"I've never cruised before - What about ....?" (Part 1)

Often when speaking to those who have never cruised before, I am greeted with the same objections. In this and the next post I am going to try to answer some of those questions.

I’ve heard that cruising is just for rich old people

This objection seems to be fading away, at least a bit. Probably the fact that Disney has a cruise line has helped people to realize that you don’t need to be receiving social security to enjoy a cruise. Sure, there are lines which do tend to skew older, but many have a relatively young crowd as well.

Depending on the type of vacation you are hoping for, even relatively young people may appreciate a little bit older crowd as well. My wife and I have long been ‘early to bed, early to rise’ people. Even on vacation I am often awake by 5 am. So my preference is to go to bed fairly early - no late nights at the club for me.

But if you are looking for a younger, more party-centric cruise, they are certainly available. The simple truth is: there are so many cruise ships these days, you can definitely find one that will appeal to you.

I’ve heard that the food isn’t that good

For many of us the food on a cruise is one of the highlights. Sitting down to dinner each night and selecting from the menu all the items I want to try is an absolute treat. Every now and then I will hear someone object, that the food isn’t really that good on cruise ships.

Of course, part of the issue might be the ship selected; if you want higher end, more expensive food, you have to book on a higher end, more expensive ship. This isn’t to say that we must all book with the most expensive cruise lines possible just to get good food. My most recent cruise was on the Celebrity Summit. Celebrity is certainly not the cheapest cruise line around, but nor is it the most expensive. Yet the food every night was fantastic. Out of a 10 night cruise, we had one dinner which was only “good.”

Some of this is no doubt due to the taste of the individual traveler. I once heard someone complaining about the pasta on an Italian cruise ship with the refrain “it doesn’t taste anything like the Olive Garden.” News flash - many fine restaurants in Italy don’t serve food that taste’s like the Olive Garden. (This is not a knock on the Olive Garden - just a statement that their menu does not absolutely define Italian cooking!)

Had crème brûlée 9 out of 10 nights. It was great every time!

What if I get seasick?

This one is a frequent, and legitimate, concern. Most of us have limited opportunity (time and money) for vacation. When we do get away, the last thing we want is to be sick the whole time.

Now, I don’t get motion sick. Ever. Don’t know what it feels like. So I am not an authority on the subject, for sure. But my wife - she gets every variety of motion sickness. Car sick, sea sick, even sick on a bumpy airplane. So when we took our first cruise, we had our worries. The first night at dinner - the world started spinning. So, I went to the shop and bought her some Dramamine, and she took 2 pills. That night, she was asleep by 7:30, and didn’t wake up until 11 the next morning. Crazy part - she didn’t get seasick the rest of the cruise, including the night we had a storm.

Lately she has found that the scopolamine patches do the trick, but talk to your doctor first. They are real medicine. One morning she woke up and said “something feels wrong with my eye.” Her right pupil was blown wide open! Now, this can be a very serious symptom, so we rushed down to medical. The nurse calmly asked if she had a seasickness patch behind her right ear. Turns out, if you touch the patch, then touch your eye, this can happen. (note - not medical advice. If your pupil is blown wide open, get it looked at by a medical professional).

So, is seasickness a problem? It can be, but it can also be managed. I have friends who take a small dose of Gravol (Dimenhydrinate) each day, and find that does the trick. We have never found the accupressure bracelets to be helpful.

Conclusion

I don’t post this to say that everyone must cruise - take the vacation you want. But if you decide to pass on a cruise, at least be informed. Many of the objections I hear are not huge problems, and shouldn’t stop you from an amazing vacation. In the next post I will cover a few more common objections.