Would I cruise again?

Irit and my girls asked me today whether I would want to go on another cruise after this experience. We’re still learning of course but here are my reflections at this juncture (4 days into our first – 11 day cruise).

 

Once the excitement of being in a huge floating hotel/holiday camp has worn off, the bits I enjoy most are the views from the ship of the shoreline and the ports we enter and leave, and the family experience. So for a next cruise I’d choose a cruise which sails close to an impressive shoreline.  I imagine that Alaska or northern Scandinavia might fight that bill. There’s also the aspect of tasting places that one might not otherwise visit. It’s fun to go to sleep in one country and wake up in another – like on overnight international trains.

 

We are here in an intergenerational second-family constellation and the nice thing about a cruise is that it offers many opportunities to be together while leaving enough possibilities for people to do their own thing. In that sense it’s a bit like Club Med. I haven’t been to one of those for almost 20 years but I imagine that the basic formula hasn’t changed. It might be fun doing a cruise once in a large family group although the only way I can imagine that being possible financially is by finding a last-minute deal with enough space for the whole group.  I’d definitely like to cruise once in a suite and I believe I would enjoy a cruise where one could meet interesting people. That cruise would be one where just Irit and I go and such a cruise would have to be chosen very carefully. It would probably be on a smaller ship more couple than family oriented.  And yes, I would be happy for better Internet connectivity on a future cruise although I and my daughters are not doing so badly, also in this regard.