A Quite Nautical Trip, Day 9: We Headed for the Skies

There’s not much to write about our last day, as by the time we woke up, we were already back at port in LA, which was very depressing. I would have much preferred even an 8am arrival so that we could watch the ship come into port, but that’s the nature of going on a cruise: you’re very much beholden to whatever itinerary you choose, down to the minute.

If I wanted to, I could write about how depressing it was to disembark, to head to the airport, and to fly home back to the grey, dismal November skies of Minnesota, but no one wants to read that. So, for my last post, I’d like to do a summary of my big takeaways from going on my first cruise.

As I have remarked before in these posts, going on a cruise is something I never thought I’d ever find myself choosing to do. It never was something that seemed particularly alluring. In the end, I really had an amazing time, and I will do it again. But there are a few things to consider if you choose to go on a cruise, especially if you’re trying to decide if such a thing is for you. So I’ve put together a good old fashioned pros-and-cons list (I’m calling it an optimist v. pessimistlist list) to help you organize your thoughts to decide whether this is for you.

Sailing the Seas v. Stuck on a Ship

Optimist:

I found sailing at sea absolutely thrilling, wind in my hair, enjoying exhilarating views of the ocean. It occurred to me that even though we live on a planet with so much water, very rarely do we actually experience vantages where everywhere you look—apart from the ship itself—there’s nothing but sea. It also was super exciting looking to the horizon, embracing the sunsets, marveling at the majestic wake of the ship, viewing land from afar, gazing in wonder at a pod of dolphins swimming freely in the wild right next to the ship, and all the other exciting views that come with sailing on the open seas. It also helps that I’ve long held a fascination with big ships, so it was so special to be able to experience being on one with someone I love and who shares an equal enchantment about ships with me.

Pessimist:

Or you could disregard all the enticing views that come with being on a ship and focus on the fact that—yes—you are stuck on a ship, and you may have an entire day at sea where there’s nowhere else to go except this god damn ship, surrounded by people you might find annoying. And while I did find myself feeling a little claustrophobic when I thought about this a little too hard, I reminded myself how special it was to see the ocean from such incredible views, especially as the sun was setting, and the sky was a celebration of colorful, warm hues, an oil painting only the sun and atmosphere can provide.

Bottom line: I very much was able to be an optimist on this point, especially since Princess really has the space-to-people ratio set just right (in other words, choose a line that is more premium and focused on adults over families and kids). It was very easy to find space away from all the hub-bub on the Discovery Princess, a quiet corner on a less-frequented part of the deck, somewhere to enjoy a drink while reclining and taking in the wide open sea. It also helps to have a cabin with a balcony.

Really Nice Things v. Really Fake Things

Optimist: A cruise really is like being at a resort at sea, and your every need can be satisfied, whether it’s a brunchtime cocktail, a blissfully extended moment in the spa, a decadent meal at a specialty restaurant, endless people watching. And while we did have some misses at the Crown Grille and the buffet, for the most part, the staff were very attentive, the spaces were opulent and sparkling, and there were some very fine moments of dining indeed.

Pessimist: All this said, everything on a cruise can sometimes feel like a plasticized illusion, a cheap imitation, an amalgam of fakery, absent any realness. When I travel, I like to see real things and real people and real buildings and real culture, imperfections and all, which is why some of my fondest memories when I travel are when I, for example, stay in a walk-up in New York City where the bathtub is in the kitchen; or I’m walking the streets of San Juan and I marvel at a giant hog sunbathing on the sidewalk; or I enjoy views of beautiful murals on Royal Street in New Orleans, all painted gloriously on facades of disused, dilapidated factories.

Bottom line: I generally found myself siding with the pessimist on this one, because I felt I really missed out on that realness factor. Even the excursions on land provided us only with edited highlights of the best parts of whatever sliver of the land we were seeing. That said, if you go into a cruise knowing that it’s not going to be really all that real, you’ll have a better time managing your expectations. For me, missing the realness factor was a huge drawback to being on a cruise.

Ports of Call as Curated Adventures v. Ports of Call as Edited Highlights

Optimist: We spent three successive days at three different ports of call: Cabo, Mazetlan, and Puerto Vallarta; we got to see a seaside town and swim with dolphins, toured a city by bus, and went ziplining through the Mexican jungle. While the bus tour was a miss, the three ports of call did allow us to see three very different parts of Mexico, which was very cool. And I got to practice Spanish as we looked for bathrooms and tried to get our passports stamped. Some really very lovely memories indeed that did provide me with the tiniest bit of that realness factor

Pessimist: As with the realness factor I wrote about above, you’re not necessarily going to have a chance to really see the places you stop at when you’re on a cruise, fully immersing yourself in the local culture. Not really. You’re going to see a very specific part of town that is prepared specifically for tourists to provide a shining jewel of an experience that veils all the cracks and imperfections that I find much more interesting. You’re not going to have a chance to go to places where tourists tend not to go. You’re only going to see a prettified part of town without all the warts, areas of town overpopulated with entitled white people, an Instagram filter placed over an otherwise mediocre photograph.

