7 Reasons Why You Should Never Take a Cruise Vacation

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by Danny de la Cruz[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]With the unofficial end to Summer upon us and Fall routines have already started to kick in, it’s a great time to start planning ahead for your next travel adventure. With so many choices, it’s hard to choose. If you haven’t already checked out our recent Summer Travel Issue, you’re missing out on some great travel inspiration.

And, if you need more ideas, be sure to check out these travel experts:

• Around the World in Eighty Years by Jim O’Donnell
• Author and traveler Nicholas Andriani 
• Katie Stanwyck at Bite of Travel
• Where’s the Charm? by Charmaine Kong

For me, one of my favorite ways to travel is to take a cruise. Having sailed on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises multiple times, and experienced life on board Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines and even a river cruise aboard AmaWaterways, I think I know a thing or two about a cruise vacation. So here’s my advice — don’t take a cruise vacation if any of the following apply to you.

1. You’ll be whisked away to new destinations each day. Imagine being able to experience and sample different cultures and cuisines in a small amount of time. You’ll travel to different countries and not have to deal with the joy of standing in line at customs for possibly hours on end waiting for your passport to be stamped. Of course, some people like that experience. Another great part of this is that you’ll unpack once, stow away your luggage for the remainder of your cruise, and then never have to pack again until after your cruise is over. If you would rather stay put in one location during your entire vacation, then this isn’t for you.
2. Open your wallet once and put it away. Before you actually board the cruise ship, you’ll have to check in with ID and show a credit card for incidentals you incur on board. Once you’re cleared with room key in hand, you can put away that wallet or purse and relax. I love the feeling of not having to carry around my wallet while on board — my empty pockets are happy! But if you feel naked without a wallet or purse while on vacation, then a cruise isn’t for you.
3. Imagine having food of all types available 24/7. You don’t have to eat it all, but knowing that you have an array of food choices at your fingertips is amazing on its own. If you enjoy the selection, convenience and casual nature of the buffet, then head up to that area. If you want the camaraderie of other passengers in a more traditional dinner setting, then the main dining room is for you. There are also intimate venues and upscale choices on board that just keep popping up each year as cruise ships try to out-do the other. There might be a small upcharge in some venues, but the price is nominal compared to a regular restaurant on land. Bottomline, if you don’t like to eat, then definitely don’t sign up for a cruise.
4. If you want to spend your vacation together with your family and friends and be joined at the hip, then skip this one. A cruise ship is a fantastic way for friends, couples, families and even multi-generational families to vacation together without being together every second of the day.  During a cruise, you’ll know that everyone is having a great time doing what they love to do. Go off and enjoy different activities, go on different tours, vacation your way by day and then get together at night for dinner and share all your stories and adventures.  And if you have little ones, you can feel good having them go to their kid’s clubs where they will be entertained all day while you head off to the spa or just take a long, well-deserved nap.
5. For those of you who don’t like to meet people from around the globe, then that’s another reason why you shouldn’t board a cruise ship. Not only do you have crew from around the world, but passengers are from everywhere as well. It feels like you’ve stepped into the United Nations — how cool is that? The crew members have name tags that indicate from where they are and sometimes, I love trying to count how many different nationalities I encounter each day.
6. While there are many more reasons why you shouldn’t take a cruise vacation, one I can’t overlook is the fact that you’re surrounded by so many activities by day and entertainment options by night. Who wants that on vacation? For those of you that do, you’ll find days of activities with the crew, educational lectures and demonstrations on some ships, even a family-friendly game of bingo, to evenings filled with world-class shows, music, singers, comedians and for those of you who have the touch, there’s always the casino if you’re feeling lucky. And you can’t forget dancing until the wee hours of the morning. You don’t have to do it all, but the fact that it’s all available is what makes a cruise such a big bang for your buck!
7. Speaking of money, if you’re one of the lucky 1% and don’t really worry about how much it costs to go on vacation, then I’m sorry I wasted your time. But for the rest of us, a cruise vacation is really a bargain. When you find week-long itineraries starting around $600 or $700/person, that’s hard to resist. Add up the costs of a nightly hotel, add on 3-meals per day, tack on the cost for entertainment and  everything else you get — where can you get all that at that price?

I do love a great cruise — it’s the combination of the ship and its amenities, with the wonderful destinations. To be able to couple onboard experiences with discovering new destinations and getting a taste for places I want to return to and explore even further, is simply priceless. I’m already planning my next sea adventure.[/x_text][/x_column][/x_row][/x_section]