I may be cruised out...say it isn't so!

[Minoushka]

I will agree to say once you have done Eastern and Western ,Southern Carib ,Mexican Riviera and Panama ...you pretty much covered all areas around North America

I've done all of the above including Bermuda and Hawaii

Mex Riviera I would not do again it was FREEZING in March !!!!I was on deck with sweaters ,hoodies and jogging pants -all bundled up .The only thing that tanned was my face because I stayed outdoors .Ocean was ICE COLD even in Puerto Vallarta

 

I'm looking for a cruise for 2010 and also find same old same old .Very few companies alter their routes and I wish they would .

 

Some ships now offer cruising to music -I like that idea but they only have one all season and dates are not convenient...

 

The novelty now will be the ship themselves as opposed to the destinations .There are some pretty awesome ships around or coming soon .Ruby Princess .Oasis .Solstice etc

I promised my kids we would go on Oasis just to see it .WE LOVED FREEDOM OTSbut it too is a Little pricey!!!I wonder how they will fill up theses ships with this poor economy ...What happens when the novelty wears out .Those guys are WAy too big to sail empty!!!

 

I would like a ship to sail to Hawaii in SUMMER -did in 2007 LOVED IT!!!.Regal is gone ...nothing replaced it .I would do that cruise again ...Loved Hawaii.

South America tempts me but AIR is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE from Canada plus I hear it is dangerous .I'm REAL uncomfortable about that...muggings etc...

 

Europe and its Euros is also too expensive excursions will be a fortune Cruiselines have to figure out how to offer all inclusive cruise with tours at a reasonable price to attract customers .Even doing it on our own is way Too expensive for a European /Med cruise .So I guess I will still have to wait for that one.

I want to do the Royal Princess to Israel and Egypt but it is very PRICEY.

 

I agree with whoever said you might need a land vacation.I'm sure after having stayed put for a week or 2 you will miss the fun of arriving at a different port every day.and go back to cruising

 

Be happy you have the option and can still afford to do either or both

 

Whatever you choose realize you are blessed and perhaps one of the lucky few

 

Enjoy your choice

 

 

Michele

[Pam in CA]

From looking at your signature, it seems you're doing the "same old, same old" and yes, you can get cruised out by going back to the same ports or area time after time.

 

There are so many cruises and so many places to go beyond the Caribbean and/or Mexican Riviera! One thing to consider is why you are cruising. If one limits oneself to just the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera, I see those as "let's find the nearest beach and veg" type of cruises. But there is so much more to cruising than that if you're willing to explore and see other cultures and history. As has been said, the Baltics is a very nice cruise and I'm looking forward to my British Isles cruise next summer.

 

That said, consider a riverboat cruise. They are affordable, you get to see many places that you wouldn't otherwise, and with a few optional tours, all your tours are included. There are many riverboat cruises in Europe to choose from.

 

As for the world cruise, I'm doing a segment of the 2010 world cruise on the Pacific Princess. There's no way I'm going to spend 3+ months on a ship, much as I love cruising. :)

[remydiva]

From looking at your signature, it seems you're doing the "same old, same old" and yes, you can get cruised out by going back to the same ports or area time after time.

 

 

That said, consider a riverboat cruise. They are affordable, you get to see many places that you wouldn't otherwise, and with a few optional tours, all your tours are included. There are many riverboat cruises in Europe to choose from. :)

 

To Times Prince aka Pshrink: you cracked me up...you da achsent very vell!

 

To Pam: I have done, and loved a Europe River cruise and that is what I'm looking at now for an option where the view changes, the room doesn't and the pampering continues...I ARE a Princess after all and we princesses (come on now...you know who you are!) love to be pampered.:D

 

Maybe it was the 14 days that pushed me over...

....maybe it was the rude rude RUDE cell phone abuse (see my other pet peeve post), .

.....maybe it was the unusual (for me anyways) high numbers of very elderly and less 'refined' (trying to be nice here) passengers on board which made for a very different ?mood ?flavour ?culture on board.

 

Of the 2600 on board, 100 or so were Elite, 300+ Platinum, 600+ Gold so that meant that about 1600+ were first time cruisers and so maybe that accounted for the ballcaps, shorts, 'wife beater' T shirts and feet up on the Vista Lounge couches....

 

In any case, my fellow CCers...thanks for all the advice. The Mediterranean has always appealed to me or a return to France. '

 

But I agree with the poster that said they would be looking for more deals at the last minute because I have to believe the prices will be coming down.

