To cruise or not to cruise

A cruise is not my first option for exploring new places, but sometimes travel opportunities pop up and you can’t say no. And so I embarked on a 7 day cruise on the luxurious Windstar cruise line. 

There are pros and cons to traveling by cruise ship. The drawbacks for me are:

• Missing the local night life and restaurants. Although the food was delicious, the ship doesn't serve local cuisine.
• No flexibility in the itinerary. If you fall in love with a location, there's no opportunity to stay a little longer. 
• Every moment is scheduled. For me, vacation is about slowing down and being spontaneous. A cruise means you need to disembark, return, and eat when the cruise director tells you to. 
• The most stressful part is having to get back on the boat before it leaves you behind. I found myself running through multiple towns worried I was moments away from the boat leaving me on shore. Luckily, I always made it back on time. There was just one incident with the tender pulling away, leaving two of our guys behind, but we went back and got them!

With that said, traveling by cruise has some benefits, like:

• You see more spots in a short period of time.
• Someone else does the driving while you sleep in your cozy bed next to your port hole window.
• You can buy excursion packages that are convenient ways to see the highlights of each port, so there's no need to research in advance.
• Someone else is in charge. If you are taking a vacation because you want to stop being in charge, telling people what do, and being the decision-maker, a cruise is perfect for you! 
• Safety and security. The ports are well researched and the cruise is keeping an eye on all guests. This means you can't go missing without someone noticing. 

Bottom line

If you are trying to decide if a cruise is right for you, I would say the bottom line is when taking a cruise you trade freedom for convenience!