On the Road Again – Why I Like to Take Cruises

Most of us have our favorite types of vacations. Some that come to mind are camping, amusement parks, National Parks, tours of specific places, and cruises. I am not a camper. My idea of roughing it is Motel 6.

I do like cruises. I like that you can select cruises that go to so many different places. Some to far off places and some to places closer to home. You can select cruises that have themes such as food or wine themes.

Let’s deal with COVID up front. Cruise lines got a lot of bad press at the start of the pandemic. I do not think all of it was deserved. Nobody knew what we, as a planet, were dealing with. Now, most, if not all, cruise lines require that ALL passengers and crew be fully vaccinated. A family member is about to embark on a Viking river cruise. Their vaccination record is in their vaccination card, with a digital copy on their phones as well as on Verifly. A COVID test was required prior to leaving home. While onboard, daily COVID tests are mandatory.

With COVID in mind, buffets have been totally altered or eliminated. Ships have had their HVAC systems upgraded so that there is less “shared” circulation. In many cases masks are required in public areas of the ships.

Cruise lines have a wide variety of ships to meet various customer preferences. For people with children, the Disney cruises would seem ideal. If you are someone who gets seasick, try a river cruise. The river boats have very little of the motion that ocean going ships have.

As far as rough seas go, I have been on five cruises and have never experienced the heavy seas I encountered going through two typhons while I was in the Navy. Also, there are bracelets that you can purchase that help curb, or at least temper, motion sickness.

There are many cruise lines, and they seem to target different types of passengers. For instance, NCL owns three cruise lines Norwegian Caribbean, Regent and Oceania. Norwegian has large ships, around 3,000 passengers, and they are more geared to families. At the other end is Oceania. It has two sizes of ships, 680 passengers and 1,200 passengers. Oceania has great food and terrific service. In the middle is Regent Cruise line. Their ships are similar to Oceania’s however their service and pricing are higher than Oceania. For instance, on Oceania customers may purchase a drink package for alcoholic beverages. On Regents it is included.

Another advantage of cruising is that once you are onboard and, in your stateroom, you do not to pack your bags again until you get off the ship. In my mind that beats a road trip. And I like road trips.

This is not a paid advertisement. I do prefer Oceania Cruises. I find being on board is relaxing, the food is great, as I mentioned before, and you can be as active as you want. We always meet some interesting people on board, from all over the world. On one cruise we met a couple from Australia. Turns out he was also a Vietnam veteran and gave me his keychain which had an Australian bush hat ornament.

My last cruise was Miami to San Francisco, via the Panama Canal. Oceania arranged to have a retired teacher on board to give a few lectures about the canal a few days before we transited the Canal. The lectures made the transit so much more interesting.

I know that cruises are not for everyone. If you are interested in trying one, give Oceania a try.

Before you hit the road, check out Can’t Travel? Go Virtual! for ways to find places to visit. 

Happy travels!