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" />Whoever said that cruising holidays were for the old and infirm? Was it me? Err well yes, guilty as charged, your honour! I always thought I would be taking a cruise much later on in life, when I was old. Friends were forever asking me “are you ready for a cruise holiday”? Little did I know that I was in for the time of my life when I embarked on a cruise holiday from New Orleans to Central America and the Caribbean.
Although I have been on a couple of yacht cruises; one sailing the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia; one sailing along the Turquoise Coast of Turkey; and another on a Vietnamese junk-style boat sailing around Halong Bay in Vietnam, I never thought I would go on a 19 day ocean cruise holiday.
Many of my friends in their 50s and 60s have been doing exactly that. They have been seeing the world from a luxurious cruise ship and enjoying the experience immensely. It took a while to convince me that this would be the ideal way to see some of the world. After all, I am fit and active 60 year old who enjoys holidays full of fun, sightseeing and adventure. So I have always questioned whether cruising would be thrilling enough for me.
After we went through the booking process, selecting our cabin and booking air fares it was time to think about what to bring on the cruise.
When it comes to holidays it is basically a personal choice of three types of holidays. One being a total “veg out” and relax type of holiday; two being a fun-filled active holiday going from one activity to another; or three, a combination of relaxation broken up with bursts of activity. So the good news about the cruise was that it offered as little or as much activity as you wanted and also sailed to some amazing destinations.
Apart from the fact that it was like a huge ‘floating resort’, it offered the best in dining experiences, great entertainment all day and night and a ship-load of organized activities. And I’m not talking about Bingo or shuffleboard – I’m talking about things that us younger passengers might like to do, such as Trivia, yoga classes, cooking classes, art exhibitions, Latin dancing classes, ice sculpturing, themed party nights and poolside fun.
As for adventure, there were plenty of opportunities to explore the wonderful ports of call and undertake a whole range of tours and shore activities such as snorkelling, scuba diving, ATV tours, horse riding, dolphin encounters, jungle zip-lining, cave rafting, kayaking, visiting Mayan ruins and hiking. One of our best experiences was snorkelling the magnificent reefs around Belize and Roatan, Honduras.
The itinerary of our 19 day Caribbean cruise was as follows:
There was a total of 8 at sea days.
The Caribbean was incredible and the places we visited were all unique and offered something different. I would be hard pressed to say which port of call was my favourite, however Costa Maya in Mexico was pretty special for its laid-back and unspoiled vibe.
The cruise proved to me that you should always be open to new and different holiday experiences and don’t write them off because you think you are too young or too old. I believe that like anything in life “it is what you make of the experience that matters”, and I certainly made my cruise experience thoroughly enjoyable.
For further reading on cruising holidays check out this informative post:
Which are the Best Cruise Deals? Top Travel Bloggers share their Stories
Thank you to Thomson Cruises for the inspiration for this post.
Kathy was a 50 something year old when she started up this blog 6 years ago, but has since turned over another decade and is now in her early 60s. She is married with two adult children and lives on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kathy enjoys living life to the fullest and loves to keep fit and active by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Some of her interests include reading, photography, travelling, cooking and blogging! Kathy works part-time as a freelance writer but her real passion is travelling and photographing brilliant destinations both within Australia and overseas and writing about it.
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Johanna
June 30, 2015I’m like you … keep on thinking that cruising isn’t for me … but wait, a ‘Yet’ keeps on creeping in there and I think I’m edging ever closer. Your cruising posts of course nudge me in the general direction too!
Kathy
June 30, 2015I am always open to new adventures and I treated cruising as exactly that. I made the most of it and it was an enjoyable travel experience. Like you say the ports of call make a difference too. Next January my hubby and I are off on an Asian cruise out of Singapore. Even though we have travelled Asia previously we will be visiting some places we haven’t been to. Looking forward to that!
Michelle Weaver (@pinkypoinker)
June 30, 2015I hate packing and unpacking so that part of a cruise really appeals to me. If I could be guaranteed no sea sickness I’d be in like Flynn.
Kathy
June 30, 2015Oh yes having your own cabin and clothing put away in a wardrobe and drawers is definitely one of the advantages of cruising holidays. I think if you only sail on smooth seas, like the Caribbean you would be fine with the seasickness. I took seasickness tablets almost every day, excepting the at port days, and I was perfectly ok. :)
Janet Camilleri (@middleagedmama1)
July 1, 2015Preaching to the choir here! Although after each cruise I’m like “that was nice, don’t know if I’ll do another one though” … but I’ve now been on 5 so after a while I start to long for it again!!!!
Kathy
July 2, 2015I think for a lot of people a cruise is such an easy option for seeing the world. You don’t have to worry about transport, lugging your suitcase from place to place and all of your meals are provided. It really takes the stress out of travel! :)
budget jan
May 26, 2017I think I’ll be ready soon!
kathymarris
May 27, 2017Good for you Jan. I think you could enjoy it. It’s what you make of it.