Some end of the cruise considerations and words of advice to help improve your future cruise experience.

First, after you have packed all your clothing, throw in three more pair of socks. Make that four. They take up virtually no room and there is nothing more comfortable than clean, dry socks after being on your feet for extended periods of time.
Next, if you meet someone and it sounds like they are English, do not begin by asking if they are English. Instead, ask where they are from. That way, when you find out they are in fact Irish, you will not be subjected to a detailed history of every battle and war that the Irish fought to earn their independence from British rule.
An Irish accent is lovely until you start hearing a rant about the six counties who are still under British rule and the 26 counties who have been independent of British rule since 1912 or 16 or 22 or something. If you pay heed to any of my advice in this post, pay heed to this one. And the extra socks.
Finally, when packing your clothing, do not bring that suit or dress that is just a tiny bit too snug. On the final evening of your cruise that piece of clothing will be a taunting reminder of just how many times a day you ate Eggs Benedict. And crispy bacon and sausages and hash browns and toast and pizza and steak and lobster and crab legs dipped in butter….
Most importantly, when cruising, say hi to people, have fun and be kind. Particularly to the people working on these massive floating hotels. But have fun. I certainly did.
Comments
7 responses to “End of the Cruise Considerations”
Love it. Being well versed on Irish history I had to chuckle about your second piece of advice. If you ever want to relive that piece you can always get me going on it. My family, on my fathers side, is from one of the counties that is no longer under British rule. 😉
The Welsh are able to say similar things about being mistaken for the bloody English.
I might add to your sage advice about clothing that just because you got yourself bikini ready for the beginning of your vacation does not mean that the dozen cookies, the bag of pretzels, the 6 slices of garlic bread, and bacon every morning will not be noticed!
I kept at my daily P90XR workout during the cruise and thereby maintained my weight. No weight gain whatsoever! Part of that is because I ate virtually no bread during my journey.
As a fellow traveller who shared the editors alloted dinner table I concur with his advice and would like to add the following recommendations:
1. Don’t be miserly, buy the premium drinks ticket. This entitles you to never ending glasses of wine, spirits, cocktails, Evian water (useful for active shore excursions) and expresso coffee.
2. Focus on getting your money’s worth. This entails putting your body and health on the line in a noble quest of determining the best single malt and looking for drinking partners as the bars start closing around midnight.
3. Find a bar staff who can help you discover what single malts they have. I didn’t discover their stash of Laphroig until the last night, and, with the assistance of the editor, proceeded to do the bottle justice.
4. Enjoy all conversations other people have with drunk Irish people.
5.before jumping in the uncrowded pool check that they hadn’t just finished a “polar bear” competition.
My observation is that there are two groups taking photos of food on cruise boats, food bloggers and Japanese tourists!
More great advice from Phil, my fellow blogger.
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[…] there aren’t too many things better than going on a cruise. Stacey Robinsmith offers some words of advice on how you can make the most of your cruise experience, like packing a couple extra pairs of socks. […]