Overcome Your Fear of Cruising
Let me break it down for you. We shouldn’t like cruise ships. At all.
In addition to the fact that we don’t fit the mold, we’ve been on a ship that was in a major accident (it hit a barge) and on another that refused medical attention when one of us got seriously ill. It’s as though cruises are actively working against us – encouraging us to hate them.
It’s not working.
I guess it’s not that straight-forward. We don’t like all cruises, and we’re certainly not cruise fanatics (we haven’t been on that many). You need to read our 5 Ways to Find an Awesome Cruise post to get the full scoop on our cruise rules. For now, though, we’ll just reiterate that we’re really only interested in a cruise if it enables us to do/see something we couldn’t otherwise do/see. Exhibit A (a nod to last week’s Glacier Palooza post):
Despite the awesomeness of things like the picture above, our Alaska cruise was a tricky decision for us. We always weigh the environmental impact of our travel, so we had to reconcile that. Also… We would typically not consider an itinerary that attracts masses of people, and we’re not fans of cruise itineraries that involve visits to cheese-y ports of call that are devoid of character. Many Alaska cruises have plenty of both.
The opportunity for glacier viewing and stunning scenery won out, and we decided to go with Princess on their Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary. Good thing, too, because the things we liked about the cruise far outweighed the drawbacks.
Let’s take a look at some of those things in the context of what many people fear they’ll dislike about cruising. We informally threw the “Why do you dislike the idea of cruising?” questions out to non-cruisers. Here are the responses that came up most often.
Fear #1) I hate the idea of having to dress up and eat at a set time with people I don’t even know.
This would drive us crazy. So it’s a good thing that cruising has changed a lot in this regard over the last several years.
Plenty of lines offer the opportunity to eat whenever you want and in a variety of locations. Similarly, you can now choose whether you want to dine on your own or with others. We had lots of grab and go food – pizza, salads, sandwiches – so that we could be out on deck enjoying the views. Oftentimes, though, we snagged a window-side table for two in the dining room. The food was, for the most part, very good (including plenty of tasty vegetarian options).
While whale watching, we devoured things like this berry/thyme palate cleanser and goat cheese soufflé. A welcome departure from our camping food!
Even at breakfast, we’d sit – dressed casually – in a pretty much empty restaurant, enjoying some great nosh and a view.
Other times, we’d have a quick bowl of oatmeal from the buffet and call it good. Flexibility is key.
Fear #2) I hate the idea of feeling stuck on a ship – isolated and not able to get away from people.
We hear lots of people express this concern. However, it’s usually pretty easy to find solitude when you want it. We find that people tend to follow the crowd and eschew opportunities to break away (huh, just like in life).
Ships of all sizes typically have lots of different spaces to steal away to if you want some down time. We were in heaven having a modern, fully equipped (and often empty) gym steps from our cabin. We also found an ideal, quiet place to catch up on work when we needed to. As always, we were able to keep an eye on the scenery from both of these locations.
So, yes, you’ll pretty much always find people at, say, the buffet, but – with very little effort – you can have a people free experience.
Fear #3) I hate the idea of having no flexibility.
In this age of new-school cruising, there are options to suit most every taste and style. For instance, we aren’t fans of the common Alaska ports of call. Skagway, as an example, has some fascinating history but the town itself is so built-for-tourists that we just couldn’t jive with it.
However, the setting of these Alaska port towns is often ideal with lots of outdoor activities. So – in most cases – we’d get off the ship and immediately head away from the town for some hiking and exploring. We’d then get back on the ship later in the day and take advantage of having a phone signal in order to do some work.
So, we’d make it work for us. And others would as well. Most ports offer a wide variety of cruise affiliated or individually arranged excursions – everything from aggressive glacier climbing to small-group sightseeing.
Ultimately, this cruise delivered just what we were hoping for. Hundreds of miles of rugged scenery (including those glaciers) from a perspective we couldn’t otherwise enjoy.
Pictures, like these best represent the memories that will stick with us.
in the end, we designed our cruise experience in the same we we orchestrate our NVR life – to best suit us. You can too!
We’ve covered a lot of Alaska goodness over the last few weeks. Do you have any questions for us on hiking, camping or cruising in Alaska?
I’ve been on two cruises before and had fun on both. I’d love to do an Alaska cruise someday too!
If you enjoyed the two previous cruises, I am pretty sure you’d enjoy Alaska too. Where did you go previously?
In about two weeks, we will be on a cruise of the coast of New England and Canada to see the fall leaves. We love everything about cruising – everyone should give it a try!
Cool, Jan – We’ll expect a full report upon your return.
