Choosing The Right Cruise For YOU! - PART ONE DESTINATIONS

Choosing The Right Cruise For YOU!

{for first time cruisers and seasoned cruisers} 

passport por favor - a travel blog by callie riesling

Okay, now that you have decided that you want to take a cruise, you need to choose the right one for you.  Odds are, if you choose the wrong first cruise… it may ruin the entire experience for you and then you might never go on a cruise again, which would be sad. Plus, we want you to enjoy your vacation!

All cruises are not equal. Some are geared towards couples, some cater to young families and some are made for retirees. Some are realistic for those on a practical budget and some are definitely not. Some cruises have constant upbeat music at the pool and some are meant to be serene and quiet.

Even if you have cruised a few times before, it can still be tough to choose the right one. In fact, most people don't have any idea where to start and quite honestly, it can be pretty intimidating. So we are going to make it easier on you. There are several questions that you need to ask yourself and anyone joining you on this adventure. These questions all tie into each other and are all equally important, so the order doesn't matter yet. 

Over the course of a few different blog posts, we are going to help answer these questions. We were originally going to do this in one post, but we felt that we needed to give you as much information as possible.

Think about these questions throughout each segment of our “choosing the right cruise for you blog feature”. 

Write these down and fill them in with a couple of choices along the way.

1. Where do you want to go?

2. What time of year are you available?

3. What is your budget?

4. How long can you be gone?

5. What cruise line fits your needs?

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PART ONE: DESTINATIONS

First of all, let’s talk destinations. They get first priority because they are my favorite part!

Choosing an itinerary depends on a lot of different things. Obviously, we all want to go on our ‘bucket list’ dream spot but it might not be in the cards this time. Some locations require more time, money or they might be right in the middle of rainy season when you are able to get the time off work. 

But the good news is, there are so many incredible places in this big, beautiful world.

So it shouldn’t be hard to find more than one place you want to visit. My biggest problem is choosing where to go first!

One of the biggest problems that I have is that the information I want to see is not all laid out in one place…. In fact a lot of the time, you need to go to a gazillion different websites to find the information that you need. So I did some extensive research and compiled a few charts to help you see it all in one place. Obviously some things will change, so you will have to do some research on your own, but this should help you narrow it down.

-Itineraries-

Lets face it, a lot of you guys don't know the difference between the a Western Caribbean itinerary and an Eastern Caribbean itinerary.  So this should help you figure out which cruises go where! 

Mexican Riviera-

Generally departs from: LA, San Diego or San Francisco

May include: Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada, Ixtapa, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Catalina Island, Manzanillo or La Paz.

Best time to go: Year Round, May-September is best but August and September may be a little Hot/Humid.

Cruise Lengths: 3-14 nights

 

Western Caribbean-

Generally departs from: Ft Lauderdale, Galveston, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Port Canaveral or Tampa

May include: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Florida Keys, Grand Cayman, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras Jamaica and Costa Maya, Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen and Progreso (Mexico)  

Best time to go: November – May. AVOID HURRICANE SEASON

Cruise Lengths: 4-14 nights

 

Eastern Caribbean-

Generally departs from: Ft Lauderdale, Miami or San Juan (Puerto Rico)

May include: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, St Croix (USVI), St John (USVI), St Maarten/Sint Martin, St Thomas (USVI), Jost Van Dyke (BVI), Tortola (BVI), Turks and Caicos and Virgin Gorda (BVI)

Best time to go: November – May. AVOID HURRICANE SEASON

Cruise Lengths: 4-11 nights

Southern Caribbean-

Generally departs from: Ft Lauderdale, Miami or San Juan (Puerto Rico)

May include: Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao, Dominica, Colombia, Grenada, Guadalupe, Martinique, Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, St Barts, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines

Best time to go: November – May. AVOID HURRICANE SEASON.

Cruise Lengths: 7-25 nights

Panama Canal-

Generally departs from: San Diego, La or Ft Lauderdale, Miami (Generally ONE WAY or turns around)

May include: Aruba, Belize, Cartagena (Colombia), Colon (Panama), Curacao, Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) and Punta Renos (Costa Rica). Also may include any Caribbean or Mexican Riviera Ports.

