When talking about going on a cruise it’s usually three things that come up, most probably by a person not going on a cruise nor ever been on a cruise; a cruise is for old people, it’s expensive and I would feel trapped on the ship. As personally I did 6 cruises in the past with my last one just a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely love it, I wanted to share a bit more info on why you should definitely try a cruise and why these 3 allegations are dead wrong!

1. Cruising is for old people

Now obviously I must admit there will be quite some older people on board, maybe even the majority, I wouldn’t know, however you’ll always find plenty of other aged people! Going from babies, kids to teens and tweens, they’ll be there too. There’s even a club for babies, toddlers, kids and teens so they can hang out together in a special area just for them, there’s special parties for teens, meet and mingles for people in their twenties, for singles, for LGBTIQ people.. 

So if you can ever say that you didn’t meet other people of your age, you probably just hung out in your room or in the theatre a tad too much. The activities on the ship include a surf simulator, indoor skydiving, roller skating, a rock climbing wall and bumper cars (although I did notice that apparently older people enjoy them quite a bit) Ok, I realise I’m not handling this all too well, you’re all picturing one big ‘Benidorm Bastards’/’Off their rockers’ gathering now.. But the fact is, if you would have a problem with elderly people, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about, during the day they’ll be either shopping for booze, competing in a quiz or a bingo session or taking a nap somewhere. They go for supper at 6PM at the latest and afterwards they’ll watch the show in the theatre along with a nightcap. You see, their schedules do not interfere with ours at all! So you’ll be alright relaxing by the pool or doing some surfing together with the other twenties and thirties and enjoying the game of the occasional cougar living at the adult-only solarium bar. (Oh yes there was one on our last cruise definitely hoping for that little extra, or I guess as they say with Royal Caribbean; the RoyalWOW!) Believe me, I have met so many nice people on board, it’s like any other vacation only now you’re all departing the same day! 😉

2. A cruise is expensive

Honestly a cruise is as expensive as you make it yourself. For a 7-night cruise in the Mediterranean you can pay 750 euros to I have literally no idea, for that same one in the Caribbean, you’ll be spending a week onboard starting from 500 euros. True, for Europeans the flight will be more expensive so that may add up but these days flights are getting cheaper and it’s not that hard to find a good deal. Now for this price you’ll have a week in a standard room with exceptional service, exquisite food every hour of the day and night, entertainment, water, ice teas, coffee and tea and a different destination 5 days (on average) out of 7. 

I’m not sure about pricing of travel in your region but if I as a Belgian would travel to Spain for a week, taken into account food and drinks, I would probably spend a whole lot more than 750 euros. Don’t get me wrong, you have more luxurious companies, you have suites, 2-week cruises etc. etc., obviously that will cost you a lot more hence I said it’s as expensive as you make it.. Yet I’ll take a Mediterranean cruise over a week trip to Spain anytime! 😉

3. I would feel trapped on the boat

Well, in a very literally way, you are. I’m sorry but for now there hasn’t been introduced a ‘let’s all go swimming around the ship’ activity so yes on sea days, you are to stay within the boundaries of that ship. However did I mention that most of these have a minimum of 10-14 guest decks, that there are about 11 restaurants, countless bars, shops, sports activities (that I mentioned earlier), a gym, a spa, a casino, 2 theatres with movie screenings and other entertainment, 3 or 4 pool areas… There is so much to do on the ship that you’ll actually be glad a sea day is coming up. In your cruise planner there’s an overview of every activity on board and it’s 2 pages, jam packed with all sorts of stuff to participate in! Next to that, because it’s so big and people are spread out, you’ll hardly ever feel it being crowded anywhere. Especially if you’re used to going to all-inclusive resorts, I really don’t see the harm in not being able to step outside the resort twice a week to a small town filled with those same souvenir shops you’ve seen a dozen times, being tricked into buying some Louis Vuitton handbag for your wife because ‘for you my friend, I’ll make a special price’. Instead you’ll see something new and gorgeous almost every day of the week! 

P.S. I just read that on the newest ship of Royal Caribbean there is an Escape room onboard, so ok, you now have one legit opportunity to say that you feel locked up on the boat 🙂 
I’m sorry I just couldn’t resist it. 

Convinced? This is not a sponsored post or anything, I just feel like these prejudices are wrong and once you’ve tried a cruise, it’s hard to settle for something else 😉 

Feel free to share your experiences or contact me for advice!