If you had told us ten years ago that we’d become part of the cruising lifestyle, we would have laughed.
For many years, we have been about where we can go by plane or car, sometimes a train. We liked navigating train systems in foreign places, dragging our bags over cobblestones to find obscure Airbnbs or hotels, and having total control over our schedule. We viewed cruising as… well, a bit lazy. Too structured. Too crowded.
We had done a Mediterranean cruise in 2014, an LGBTQ+ cruise, when friends suggested we do a group cruise. We decided to try it, and while there was some anticipation, we quickly realized that there was something to unpacking your suitcase and have you room move to a new city every few days. This was the beginning of what would become our future cruise life.
Cruising hasn’t replaced our love for land-based travel, but it has added an incredible new dimension to it. The realization hit us after a few days after being on board the Celebrity Equinox. We left Barcelona and after a sea day docked in the Valetta, Malta, and then Sicily, Italy: we had visited three different countries, eaten incredible food, saw some great theater (on board), and we hadn’t needed to pack or unpack our suitcase once.
The photo above is just before we stepped on board the Celebrity Equinox, and our first cruise experience. We were about to understand what cruising was all about on this cruise. It’s a different kind of travel, one focused on ease and breadth rather than depth and grit. And you know what? After 27 years on the road, and eight cruises later (at the writing of this post), sometimes “ease” is exactly what you need.
Have you ever been on a cruise? Are you a devotee or a skeptic like we used to be?