Best time to go: November – April. AVOID HURRICANE SEASON

Cruise Lengths: 7 – 30 nights

Hawaii-

Generally departs from: California or Honolulu

May include: Fanning Island, Hilo, Honolulu, Kauai, Kona and Maui

Best time to go: Wintertime is best for Whale Watching  

Cruise Lengths: 7 – 25 nights

Alaska-

Generally departs from: Seward, Anchorage, San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver

May include: Anchorage, Haines, Icy Strait, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Prince Rupert, San Francisco, Seattle, Seward, Sitka, Skagway, Vancouver, Victoria, Whittier

Best time to go: June - August

Cruise Lengths: 7 – 14 nights

Bahamas-

Generally departs from: Cape Canaveral Ft Lauderdale, Miami or Tampa

May include: Castaway Cay, Coco Cay, Freeport, Great Stirrup Cay, Half Moon Cay, Nassau, or Princess Cays

Best time to go: November – May. AVOID HURRICANE SEASON

Cruise Lengths: 2 -14 nights

Bermuda-

Generally departs from: Boston, Baltimore, Florida, New Jersey or New York

May include: Hamilton, Kings Warf and St George’s

Best time to go: April - November

Cruise Lengths: 5-12 nights

Eastern Canada/ New England-

Generally departs from: Boston, Baltimore, New Jersey, New York

May include: Bar Harbor, Boston, Cape Liberty, Halifax, Montreal, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Newport, New Brunswick, New York, Nova Scotia, Portland and Quebec City

Best time to go: May to October

Cruise Lengths: 4-23 nights

South America-

Generally departs from: LA, San Diego, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Boston, Buenos Aires, Vancouver or Valparaiso (Chile)

May include: Amazon River, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colombia, Lima (Peru), Manaus (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Montt (Chile), Puerto Arenas (Chile), Santos (Brazil), Stanley (Falkland Islands), Ushuala (The southernmost city in the world shared by Argentina and Chile) and Venezuela  

Best time to go: Opposite Seasons Nov – May (Their Summer and Fall)

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 49 nights

Western Europe / British Isles / European River Cruises-

Generally departs from: Brooklyn (NY), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dover (England), Southampton (England), Athens (Greece), Rome (Italy), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain)

May include: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Belfast, Berlin, Bilbao, Burges, Brussels, Cologne, Dover, Dublin, Edinburgh, Ghent, Hamburg, Harwich, Holyhead, Honfluer, Lisbon, Leharve, New Castle, Paris, Prague, Rotterdam, Rouen, Southampton, Guernsey, Strasbourg, Vienna, Vigo 

Best time to go: Early Spring –October (depending on specific locations) Christmas river cruises are also very popular

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 49 nights

Western Mediterranean -

Generally departs from: Athens, Barcelona, Ft Lauderdale, Istanbul, Rome, Southampton, Venice

May include: Barcelona, Cannes, Capri, Corsica, Elba, Florence, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), Genoa (Italy), Gibraltar, Ibiza (Spain), Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Lisbon (Portugal), Lanzarote (Canary Islands), Maderia (Portugal), Malta, Marseille (France), Monaco, Naples (Italy), Nice (France), Sicily, Balearic Islands, Portofino (Italy), Rome, Saint Tropez, Sardinia (Italy), Sete (France), Seville (Spain), Sorrento (Italy), Tenerife (Canary Islands), Tunis (Tunisia), Venice (Italy), Ville Franche Sur Mer (France)    

Best time to go: Year Round – Best in Spring and Fall

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 57 nights

Greek Isles -

Generally departs from: Athens, Barcelona,

 Istanbul Rome, Venice

May include: Athens, Crete, Corfu, Katakolon, Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, Gythion, Kotor (Montenegro), Zadar (Croatia), Yalta (Ukraine)

Best time to go: Late Spring, Summer & Fall

Cruise Lengths: 5 - 12 nights

 Holy Land-

Generally departs from: Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul, Rome, Venice

May include: Antalya (Turkey), Athens (Greece), Bari (Italy), Bodrum (Turkey), Corfu (Greece), Dubrovnick (Croatia), Haifa (Israel), Istanbul (Turkey), Izmir (Turkey), Jerusalem (Israel), Kusadasi (Turkey), Cyprus, Abu Dhabi, Alexandria (Egypt), Oman and Suez Canal

