If you were to offer me any vacation I would choose a cruise. We have taken several seven night cruises and loved each and every one of them. In the future we hope to travel on lengthier cruises but at this point in our lives seven days is as long as we can get away.
For our first vacation as husband and wife-aka our honeymoon-we went on a Royal Caribbean cruise from New York to Bermuda. We sailed on the Nordic Prince, a small ship by today’s standards: one pool, one dining room, just a few bars, no balcony cabins and 1,231 passengers. It may have been small but we had a great time; the food and service were stellar! This was before the era of extensive on-board shopping, art auctions or sales oriented health assessments. As I took a walk down memory lane looking through our Cruise Compasses I was reminded that the ship had only 8 decks, a casino, salon, five bars, and three lounges. The entertainment included bingo, trivia, movies, dancing, shows, parties and lots of fitness activities. It has been almost 30 years and while I don’t have a lot of distinct memories about the cruise or the ship a few things stick out. I still remember the other two honeymoon couples at our table, the sommelier-he was my introduction to wine appreciation, our waiter who sang for our special occasion dinner, the themed midnight buffets, the horse racing on the pool deck on sea days and getting “ShipShape”.
Our most recent cruise was a pre-Christmas family vacation with our older daughter, her husband and our younger daughter. We always dreamed of cruising with our children once they became adults and it was everything we hoped it would be. We sailed on the Regal Princess along with approximately 3,000 other passengers to the Western Caribbean. The Regal has 11 restaurants, 11 bars, multiple lounges, 3 pools, 6 hot tubs, an excellent fitness center, a very large spa with salon, shopping boutiques, casino, theater, tv studio, youth center and lots of areas to find a peaceful refuge.
Part of the beauty of cruising for us is that there is something for everyone. Our younger daughter loves to sleep in so we can either drink our coffee on the balcony or slip out so as not to disturb her. I love breakfast-I can go for a sit down mimosa breakfast daily. We all love to work out but we’re on different schedules so we go when we want. Eating lunch together is not a priority but the buffet is available when we are and most days we could also choose one of the dining rooms. During the day we always make time for the thermal suite to relax and unwind. Trivia, game shows, reading, pool time and napping are other favorite activities on Caribbean cruises. We prefer traditional seating and make it a point to eat dinner together every night to catch up, enjoy a fantastic meal and reconnect. We enjoy having the same waiters every night as it makes for a more enjoyable dining experience since they get tuned in quickly to our preferences and we get to know them. At night we can either see the headline show, catch a movie, spend a little time in the casino or listen to live music. Or we can do nothing at all.
Another aspect of cruising I enjoy is the ability to visit a variety of locations within a short period of time. I consider a cruise a destination sampler allowing me to go to several places to tour, visit, explore and experience. On an Alaskan cruise we sailed from Vancouver and made stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, Glacier Bay and ending in Anchorage. These remote locations are either difficult or impossible to access by car and yet within seven days I was able to visit them all and decide where I would want to go back. Our Mediterranean cruise started outside Rome stopped in Naples, Kotor, Corfu, Heraklion, Mykonos and ended in Athens! The chance to go to these amazing cities and islands within one week was incredible. These are just two of the amazing itineraries we have embarked on and enjoyed. There are hundreds of ports all around the world waiting to be called upon and explored.
For me, if I don’t have to make my bed or cook a meal that is a vacation. A cruise covers those basic prerequisites and so much more. Endless culinary opportunities, wine tasting, cultural events that tie in with our destinations, talented musicians, meeting new people, visiting new places are all things that make a cruise my favorite vacation. Considering I only unpack once, if I forget anything I can get it on the ship and the staff and crew genuinely want me to have a great time it’s hard to go wrong!!
As a big fan of lists here is my Cruise List of things we do not want to leave without. I keep this particular list stored on my phone for easy reference and for easy sharing with friends. It has been refined over the years changing with what the ships offer and will continue to be modified as needed.
1. Sunscreen-a bad sunburn can ruin any vacation!
2. Water bottle/travel coffee mug
3. Rain coats
4. Binoculars
5. Beach bag/sling bag
6. Wine opener
7. First Aid kit-that’s a whole other list
8. Clorox Wipes/Hand Wipes
9. Shawl-nice to have in the dining rooms and theater
10. Bingo daubers-only because we already purchased them twice!
11. Clothes pins or clips to hang your swimsuits
12. Address labels-for your debarkation luggage tags
13. Small magnetic hooks
14. Wireless speaker
Of course this list is not exhaustive but these are a few things that are easy to forget but can make the cruise a little better. We used to bring a power strip but the newer ships have more outlets and/or usb ports. Most cabins have a variety of music channels on the tv making our little Bose speaker mostly unnecessary as well; but if you have a distinct taste in music you might still want to bring a speaker and download your playlists before leaving home.
So if you offered me the choice between a cruise and a lovely hotel I would pick the cruise every time because of the activity and dining options available. With all this said the experience does vary depending on the class of cruise line you go on and what type cabin you choose but you can be sure there is a wonderful vacation waiting for you as you step onboard a ship-you get to create your own adventure!
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