6 Reasons Why I Love Cruising

I often get asked why I love cruising so much. It’s not that I like it more than any other form of travel. I love all travel, but there cruising allows me to relax the most, have the most fun, and step out to adventure, chill or just enjoy the local culture.

I’ll use Disney and Carnival a lot below, but those are currently the only two lines I have sailed on. My mom likes Princess, but we don’t have the money to do that as much as we like to go. Maybe someday!

One Cabin to Call Home

On a cruise, you can make stops at a number of different destinations on the same trip without having to schlep your stuff from point A to point B. One of the biggest reasons why I love cruising is that sometimes I don’t have to drive any further than the airport and can relax and enjoy the scenery until we’re on the ship. Then we can just stow everything in our cabin and I’m done until we head home. It’s the most marvelous experience!

My wife has taken numerous pictures of my extended middle finger on every trip we take. In these pictures, I am also being treated as a pack animal moving the entire family’s belongings from the car to the hotel, the hotel to the beach/pool/theme park/large ball of twine. I use the word schlepping in a number of these situations on our trip journals because it has become such a running joke for us and we love the word schlep.

We absolutely love the ability to let the vehicle carry us to any number of places and being able to go back to our hotel room without the need for carting more than a backpack of necessities.

Many Destinations, One Trip

Being able to see so many different destinations on a single trip is also a major perk for me. On one day, I might be hiking through ancient pyramids on Cozumel and the next I could be sitting on a Jamaican beach. While some cruises may only have one or two stops, those ports of call always offer a new adventure for the day.

While Cozumel has been a stop on almost every one of our cruises, it is always a necessary stop for us. We get off and enjoy a beach or eat by the ocean. We always grab souvenirs for the kids here and some vanilla – because the imitation stuff just isn’t worth the label stuck to it. Belize is beautiful and full of exciting things to do. We did one of the cave tubing tours here. Costa Rica blew them both away though. Jungle, perfect sandy beach, lots to see or do right in the port area – all we did here was a day at the beach. This was all on one amazing trip.We’ve maybe been to 1/8th of all the major Caribbean ports

I love cruising because I get to see and experience so much on a cruise that when I come home, I always feel a different connection with the world that I couldn’t get driving or flying. The people I interact with in each port always have a story that is so much different from what you would find at home.

Diverse Onboard Experiences

Even when your cruise ship is not in port, there is always a variety of things to do. We mostly like to sit by the pool enjoying a multitude of different types of cocktails and people watch during the day. At night we enjoy dining in the main dining room and catching whatever show or entertainment the ship has going on that evening.

Because we were married in March, we usually find the sports bar and watch our favorite team in the tournament. We’ve also taken a few cruises at Christmas time, which had some family entertainment for us and the kids. On one of our group cruises, we discovered the piano bar singer was the best entertainment on the ship and we ended up there every night. There’s always a band someplace playing music for us to listen to while getting a drink at the bar.

The entertainment in the theaters are sometimes iffy, but if you try a Disney cruise, you will not be disappointed. Disney not only has their own Broadway style shows, but have a movie theater onboard every ship! On our last, we had the opportunity to watch Capitan Marvel the day it was released to land-based theaters, the new Mary Poppins Returns was playing as well as a few other quality Disney movies. Carnival plays movies after dark on their ‘FunnelVision’ screens which are usually positioned at the main pool on the Lido Deck.

Freedom

Let’s face it – there can be a lot of people around on a mega-ship, which is really all the Stapp’s can afford. The best part about that is getting to meet at least a few of them and have fun being whoever I want to be onboard. In most cases, I tend to act completely different than I would at home where I know everybody.

As a die-hard introvert, I tend to use the ship as a stage. I always figure that I won’t likely see these people again, if they judge me who cares? I meet new people, do a little dancing, eat too much (maybe drink too much) and always enjoy the parties that we become part of

Because of this attitude of true freedom, I have done things I wouldn’t do in a million years at home. I have a ship on a stick trophy as a result of one of these adventures (Hairy Chest Competiton – Carnival Valor December 2017). I’ve met a few people that we continue to keep up with on social media. I’ve even run a 5k on one of our cruises!

I’m not sure what it is, but for whatever reason, I feel free of everything that holds me back when I’m on a cruise. I make different choices and am a bit more expressive and take different chances than I normally would.

Disembarkation

Every cruise line has a sail away party. Again, Disney does it best. Let’s face it, Disney really does all the shows best – but, there is a lot of PG-13+ stuff on most cruise lines too.

This party sets the tone for the ship. There’s always a lot of fun being had as you leave the port. You’ll meet your cruise director and at least part of the entertainment staff. On Carnival and Disney, they’ll lead the Lido Deck in a dance, play lots of music and get everyone pumped up and ready to enjoy the next several days of sailing on a floating party barge.

This is also a time that the cruise lines like to show off their other services onboard. Special drinks, drink packages, spa services, the luxury dining and other available amenities for a price. We bought a drink package with Disney in 2018 that came with a cooler that we use all the time.

Relaxation

The time away from work and all the responsibilities of real life is honestly why I love cruising the most. It takes a lot of time and effort to plan, and being able to experience a perfect day away from daily hassles makes it all worthwhile. I have people waiting on me, providing me with fresh towels and drinks. The cabin stewards always make our beds and provide room service through most of the night.

The sounds in the quiet areas of the ship just add to the peace and calm of a smooth ocean. Even when the oceans aren’t so smooth, the ships are usually big enough to keep you from feeling slightly rough seas. Most ships also have quiet deck areas away from the parties on the main part of the Lido Deck for those looking for even more peace and quiet.

The spa is also a wonderful getaway for relaxation. While I have only used the spa one time for a massage, it was probably the second most relaxing time I’ve had on a cruise – I’m not much of a spa person though. I prefer a beach to getting a rub down any day.

Speaking of beaches, the most relaxing time I have had on a cruise was on a private beach in Cozumel. Supposedly this is the place the Corona commercials are all filmed at, but I couldn’t say one way or another that they are or aren’t. It was one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen though and I did enjoy quite a bit of relaxation while I was there!

The Worst Part of Cruising

Unfortunately, every trip has an end. When it comes time to get off the ship, this is the most depressing time of the cruise. This is when I don’t love cruising so much.

They’ll tell you they can’t wait to see you again and remind you of how much fun it’s been … then tell you to get your stuff and schlep it back through customs, the airport, the car and then home again. Back to reality.

But the fun of that is, it’s time to start planning again! Time to look at the next sip you’ll sail on and think of what beaches you’re going to bury your troubles on next!

How do you like to travel and why?