Best time to go: Fall

Cruise Lengths: 10 - 30 nights

Arabia/India-

Generally departs from: Abu Dhabi, Athens, Dubai, Istanbul

May include: Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Petra, Istanbul, Bodrum, Dubai, Jerusalem, Haifa, Oman, Suez Canal,

Safaga (Egypt), Mumbai/Bombay, Goa (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), New Mangalore (India), Khor Fakkan (UAE), Fujairah (UAE), Chennai/Meidras (India), The Maldives and Seychelles  

Best time to go: Spring or Winter

Cruise Lengths: 7- 57 nights

Africa-

May include: Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Cairo, Capetown, Luxor (Egypt),  Safaga (Egypt), Tunis (Tunisia),  Sao Tome and Principe, Namibia, Port Elizabeth (South Africa), East London (South Africa), Durban (South Africa), Richards Bay (South Africa), Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Angola, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, Agadir (Morocco), Casablanca (Morocco), Mayotte, Togo

Best time to go: September to May

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 36 nights

South America-

Generally departs from: LA, San Diego, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Boston, Buenos Aires, Vancouver or Valparaiso (Chile)

May include: Amazon River, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colombia, Lima (Peru), Manaus (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Montt (Chile), Puerto Arenas (Chile), Santos (Brazil), Stanley (Falkland Islands), Ushuala (The southernmost city in the world shared by Argentina and Chile) and Venezuela  

Best time to go: Opposite Seasons Nov – May (Their Summer and Fall)

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 49 nights

North East Asia-

May include: Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Kboe, Nagasaki, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Busan (South Korea), Juju-Do (South Korea), Shimizu (Mt Fuji), Tokyo, Kagoshima, Taipei, Okinawa, Kanazawa, Maizuru, Kushiro, Sapporo, Hakodate, Aomori, Beppu, or Dalian  

Best time to go: Year Round

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 21 nights

Northern Europe / Baltic Sea-

May include: Aarhus (Denmark), Mergen (Norway), Bremerhaven (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Flam (Norway), Gdansk (Poland), Geiranger (Norway), Helsinki (Finland), Ilulissat (Greenland), Moscow, Odessa (Ukraine), Oslo (Norway), Reykjavik (Iceland), Riga (Latvia), Rostock (Germany), Svalbard, St Petersburg, Stavanger (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden), Tallinn (Estonia), Travemunde (Germany), Trondheim (Norway), Visby (Sweden)  

Best time to go: Summertime

Cruise Lengths: 7 - 36 nights

South East Asia-

May include: Danang (Vietnam), Bangkok (Thailand), Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Manila (Philippines), Koh Samui (Thailand), Medan (Indonesia), Singapore, Kuching, Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), Bandjermasin (Indonesia),

Bali, Kendari (Indonesia), Kupang (Timor)  

Best time to go: Research Specifics, weather is unique to each island.  

Cruise Lengths: 3 - 40 nights

Australia / New Zealand -

May include: Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbine, Cains, Christchurch, Darwin, Dunedine, Hobart, Melbourne, Napier, Noumea, Perth, Sydney, Tauranga, Wellington, Whitsundays, Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea  

Best time to go: All Year

Cruise Lengths: 2 - 35 nights

Tahiti/ South Pacific-

May include: Bora Bora, Papeete (Tahiti), Huahine (French Polynesia), Madang (Papua New Guinea), Moorea,

Nadi (Fiji), New Caledonia, Pago Pago (American Samoa), Port Denarau (Fiji), Raiatea (French Polynesia), Rangiroa (French Polynesia), Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Tonga 

Best time to go: May to October

Cruise Lengths: 2- 35 nights

Nowhere-

Generally departs from: San Diego, New Orleans, New Jersey, New York, Capetown (South Africa), Durban (South Africa)

Cruise Lengths: 1-3 nights

"Part Two - Choosing Your Cruise" is coming soon! 

  Please feel free to comment with any questions!
Also, please let us know if this post helped you!

Why Should I Go On A Cruise?

The Top 7 Reasons To Take A Cruise Vacation!

passport por favor - a travel blog by callie riesling

Cruising is like a delicious but unfamiliar food when you are a kid. Everyone keeps telling you to try it and that you will love it but you won’t know until you try it yourself. Just like that delicious unfamiliar food as a kid, many people are skeptics about cruising and don’t think that they will like it. To me, cruising is the best way to see the world and there are many reasons why. 

