[Lfs S2 Cracked Cruise Serverl
Addison Mauldin
Do you do other kinds of vacations as well, or mostly just stick to cruising? for example, would you fly to England and tour the city on your own for several weeks at a time? Or does cruising satisfy all your travel needs?
I have been on 9 this year so far. I do get a little tired of the food. We do do other vacations also but prefer to cruise. I do have to fly everywhere but use points for my flight most of the time. I always go a day early and try to get bumped if my flight is oversold just for the credit.
I never get sick of cruising. Some of the food does get repetitious, and especially the breakfast buffets. There are certain ports where I like to do certain things, and often stay on the ship on port days other times. I don't visit the entertainment venues, but prefer to visit the casino or seek out solitude when the casino gets smoky. I rarely go to the onboard shops and just ignore the announcements for the most part unless the Captain speaks.
I do not take other kinds of vacations. I stick to cruising. I lived in England 5 years so flying there doesn't hold much appeal to me. I've traveled enough to know how I like to spend my down time and cruising satisfies my travel needs and wants.
NEVER. Have lived in numerous California ocean cities, so I love the sea. I love her when she's calm and even when she's mad and furious. I'm not a big foodie so I'm fine with whatever Carnival does. The entertainment used to be much better. The ports become all the same. I usually go off on my own. Have never gone on a ship-sponsored tour. Don't even hear the announcements anymore. Bought an Invicta one time, that's it.
I live in Arizona now and don't cruise as often, but used to live 30 minutes from the 2 ports in LA and an hour and a half from San Diego. Used to always cruise last minute (booking 3-5 days before the cruise), but now waiting on October (and it's killing me):D
I used to fly to Mexico a lot, even took the train once :eek:(never do that again). Love the Mexican people and have mastered getting the best rates at those tiny little hotels in the part of Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo where the Mexican tourists go. Dine at quaint little Mom'n'Pop 6 table restaurants and love it. :) Prefer that over the expensive name brand hotels where the employees all speak English, but hate Americans and the food is tamed-down for tourists !
We do about 20+ cruises a year on usually different cruise lines. Mostly b2b's. we seldom get off the ship because we just like to relax. Food does get a little boring but that keeps us from over eating. Driving to port keeps the price down-about 12 hours away from 3 ports. Flexibility sometimes brings deals. Cruises fit our life style, like the idea of not packing and unpacking several times. Also loyalty programs are great, especially when you are on the higher levels.
Most repeated activities wear thin - being at sea, however is always new. The food is not as good as what we prepare at home, but having someone else prepare it, and clean up after, is a welcome change every now and then. The entertainment is so-so, not always interesting, but an option.
We try to cruise 2-3-4 times a yr. Always a winter Caribbean cruise which we now rarely get off the ship. The ship is the destination....kind of like going to a resort in the Caribbean. We try to do a European river cruise sometime between May and Oct (our favorite way to travel in Europe). We've done a couple of "ocean liner" cruises in Europe and feel we just don't have enough time to see/do, we're only at port cities and rarely do we get to spend an evening/night ashore. We've been going to Bermuda every couple of years for the past 35 or so. I think this past June was our 25th cruise to Bermuda, and I could go there annually. Alaska, the inter-island Hawaii cruise, Australia, Asia round out other itineraries. Someone posted the food (particularly the breakfast buffets) get repetitious. Ya...they do, but there's just so much you can do for breakfast and I just realized I eat the same thing for breakfast just about every day at home. Traveling on a ship and being on the ocean is the "rush" for me.
I don't get sick of it. For us, cruising is an opportunity to escape reality and just spent time together. We rarely leave the ship because spending a few hours in a place isn't how we like to experience a city. We rarely partake of the entertainment, and being served 3 meals a day that I don't have to plan and cook is absolute bliss.
When I lived in America, Caribbean and Mexican resorts were my cruises, but European all-inclusives aren't even in the same ballpark, so cruising fulfills that type of travel. It's not worth it to fly to Mexico for a week when airfare is the same or cheaper to say, Thailand or Vietnam.
I think if I cruised the way most people do with excursions, etc. I wouldn't enjoy it as much. I actually feel sorry for people who only get to spend 6-8 hours in places like Rome and Florence. It's just not for me.
The most we have cruised per year so far is 2x. We have plans to retire in the next 5-6 years and do more cruising. But our plans also include land travel. Since our honeymoon 28 years ago traveling has been a priority for us, with and without the kids. We've always tried to get at least 1-2 week long + trips in a year along with as many long weekends as we could fit into our schedules. My oldest just graduated college and moved 16 hours away to North Dakota. I'm seeing some trips that way in the next couple of year now. My youngest is still living at home going to college, but I don't expect her to stick around here either. We are a close family but we are also very independent of each other and find vacations as a way for us all to reconnect again. I'm hoping I can plan vacations in the future to bring us together at least once a year if not more. But I do love the technology today where I am talking to them face to face even if they are states away.
Upon retirement our goal is to sell everything (won't need it with the kids gone) and purchase a motorhome and small place in Florida. Our bucket list trip post retirement is to do Route 66 from Chicago to LA. Once in LA we hope to do some cruising to Mexico and Hawaii. Then it will be traveling up the coast to Seattle for a cruise to Alaska. Then across the upper USA to the New England states with some cruises to Canada and Bermuda. Then down the East Coast to our new home base in Florida. We hope to take some time to visit with the kids where ever they have landed on this trip and have the flexibility to fly out to them if/when needed. We then plan on making Florida our home base in the Fall and Winter and travel to wherever the kids are or any other place we would like to visit in the Spring and Summer. Cruising out Florida as often as our budget/time allows during the Fall and Winter.
I can't see us getting bored. We are not brand loyal so it is easy for us to mix things up ship/line wise. We also will have the flexibility to drive/fly where ever the mood strikes us. This is our dream retirement. Our only possible issue is staying healthy enough to enjoy it since I've already had a couple health scares. That is why we are looking at retiring at 55-56. Time is too short. We've raised healthy, happy, and responsible kids. We've invested and saved for our retirement. I'm starting my planning to enjoy it, hopefully before it is too late.
We cruise as a choice, one of the ways to enjoy ourselves, and travel. When we were a lot younger we did the log cabin bit by the lake, the condo by the beach. We had really great times. We have gone and still go to beautiful all-inclusive resorts.
It was in 1986 that we actually did go to Great Britain and Europe and spent seven weeks travelling by train, bus and car. We saw many wonderful places and formed life long memories. If you have the chance to do this go for it, you might never have the opportunity again. We certainly wouldn't be able to do that again.
The bottom line is that our very next vacation was our first cruise in 1987 and we immediately realized what a great way to travel it was. Get on the ship unpack and tomorrow you will wake up in a different country. How great is that. You can do as little or as much as you choose for the length of your cruise. You can be pampered, entertained, whatever you want. There is something for everyone.
Don't get me wrong you need to get off the ship to see the world. You won't see the Grand Canyon from a cruise ship, but it is a one of the best vacation options in my opinion. We still go to island destinations but cruising for now is our preferred vacation choice.
We have been looking for something to do this fall - we were supposed to cruise with the in-laws but they have put it off until 2017. We have been discussing a trip to D.C. to see all the Smithsonian Museums (DH has been to some; I've been to none). So I start looking for a place to stay. I can get a place on Airbnb in Maryland near the metro line for about $600 for 6 nights. This is a room with a bed, coffee pot, small fridge & microwave. Then we have to pay to ride the metro every day and pay for all our meals. We could eat fast food every meal to keep the price down, but who wants to do that?
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