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Why do you cruise?


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Thought it would be fun to see the different reasons why people choose to cruise. For me, I just love being on a ship out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but water surrounding me. It gives me a sense of freedom and relaxation. For you is it about the ports, the ship, the food?  Look forward to seeing what gets everyone excited about cruising. 

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Nice question, for me it has to do with a few things.

1.  Being able to go to multiple places and not have to drive.

2.  Being able to eat almost 24 hours a day and not have to pay for it or worry about how much it costs, if not doing specialty restaurants.

3.  Being able to relax and hang out at the pool/hot tub.

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I have experienced no better value for vacation spending than cruising. It opens up worlds I never would have explored. It provides fun, rest, entertainment and great food at the same time. I love being at sea too. All you have to choose is how you engage with it. 

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1.  Scheduling ahead and paying for our cruise and extras a little at a time.

2.  Seeing difference parts of the world that otherwise would be left in our bucket list.

3.  I love sitting on my balcony with the vastness of nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see and then the wonder of seeing a new port over the horizon.

4.  We love having all the difference food choices and options.

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Geez, where do I start?

1. Easy to plan ahead and have a completely paid for vacation when the time comes.

2. It's such a relaxing vacation with no worries. We purposely avoid buying internet to be completely unplugged for a week (or more).

3. Easy to see other parts of the world without additional travel stress. The "hotel" takes your there while providing you food, drinks, activities, & beautiful ocean views.

4. The food. It's a great opportunity to try things you have never tried without being stuck with a steep bill for an entree you find out you don't like. Don't like it? they'll happily bring you something else!

5. The service. I have yet to have an unpleasant experience with anyone from Royal Caribbean. Everyone has always been so friendly, welcoming, and accommodating. In particular, my wife is so appreciative of how well the staff helps her with food choices needed to avoid gluten.

I  could probably go on and on, but, I'll leave room on this post for others to comment! ?

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I agree with all the replies.  We cruise because it can be a great value, and there is so much choice.  You can choose your ship, your cabin and your destinations.  It can be as relaxing or as busy as you want.  You can plan everything or nothing.  A co-worker asked me once if my cruises are ever disappointing.  I told her never!  A bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work.  ?

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Nice Question! I enjoy the anticipation. I normally book a cruise more than a year in advance. During that time I check out different shore excursions, prices of specialty dining and drink packages, and just chatter about the cruise. I've never been on an Oasis class ship and our next cruise is on the Symphony. I've studied the ship so much I could probably give tours now without having ever seen it. Once on the ship, I like to unpack and know that I wont have to repack until the end of the cruise. I like going to the MDR and Windjammer and leaving without having to pay a check. My wife and I don't go out much so we really enjoy the shows and all the entertainment. We always book a Junior Suite and I love going on our balcony day and night and just looking at the ocean. I think I just talked myself into booking another cruise!

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In addition to the great value, I love that cruise vacations offer something for everyone.  my wife is happy to sit in a lounger and soak up the sun and read, I'm more of a wanderer and always find plenty to see/do.  This sometimes leads to a donation to the casino but that all part of the fun.

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1 hour ago, kontraxed said:

Nice Question! I enjoy the anticipation. I normally book a cruise more than a year in advance. During that time I check out different shore excursions, prices of specialty dining and drink packages, and just chatter about the cruise. I've never been on an Oasis class ship and our next cruise is on the Symphony. I've studied the ship so much I could probably give tours now without having ever seen it. Once on the ship, I like to unpack and know that I wont have to repack until the end of the cruise. I like going to the MDR and Windjammer and leaving without having to pay a check. My wife and I don't go out much so we really enjoy the shows and all the entertainment. We always book a Junior Suite and I love going on our balcony day and night and just looking at the ocean. I think I just talked myself into booking another cruise!

@kontraxed totally agree!  Our first cruise was on Harmony. We booked about 300 days out and every day I would tell my wife how many days we had left. And I can’t tell you how many ship tour videos and vlogs I watched about Harmony. Think I might have drove the wife crazy lol. I think you will love Symphony and the Oasis Class. 

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1.  For a family of 6 with kids ages 18, 15, 12 and 7, the variety of things to do is great for all ages.  We can have both family time and couple time.

2.  Like others have said, the value is amazing.  Looking at all inclusives and they don't come close to the value of a cruise.  

3.  I do not have to cook, clean up or do laundry for a week.  This is really the top reason!  

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32 minutes ago, melski94 said:

1.  For a family of 6 with kids ages 18, 15, 12 and 7, the variety of things to do is great for all ages.  We can have both family time and couple time.

2.  Like others have said, the value is amazing.  Looking at all inclusives and they don't come close to the value of a cruise.  

