Motivation To Take A Cruise

People have all kinds of reasons to finally decide to cruise. . .some of it is the vacation variety that interests them, some of it is a recommendation from a friend, some of it is because of the instructions of an experienced travel agent.

Much of what I write today comes from the mind of a travel columnist who has an occasional article regarding cruising in today’s world.  His name is Tom Stieghorst, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I used some of his inspiration.  He writes of a man who found himself on the same cruise itinerary over and over again following the loss of his wife.  She had been in ill health and the two had shared numerous cruises on Carnival’s Elation before she passed away in the spring.  So. . . he took 33 consecutive cruises aboard that ship.  Why?  He said the ship held special memories for him and that cruising was very therapeutic in helping him mourn his wife and come to terms with her death.

Stieghorst said there are many conventional selling points to a cruise, but often it isn’t the size of the cabin or the itinerary or the food that people care most about when they are on a cruise.  He asked a man recently why he was on the ship and the fellow replied without hesitation that he wanted to spend time with his brother who lived in Michigan.  The other fellow lived in Tennessee and they seldom had a chance to see each other regularly, and this gave them the opportunity to spend quality time with each other.

Family reunions are another popular way to “get together” on a cruise ship.  We have booked several of these vacations and everyone has the opportunity to visit as much or as little as they wish.  We recently booked a family with 6 rooms and only one couple had ever cruised before, but they all lived far apart and this gave them a great opportunity to be together for a week and no one had to worry about food, entertainment, or sleeping everyone.

Stieghorst told of another person who was on a cruise with a spouse who had started to show signs of memory loss, and she took the cruise because she wasn’t sure that in a year or two if her traveling companion would even be the same person.

It’s often the “human things” that start passengers thinking about taking a cruise instead of the latest and greatest technology or hot new entertainment packages or interesting shore excursions that might ring some vacation bells.

The best thing about this vacation experience is that it is a time that becomes an everlasting memory, both because of the ship experience and the places visited, but primarily because of the relationships that are renewed and refreshed.  The cruise specialist at The Travel Factory will be excited to help you manufacture the cruise vacation of your dreams so give us a call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040, or come by for a face to face visit at 4150 Southwest Drive and let us help you select the cruise that fits your needs.