Never Say Never
I’ve never thought of myself as a cruise person. I know plenty of people who *love* them, but they seem really crowded to me, and I’m not thrilled with the idea of being on a tight schedule when in port. One exception I might make would be an Alaskan cruise, because the opportunity to see so many little towns along the southeast, without having to pack and unpack, is really appealing, and being on a ship and seeing the fjords and wildlife of that region would be amazing.
My cousin Carey and her family enjoy cruises, and have been on several. They’ve been to Alaska a couple of times, and to Mexico, and probably other places that I don’t remember. My cousin Kim, Carey’s sister, Kim’s husband, their 3 kids, and the eldest daughter’s boyfriend are going on a cruise from Los Angeles to Baja in June. Carey and her wife were supposed to go along, but Carey’s wife decided she didn’t want to. This is the same wife who didn’t want to go to France in 2022, which was my big gain there as well, since we stayed in their timeshares there. So since Carey had already purchased the cruise and could not get her money back, she asked me if I wanted to come, on her dime. Being me, I couldn’t just be gracious and excited and say, “Oh, goodness, what a wonderful and generous offer, let me think about it and let you know!” Instead I thought, “Oh big ships with a ton of people…hot June weather…I’m not sure.” And I expressed these doubts. Carey knows me, though, and remembers that it took me a while to get on board with the France trip as well, so she wasn’t offended.
So I thought about it, how much I enjoy travel, how I want to do more of that when possible, and decided ‘what the hell.’ So, I’m dusting off my passport and cruising to Mexico next month!
It’s a 6 day cruise, and you spend the vast majority of that time on the ship. There are 1.5 days in Cabo San Lucas, and 1 day in Encinitas. Ted and I have a friend who goes on these cruises to Mexico all of the time, so I messaged him and said, “What do you and your wife do when you’re in Cabo or Encinitas?” He said in Cabo, they go to Sammy Hagar’s bar and have a drink, and in Encinitas, they stay on the ship because it’s less crowded. Oh. I guess they’re no help. So, we have an excursion planned on a catamaran with snorkeling one day in Cabo, which sounds FABULOUS, I love snorkeling. No other plans yet. In my mind, I’m picturing ship time including going to some of the shows in the evening, spending some time on the deck with a good book, going to the gym and keeping up with my strength and yoga, and I’m not sure what else. There are a ton of activities, but I’m not sure how busy I want to be. Time will tell.
Cruising friends…what do you like to do on a cruise?
12 Comments
AC
I am no help. I’ve never been on one and don’t want to be, except maybe Alaska, like you.
Elisabeth
I’ve never done a cruise BUT I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. I can’t wait to follow along vicaruously. YOLO, Julie. Gold stars for saying yes. I predict you’re going to have a fabulous time <3
nance
Oh, I do pretty much everything on the ship that offers free champagne. An art auction with free champagne? YES. Crew dance party with free champagne? YES. Pastry and fruit/veg carving demo with free champagne? YES.
Actually, that last one may not have had free champagne, but we went to it anyway because it was raining a bit and we wanted something to do.
But hey, if someone offers me a free trip, I’m taking it. You’ll have fun!
Allison
Yay for seizing the moment! I’ve been on one cruise, with my sister’s family and my parents when the kids were about aged 6 to 10. It was a lot of fun because we were all together – the shows were great fun and it was nice that there was usually one when you wanted to see one. There was also a first-run Disney movies theatre which the kids loved. There was one day of turbulence when everyone barfed, and this makes me wary of cruises – you can so easily lose part of your vacation to feeling crummy, but I guess that could happen anywhere. I don’t have a big desire to go on another one except Alaskan, like you said, but if someone offered me a free spot? In a heartbeat! Bring numerous books and have a wonderful time!
Michelle G.
Oh, how fun!!! I’ve never been on a cruise, but I will enjoy following along with yours – if you share it! I hope you do! I have a friend who loves cruises, and her advice is to bring along some motion sickness medicine. You may not need it, but it’s nice to have access to it asap if you do. But I don’t have personal experience with this – your cousin probably has all the best advice for you.
Margaret
I’m like you and hesitant about cruises for the same reasons. I also get seasick and although it’s a huge ship, I still worry about feeling nauseated. My friend and I were signed up for an Alaska cruise (neither one of us had been to southern Alaska) for July 2020 but you probably know what happened there. I’m glad you’ve decided to go for it! Plus, it will be great blogging fodder!! Lots of fun people watching, I bet.
K @ TS
I have never been on a cruise but if I got offered one for free i would surely say yes!! I also predict you are going to have a great time.
Diane
Oh fun! I think if offered any kind of travel for free I would probably say “yes”.
I’ve only been on one cruise and it was a Nile cruise in Egypt, which was cool, but I think very different an experience from what you’re doing. It sounds like a good mix of relaxing and adventure!
Ally Bean
I’ve never been on a cruise, nor wanted to go on one. However the way you’re doing it might be more my style than flying to Europe to tak a cruise. I look forward to your reading about your experiences. Maybe you’ll change my mind about cruises.
Birchie
Yay! My prediction is that you’ll have a blast. I’ve never done a cruise, but I am not opposed. If I was to go on one, Alaska would probably be top of the list.
ernie
I’ve never been on a cruise. They sound great – or they look great in ads. I have no true aversion to them, but taking all of our people, well that’s silly, right? Sounds so pricey. We’re more ‘let’s go somewhere we can sleep in tents and eat food from our cooler’ type people. Maybe some day? I think you made the right choice. I’m excited for you and can’t wait to hear all about it.
Suzanne
I consider myself firmly in the Not A Cruise Person camp, but I suppose a good way to try a cruise would be to get a free opportunity to do so! It’s nice, too, that it’s only a short cruise. I’m excited for you and I hope you have a fabulous time!