[cruisemom42]

Much as I enjoy cruising, I have to admit that I like it best when I mix it up with land vacations. I've also realized that cruises with more exciting ports (e.g., Mediterranean, Baltics, Middle East) are more exciting to me. But I still like a Caribbean cruise once in a while to relax and do nothing.:D

[sassyredhat]

I always feel cruised out after the 15 day Hawaii cruises too, but I got over it real quick. Look at my siggie. :D

 

Pat

[ginagirl]

WE have been cruising for decades and have loved them all---some more than others. During that time, we have also taken many land vacations. However, after our last 2 cruises this year, one with Island Princess (19 days Panama Canal) and the other with Celebrity, (16 days South Pacific/New Zealand), we came home and cancelled our next cruise for December. Instead we are going to Jamaica to a new all inclusive. We were so disappointed in the cuisine on both of those sailings, that we figured how much worse could the food be in Jamaica. WE were also disappointed in the entertainment on both ships and the lack of enthusiasm with the Cruise Director's staff (boring). With the huge difference in price, we are saving tons of money on a balcony room with this land vacation. And maybe with a little luck, we will sleep on a bed that doesn't make me suffer in agony, like the one on the Island Princess.:eek:

I think it was our last 2 cruising disappointments that have influenced us in this change of plans.

[regnig]

I am curious to hear how others feel after 14, 20, and 30+ day cruises.

 

Ok, I volunteer to run your test. :D :D Just tell me where to have my TA send the bills and I'll happily take a 14 day, then a 20 day and finally a 30+ day cruise and report back in detail. We've done several 10 days cruises and usually even they are not long enough for me.

[madjohn]

Summer of 2005 I did the 15 day Hawaii cruise. I wont say I was burned out but once we left the last port I was ready to be home. The 5 days coming back kind of felt like a long car ride. All the prep and excitement of going to Hawaii was passed and I was on my way home and starting to worry about all I had to do. It should also be noted that I was missing my two little rugrats. Well with that said I am going to do the Hawaii cruise again for xmas 2009. This time I am taking rugrats ,so we will see if that changes my mood after we turn the corner.

 

John

[Cruise Junky]

I know exactly what you mean. We just did the Greek Islands and had a lovely cruise, but I have to admit, I loved the 1 week land trip that we did at the end better. I'm starting to find cruising too confining and I hate having to only pick one place to go on a stop. There are places that do better on a cruise and we'll still do that....ie...South America and Tahiti and our 10 day Vancouver - Mexican Riviera next year was cheap for 10 days and we're going to have a hell of a time with our friends. We might explore river cruising for 2010 or just go and rent a place in Europe.

[cruiserjanet]

I don't think I will ever get tired of cruising. It's exciting to plan a cruise and even more exciting to be on one. I sort of understand what the OP was saying though because, on the return portion of our cruise to Hawaii, as we got about halfway into our sea days, I was like "let's get there already". It wasn't that I was tired of cruising, it was more of the anticipation of the cruise being in the beginning when we were on our way there and then the island hopping. We enjoy the sea days but we were on our way home so we were slowly coming to the end of our fabulous cruise.

[Toto2Kansas]

Just back from a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and back (first time with a 14 day cruise) and I feel bummed out and wonder if I'm tired of cruising?

 

I normally come home and immediately start looking and planning the next one...in fact I put down my deposit for a future cruise credit.

 

But nothing is appealing to me right now....has anyone else ever had 'post cruismatic stress syndrome'????

:confused:

 

I ran into this very problem last year. At the top of our future cruise list there has always been Egypt. We had cruised everywhere in the world (several times) that interested us, except Egypt. Well, we finally sailed on the Egypt/Aegean cruise last Nov/Dec and when we returned and I had a look for future sailings, absolutely nothing interested us. In other words, we had been to everywhere we actually said we wanted to go (many more than once) before we stopped cruising.

 

We took a break (thanks to that burnt out feeling and our lovely tornado that kept us from leaving all year). 12 months now without a cruise, and 13 by the time we board our next ship.

 

What we decided to do was to look at all our past cruises, and find those we enjoyed the most. We ended up booking two. The 14 Day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Grand for January, and the Pacific Princess to Tahiti next October.

 

The only difference between these two sailings (which we have done both numerous times in the past), is that to jazz it up a bit, I booked full suites for both.

 

With all the ships being so alike anymore, we are going to try to change the accomodations and see if that doesn't excite us a bit more.

 

It is like dreading a flight. If you book in first class after flying in economy for years, even the flight is more interesting and exciting. ;)

 

I still love getting away, only unpacking once, and love to sail the seas. So, we decided to do it in style since airfare is so crazy anymore, and we aren't going as much as we did before. 1 or 2 cruises each year now instead of 3 or 4.

