Cruises are perhaps my favorite type of vacation. When clients tell me they are interested in a cruise but have never been on one, I get excited and ask them how long do they have to talk. While I have not cruised on every single cruise line, my goal is to cruise as many as I can over the next five years. I am not loyal to one particular cruise line or another…yet! So, why do I love cruises so much?
Here are my top five reasons why I think the cruise life just may be the best life.
Food: Perhaps one of the most popular things to do on a cruise is to eat. Like an all-inclusive resort, most of the food you’ll consume onboard is included in your cruise fare. That means practically unlimited food available late into the evening. The exception to this rule would be specialty restaurants onboard that may charge an extra fee to dine.
Many cruise aficionados will rate their cruise experience on the food alone. Cruising is certainly a good way to try new cuisine that you wouldn’t feel comfortable about paying for back at home. For example, I tried escargot on a cruise…something I would have never paid to try at home. . .and boy, was I glad that I didn’t have to pay extra for it there.
Entertainment: Cruises can be as active or as laid back as you want to make them. If you get bored while onboard, that is not the fault of the cruise line. There are so many activities on each cruise ship that there is surely something for everyone. Typically you’ll find entertainment such as trivia, bingo, towel origami, poolside dancing and contests, casinos, arcades, karaoke, lounge entertainment, poolside movies, and headliners in the main theater. Some ships also have basketball courts, putt-putt courses, and virtual batting cages for the sports enthusiasts.
Entertainment is another area where cruise-goers may put more weight in their cruise line decisions. So, Cruise Directors and their entertainment staff work very hard to give you a plethora of options throughout your day.
While I don’t participate in many activities as I do like some downtime, my family does enjoy participating in trivia games throughout the day, as well as the main evening entertainment. To date, Disney Cruise Line has been my favorite for entertainment. They do not disappoint children and adults of all ages.
Unpack Once: What other vacation can you visit multiple destinations while only unpacking once? Yes, we tend to struggle to find room in our staterooms for all the clothing we overpacked and won’t need, but we love to unpack just once at the beginning of the cruise, knowing that each morning you awake you are somewhere different–whether that’s a new port of call or further along in your sea journey. For those days at sea, put on your swimsuit and hang out at the pool all day or put on your dancing shoes for a salsa lesson, because you still didn’t have to unpack again.
Meeting New People: Despite a typical cruise having several thousand guests onboard, you tend to see certain ones over and over throughout the week. My family loves to meet new people, and we tend to make friends wherever we go. Cruises are no different.
However, the people that I meet on board that I tend to want to take home and make them part of the family are the waitstaff. On every cruise we have been on, we fell in love with our dining room waitstaff and, in most cases, our room attendant. If you are open to talking with them, they really take the time to get to know you. . .sometimes to the point that, at the end of the cruise, you share a tear with them knowing it’s the end of a week that they have made so special for you.
Furthermore, when you visit the foreign ports and get to experience the culture that is offered, you truly appreciate all there is in this world.
One large world: One of the weirdest yet neatest feelings is waking up that first day at sea and not seeing the first bit of land in any direction. From watching an amazing sunrise to a breathtaking sunset out in the middle of a large body of water, being at sea will make you pause and realize we do live in such a big world. We certainly are not meant to just stay at home and not experience it.
So, if you have never been on a cruise and are considering one, look no further. I would love to share my passion for the cruise life with you and even help you plan your first (or next) cruise. Contact me and let’s get the conversation started.
If you are an avid cruiser, I would love to know what your favorite thing is about cruises. Post in the comments below and share with my readers.