Bottom line: Let’s call this one a draw, because I generally found myself feeling the optimist and pessimist at equal levels, if I’m being honest. However, once I allowed myself to accept the realization that at each port of call I wouldn’t get to really see the places we were going, and that we were there to experience ridiculous things like swimming with dolphins and ziplining, I was able to adjust my expectations a bit. Don’t go on a cruise if you want to really see the places you go, as you’ll only be disappointed. Do go on a cruise if you adjust your expectations that the places you’ll experience are more like a minimized tasting menu, a hyperactive TikTok video that won’t let you fully immerse yourself in the culture, and focus on choosing excursions that are exciting and adventurous. (I highly recommend skipping any bus tours.) All this said, I really, really, really missed that realness factor.

Everything Organized for You v. Everything Forced upon You

Optimist: I remember early on when Matt and I were planning this trip. I came home one day, and he had all these ideas written down for what we could do at each port of call. It was a somewhat lengthy and impressive list, and I remember thinking, “Gosh, he really did lots of research on what to do in each of these cities!” I quickly realized that what he really did was look at a list of options prepared by Princess, and he chose from that list what he thought would be most fun. It was super handy to have everything organized for us so that we had to do minimal work to plan our time. And it wasn’t just the excursions that were organized. We took advantage of drink and dining packages, spa packages, internet packages, and other perks that made it easy to worry so much less about what we were going to do with our time and how much it was going to cost.

Pessimist: All this said, you are very quickly boxed into a very specific set of activities to do, and you’re somewhat beholden to the packages and the itinerary, so you won’t get a chance to create a home-grown style vacation that I find much more alluring. You also are locked into whatever ports of call the route has planned, and—if you choose not to partake in the pre-planned excursions and have a self-planned adventure on your own—there is no messing with making sure to get back to your ship on time, as the ship will leave without you. So everything just feels very scheduled and regimented. And when you try to create something home-grown, it has to be somewhat limited and within a very specific number of hours.

Bottom line: I found myself siding with the pessimist on this one, mostly because I really revel in designing my own vacation: getting ideas for what to by reading websites and talking to friends and family; creating a list of things to do but not necessarily deciding an order in which to do those things; having the flexibility to change plans for the day depending on my mood. Matt and I, for example, just were not in the mood for our bus tour excursion as soon as we woke up, but we were locked into it, so we went anyway, when we much rather would’ve probably just preferred to stay on the ship and indulge in the spa.

Indulging in Relaxing and Pampering v. Milling About Bone Idle

Optimist: It was really, really nice to experience a vacation where I had ample amounts of time to just lay back and lie low. I hadn’t really ever done anything like this before where I had daily access to a spa, to views of the moving sea from a balcony, to hot tubs and pools, all the while enjoying so many drinks and so many meals in so many different atmospheres from a poolside bar to a jazz club. I don’t think I ever felt so pampered before, and that’s something that’s really special. Everyone should try it at least once. A cruise is more about vacationing than it is traveling, and there’s a distinct difference there indeed.

Pessimist: All this said—and if you’ve read any of my previous blogs about my travels (and yes, they have all been travels and not vacations)—you’ll know this to be true: I really, really, really like to keep busy and see lots of things. Sometimes on this cruise I did feel like a waste of space on this ship, doing so much reclining and lying down and sitting and watching and staring. There were moments where I wished I could’ve been jumping on the tube to see St. Paul’s Cathedral or renting a bike to ride through the Bywater or hopping onto a kayak to row through mangroves, but nothing like that is possible when on a cruise.

Bottom line: All things considered, it’s really good for me to experience a vacation where I take things a little easier, as I do have a tendency to want to keep moving and stay busy. I also kept reminding myself that I’m not going to only go on cruises for the rest of my life and that there will be faster-based adventures in my future. I’ve told Matt that we’re going to have to take turns designing our vacations, and our next one will definitely not involve a cruise ship and will definitely involve traveling. So, alternating between fast and slow actually feels pretty good, and I’m looking forward to another nautical adventure, to be sure!

So, that’s two votes for optimist, two for pessimist, and one draw. Take what thou wilt from that. If there’s anything I can recommend to you and if you’re on the fence about cruising, I’d say this: if you’re at all the tiniest bit curious to experience a cruise (as I was), then go. If you feel that pessimist intruding, remind yourself how to adjust expectations exactly as I’ve written about in this post, and you’ll have a much better time enjoying yourself. Cruising isn’t necessarily good or bad, better or worse, neat or dumb… it just is what it is. And make what you will of it.

And what I make of it, is that I had a really special time with a really special person who I love and adore. And having really special times with really special people is what really should matter in the end. In fact, that alone may just be the most important factor of all the realness factors.