[Murphey]

I would have been terribly embarassed to admit this if I hadn't seen this thread! We just returned from a B2B on the Emerald. It was a new ship for us and we splurged (for us) for a mini on the 2nd leg. But yet....I too, think I'm a little burned out. The food and activities all seem the same. Not that we didn't have a good time.....

 

And, as another posted tactfully pointed out, the "ambiance" of cruising is losing it's luster to us. I used to love formal nights, et.al., but who wants to be dressed in a gown and tux with a couple next to us in t-shirts and shorts at the show or in the casino. I think the "it's my vacation and I'll do what I want" attitude has taken it's toll with us.....debating whether to cancel our next cruise. I do, however, have to readily admit that the economy is also taking its toll with our comfort level in "extra" luxuries right now. :(

[Ms. Alpha]

Although we do not have as many sea days as some, we did our first longer cruise this summer (16 days in Europe on the Royal) after only doing 7 days previously. We loved the longer time on board and a few more sea days. One of my favorite moments was on the evening of day 7 saying to DH if we were on one of our other cruises we would be heading home, but this time we were not even half way! As a teacher, I don't have the luxury of being able to cruise at any time of the year, but we loved the chance to do more than 7 days for once.

 

P.S. Got an email this week with great deals on a transatlantic NEXT WEEK! Would have loved to have the flexibility to do that one!

[Go-Bucks!]

I won a free Eurail pass for 2 people that has to be used by May 2009, so my friend and I are taking a European land vacation this spring. I love Europe and I'm very excited to be going back, but compared to a cruise it's A WHOLE LOT MORE WORK AND EFFORT!! I have had to make all the hotel and train reservations, do research on sites to visit and whether there are discount passes available, and tend to all the other details. One benefit is being able to spend more time in one area and really get a feel for it, but it makes me realize how simple it is to book a cruise and then just relax when on the ship. Can't say traveling through 4 countries by train will be very relaxing even if it is quite culturally fullfilling. I'll be ready to relax on my next cruise!! :p

[Times Prince]

The only time we felt bummed out was after a Holland America cruise, where 10 days was way too long with bad weather, bland food, bland entertainment, and a large senior contingent. It took us a while to get back in the saddle again. It was a real mental leap of faith to book a longer cruise again, but it was worth it on Princess. A little break from cruising will help to put the cruised out feeling behind you.

 

As others have said, the hassles of arranging travel, lodging, and food by yourself during another type of vacation is often a great motivator to return to Princess, where almost everything is taken care of for you to select to match your tastes. We have found that visiting the same places often will be different just by choosing something unique to do.

 

y'all enjoy smelling the roses in another garden then come back now!

[spongerob]

I felt sort of the same way after a 15-day cruise through the Panama Canal. The itinerary had a lot of sea days and some of the port calls were rather short. I love sea days, but I've found that too many in a row or just too many get a little boring (for me). Even our last cruise, which was only 7 days, started with 3 sea days in a row, and we felt like the crew of the Santa Maria when we finally spotted land.

[loriva]

We will be doing our longest cruise yet (14-day Southern Caribbean on the Royal with six sea days) in two weeks so will see if this mood strikes us as well. We have always looked at cruises as part of the "mix" between land and sea vacations. A cruise is a great way to sample a lot of places in a short and convenient fashion to determine where to return for land vacations.

On the comment about the same old menus, we learned a bit of a "trick" a few years back when one of our tablemates was Indian in background and a vegetarian. Most of the cooks back in the kitchen are from somewhere else than North America or Europe and more than capable of making more ethnic foods. Our tablemate talked to the waiter, who talked to the kitchen staff and every night our table had a plate to pass around of whatever they made for our vegetarian--dal, veggies in curry, etc., etc. As many have noted, Princess does really try to please on any food requests--so if you get bored, ask them if they'll make up a plate of some specialty from their homeland.

All the best,

[gloreuscruising]

[quote name='remydiva']Just back from a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and back (first time with a 14 day cruise) and I feel bummed out and wonder if I'm tired of cruising?

I normally come home and immediately start looking and planning the next one...in fact I put down my deposit for a future cruise credit.

But nothing is appealing to me right now....has anyone else ever had 'post cruismatic stress syndrome'????
:confused:[/QUOTE]
You may need to add some spice to your cruise life by perhaps thinking about a theme cruise. Yes they may go to the same ports as you have seen before but by participating in the theme your focus changes a bit. I know we can't openly promote one company but I have been on a cruise in the Caribbean where there was some type of murder mystery taking place. It sounded fun and am considering it for future. If you are interested contact me and I can send you the name of the company. There are also other cruise lines that offer themes, examples: 50's era, baseball, sports car, soap celebrities, etc. It is also adds to the cruise by having others share your interests.
I hope you find the medicine that works best for you.