3.  I do not have to cook, clean up or do laundry for a week.  This is really the top reason!  

@melski94 I agree. We have a family of 7, ages 17, 13, 10, 9, and 5. It was great to be able to do things together like dinner and shows, but also nice to have the kids club to be able to send the kids too as well. And the young ones loved going there. 

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We are late 50's and never thought of cruising until this year - and only at the recommendation of my in-laws who had never cruised. We'll be doing 4 cruises in 13 months including the first one. Why?

1. Multiple cities/ports in one trip without having to pack and unpack

2. Relaxing on a balcony as the sun comes up or goes down - nothing better

3. Don't have to cook, clean, etc.

4. We always rented houses at the beach in NJ or SC and cruising is cost-competitive especially when you consider (3.)

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For my wife and I it is about the entire experience. We love the entire cruising routine. We love waking up in the morning and laying in bed watching the morning show to see what all is going on throughout the day. We love choosing between a great buffet or full service breakfast in the MDR and then just showing up and eating with no hassle or reservation. We love choosing whether we want to relax by the pool all afternoon while listening to steel drum music or participate in activities such as waterslides, rock climbing, surfing simulators, or escape rooms. 

Even with all that goes on during the day it is the nights that we love the most. We love being able go out to eat for a nice dinner with excellent service and order anything we want on the menu without worrying about the bill, then go to a Vegas quality show, and then end the night dancing or just relaxing at a nice bar listening to live music. These are all things we really enjoy on land, but to do it often is incredibly expensive. The value proposition cruises offer for us, especially with the quality of entertainment on Royal Caribbean, is unbeatable.

Even if we didn't ever get off of the ship I would consider it an ideal vacation. But what really puts it over the top is the fact that we get to visit multiple countries all without dealing with multiple flights and hotel check-ins. We love to research the ports before the cruise and then rent a vehicle and explore them on our own when we can. To me there's nothing like driving down a Caribbean coastline on a scooter or in a Jeep with the top down checking out all the hidden beaches or authentic restaurants. We love eating the food and finding the spots that are unique to the port. Sometimes we also love just heading to an all inclusive resort for the day and just relaxing with unlimited food and drinks. 

I think sometimes cruising gets a bad reputation from people who have never experienced it as a really touristy thing. It can be that if you want it to be, but it can also be the ultimate adventure. It is the most versatile and affordable vacation there is. Nothing even comes close to it in my opinion.

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For me who has yet to cruise ( 11 days and counting) it's ticking a few things off the bucket list.

Always wanted to go on a cruise, visit the caribbean, travel in a submarine and try some Caribbean Malboro while sitting on a beach listening to Bob Marley ? so thought i may as well  do as many as i can in one go. 

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My wife and I cruise for a few reasons, the biggest being we get to disconnect from the world. We work crazy hours being in our late 20s trying to grow our careers, so a week without cell phones or the internet is pure heaven. We also love getting to explore multiple locations in one trip, we are trying to identify as many places we would want to do a long term land vacations in the future. Another big reason is we love food and drinking. We live in Charlotte, NC which has a heavy social culture around bars and drinking, so a cruise gives the same environment along with lots and lots of food.

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We love to cruise for several reasons. 

1. Top reason: Sea days and being surrounded by nothing but water. - where else can you find such spectacular views all day long from no matter where you are on the ship.

2. The ability to be totally unplugged. - We never get the internet packages. When we sail away from embarkation port, our phones go off. It gives us time to unwind, relax and really focus on each other. 

3. The variety of activities - There is always something for everyone and unlike other vacation spots, no one feels like they have to do the "family" thing all the time. It's okay to go our separate ways for certain activities and then come together to enjoy other activities together. 

4. Ability to visit so many different locations. - Typically on a vacation, you go to one place and explore that area. With cruising, you get to visit 3, 4, 5 or more locations on one vacation. Those locations usually include different cultures and history at each port. 

5. Did I mention the views of the ocean?? ?

 

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

Because I can.

@twangster my goal is to be able to cruise as much as you some day. And maybe even be able to do some awesome blogs as well. I’m no photography buff, so I know my pictures won’t ever stack up, but hopefully I can provide great insight to others some day. Your blogs have been very knowledgeable and I learn something awesome about the ships and ports when reading them. Hopefully you know people truly appreciate that, and I hope to be able to provide that as well some day. 

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Great family time where something for everyone.

Variety of food

Beautiful relaxing views of the water. Can't even out into words "that" feeling.

Ton of activities from swimming to different amenities (eg slides, lasertag, mini golf, rock wall).  Also fun organized actities in cruise compass.

Amazing different shows each night

Variety of food options.  Also live having sir down every night with great friendly service.

Different places to visit.

Fun ship to explore.

 

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