise 2-4 times a year). We take much smaller portions so we still get the satisfaction of trying it all, but we don't eat to excess at any meal.

 

I can still remember the day when in the first hours I drug DH from one end of the ship to the other on each deck until we were both exhausted. Had to see everything immediately and do everything that came our way. Stayed up so late that we could barely move at the end of the cruise we were so tired.

 

Now, we get a nicer cabin to spend more time relaxing after going ashore. Order room service for breakfast on port days to avoid the crowds that used to excite us as we would meet so many interesting passengers. We spend alone time together without phones ringing or looking to see who is pulling up in the driveway now.

 

Big difference in the way we cruised 15 or more years ago. And the funny thing is, we enjoy it much more now than we did back then. ;)

[Casshew]

We used to book cruises with a port a day, no sea days to get the best 'blast for our buck' or so we thought. I remember one 10 day cruise on Epirotiki which was Santo Domingo, St, Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, Santo Domingo. We did excursions in every port and we totally exhausted.

 

Now I like sea days and infact my cruise next week there are 2 ports which I probably won't be leaving the ship and have nothing planned at the moment.

[Times Prince]

First cruise out, we went for many of the big excursions - like the all day trip to Tulum out of Cozumel. We returned with a unique experience, but tired from all the bus and ferry traveling.

 

Since that time we focus more on shorter excursions, more with activity we enjoy rather than sitting on a bus travelling, and lately, more that is on our own. For instance in Alaska we used a local bus to go to a glacier in a National Park, rather than the tours to the same place, and found a fantastic experience of quiet and nature just minutes down a hiking trail.

 

There are some cruises, like the Med, where there is more to do than can be done. But most cruises are now where relaxation is now the name of the game, along with some healthy exercise like snorkeling.

[pollyanno]

I was born to cruise. :)

 

but.. I have only cruised twice.

 

my first cruise was in 1974, on the.. chandris fiorita. we were supposed to do med stuff, greek stuff and turkey but greece and turkey went to war that summer and it was a greek ship.. so we did the adriatic instead... sicily, malta, split, kotor and dubrovnik. I was sold on cruising.. and I LOVED the adriatic. can you still cruise there? I'd love to go there again sometime and drag my husband along. so beautiful. and not hot. I hate hot. :)

 

that was an old school cruise.. teak deck chairs and the stewards came along with boullion and sweet crackers and nothing cost extra but there were no pools and I don't remember shows either.. maybe there were shows.. it was a long time ago. they served martinis and manhattans at the captain's cocktail party and I (was 18) found them both disgusting. I think I would still (at 50) find them both not to my taste. :) but the last formal night the waiters did the flaming baked alaska parade and they were greek waiters so they were wearing those cute greek skirts! and I was 18.. mmmmmm... (and I'm not talkin' baked alaska here).

 

that was when I learned I was born to cruise. :) there is nothin in this world better than a comfortable chair on a deck (or balcony :-D) with a good book and the ocean and scenery goin' by.. but the scenery goin' by in the adriatic beats the scenery goin' by in the caribbean by 400 miles.. cruisin' today you to do it on your balcony so you can have your own tunes too.. but nobody comes by with boullion and sweet crackers.. a trade off I reckon.

 

I only cruised twice yet.. 1974, 2003.. chandris fiorita 4 gals in a cabin with stacked berths and a port hole vs. family of 4 in adjoining balcony cabins on grand princess.. radically different experiences.. second one affirmed my conviction that I was born to cruise. :)

 

get this last kid out of college and that's what I'll be doin', every chance I get.. I'll be goin' for the cruises that are super cheap or super-rich in sea days. if I could bring my cats, I'd be stackin' 'em so I could be gone a long time with lots of sea days.. but since I can't I won't want to be gone months... so.. more shorter cruises?? that's my goal. I was born to cruise.

 

I hope heaven has a balcony with a comfy chair and a breeze and ocean to look at.. and someone to make my bed and bring me fresh towels and put chocolates on my pillow, and tasty food whenever I'm hungry and entertainment and people to watch whenever I want to do that too..