[CruiseNRead]

You might want to wait a little to book another cruise.
Now here is a question. What if someone told you that you could not cruise again? Would that be awful?

[yorky]

Sounds like you are ready for a land based holiday next, it's honestly not a crime to take a break from cruising. We love cruising but I would not want to cruise every year prefering to mix things up and try something new.

Hey that's what life is all about. :)

[Christapie]

[quote name='Times Prince']Aahh, PCSD - it may be time to see a Pshrink.

Pshrink speaking:
Liebschen, I am thinking you vant a leetle change in der routine. It is all in der head, und in all things a leetle change ist gut. Vas is dis "bummed out feelink you are heffing ? Is it monotony or just you are not too good feelink in dis time of year? Is der "bummed" from das food, or von das DancingundSingungShows? Ist von der constant service, pampering to your effery need? Or ist von das fact der cruise ist over? Ja?

Eine Kleine Schiff (oops, das ist "a small ship") like die Pacificer Princess or Tahitian or Royal Princess could be das answer. Und Medittereaneanisher cruising ist also gut. Casablanca, Gibralter, Spain vould be sehr different.

Or, darlink, perhaps you just need a break. Take some time off und smell der roses, und then you might be ready to cruise again. Post Cruise Stress Disorder (or PCSD as ve like to call it) goes avay mit time.

Happy sailings, Liebschen!

- Das Pshrink[/QUOTE]

Oh this was totally Hilarious!!! Being Deutsche myself I was on the floor/ boden

Christapie

[Coolgran]

I love cruising but I must admit 14 days is my absolute max. This being so we have been to many places more than once as the very thought of Airports drives me nuts. Leaving from Southampton we travel from the north of England by Coach. In go the cases and we don't see them again until they appear in our cabin then off we go to be pampered and cosseted,to get the same treatment on a land based holiday would cost a bomb, so yes I do sometimes feel 'cruised out' but it soon passes in my case.
Coolgran

[goodie2shoes]

I hate to say this, as I know many people love the Golden, but we did Hawaii in October, and I felt much the same when we got home.

Now, having done 15 day Hawaii twice on the Island, I know it's not the cruise. It has to be the ship, and the people on it. The people were the rudest I have ever come across. Nothing you can do about it - but it does tend to spoil the trip.

We had tried the Golden with a 7 night last December, and were not impressed, but since we wanted to do Hawaii again, we decided that maybe it would be better.

Didn't turn out that way for us.

This has not stopped us from cruising, though. We're doing Alaska next summer on the Pacific, and the Panama Canal on the Coral B2B in 2010. I have no worries that I won't like them both, as the ship seems to be of high importance to us, and both these ships are favorites.

Hang in there, and you'll get the cruising bug again before you know it.

[hubofhockey]

Variety in vacations is important to me. We are doing cruises now because there are kids clubs and gives my wife and I some free time to decompress. Now, both of the kids are doing overnight camp. We have one more Caribbean cruise planned. Then, it will just be the two of us doing a Med cruise. It won't be on Princess because I don't want 12 days on a ship. We'll do an RCI 7-day Med and combine it with a land vacation. Best things about land vacations is experiencing local cuisine. You don't get that on a cruise ship and, other than specialty restaurants, banquet food can get tiring. Cruises will remain in our rotation. But we will do other things and there is nothing wrong with staying at really nice hotels either.

[spongerob]

[quote name='Times Prince']Pshrink speaking:
Liebschen, I am thinking you vant a leetle change in der routine. It is all in der head, und in all things a leetle change ist gut. Vas is dis "bummed out feelink you are heffing ? Is it monotony or just you are not too good feelink in dis time of year? Is der "bummed" from das food, or von das DancingundSingungShows? Ist von der constant service, pampering to your effery need? Or ist von das fact der cruise ist over? Ja?

Eine Kleine Schiff (oops, das ist "a small ship") like die Pacificer Princess or Tahitian or Royal Princess could be das answer. Und Medittereaneanisher cruising ist also gut. Casablanca, Gibralter, Spain vould be sehr different.

Or, darlink, perhaps you just need a break. Take some time off und smell der roses, und then you might be ready to cruise again. Post Cruise Stress Disorder (or PCSD as ve like to call it) goes avay mit time.

Happy sailings, Liebschen!

- Das Pshrink[/quote]Und sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.

A little Freudian humor. Very little. :o