Cruising

There was one thing that was great about the cruise, in that we got to do a lot of relaxing. We napped. We took walks around deck. I finished one book and started another. I finished at least one magazine. I brought three DVDs and watched them all, plus we watched a movie in the theater and we watched movies on the television.

I know, those all sound like things that we could do at home, and they are things that we do at home. Well, naps don't happen that often, but we do read and watch movies. We were able to spend more time on it here, because this was a vacation and we were not working, but even a day off at home is not that productively relaxing. It's just that there aren't those things that responsible people need to do. There was no cleaning house or cooking or washing dishes or running to the store.

When I was on my other cruise we sailed out of Galveston, and there were a lot of Texans on that boat. We were talking to one couple and they said cruising was the best deal for them. They could drive to port and park there, and then their food and entertainment was pretty much covered, with no worries about airfare, hotel, or driving. It made a lot of sense.

Of course the entertainment on this cruise was not great, and even on the Carnival cruise, it's more that it was fun than super high quality entertainment, but still, overall it can be a very relaxing and economical way of taking your vacation. You can run up the cost with spa services, shore excursions, and the casino, but even using only the food and services that are included, you get a lot.

I suppose this only works if you are not subject to motion sickness. Personally, I love being on boats. I remember my first night at sea was a little stormy, and I felt like I was being rocked to sleep. We had to hunt down some dramamine for my friend, but I felt good. I do admit that after getting off, I still feel like I am on the water for a while, and that does get annoying, but nothing's perfect.

It's not something I would do for every vacation. I like seeing stuff, and if there is a lot to see shore excursions tend to be wholly inadequate. However, if every now and then you just want to really relax, and not worry about food budgets or driving around, a cruise is a great way to go.