I’ve only been on one cruise and I didn’t like how much time I spent on the boat versus time spent on land, but I would definitely do a cruise in Alaska for the reasons you have stated in your previous posts. I think there is a time and a place for cruising.
On another note, that goat cheese soufflé sounds divine. I don’t remember dishes like that on my cruise!
We were really impressed by the food on the cruise (thus, the lengthy visits to that nice gym, pictured above). We were especially happy to see quite a few veg. options and a solid representation of healthy food, which we probably should have dug into more.
I’m obsessed with cruises. More specifically, with other people’s experiences with them. The one time I took one, I got off the boat halfway through, in Mexico, and flew home alone. This, without any fight with family members. Let me tell you: Mexican immigration frowns on this!
Oh, wow – that’s a story we want to hear more of.
For the record we did a Mexican Riviera cruise once. If it wasn’t a family reunion cruise, I think we may have packed up and gotten off as well.
Personally, fear #2 is my greatest cruise phobia and even if you may be able to find a private space somewhere you can’t jump off when ever you feel the need. I am a very spontanous person, I even walked off a cruise because I had enough, but I had to wait until we reached port and even then the stuff put up countless obstacles just to keep me from leaving.
I hear you loud and clear! We’re active guys, so that can be tough for us as well. We see it as an opportunity to control our wanderlust. Plus, after doing a week’s worth of sea days (yep, all in a row) a day or two at sea doesn’t seem so bad.
We’ve never been on a cruise before, but it’s something we’ve considered. One of my biggest fears was having to eat dinner with the same people every night. What if we didn’t like them? What if they were obnoxious or racist or just so thoroughly annoying that we’d actually want to skip dinner rather than see them every meal? Or maybe I’ve just heard too many horror stories, lol.
So it’s reassuring to hear that doesn’t have to be an issue. I enjoy making new friends while traveling, but I don’t like to feel pressured to… if that makes any sense? And we tend towards the solitary anyway, so it’s good to know we could find a hobbit-hole or two if necessary.
Also: sea-sickness. That would suck.
That makes perfect sense.
#1 is probably the biggest “wow” for us. The whole dining thing just isn’t an issue on most cruises these days. No need to eat with anyone and no need to dress up (if you don’t want to) and the food is actually good.
When we did the family reunion cruise years ago (that I reference in the above comment) we wanted to die. It was the whole dinner-at-5:45-every-night-in-suits routine. I tremble just thinking about it.
Beautiful views, when I saw the title I thought you referred to the Titanic.. I said wow, it happened in 1912! Then I realized that I have your same fears of cruising, must be the reasons why I never did one. And because probably I couldn’t afford it
Check out the prices these days. They are really low. I think we’ll do an entire post on that at some point. For now, I’ll just say that a buck goes a long way when you consider what’s included in a cruise.
The funniest part was the fact that you ate camping food the week prior!
I would say another fear is the belly flop contest – but not a worry in Alaska!
I know…. We went from dehydrated lasagna in a bag to all of these fancy dishes. Multiple personality travelers we are.
I have to add another comment in reply to Ben. It’s not the belly flopping contest, it’s the hairy chest competition that sent me over the edge.
Never
I think that cruising I could do!!!
I think you could. Easily.
I don’t like cruises. Never have and never will – for many of the reasons you mentioned. I’ve done a couple of posts about it – 3 vacations I won’t take and why river cruises are better than ocean cruises. Another thing I don’t like about cruises is that you never really get to see anywhere. A stopover for a few hours doesn’t count. I’d rather explore than be stuck on a big city floating on the water. Just not my thing though I admit I would consider a cruise to Alaska.
“The [gentleman] doth protest too much, methinks.”
I think there is a secret cruiser deep in you just crying out for goat cheese soufflés, chocolate fountains and morning mimosas.
When it comes to not seeing a destination, you have a point. You don’t really get to enjoy one place for very long. This is why we like to, say, backcountry in Alaska prior to getting on the ship or add on a few days in Vancouver on the back end. Having said that, when it comes to scenic cruising, you get to enjoy the journey (like one would taking a train), which certainly has it’s merits.
I went on my first cruise in September. I didn’t think I would like it and I was right. I swore I would never go on another. Guess what my dad is getting the family for Christmas? Yep. That’s right. A cruise! Although cruising doesn’t float my boat (pun intended), I’m going to go and enjoy myself. This trip’s about family after all.
There are two words that send fear into the hearts of even the most steeled men and women: Family Cruise.
We have been there, and we survived. You will too.
Where are you sailing?
We’ve just written about our first cruise experience and we were surprised that we’d enjoyed the cruise – we thought we’d hate being on the ship, for exactly the same reasons that you stated in the post. But like you said, you can tailor the cruise pretty much to your preferences – fancy dinner or casual buffet dinner, crowds (in our case the pool & pool bars) or no crowds (in our case the gym, too, and the library) and guided excursions or independent shore exploring. An Alaska cruise is definitely something we’d consider, although cruising usually does not match our slow budget travel style.
