Japan sailings

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@LukeJ As much as I hate to admit it, people change and relationships change too. Relationships with food are ever evolving. I find myself getting in a habit of eating the same thing for breakfast everyday. People are such creatures of habit, and cruising can be such a great way to get us out of our daily habits. My daily habits of eating three meals, brushing my teeth, and showering remain but all the other little stuff is subject to change. Changing our routine can refresh our perspectives too. It can make you more open minded, more appreciative/grateful, and even more adventurous to try new things on the daily. When I have someone wait on me all day onboard a ship, I feel so unworthy of such amazing treatment! I don't get that on the daily so my appreciation for others care goes up exponentially. I also tip so generously because of my gratefulness. What goes around certainly comes back around. 

[LukeJ]

Exactly right. Those are words I stick by, people are creatures of habits. Majority of people don't like change either because we are comfortable to what we have, and any inconvenience to us messes up our focus. So if we are used to eating certain things, then our pallets become accustomed to that, and when we eat something new, a lot don't like that.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@LukeJ You never know, one day you don't eat crickets, and the next day they could become your favorite snack! 

Aside from crickets, I agree in the power of shifting mindsets and doing more by staying on your toes. Sticking to the mundane and staying in the safe zone won't get you anywhere. You have to take reasonable risks sometimes and go out on a whim to achieve hard to reach goals. Without changing your pace or rolling with the punches, it's hard to fully live life to the fullest. When I see guests that complain about the little things, it makes me think about the priorities and goals of that person. My goal on a cruise is to adventure, explore new places, meet new people. operate outside of my typical comfort zone, and live! I'm not focused on the choice of music in the lobby. I'm not concerned about the size of the steak. Nitpicking the little things is a bad habit. It's better to be a big picture thinker! Brush those little, menial, unimportant things off. It's hard to really live a full life if you choose to dwell on things that are basically irrelevant. Find the food you life and stick to it, grab a pina colada and get in the pool! Those little things won't mean anything after that. 

[LukeJ]

I read that first line and sang Bob Marley I don't like cricket. Simple minds and all that. However your post I agree with. Let's all just relax, slow down in our lives and start enjoying themselves and counting yourself lucky. I can be quite negative myself at times, but then I remind myself, even affording to go cruising with my family and trying new  things out makes me a lucky person.

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ That's too funny! I love Bob Marley. I can't agree more. How lucky are we that we get to cruise and be so knowledgeable about the industry? There is nothing like being able to afford a vacation when others around the world are struggling to put food on the table. When guests complain too heavily about cruise vacations, I just think about how privileged we are and how ungrateful we have become. Many people dream of a place where the food is endless and abundant. These are the things that can go under appreciated. We are so blessed to have these opportunities, if only more people across the globe could get their hands on a single cruise experience. That would be some cruise! It would feel life changing. I'm willing to bet, first time cruisers (who are appreciative of the experience) won't have anything negative to say about the experience. 

[LukeJ]

I don't count myself lucky enough. I guess we all blight and moan about things, but a lot of people would give their right arm to be in my situation. I should be more privileged with what I've got. My parents couldn't afford anything when I was growing up. They tried their best, but I missed out on certain things but I was never bitter about it. It was a different world back then.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@LukeJ That's so true. For many, when you mention a cruise you are automatically put on this pedestal of privileged. It's a privilege I never want to take for granted, but it isn't as hard to attain as many believe it to be. It's not a cheap vacation, but it's not unreasonable by any means. I typically cruise with basic packages that I can afford annually. I also opt to take vacations/experiences over gifts. In order to afford my family cruise I will book interior staterooms, I won't dine at the specialty restaurants, and rarely book more than one excursion per cruise. I won't splurge on onboard shopping, casinos, or extra costs onboard. These are concessions I make to comfortably fit a cruise in my budget. Instead of a gift for my 30th birthday last weekend, I chose a cruise a gift instead! The memories and ability to relax like a princess is unforgettable and priceless. No expensive purse could be exchanged for the experience a cruise can give. 

[LukeJ]

Again it goes to how we see things in life. I appreciate the closer to home sentiments, a nice car or spending money on our home, making it look nice for us to live in. My wife wants it all, all the aforementioned and every vacation under the sun. I do enjoy going on vacation as long as I don't have to travel far to it, but not all the time. It's not for me. I am more of a home bird and would rather go on day outs and do things rather than travel for hours to a place I don't want to be in. 

