1) My trip to Puerto Rico was the first non-cruise vacation for my mom and me in a really long time. Actually, excluding our weekend trips to Savannah, it’s probably the first real vacation outside of cruises we’ve taken together. (We didn’t travel as a family when I was younger.) And, guys, we’ve been spoiled by cruise ships. We quickly learned how much we enjoy not having to worry about where to eat every single day for every single meal. I missed just going down to the lido deck for lunch at the buffet and to the dining room for a yummy, sit-down dinner. Instead, every meal felt like a production. We not only had a find a place to eat (that would suit our very picky tastes!), but also had to figure out a way to get there. Should we just find a restaurant within walking distance or take an Uber? It’s funny because people who don’t enjoy taking cruises cite this very reason for why they don’t like them: having their meals decided for them. They want the freedom to explore interesting restaurants and cuisines! I’ve always said this is exactly why I like cruising (not having to come up with a place to eat every day/night), and this trip to Puerto Rico taught me that it’s completely true. I truly missed the simplicity of dining.
2) I am one of those weirdos who hasn’t done much travel by plane in my life. I’ve done a lot of road trips and cruises, so this trip to Puerto Rico was only the third time I’ve been on a plane. (I know, I know.) I have a lot of friends who have a ton of anxiety when it comes to plane travel – I’m talking “need a Xanax or a few glasses of wine before the flight” type of anxiety – so I was interested in how I’d deal with it. Turns out, no anxiety problems here! Maybe it’s the meds I’m on, but I found the whole experience rather fun and exciting. From lifting off to being in the clouds to touching down, it was all incredible to me. I even really enjoyed being in the airport. The people watching is sublime and I enjoyed just kicking back with my Kindle as I waited for my flight. It made me want to do a whole lot more plane travel – and soon!
3) When I’m in my normal life, I don’t really drink alcohol all that much. Maybe I’ll get a drink if it’s happy hour and there’s a special, but usually not. But when I’m on vacation, all bets are off. I’m getting a drink with every meal, who cares if that pina colada is $15? GIMME. It’s as if I completely switch to this different person – Vacation Steph. Vacation Steph must have a drink with her meals because otherwise, she’s not vacationing in the right way. It’s funny, the identities we give ourselves. At home, it’s rare for me to have a drink. On vacation, it’s rare for me not to have a drink. Maybe I think I’m not having the right amount of fun if I don’t drink while on vacation? I don’t feel that way at home; even if all of my friends are drinking, I don’t feel the need to do so, too. Or is it the money aspect? On vacation, I can spend money because I “earned this vacation dammit.” In my real life, I’m much more frugal, and spending $9 on a cocktail feels sickening. It’s an interesting dichotomy… I know I could give up alcohol completely and not feel as if anything was missing from my life. But would I feel like something was missing from my vacation? That… I do not know.
4) I have discovered that I am a lazy traveler. I wish I was not. I wish I was someone who enjoyed scouring travel recommendation sites and finding interesting places to visit, but making so many decisions is overwhelming. Hence why I love cruising. With cruising, I don’t have to try to find the best deal on a hotel or Airbnb while praying those handful of bad reviews aren’t the more accurate picture. With cruising, I don’t have to decide where to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. With cruising, I don’t have to plan what to do every day and look through lists upon lists of “top X things to do in Y place.” Cruising is just so damn easy. There’s very little decision-making. The biggest decision I have to make is whether to do an excursion or walk around while we’re in a port. To go to the dining room for a sit-down breakfast or the lido deck for a continental breakfast. To play bingo at 3pm or take a nap. To spend some time in the sun or stroll around the decks. Cruise life is perfect for the lazy traveler and that’s who I am.
5) I’ve long felt a bit of shame at the fact that I am not as well-traveled as I think I should be. Most of my travel has involved taking a cruise to tropical islands. I’ve been to Jamaica and Mexico and St. Thomas and the Bahamas… but only for a few hours and never to truly explore these islands. This past vacation was my first time in an airport since 2012. And 2012 was my first time in an airport ever. (A while back, I read a Twitter thread that had a shaming tone about people who haven’t been on planes a lot in their life, and apparently, that sense of shame has stuck with me.) Truthfully, though? I enjoy tropical, touristy vacations. I enjoy taking cruises. I have a limited amount of money to spend on vacations and a limited amount of time to take them, so why should I spend it doing something that doesn’t make me overwhelmingly happy? Why should I worry that other people scoff at all the cruises I take and think I should opt for less touristy travel? Backpacking through Europe or road-tripping across the country doesn’t appeal to me. A European cruise, on the other hand, most definitely does. I’m not going to apologize that my preferred method of travel is by cruise ship, and I’m sure as hell going to stop feeling shame about my lack of experience with airlines.
I’ve never been on a cruise and I’m not sure how I would feel about it, but having read this I think it might be just the thing for me! I’m pretty sure I’m a lazy traveler too. I like to have decisions made, but I don’t like dealing with so many possibilities. Definitely something to consider!
I think you do awesome to take so many vacations, even if they are similar to each other. We don’t take many at all, and when we do it tends to be to visit friends. Which is great, but I’d like to take one just for fun and relaxation for once! This summer we are driving across the country to Virginia for a wedding and taking the kids. That’s four full days of driving. I’m kind of dreading it…but trying to look at it as an adventure. Hopefully it ends up being the good kind!