Heading over to read about your experience right now…
Can’t say I’ve really been on a cruise, does a 2 day cruise to no where count?. Would definitely love to cruise the Inside Passage. Curious, did you look at some of the small ship cruises? They have always intrigued me but they are usually more expensive.
Princess used to be famous for it’s chocolate souffle, do they still offer it?
Honestly, I think we worry more about those 3 fears when it comes to the small ships.
We didn’t have any chocolate souffle, but I’m sure they have it (along with every other indulgence under the sun). Maybe we’ll dedicate a post to just the desserts.
You have just nailed all the reasons why I’ve been reluctant to go on a cruise in the past (well, that and the single supplement), but even I can see things are a changing in the cruise industry, and it’s good to see. You just need to do your research to find a ship that works for your travel style.
Yes, it’s all about finding what meshes with your personal travel style. And in our case, a bit of “forced to not be able to go on an 8 mile run” is a good thing.
After working with Carnival cruisers in Grand Cayman for a summer I vowed never to step foot on a ship. I’m glad I relented.
I’m writing this week as well about that first time cruise experience. I think I can attribute a lot of my warm feelings towards cruising to the fact that (A) it was a small luxury cruise and (B) the location: Greece. The thought of large Caribbean cruises still kind of make me itch….
That sounds nice. Can you feel the jealousy radiating off of me?
I think I could do a transatlantic or transpacific cruise because at least you are getting somewhere. I think with these, as nice as the food and amenities are, you’ve basically just done a big circle.
Do you think you could hack all those sea days?
I am conflicted. The thing about cruises is not just that I am snooty about them (despite never having been on one), but also that I actively enjoy my own snootiness and am reluctant to let it go.
Was there cabaret?
Actually, there was… but not edgy enough for us
I love a nice cruise as long as it is not on a large ship. I’d rather be closer to the water and the people I’m around. But then again I grew up on an island a stone throw from a yachting paradise
So you are probably a bona-fide “water” guy. We’re just the opposite. We are full on mountain guys – I don’t even like to swim (read: can’t swim well).
We have yet to do a small ship cruise. Honestly, they sound a bit “intimate” for our tastes. However, we are totally game (universe, are you listening?).
You know guys, I’m sure you’d love cruising on my ship (not to mention it’d be awesome to meet). I can also hook you up with a discount. Next time you’re thinking of a cruise, email me
Consider it done.
We took our second cruise last year with Princess Cruises to Alaska. Our first was a quick 4 dayer to the Bahamas and we hated it. However, Alaska rocked! We’d do a cruise again, but probably not the regular Caribbean cruises. I think that we are more into the unique ones like the Mediterranean, Asia, a World Cruise. Etc. Hanging on a cruise to catch some rays isn’t for us but using it as a vessel to see spectacular sites is definitely the way to go.
Yes, Deb – it’s all about the unique.
A world cruise = wow. 110 days = I don’t know.
These are the exact fears I would list for going on a cruise. It would have to be a truly unique cruise that gave me experiences I couldn’t have moving around on my own.
I hear you. Interestingly, those 3 fears are really about the only things that came up when we threw the question out to people. I think many people out there share a lot of the same reservations.
My only fears would be an outbreak of illness that spreads throughout the ship, or cruising past northeastern Africa in pirate country. Otherwise I’d be fine
Um, watch for an upcoming post on getting sick on a ship. I’m sure it will scare all of our new converts out of wanting to take a cruise. It’s taken, oh, four years for us to feel like we can actually write about it.
Eating while whale watching…..you guys are having too much fun! (Definitely jealous).
I also hate the idea of being stuck on a ship…..because when the ship is in the middle of nowhere, and someone accidentally falls overboard…. >.<
I heard that you have to tip a lot at a cruise trip, so better stock up $1 dollar bills ahead, is it still true?
Good idea for a blog post. Tipping can add up. BUT… for what you get it’s a pretty insignificant amount. The service is top notch (most of the time).
Awesome piece guys! I am absolutely up for any mode of travel, but cruises do get a bad rap. I havent done one yet, but you point out the benefits of being flexible.
I think I’d like to try and be a stowaway on a ship. Blend a bit of the cruise and adventure together!
The last cruise i went on was back in 2005; Your article makes me want to cruise again. I enjoyed reading your post and I like your selection of pictures.
I don’t like cruises, but you seemed to have an answer for the majority of my objections. Plus the idea of cruising in Alaska is truly appealing to me. Thanks for making me rethink my position.