How would YOU cruise?

I think if I took a cruise it would be something like an Alaskan cruise where the big advantage is watching the scenery float by. I'd probably choose to relax on a deck chair and watch the show.

I would probably spend a lot of my first cruise exploring as much of the ship as is accesible to the guests. Do you think they would let me steer the ship .

VL's post about exploring reminds me of a story...

Once when I was younger, a friend and I were on a casino boat (docked). We went to the top-most deck to look around and enjoy the view. I found some HUGE spotlights that were partially disassembled, presumably so they were not functional to the unauthorized. Naturally I took that as a challenge, so I made it ready and fired that puppy up! It was pretty neat, I could see all the way to the river bottom and for miles across the other side. By the time grumpy staff made it to the deck, I had shut them off and put on my best *Who, ME?* face so we made out fine. I wouldn't do such a thing now that I'm "grown", but there were no other people or vessels in sight so I didn't feel it was a big deal.

My one time on a cruise ship, I didn't do anything like that. We just enjoyed the meals and activities they had to offer. Some of our favorites were bingo and FREE 24/7 room service. We took advantage of the latter pretty much every day. We'd call for brownies or cookies at midnight; just because.

I went on a Disney cruise when I was a kid, but I don't know that I'd be so interested in that now, mostly because there's no gambling and limited drinking. The time spent on our honeymoon cruise included quite a bit of both of those things as well as time spent exploring, eating, going to shows, participating in activities (especially trivia contests - I won eight little plastic ships on a stick during our week onboard!), and making new friends. We still talk to some of them to this day! The one thing we DIDN'T do except for the day we missed our excursion because we slept too late was go to the pool - it was WAY too crowded most of the time.

I am honestly completely torn as to which kind of vacation I like better - cruises or Disney World -- both definitely have their appeal.

What kind of people do you think would most enjoy cruises?

Drink cocktails.

Honestly, unless you get severely sea sick, I can't imagine ANYONE not enjoying cruising. There's SO much to do, and so much variety - if you like being active, if you like lying by the pool, if you like mental activity, social activity, eating, drinking, gambling, exploring --- if you like ANY of those, you'll like going on a cruise.

The seven days on there were so full of STUFF to do - including doing nothing - that the ship really starts to feel like home.

Do the ships move enough to make you seasick? I always envisioned them as big enough that they didn't really move.

They only do if you get caught in a storm usually. I've been on three cruises and never came close to seasick. My mom usually doesn't either, but on my parents' honeymoon there was a storm and she (and apparently much of the ship) got sick. My dad, on the other hand, loved it - he thought the rocking ship was fun!

The only time I felt even the least bit sick was when I was close to the back of the ship and on a deck just above the water. If you look at the water at the right angle it makes you very disoriented, but it's easy to rectify.

The strangest part for me is that even after I'm off the boat I still feel like I'm there - my equilibrium takes a couple of days to revert to normal. It's actually kind of a cool sensation if it doesn't make you sick

I can only imagine -- you'd probably be into everything, Vette. You're one of those guys who has to be told no twice when it comes to tinkering, I bet. Mrs. Vette would have to be on guard duty

It's funny as comforting as this sounds it actually makes me a little less likely to try cruising. I get seasick really easy and always assumed those massive ships were impervious to waves. "Mostly impervious" is actually a downgrade compared to what I imagined.

The people on our cruises who were prone to seasickness took the dramamine before they went and were fine. Especially if the weather is nice, take that and you won't have any problems.

Besides, you're in the middle of the ocean, they can't kick you off!

I guess they COULD throw you in the brig. Do cruise ships have brigs? If they did, it would make for a great story to say you got thrown in it!

In all seriousness - they do track "criminal" behavior. When we left our last cruise, as soon as got in port cops with dogs were onboard sniffing for drugs -- we saw a couple of rooms being VERY throroughly searched, including at least one a friend of ours said they had smelled pot coming from their balcony.

You guys are too fun!

No cruising for me, thanks. I hate the ocean and would probably get hit by one of those huge rogue waves with my vacationing luck! Hurricanes, tornadoes, fires....really, the wave is all that's left so I will have to pass!

So you would cruise through the Caribbean in more of a piratey style.

We, and the majority of the cruisers, used the scopolamine patch and it worked fantastic. It stays on, even with daily showers/swimming, and delivers a tiny safe transdermal dose. While some report adverse affects they are rare and usually minor. Biggest consideration is if you get seasick, it's normally not going to go away quickly and it will just about ruin your cruise. General rule of thumb is to err on the side of caution and take something in advance. Once it hits, you're not easily going to be able to get rid of the nausea/misery even with seasick treatments.

That patch sounds like a great idea -- something you don't have to remember to take, and it's precautionary. Cool.

Good advice to do it before you feel sick. I think that might be another downside of cruising for me. I'm such a hypochondriac I would be worried all the time I was going to get seasick.

Patches were a great invention. So much easier than remembering to take pills.