Choosing to take a last minute cruise

 

Last night, I broke the news to RQS that I wanted to treat her to a cruise.  Although I found a 12-day cruise that would take us to "the islands" at a reasonable price, I found a different cruise with a different cruise line that would give us most of the same benefits at the first - but at a lower price for the things we'd actually use.

Unlike a lot of our cruises, this one would be done "on the cheap."  We'd be booking a "Guaranteed" cabin (read: any cabin meeting the fare class or better), no alcohol package, and streaming wi-fi.  For a similar 11-day cruise the price is right, and it is a gift I can give to myself and to RQS for the holiday season. We'd be going to the same islands we went to on our last 12-day cruise to the Caribbean, and we'd finally have a chance to take a shore excursion on one island that we skipped on our last cruise with this line.

Assuming I book this cruise tomorrow, it will be the 4th cruise we'll take this year.  Yet, we only have 1 cruise scheduled for next year.  I'll have to do something about that.  There are so many places where I'd like to cruise, but haven't had the time or money to do so.

- - - - - -

What is cruising to me?  For the most part, it's a vacation where all one has to do is show up.  Virtually everything is curated for the cruiser.  On some lines, one takes a cruise to join in a series of onboard parties.  On others, it is to have a quiet place to escape from the world.  For me, it's checking in at a hotel that travels from port to port and provides food and entertainment for the time I'm there.

Being retired, one can ask: What's the difference between being home and relaxing, and being on a ship and relaxing?  The answer is in the effort in doing so.  I have to cook all my meals, change all my sheets, and perform my own housekeeping while at home.  I don't have to do this while cruising.  It's a nice way to live for a week or two, but one that costs several thousand dollars to do so.

I hope to do a lot more cruising over the next few years.  And I hope to have RQS with me as I do so.