To Cruise or Not To

When I started sharing the joy of my winter vacation to take a cruise to the eastern Caribbean, many people weighed in with their views of cruising.  They ranged from "love them"  to "I didn't like it at all."  Very few people were in the middle ground.  I found this interesting beforehand, but now that I have gone, I totally know what this is about.

A cruise is a mobile resort sailing through the ocean to several locations.  In theory I thought, "What's not to love?"  Below is my list of pros and cons.  You can make the decision for yourself!!!

Pros:

• Always something to do on board: night club, comedy shows, musicals, gambling, etc...
• You visit many locations (depending how long your cruise is)
• Tons of food, all free, any time of day or night
• Free room service
• Someone cleaning your room for you multiple times a day
• Lots of daily excursions on shore offered (premium prices)
• Spa and gym, pools, mini golf, etc...
• In boat daycare or "Kids Camps"
• Great sleep (due to rocking)

Cons:

• Constant rocking - think movie French Kiss scene where she is on the train shouting "Stop the rocking"
• Weird balance then when you are on land and for days afterwards
• Everyone I know gains tons of weight, myself included
• gaudy and garish
• So many absolutely drunk people 24/7

With all of that being said...for my taste,

I don't know that I like cruising very much.  I will probably go again someday to take the kids/whole family and because my husband seemed to love it, but for me it wasn't a great fit.  Here's why...although I liked seeing so many different places - I never got a feel for any of them in such a short time.  I like to travel and see new places and this was less about that and more about the cruising experience.  Almost everyone on the cruise is in couples.  And although I went with my spouse our ideas of fun vary greatly (his - laying in bed sleeping, relaxing or watching tv and mine - acting ridiculous, burning energy and finding mischief) and so I was next to never with him except for onshore excursions.  Perhaps this is a couple's issue and not a cruise issue.  Note to self to look more into that!  But ship exasperated the issue. 

All the food although abundant was always sub-par and mediocre at best.  Water was at a premium and not readily available since everyone else is pounding liquor like it is the elixir of life.  The ship was awful in terms of taste with a million colors, textures and designs even making my brain overload.  And at the end of the day no matter how huge or how many floors, it is still an enclosed space that made me feel cabin feverish and crazy by day four.  This is coming from a girl who also left the hospital the day after giving birth each time.  I can't stand to be pent up. 

If you've never cruised before I hope this helps.  If you have, weigh in on your thoughts...