Somehow, we seem to be going from one cruise to another with only short breaks on land. Although this is not true, we've compressed a lot of cruising into a short time - 5 cruises in one year.
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As I write this, we will be taking another cruise in a few weeks. This cruise will be on one of the more boring routes I could think of:
- New York - Start
- Port Canaveral
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Cruise Line's Private Island
- New York - End
One of the things we like about cruising is that, as RQS says, "All one has to do is show up, and the rest is taken care of for you." It's a chance to turn off, tune out, and chill. As long as the cruise isn't one where there are too many kids and not enough sober people, we usually find ways to relax in comfort. Whether we chill out watching movies in the ship's theater, sipping drinks in a lounge, or grabbing food at the buffet, we relax. And if one lives in the NYC orbit, one needs to find ways to relax.
A problem we've had with cruising is that there is so much nickel-diming going on with cruising. Instead of selling "all-inclusive" fares, most lines don't include so-called gratuities in their fares. This is a deceptive practice that is annoying, as one has to perform an extra calculation in one's head to figure out the true base price for a fare. I'll buy soda packages, as it's cheaper for me to do so, than to buy each soda individually. I'll buy fare packages that include dining and adult drinks for the same reasons. In short, I'll pay a little more for simplicity in pricing, as I always seem to break even on the deals.
As I cruise more, there are fewer places I want to travel to via cruise ship, and more I want to travel to by train. Soon, I'll be planning another trip that involves riding the rails. Until then, I'll be on the waters.