YES for all the cruise love! We’ve only been on the two but that’s primarily because we’re not close to a cruise port. If so, we’d cruise a lot more often. I am always dreaming of my next cruise though!
I’m the opposite – I’ve done backpacking, lots of plane and train travel, tour groups, multiple cross country trips, adventurous trips – but never cruise ships. We thought about doing a cruise this summer (either that or a road trip to Florida) but plans fell through. I like the idea of island hopping and not doing much on a trip (they’re usually very active), but I’m concerned I may get cabin fever. And I’m also worried about the lack of choice like you mentioned. Oh and totally with you on airports. I love them – particularly international ones. Schiphol in A’dam is definitely my fav so far. So much to do at the airport and the city is just a 20 min train ride.
My brother and SIL went on their first cruise last year and they are hooked. They’re trying to plan a big family one for next year. While I think it’d be fun… it’s just a different kind of vacation. For me, I think it’ll always be that you’re going on vacation to a boat — a boat that happens to go various places — but still just a really huge boat. (I get that this is completely over simplifying it.) The short time in port would be the hardest for me. I’d want more time to visit and explore wherever we stopped. I like being able to really see the cultures, eat where the locals eat, and just try to get a little slice of their life. However, being there with my nieces and the rest of the family, I’d probably be able to get over that some and just focus on spending time with them.
Erik and I really loved our cruise (both of us have said it’s the best vacation we’ve been on) but we did our cruise a little differently. I did not choose any of the cruise ship excursions except one (and that was only because Erik got a migraine and we couldn’t execute our original plan). So I did a lot of research into what we should do on each island to make sure we really got a good taste of what each island is like. I definitely got some anxiety from it but it was also important to us that we do unique things to each location.
I really loved that we could see so many places and not have to pack and unpack. The food was excellent, and we were also able to get a taste of some native food while we were docked so we weren’t completely deprived (NYC taught me to be an adventurous eater so that’s never been an issue).
At my age, road trips and backpacking is definitely not appealing. If I’m going to go to Europe again, I will be saving to drop enough money on a nice hotel so I can be comfortable. I am just too damn old for hostels! But I think overall Erik and I appreciate what cruises offer, what a longer-term stay in one place can give us, what a resort can give us and I’m glad we have experience it all.
And yesssss on a Mediterranean cruise (although pretty sure we would tack on a couple days in Rome… one day just wouldn’t be enough).
I don’t think you should feel any shame whatsoever about the type of vacationing you prefer – preferences are just that, preferences! We’ve all got ’em! I can totally understand feeling a little bit embarrassed of your lack of travel prowess or airport experience or whatever, whatever, whatever, because lately it seems like there’s such a social emphasis on traveling abroad, being well-traveled, etc., but really, who freaking cares/ Vacation how you like, do what you want, travel in the way that’s fun for you.
This just gave me an idea for a blog post. Gtg, byyyye. <3
I find food a big pain when travelling too. I know foodies will cringe, but I don’t really get the big deal with food? I know it plays a part in culture, but I’m not too fussed in finding “authentic” restaurants. I just want something to sustain me haha I often take cereal bars, biscuits and the like if I have room in my luggage for easy, cheap snacking when away – can often skip breakfast and save money that way too. (Similiarly, I prefer scouring foreign supermarkets for a fun experience and cheaper food rather than hunting out restaurants! Going self catered when away, if possible, is the best.) I also find planning holidays very stressful and can understand why you would want to be free of that – there’s almost too much information out there these days. I think British comedian Michael Mcintyre had a fabulous sketch on those negative tripadvisor reviews 🙂
I also agree that you should have the freedom to travel as you wish. There’s a certain…superiority? Some people have to be big travellers going everywhere and anywhere and having “authentic” experiences (much like that foodies and their food) and I don’t get it. Holidaying is time consuming and money consuming – we should be free to travel in the way we wish, when we wish without judging. I’ve never been on a cruise, though I’d love to, and I’m lucky to have travelled by plane a bit (despite hating flying, and finding airports very depressing haha) – though not as much as other young people I know, mostly because I refuse to backpack or travel on a crazy budget just for the sake of it. I get a lot of judgement for that 🙁 I don’t agree with it. A holiday is a personal thing. There really shouldn’t be any shame or any “wrong” way of doing it.
I think it’s awesome you’ve found a style of vacation you like so much! I definitely have found as we get older we are less into moving around and more into staying put. Our recent vacation to Iceland was amazing, but it was too much moving around. Whereas the 4 days we spent in London was nice because we had one home base and could explore from there. My favourite vacations over the last few years have been our Hawaii vacations. I just love Hawaii so much. I love that we can rent an air bnb and cook for ourselves, have adventurous outdoorsy days and also just relax on the beach if we want. I’m thinking a vacation to somewhere in South America would probably be similar so that might be what’s next on our list!
I didn’t fly until I was 19 so I also did not grow up taking vacations or traveling. Since then I have traveled a TON. But there shouldn’t be any shame about not flying. Flying is expensive! It’s good that you’ve found a style of travel that you love. I’m the opposite as I love researching and planning trips. I do get tired of picking places to eat by the end of the trip. But I also will go back to the same place multiple times if I really like it. Hence going to the same fish market for fish tacos 3 times during our Maui trip!