Reason #1 - Affordability. Many people don’t realize how affordable cruising is. Did you know that you can go on a 7 night Celebrity Cruise in the Southern Caribbean cruise for only $549pp? That is only $78pp per night! You can’t even find a dumpy hotel in that price range anymore! And that $78pp per night includes WAY more than just a room. It includes 5 star quality meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. It includes the buffets, the ice cream by the pool, the midnight snacks, room service and the famed chocolate buffets. Oh and did I mention that you can choose your 5 course dinner from a fantastic selection each night? And by the way, all of your entertainment (minus booze and gambling) is included! So after dinner you can go see a production show, a comedian, go dancing, be a contestant in a game show, listen to some amazing music in one of the lounges or watch a movie or some cable in your stateroom. I’m not done! This cruise ship isn’t just a floating resort…. while you are laying by the pool all day or are attending seminars or meeting new friends or reading that really good book, your resort is transporting you to each fantastic, exotic location. That cruise that I was telling you about earlier visits 5 islands - Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten and St Thomas! Just flying to Barbados alone would cost you over $800 per person! And you have a wonderful, helpful and kind staff there whenever you need them!

Reason #2 - Constant Entertainment… Or Not! 

There are two very common misconceptions about cruises. Many people think that they will either be extremely bored or extremely overwhelmed by having too much to do. So lets cover the people who think that they will get bored first. Boredom is the last thing that you will experience on a cruise ship. Even if you are like my husband Tyler who likes to have something to do at all times. I tease him that he doesn’t know what relaxation is! The fact is, there is always something to do on a cruise ship… even when the ship is in port! During the day, there will be so many activities scheduled, you will have a hard time choosing what to do! Between the Zumba classes, the silly contests by the pool, the trivia challenges, the option to play basketball, shuffleboard, volleyball, bridge or take a cooking class, go to a seminar, go to a port of call lecture or take a dance class… some ships even have rock walls, ice skating rinks, ziplines, surf simulators, movie theatres, mini golf courses and Coach and Guess stores to shop at. The options are endless.

But one of the best parts about cruising is…. this is all completely OPTIONAL. 

Which brings me back to those who think that a cruise will be overwhelming or won’t let you relax and the people who just don’t want to be on anyone’s schedule. If you want to nap in your stateroom all day, you can! If you want to listen to some music and get a good tan at the pool, you can! If you want to read a good book in a quiet area on the back of the ship, you can! If you want to go for a peaceful walk or run on one of the deserted decks, you can! You literally can do nothing every single day if you want to! I am the kind of girl that likes to have a yummy breakfast and then spend the rest of the day laying by the pool reading a good book. The ship even has a library that you can get books from! 

Cruising activities are completely up to you…. do them all or don’t do any! 

Reason #3 - Cruising Is Made To Make Everyone Happy Another very common misconception is that cruising is catered to one kind of person or group. Some people think that cruising is for old people or young people or families or couples or singles. Some people think that cruises only go to hot tropical islands. Some people think that only the wealthy can afford to cruise…. in reality, the cruise industry has something for everyone with about 30,000 different cruises sailing each year. People ask me all of the time what cruise they should go on…. and my first question is always ‘where do you want to go?’ So let’s start with destinations. There are about 2,000 cruise destinations worldwide, so we won’t be able to cover all of them… but here is a quick overview. (In no particular order): The Caribbean/Central America, Bermuda, Panama Canal Cruises, Mexican Riviera, Western Canada/Alaska, Greenland, Eastern Canada/New England, Transatlantic, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Middle East, Africa, Tahiti/S. Pacific, Southeast Asia, Japan/China, Hawaii, the Suez Canal the Galapagos Islands and many River Cruises. Literally if there is an ocean (or sometimes a river) near it, you can cruise there! You can even visit places like Antarctica on Expedition Cruises! Another way you can customize your cruise vacation to fit your desires is to pick a ship that meets your needs. There are four different kinds of ships. Mega Ships ( 3,000 + passengers), Big Ships ( 2,000 - 3,000 passengers), my personal favorite - Midsize Ships (950 - 2,000 passengers) and Small/Boutique Ships (1 - 950 passengers). If you like hustle and bustle and lots of activities, the mega ships like the Royal Caribbean ‘Oasis of the Seas’ may be for you…. but if you like peace and quiet, the Princess line’s ‘Ocean Princess’ may be for you! My husband and I personally like the mid size ships because they offer plenty of activities to keep us occupied if we want them while still feeling like we are able to relax. As I said earlier, cruises can be tailored to so many different kinds of people…. so if you are going with a large group (or even a small one), a cruise can cater to everyone. Fitness and Health lovers can still hit the gym every day (and one that overlooks the ocean? that’s my kind of gym!), take yoga or zumba classes, run or walk the jogging track around the ship while having the cool ocean air blow on your face. You choose what you eat, so you can have the healthier options and even request low fat/ sugar free options. For the sports/action lovers, (like my husband) you can catch a game of basketball, head down to the pool for some pool volleyball and some ships even have rock walls, ice skating rinks and surf simulators! For your kids there are fantastic kids programs that help them meet other kiddos their age, do fun movie nights (so parents can go to the production shows and other adult evening activities), watersides and the pools and a fabulous staff that goes above and beyond to make your kids comfortable! We had one waiter on one of the cruises that we went on when we were kids that would literally bring my 5 year old brother chocolate milk after chocolate milk! My brother loved him and it obviously had a lasting impression on our family. There are crafting cruises for people who love to craft, there are lectures and classes to attend for people who love to learn and there is plenty of room (on most ships) to get away from other people if you want some peace and quiet. You can hang out in the casino, play some bingo or get a massage.

