I went on a Cruise

My very first cruise experience was a rousing success, despite being approximately thirty years younger than the target audience (of this particular line). 😉  No complaints here, though:  the cruise ship life is a relaxing, enjoyable, astonishingly delightful experience. I may not cruise again for a while (more on that later) but I will be glad when I next get to board a ship to hit the high seas.

The highlight of our first cruise experience was watching the Star Princess arrive to the Los Angeles harbor from the deck of our Airbnb Yacht — I already have my eye on the houseboat I will stay in when I finally make it to Holland, and after this night on a yacht I know it will be worthwhile to hang out on a houseboat. Thanks to the VesselFinder App  we were able to track the Star Princess and knew we’d be waking up at o’dark thirty to watch her arrive .  . but it was o so worth it. To sit on the bow of our yacht and watch the cruise ship come in? Talk about excitement!

Waking the next morning to a leisurely, cozy morning watching the sunrise and seeing the nautical world wake up? Added joy to our joy. And the fun had only just begun!

Boarding the cruise ship was approximately ten times worse than the process of boarding an airplane, doubled because everyone is also checking into their hotel at the same time.  I wasn’t prepared for the never ending lines. (Word to the wise: toilet breaks before the line are invaluable.)

John and I joined my Aunt and Uncle and my Mom and Dad, so we had plenty of company to enjoy all week long.

Hey, there’s our yacht!

Reasons I Liked the Cruise:

  1. Once you’re on the boat, there’s no decisions to be made.  We roadtripped across the country for our honeymoon and the decisions were limitless. While I wouldn’t trade that roadtrip for anything, I see distinct benefits to avoiding all the “where should we eat?” questions.
  2. With unlimited activities, there’s room to go separate ways if one person wants to explore while the other person naps.
  3. Cruising is a socially unsocial activity: if you want to make new friends, you can . . . but don’t have to. (It really is the perfect family reunion activity — something for everyoe!)
  4. The idea of all-inclusive vacation is appealing; show up, be served. Done.
  5. Sunrises and sunsets. Ohmyword, the glory!

I loved the paper flower making class and subsequent reading-on-the-deck-with-my-Mom.

Reasons I May Not Cruise Again (for a while, anyway):

  1. I love the idea of all-inclusive resorts/ships/vacations, but the cookie-cutter vacation stifles the free spirit inside my soul. I want to get out, explore, see the world, get lost. (All of which is possible on a cruise ship — especially the “getting lost” part — but less inspiring when moving 20 knots in the same direction as the other 2,999 people.)
  2. I got seasick. Enough said. 😉 I mean, it was bad enough seas that the ship slowed down enough to significantly delay our arrival into Vancouver  . . . so it probably won’t happen again. But who knows.
  3. I have too many other experiences on my bucketlist; I need to check off a few of those before I go back and revisit a cruise ship.

We took advantage of a last-minute upgrade option; the balcony wasn’t a necessary splurge, but it was so fun to wake up and watch the sun rise outside the window!

My aunt and I went to a stretching class at the gym. I’ll spare you the photographic proof, but word to the wise: if something is free on the ship, it’s likely a sales pitch. 😛

Oh, you know….just chilling in the nightclub reading books and watching the whales go by. 

The trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver obviously had many highlights, but I was not expecting to be quite so ecstatic about sailing under the Lion’s Gate Bridge. But ohmyword, after driving over the bride so many times, to actually be under it was intensely spectacular! Even in the rain. 😉

P.S. The BEST part of this cruise? It was a repositioning steal of a deal. If you want to know how to get screaming good cruise deals, my uncle will have to teach you…cuz I am still figuring it out. 😉

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