sheree wrote:
> Nonny:
> a lot of what you say is true. seeing the same old same old caribbean ports
> isn't a huge deal. what people want to know is how freestyle worked and the
> quality of dining.
> sheree
>
Yup. IMHO most of a cruise experience, after the first cruise, is
mostly about food, having your cabin made up daily (service) and the
excuse to hit a Spa, lounge or do something fun. In real life, it's
unusual for most of us to read a book all afternoon by the pool, go to a
spa for a back rub or dress up for a formal dinner. On a cruise, it's
the 'norm' and thus is a subliminal (or not really that subliminal)
reason. The actual "go up the hill on the bus to overlook the port, stop
by the straw market on the way down, see the Governor's mansion, shop
for Tanzanite and get back on the ship" is more of an excuse than
a reason. IMHO, even the shopping for jewelry and souvenirs is more
about boredom than filling an actual need or desire. I suspect that
it's the rare person who actually goes on a cruise to buy the crappy
art, jewelry, gold by the inch or 3-for-$1 tees. Do you know anyone
"saving up" so they can buy a Rolex or Breitling in St. Thomas? I sure
don't. The purchases there are more impulse or from boredom, IMHO.
It's all about the food, amenities and service on the ship that bring
people back I just wish that the cruise lines would make that their mantra.
Cruising appeals to different aspects of various people, but I've yet to
meet someone with a lot of cruise experience that is in it for the
exotic ports of call after having seen them before.
We're going next month on a longer cruise starting in Santiago, up to
Seattle. There, we're actually going so we can see more of South
America, and that almost equals our hope for a comfortable ship, great
food, good cabin and great service. You can get jaded about ports of
call, but it's the rare person who gets jaded about a good menu, good
service and lots of lounging around.
-
Nonny
Nonnymus
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