After you book a cruise, do you become "BOARD" addicted??

[Jacquelyn11]

I have to plead "guilty" on this! Once I book a cruise, I'm on these boards reading and posting, sometimes several times a day!! I'll read new, archives, anything to "know more" than what I already know!!

 

My cruise brochure becomes my favorite book! I think about standing on my balcony hearing the sound of the ship cut thru the water, what a soothing sound that is. I love the thought of snorkeling in warm, tropical waters, seeing a world I never see in every day life. Being waited on and pampered, not hearing "Where do ya want to eat? I don't want to go there!", feeling stress free and relaxed for 7 whole days!

 

I'm a pharmacist, and I don't know of a drug that will help me!! Am I crazy, or should I just enjoy all the planning for the next, let me see, how many days on the count down counter?

 

Ahhh...just love the cruisin' life!

[solsticebride]

I have to agree with you! As soon as I even start thinking of booking another cruise, I'm back on here! It seems to help with the "waiting"...

 

I just love reading, thinking, talking, etc about cruising!

[FinelyCruising]

I don't know when it happened or why it happened, but it has been going on for years. :rolleyes:

[kyriecat]

Board addiction is only stage 1. As you read the boards to find out more about "your" cruise, you migrate into threads that about other peoples' cruises. Next thing you know, you just booked another one. So you look up more information on the boards... Horrible cycle!

[solsticebride]

So true...Kyriecat...

[keasc]

Jacquelyn, I think you just described me.:D I feel the same way you do.

 

You're going to love the Mariner, our favorite Voyager class ship so far. Your saildate is on my birthday.

Hmmm, I may have to look into that sailing. Gotta love having the waiters sing Hoppy Birsday to you.:D

[tropicalisland]

:D It's good to know I'm not lonely in this addiction! I'll be in the AOS next November and can't hardly wait. In my case this is my first cruise, but I have read so many threads, message boards (no one as helpful like this one), news and magazines articles, that I even had given so advise in different matters on this board:) .

[Ken]

Great thread! I feel so much better now that I know I am not alone. I find myself checking our "meet and mingle" thread several times each day, and my cruise is still 5 months away. I have got to start pacing myself or I will be wreck long before the cruise.

[luvronijean]

Yes.....my name is Veronica....and I'm a CruiseCritic message board addict. ;)

[hstrybuf]

I've been board addicted for 3 years now and have yet to find a cure. Ain't life grand! :D

[Jacquelyn11]

So Funny Veronica! We need to start our own "10 step program"!! :)

 

It's nice to know we all get a "natural high" from just thinking about and planning cruises. It's much better than any drug I know!

 

Gotta go back to feelin "HOT! HOT! HOT!" :cool:

 

Jacquelyn :D

[HappyStamper]

Since we booked our first cruise back in April (sailing on the Explorer of the Seas 11/28/04) I have been checking this board an average of three times a day and a couple of others about three times a week!

[sisocialworker]

yes, since i booked my first cruise. i guess i'm a cruisecriticaholic. LoL.

 

Barry

[mtebor]

I too am an addict....boy that feels better...

 

One thing that I have to watch out for is this - I was on these boards so much before my last cruise (approx 6 months) that I think it took a little bit away from my onboard experience. I already knew what to expect.

 

I am now booked for January and find myself falling into the same trap. I am currently viewing this board 2-3x per day. Anymore and I think my wife will put a 'block' on this website!

[moonmom]

I justed booked my first cruise........i am indeed addicted to the boards and all of the different photo albums.........they are all just great!

[Sophie]

I'm such an addict on these boards I'm almost embarrassed to say how much I'm here!

[gbcruise]

Whenever my hubby sees a shift in my mood, meaning I'm getting grumpy he steers me towards the computer and announces "It's cruisecritic time". It ALWAYS helps!!!

[lschrage]

I too am addicted. I admit it.

 

I did find a cure last year that temporarily ceased my Cruise Critic addiction, however. We planned a two week trip to Hawaii for late last year, and I of course was in charge of the planning. Well, in less than 6 months, I was an "addict" to the fodors newsgroups. It was pretty stressful actually for the first few months. There's just way too much to do in Hawaii; and trying to narrow down the hotel, activities/excursions, and then restaurants on top of that was just like overload on my poor little cruise-minded brain.

 

Well, I forced myself to buckle down and started treating it like a college level class, and within a few weeks I had our vacation mapped out. Instead of getting an A in the class, I ended up with an amazing vacation which we will never forget.

 

But honestly, we both felt that we got more "bang for the buck" on our last cruise than we did with Hawaii. Vacationing in Hawaii required more "work" than what we experienced on our last cruise. We realized then how spoiled we had become to cruising.

 

We have a vacation planned in march with my sister's family at an all inclusive in Mexico (Iberostar Paraiso Lindo). This will be our first experience with an all inclusive and I'm very curious to see how it will stack up to our AOS cruise in December.

 

Lynne

[bubbadog]

yes its true i stay glued close to boards just incase i might miss something roflma,well it does help pass the time :))) its like being a kid at x-mas time and you count the days:))))good adult fun:))

[Sylvia and Rich]

Sign us up for the 10-Step Program. I think we need the accelerated course! Planing and more planing is half the fun. Oh - and surfing the boards too! :D

[sue.young]

Jacquelyn11 You are not alone. I am a pharmacist also, these boards are my therapy after a long day of people yelling at you because thier insurance dosent work etc.

 

I can not tell you how much I have learned from these boards and all the wonderful people we have meet on our cruises. If checking the boards multiple times a day is the worst thing we do so be it. A poster on our Jewel 9-1-04 cruise called these board Cruise College and I would have to agree.

[berd0625]

And I thought I needed to get out more to stop being here 2-3 times a day too!

 

 

So glad I'm not alone.:D

[jst4fun715]

Since I found these boards just before our first cruise, I have been addicted. But what is worse...I'm still addicted even when we don't have a cruise booked. Thankfully that period of time hasn't lasted very long!:D

[CruiseCrAzieS]

I have been adicted to these boards for A LONG TIME! I have been on the boards since 2001 even though my "member since" sais 2003 I learked as a non member for a long time.:rolleyes: We book our Jan 04 cruise 1 year in advance so for that year I was on these boards about everyday for at least 20 min - 1hr! Then finally after our cruise, I got back on the wagon! No more CC for me for about 5 months!! Then last month......I fell off again... ...even though our next cruise is 1 year 5 months away!!! I DEFINITLY NEED HELP!! I CAN'T GIVE CC UP.....I CAN'T EVEN CUT BACK!!

[lanabanana]

My name is Alanna and here is my story.......I booked our first cruise last Feb. on the Explorer on 9/26/04 for our 25th anniversary. I was scheduled for surgery on 3/2/04 and anticipated being laid pretty low for several weeks. My husband, being the wonderful, concerned, caring person that he is, went out and bought me a laptop with a wireless connection so I could lay on the couch all day and surf the internet while I was recouperating. You guessed it.....I found cruise critic! Here I am, 5 months later, on these boards every spare minute, planning our cruise....dreaming about our cruise....etc. You get the picture. Sooooo, if my husband complains, I just blame him for getting me this laptop and making it so easy to be in the middle of the family with this wireless connection, reading the boards nomatter what else is going on! I LOVE IT!!! I keep hoping that after our cruise, I'll be able to wean myself off, but after reading your posts, perhaps not! Time l tell!