Reasons to go on a Cruise

I know it has been a while since I last posted. Part of the reason was because I was on a cruise and I’m not about to pay for the high priced Internet usage fee. Also, I love the part where I can disconnect to refresh my brain. So this post is going to focus on reasons to go on a cruise.

But first, let’s just get this out of the way. I last posted my Thoughts About Cruises 3 years ago, in that post, I listed the reasons to not go on a cruise. So below is a quick update on that list.

Reasons not to go on a cruise

Personally, I’m a big fan of going on cruises, but I do understand that it is not for everyone. So to keep this post balanced, below is an updated list of the most common reasons to not go on a cruise (in alphabetical order):

• Bed bugs (self-explanatory when it comes to rotating person sleeping in the same bed… just like hotel rooms)
• Crime (if you Google crimes on cruises, you’ll find tonnes of articles on crimes being committed on cruises and not being caught)
• Difficulty sleeping (with all the motion)
• Expensive excursions (you can probably find the same excursion for a lot cheaper, paying a premium to go through the boat to ensure that you have some guarantee in case the excursion is late)
• Expensive Internet packages (I personally think that they keep the prices high to discourage people from paying for the Internet so that they can actually enjoy the cruise, let’s face it, you will probably enjoy the cruise more by unplugging from the outside world)
• Food poisoning (feeding thousands of people a day is not an easy task)
• Limited time spent at the ports (cruises generally do not spent a lot of time a one port of call)
• Missing the boat is on your dime (so it will cost extra to arrive the night before to give yourself more buffer time to catch the cruise on time)
• Not so “all-inclusive” (more and more you will probably feel that they are pushing additional sales when you get on the cruise, it comes at us from every direction, shops, drinks, food, excursions, spa, etc.)
• Overcrowding (personally I think cruises are more and more popular, so chances are your cruise is sold out or close to it, which means longer lines everywhere)
• Overly touristy ports of call (ports are infamously known to be a “tourist trap”, rather than a true reflection of the place that you are visiting)
• Sea sickness (if you get sea sick easily, you will probably get sea sick as there is a fair amount of motion)
• Unhealthy food (lots of options to eat unhealthy, granted there are many healthy food options too if you are self-discipline)
• etc. etc.

The list of negatives can go on forever, but this was no the intention of this post. So if you are not a fan of cruises, the list above will probably help you confirm that you are best going on a different type of vacation.

But if you are a fan of cruises or thinking about going on one, the next part of this post is for you!

Reasons to go on a cruise

There are so many reasons to go on a cruise. I’ll try my best to list as many as I can, but feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

• Amenities (water slides, fitness centre, ice-skating rink, sports court, pools, rock-climbing; basically quite the number of activities that you can do on the cruise to build up an appetite for the next meal)
• Cruise options (there is a wide variety of options of cruises, from destinations, sizes, duration)
• Dark room (some people like paying for a more expensive room with a window and/or balcony, but I am perfectly content with the cheaper interior room because it is pitch black when I sleep and I sleep better because of it; guess I can sleep in a room without a window at home too?)
• Easy to plan (compared to taking a customized trip, taking a cruise saves lot of planning ahead; there are times when I rather save my time from needing to plan a trip and book a trip that is already planned for me)
• Food, food and more food (if you are a volume-food-eater, then cruises are for you; some people may debate that the food quality is not that good, which is why they have additional options to purchase “higher” qualify food)
• Family Friendly (a cruise is pretty much a one shoe fits all, you can have fun with great-grandparents, grandparents, parents and grandchildren all-together on the same boat)
• Hot tub / whirlpool (this gets its own line because I am a big fan of whirlpools)
• International (if you like multiculturalism, cruises are the place to be, from the staff and passengers, there is usually a wide variety of where people are from, so if you are a social person, you can learn a lot about different places in a short period of time)
• Multiple destinations (cruises takes you to multiple places on one trip)
• Pampered (throughout the cruise, I personally feel like I am being taken care of)
• Service (the service is generally pretty good on cruises, as their jobs and tips highly depend on it; you’ll still meet the sour grape here and there, but I found that they are uncommon)
• Shows (personally I really enjoy the shows on the cruises, this is especially great for people who would not normally pay for such shows)
• Value (if you combined all the reasons above and you can get it for less than $100 USD per day, I personally think it’s high value for the price that you pay)

Conclusion

Probably, what I like most about cruises is how I feel after it is finished. Due to the high cost of the Internet, combined with my too-cheap-to-pay for Internet, it forces me to unplug so that I can properly rejuvenate. When I want a rejuvenation vacation, I don’t even want to think about where to go eat. Cruises takes away a lot of decision making for me, so that I can focus on relaxing. It also helps that the crew members usually tell me, “Hey, you are on vacation, relax, I’ll take care of it!”

What are your thoughts about cruises? Please share in the comment section below.