My Blog

Cruising – How I got started and why I am obsessed with it.

In October 2018 a friend of mine that had just retired from British Airways invited me on a cruise. My original reply was – nah – not for me…old folks…boring…not a water person…  My friend was persistent and we jumped on a Princess cruise out of San Pedro, 5 day Cabo San Lucas. It was on the Star Princess (itself no longer in the Princess fleet, read more about the Princess fleet here) and I was hooked. I mean wow – why did I not know about this before. How wrong a person can be, great lesson in all aspects of life, when you think you know something and really – you don’t. Then…the pandemic. I next cruised December 2021 when both my kids went to be with their Dad for Christmas for the first time and so… I booked a last minute Eastern Caribbean cruise (St Thomas, St Kitts) over New Years – solo!  (that’s another thing I love – solo travel – and I’ll have a blog about that soon too).

Threw stuff in a suitcase and jumped on a red eye to Fort Lauderdale, went straight to the Caribbean Princess and basked in luxury for a week in my balcony cabin. Ships were just sailing again, it was still “pandemic times”, the ship was maybe 70% full, we wore masks in public areas – and I had the best time. My 2018 first cruise was not a fluke – I loved this way of travel and vacationing. My manicure lasted the entire week as I was doing no dishes, I had room service breakfast on my balcony, worked out in the gym or did laps of the promenade deck (3 laps = 1mile) listening to an audio book or podcast (excellent satellite wifi), lunch at the buffet (they serve you). In the afternoons would curl up and read somewhere, do a shipboard activity if it interested me (there are many), spa visit, lounge by the pool, remote work…  On port days I would go off ship in the morning return whenever I felt like it (great spa discounts on port days), then dinner in the main dining room. As a solo traveler I typically bring my book or kindle if dining alone, or join a group table if I felt like it. I never ran out of things to do, just out of time at the end of the cruise! The beds are divinely comfy, the staterooms updated with a nice selection of luxury amenities (think 4 star hotel at the premium lines level), the service excellent, the food delicious, the port docking and departures a fun element for me to geek out on. I have always been a bit of an AvGeek and now ShipGeek too. Some things I could do without – the sameness and always-there port shopping when you get off the ship in the Caribbean, some of the live theater shows (a bit dated I feel), the art auctions on board (how on earth did that become a thing), the jewelry sales on board….but that’s fine. You take what you love and leave the rest.  There is something for everyone!

I learned on my first and subsequent cruises since the pandemic (I have been on 5 at this writing) that cruising is not boring/for old folks nor a raucous party scene. Cruising has taken a huge page out of the ramping up of the luxury travel market. You may have noticed the airlines focus on acquiring new aircraft, perfecting business class seating and amenities and the cabin is getting larger and larger, as well as the expansion of the luxury hotel sphere and luxury in the Destination Managment field – it’s all a thing. Wealth and time-on-hand (including remote working) is skewing younger too, no longer so heavily clustered in an older retired demographic. There is a pretty large range of “affordable luxury” in cruising and then the ultra luxury space as well. In cruising you can get the full range of luxury as well as mass market cruising, here are few of the main players:

Mainstream “Resort Lines” – this is the category where you find the “mega ships”

Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Norwegian Caribbean (NCL) – the lines with all the top-deck action such as water slides, rock climbing walls etc. Typically more affordable, cater to families but some have a ship-within-a-ship concept with all suites and luxury amenities for those that like the big ship experience but want a higher level of luxury (notably NCL’s The Haven and MSC’s The Yacht Club).

Premium Lines –

Princess, Celebrity (starting to straddle the line between premium and luxury), Cunard, Holland America, Disney, Norwegian Caribbean (straddles mass market and Premium), Virgin Voyages* –  the lines with traditional style cruising but not boring IMHO, wide range of cabin types, premium experience more amenities and features all inclusive or cruise only pricing options.

Luxury Lines –

Azamara, Oceania, Viking, Windstar – smaller ships more unique ports, luxury toiletries, concierge services, more all-inclusive, higher price points.

Ultra Luxury – Regent Seven Seas, Ritz Carlton, Seabourne, Silversea – sometimes still smaller ships, all-suite with butler service, high level of amenities and crew/passenger ratio, highest price points.

Expedition Cruising – to Antartica, The Arctic Circle, Norwegian Fjords and Galapagos – Ponant, Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, Hurtigruten, Viking, Silversea.  Quite  a few lines are adding expedition ships to their fleet as these destinations are becoming very popular.

* Virgin Voyages are a bit of an exception as their product is very inclusive and they broke the mold on traditional cruising having thrown out the main dining room and traditional entertainment in favor of multiple dining locations with excellent sophisticated food one rotates through, focus on fitness and wellness on board and edgy often pop-up entertainment –  they are almost in a category of their own. Though it’s not a bow to stern party ship they do run late night entertainment more than any other line I hear.

If you are reading my blogs you will already know about this cruise vlogger where you will learn a ton about cruising and how to asses YOUR desires and choose the category and line(s) that best fits your expectations, budget and travel style.

My happy place is Premium lines, especially Princess (movies and music on the Jumbotron on the top deck), Celebrity (the gorgeous library, real grass on the top deck, skews younger), and Holland (the music-BB Kings, Rolling Stone rock room, Billboard on board, Lincoln Center stage – and in depth port talks). Also because I like the mid/large sized ships as opposed to mega ships or smaller ships. I’m a B747, A350, Dreamliner girl I like the larger aircraft and for me this translates to ships too! I can’t wait to do a Cunard QM2 Atlantic crossing, the only line with a proper ocean liner doing it, the other lines cross the Atlantic on repositioning cruises – I’m going on this November out of London!

In closing, here is my bucket list of must do cruises which I formulated from the cruise vlogger I recommend above (Gary Bembridge, Tips for Travelers). And really…there are still more…

• Antarctica
• Norwegian Fjords
• Transpacific
• Panama Canal Ocean to Ocean
• South Pacific
• Japan
• QM2 Atlantic crossing
• Mediterranean (Eastern and Southern – Italy and Croatia, then Greece/Turkey/Israel)

And my bucket list of lines to try-

• Virgin Voyages (Anything Richard Branson creates is pretty cool – love flying Virgin Atlantic – and by reputation Virgin Voyages stepped away from traditional cruise ship design and formula to great effect – and adults only!)
• Norwegian Caribbean (They have some new ships that look amazing and I want to experience a mega ship with hall the top deck action)
• Cunard (for that very British Experience)