Cruising Pet Peeves

With several cruises on the near horizon, I found a Cruise Critic article about things that drive you nuts on a cruise. Since there's been a pretty big lapse of time between cruises, I thought I ought to peruse the article and refresh my memory. Are there things that drive me nuts on a cruise? Well, maybe some.

The first day aboard where every department of the ship is offering those just-gotta-have packages. We avoid most of them. We already have planned in advance for any excursions we want to take and booked our special restaurant nights. After our embarkation lunch, we book the thermal spa for Bob if the ship has one. Then we are off to explore the ship and get our bearings being careful to avoid the areas where we know all those special deals are being pitched.

One of the mentions in the article is all the photographers wanting to take your picture. If we can, we avoid those. If not, we smile quickly and go on our way. We rarely look at them and we haven't bought a picture in several years. At least now I don't feel so guilty as many of the ships are not printing pictures until you've looked at the digital files and order them.

We've gotten around slow internet by finding a MacDonald's in port. Love the coffee. WiFi is free and usually a lot better than the ship. On sea days when you just gotta check email, we download it then go off line to read it and respond. Once mail is ready to be sent, we go online again. But in these days of retirement, we find that email is not so important as it once was and after all if you are on vacation, you should be free of those (although retirees don't have vacation, we just take trips).

I did find one new item that is worth checking out. The only way to get a really good cup of coffee on a ship anymore seems to be in the coffee bars that charge for it. But hot water is free at the buffet and if you bring a french press and some coffee grounds, you can make your own. I may just have to try that. I do have a french press and I'm sure taking a Keurig would be against the rules.

The article gives you some "zen" ideas to get past the pet peeves or things that bug you on a cruise. My age-old sage advice--chill, walk away, keep your expectations at a lower level then be pleasantly surprised when they are exceeded. Remember to ask yourself when you see a problem "Is it really my problem? or someone else's to solve." Be a cruiser not a crusader. Enjoy the good parts.