Reason #4 - Location, Location! 

This is literally the number #1 deciding factor in every cruise we take. 

I am obsessed with itineraries. Some people like to go to the same place every year, but I am going to visit them all one day! 

Cruises are amazing because you can visit so many places in a short amount of time for an incredible price. I love it because instead of going to an all inclusive resort on just one island, I can visit 5 different places. I mean, you are traveling while you sleep at night. It just makes it extremely productive. And traveling in between all of these places is extremely simple. You get on the ship, you get off the ship! You don’t have to do anything else! You don’t need to make arrangements to get you from one place to another or deal with transfers or catching trains or going through lots of airports! 

You get a perfect amount of time in port to test them out. Of course there are many places that I never want to leave.. Usually we spend the first part of the day seeing the island or city and doing different activities and then spend the afternoon at the beach. You get to test out a location and see if you want to go back there before you invest a week's vacation and thousands of dollars in it! 

Another plus is that you might not have heard of all of those places. You might choose the itinerary because you wanted to go to Grenada and end up discovering that you love St. Kitts and Dominica! My point is, it makes you try places that you might have never heard of or didn’t think you would like. For example, our last cruise went to Cartagena, Colombia…. I of course was super excited because I love exotic places that most people haven't been to, but my husband was unsure. All he had ever heard about Colombia was their violent drug history, so he was skeptical when I told him how excited I was about it. We were both pleasantly surprised. I was already expecting it to be amazing and it was even better than I thought it would be and it turns out that Tyler loved it just as much as I did. 

AND you get to go out of the country! It is great for people who have never been out of the country before and it is equally as great for people who love traveling abroad! Many times, you don’t even need a passport! If you are from the United States and your beginning port and ending port are in the U.S. you most likely will not need a passport… just a birth certificate or proof of citizenship! Please still check with your cruise line. We have done this many times on a few different cruise lines, but it doesn't hurt to be positive!  

Reason #5 - Safety & Health! 

Safety is huge thing for me. 

I am not some naive American who thinks that everyone in a foreign country will rob her, but I am cautious. Especially because I am a young girl with expensive camera equipment. Most of the time, I have discovered that many places aren’t exactly like what the website says they are. They don’t usually warn you about the bad things. There are some places that I have cruised that I loved during the day, but I would not feel safe at night. And if you feel threatened or unsafe for any reason, at any time… you can go back to the ship…. It is a perfect home base! There is no shame in being cautious…. it is up to you how careful you are! 

