Anyone who knows me, knows how much I enjoy cruising (yes, still stuck on the letter C). My first cruise was in October 1989 with my late husband. It was only a three day cruise on the original Carnival Mardi Gras. Piedmont Airlines and USAir had just merged and the combined frequent flyer points paid for the cruise (wouldn't see that nowadays) and it became a late honeymoon for us.
It was a wonderful experience and by day three, my husband was finally relaxing (true type-A personality). We never got to go on another cruise - too many expenses in raising children through the years.
In 2008, I met my current husband and he took me on my second cruise. It was a Princess cruise to the Panama Canal. I was hooked. No cooking, no cleaning, no making the bed - just pure relaxation and the ability to visit foreign countries.
Since then, we have cruised a lot, especially in 2015 after we moved back from Ecuador. So far my count is: Disney - 1, Royal Caribbean - 1, Princess - 2, and Carnival -27. We have two more Carnival cruises booked for this year and three in January 2024. And, drumroll, we have one Holland America cruise booked this year as well.
Because it normally takes us two days to get to our ports we frequent, we tend to only book back-to-back (B2B) cruises. Same ship, usually the same cabin, mostly different itineraries. Makes it worthwhile to take time away from home.
Being in the middle of the ocean doesn't bother me, we choose mid-ship, mid-deck and I never get seasick, there is always too much to eat, I love iced cappuccinos, I rarely have a mixed drink but if I do it is usually a Bloody Mary or Kahlua & Cream, I enjoy meeting new people, and I hope I have many years of cruising ahead of me.
And, if I could afford it, I'd definitely book an around the world cruise! Have you ever cruised? If yes, did you like it and why (and where did you go)? If no, would you like to (and why or why not)?
Ahoy!
ReplyDeleteI love cruising too. Unpack just once and visit several countries. Our first was a Rhine River cruise in 1996 (two kids in tow, 9 & 11 years old) in celebration of the completion of my masters degree. The next was not until 2000 when an Alaskan cruise celebrated our 25th anniversary. After that there was one more with teens in the Med (that was an experience!) and then they left home and we cruised at least once a year until CoVID. The total at this time is 24 cruises. An around the world cruise is tantalizing...
Keep on cruising.
I'm so glad we can cruise again - I got a mild case of COVID in Jan 2022 and had to spend my last three days in isolation on our cruise. In September, we take a Carnival cruise from FL to Barcelona, sightsee, then fly to Rome to sightsee and take a 10 day cruise along the Mediterranean, then fly Rome to Edinburgh for 10 days including a 5 day guided tour of the Highlands before flying back to Barcelona for the Holland America cruise back to FL.
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