 

anno (really doesn't need ports at all..)

[spongerob]

Yes, I've learned not to take too much on or let others foist their responsibilities onto me. I think most people we've met are great, but sometimes they forget that when you try to do something for a group or individual, it's a favor, not a service that carries a fee.

 

Now, it's just for us, and what happens, happens.

[Toto2Kansas]

Something else we have learned over our years of cruising is that some of the nicest people can be met onboard a cruise ship. Also though, you have to keep in mind that many try to be 'something they are not' and you have to be able to tell the difference. LOL

We have kept in touch with many passengers over the years that we sailed with and have often sailed with them time and time again. Normally, you already have something in common with all or most of the passengers, the love of cruising.

[Casshew]

gosh pollyanno now you get goldfish crackers and cup-o-soup

[OuiOnboard]

For our first cruise in '98, I bought a very dapper but conservative dark suit complete with all the accessories for the formal nights. Yeah, I thought I was looking good and DW said she had seen worse.:)

The foundation for all this sartorial splendour was a pair on shoes that looked great, but always put a serious squeeze on my feet within an hour of donning them. I thought that they would break in (stretch-to-fit) but they never did. After dinner each night, I had to retreat (limpingly) to our stateroom to get into something comfortable.

This exercise taught me that you can't really look your best if you don't feel your best...thus I now select my formal gear for comfort first and comfort second.

No more limping and I can stay dressed all evening. Yes...experience is the greatest teacher and a.......

[jennew]

we have learned that traveling with others can cramp your style. We like to do NOTHING while on vacation and don't feel pressured to do excursions, go to shows, etc. Dh and I can spend 1/2 the day in our pjs on the balcony and we are totally fine with that.

[mdmomof7]

We've only done one cruise, w/o our 7 blessings. That was the first time we've ever done a week by ourselves and only the second time we've left them at all, for any amount of time. When we got home the kids couldn't get over how much younger we looked. It wasn't just them, others said the same. I'm sure it only lasted the next two weeks (or less!) and then school started and sports and EVERYTHING! So, if we could just get a cruise every month, maybe I could throw out all that face stuff! lol! Really, we did try to do lots of activities the CB offered, still missed the galley tour, and we stayed up way late dancing and yet we still relaxed. We only did one excursion - Godfrey Tours on St. Thomas. This time we tried to book Joyce Prince for St. Martin but she was busy. We did find we enjoyed the sea days at least equally, if not more than the port days. But that can't be completely true because we did also enjoy the ports.

 

The next most relaxing thing for us is vacationing in the OBX with family and friends. We don't do the touristy things except dine out, fish and play some mini golf and, of course, shop! Disney and the like would never be a vacation for a family of 9. It would be an adventure, not a vacation. Still can't bring myself to do it, though! lol!

 

I like to travel, but I don't consider Europe relaxing. Cruising was relaxing. Or maybe it was because we didn't have the children with us? Probably both. :rolleyes:

[Casshew]

I re-wear things now too, before I would bring a different outfit for every day & every night.

 

Now I might wear the same skirt three times with three tops, etc... or ever wear the same complete outfit twice, no one notices - I know I don't remember what others wear.

[cruiseapril]

We used to think of cruising as mostly a wonderful vacation- now we add to that a sense of travelers being representatives of their countries- so we try to be caring visitors, rather than just tourists. We read about the history of the ports and talk with local people and appreciate cultural differences.

 

The experience of cruising, on the whole, is a peaceful, wonderful way to visit other countries. We are so lucky to be able to cruise!

[PescadoAmarillo]

We sat at breakfast in the dining room the first full day of our first cruise with the list of events for the day and a pencil in hand, trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Some of our table mates laughed and said, "This must be your first cruise". We didn't know what gave us away. 22 cruises later, we totally get it.

 

Less is DEFINITELY more!

[Sandytoes]

Because we value each and every vacation, we appreciate each day as it comes.....We try to have some idea on what we are going to do on port days... But on at sea days, we do whatever- nothing's planned...