Medical help is a biggie for us too. The ship has doctors on board to help you if you have a medical issue and they speak english. If it is a medical emergency, you can be airlifted by helicopter. On our last cruise we met a few different people who had to go to the ship doctor. We have luckily never needed it, but it is there if you need it! If you are feeling sea sick, the front desk will usually give you motion sickness medication free of charge because they want to keep their cruisers happy. We have heard a few horror stories from people who opted to go the resort route who had to go to a hospital in a foreign country where no one spoke any English. This is also a big deal for those traveling with kids! Having clean water to drink. If you have been to Mexico, you know what a big issue this is. If you are used to water in the United States, Canada and many other places around the world…. water in many foreign countries can give you quite the stomach bug and that can ruin your vacation. So it is nice to be able to run the tap water in the middle of the night when you get thirsty. If you have special dietary needs, cruising is great especially on major lines. You can notify the cruise line ahead of time of your dietary needs. Many lines will give you a special menu or will cook to order. Some cruise lines highlight special menu items such as vegetarian options, gluten free, low calorie and lactose free options. Still be careful and make sure you inform the cruise line with plenty of time and bring a list of your dietary needs with you just in case. Other than that, the cruise lines typically go above and beyond to cater to your dietary needs…. remember they want you to enjoy your vacation, so generally they will do whatever they need to do to make you comfortable

Reason #6 - Meeting new friends! Through out my entire life, my mom has met some of her best friends on vacation. She met her good friend Tina on an plane to Cancun before I was born and they are still close friends to this day. My family still keeps in touch through facebook with our head waiter from Romania from our cruise a couple of years ago. My husband and I still keep in touch with various families and couples that we have met on our cruises together! (Of course facebook is a wonderful tool to keep in touch!) Cruises draw in people from all over the world, with many unique occupations and very interesting lives! My husband and I love meeting people to share wonderful vacations with! Again though, if you don’t want to participate… you don’t have to! Someone might chat you up at the pool, but you don’t have to be friends with them! The staff members are also very fun to talk to! They come from countries all over the world to work on your ship and they love talking about their home if you ask them about it!

Reason #7 - You go off the grid, away from real life. This is another one of my favorite reasons that I love cruising. Being a small business owner, I typically work at least a little bit every single day. Even my days ‘off’ aren’t really days off because I am always managing my business and 85-90% of my daily business work is managed from my phone or computer. I get emails at all times of day and night… so for me, being able to turn off my phone for a few days is a must. Phone service and internet service is available for a cost of course if absolutely necessary… but for the most part, it forces everyone to get away from technology a little bit. Instead of instagramming pictures of your food or letting work emails get you worked up by the pool, you actually get to be free for a few days. I still keep my phone with me to tell time and take quick snapshots with… but in this day and age of our lives revolving around social media, it is nice to have a vacation from it all. PLUS, if you were sitting at a swimming pool in the US, someone would be obnoxiously talking on their cell phone, someone would have the sound turned up on their game so everyone hears every piece of Candy they Crush, someone’s phone would go off in the theater or someone’s day would be ruined by a nasty email. It makes you look away from that little screen for a little while and wake up and participate, listen to people and see things that you wouldn't have noticed if you were concerned about how many ‘likes’ that you got on your last post.

BONUSES: 

You only have to unpack and repack once. You are constantly pampered. You don’t have to make the bed. Turn-down service is usually twice a day, so you can even take a nap and the bed will be made again when you return from dinner! You won’t run out of hot water. So you can take long showers or short ones, whenever you want! Mints on your pillow at night. 360 degree incredible views of the sunset and sunrise over the ocean every single day. Meeting cool staff from many different countries and cultures around the world. If you ask, they are always eager to talk about their home. Fun stories to tell when you get home. A romantic, night on the town every night…. included! Seriously, it’s not cheap to have a 5 star, 5 course meal with Lobster or Steak and then go out to a theatre production or see a comedian and then go out dancing afterwards when you are anywhere else. On a cruise, it is just a part of the experience! Stress free traveling. Each day is a new adventure! If you don’t like the native food… you aren't stuck eating it. The captain will do their best to go around bad weather. You get fresh air! Have an excuse to dress up! Breakfast in bed or on your balcony for free. Built in designated driver! You can drink all you want and just walk back to your cabin and let the captain drive you to your next location! Home base! Being out in the middle of nowhere, away from light pollution. SEE THE STARS! Other happy people on vacation! Try new exotic foods, for free and if you don’t like them… you can get something else! Ice cream, with sprinkles at the pool. Not getting the bill at the end of your fancy dinner. Fabulous People Watching Sitting on the back deck while sailing away.

We hope that you enjoyed our first blog post! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them in the comments below! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post! :)