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ I totally see your point on this! Traveling hours or days on end to get to your vacation is just not a good start or end to a vacation. It's actually one reason I love cruising. I show up to the cruise and I don't have to drive or fly around anywhere else for the duration of the experience. If I wanted to drive around endlessly to get to my destination, I would take a road trip, but endless hours sitting is no fun. It would be so awesome to go to another country and cruise out of that country but the flight length and travel to/from the port of embarkation can be quite difficult. Some of flights and hotels just cost more than the entire cruise itself! It's much easier to cruise out of a nearby port. It makes things cheaper and simpler.

[LukeJ]

It's why the appeal of cruising is getting popular for everyone I guess. The simplicity of it, the cost is another thing. Going on vacation to a hotel is so ridiculously expensive now, it's beyond. And even if we decide to go on vacation in your own country works out more expensive than if you went abroad. So cruising overall is a far better option, and to get to visit several destinations in the meantime.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@LukeJ After having to manage bills and schedules, facing extra responsibility everyday, I love the idea of checking out. Cruising can really be so mindless if you want it to be. I don't have to think about shopping for groceries or rushing to an appointment, I just show up wherever whenever. It's a true break when I don't have to constantly manage my schedule in order to get all of my duties accomplished for the day. Oftentimes, I go to bed thinking about the things I was unable to complete that day. Not having to report or accomplish anything on a cruise is life-giving! I do agree that cruising is so popular for this reason. Not only do I have nothing bogging my mind down, but I don't even have access to connecting with anything via cell service or wi-fi that could potentially distract me from being present with myself and my family while cruising! I love that I have the option to refuse wi-fi. Pretty much no other vacation offers that as an option. The costs of flight and stay alone end up being more costly than cruising! After doing some math, I figured feeding my family for a week of going out for every meal for an entire week ends up being about $1,000. That's half the cost of the cruise! It can definitely be a cheaper if not the cheapest travel option.

Edited March 5 by Kendall James-Vargas

[LukeJ]

It's why cruising is getting popular as people need that time away from the everyday toils of life. Costs in the UK are rising all the time, it's endless. There's hardly anything to smile about. Unemployed is high, and the ones that are in work either are on strike constantly or on long term sick. It's frustrating to see. Food prices are ridiculous now and it's a struggle to feed a family, so going out for a meal is a privileged treat, which in turn is affecting the hospitality trade. 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@LukeJ That's right! Cruising seems to be more popular than ever, and it's almost like everyone is catching on to my favorite vacation ever. The hosing prices/cost of living is getting out of control in the US too. Unemployment was an an all time high not long ago because in some cases it was almost more lucrative to be unemployed and collect unemployment than it was to go to work. The food prices are affecting the hospitality trade, and less people can afford eating out. If you are eating out you are looking for low cost, fast food style options that aren't good for your body. I try to cook most all meals at home and go out for a special occasion about once a month unless on vacation. At home I cook organic, grass-fed meats for the most part and it's so expensive. It would be cheaper to eat out, but the quality of the food would be far lesser than that of what I provide at home. If I'm hosting guests, I can't afford to feed everyone the organic meats/food items so I typically have to buy the regular products in order to feel financially comfortable enough to host. I love hosting; typically I host a few times a month. Since I'm feeding a large group I will buy the regular meats and fruits/veggies in bulk and not think twice about it. I would rather be able to host and sacrifice food quality than go out and spend way more on an even more processed meal.

[LukeJ]

It's a terrible situation we find ourselves in. We can only pray that we can turn it around, even if it's a slower process, as long as it's in the right direction. As countries start to turn on each other, I understand people striking, as the cost of living is going higher, and unfortunately our salaries are not, some sectors do deserve pay rises, but some that are striking baffles me the extent they are going because they are already on a high wage and in the top 10% of the best salary in the land.

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ The cost of everything has gone up! The cost of cruising has totally been impacted by the price increases such as the changing food costs. I don't see how we could withstand the food prices going up any higher. It's not sustainable, but this is such a hypocritical statement because most of the princes increases stem from trying to operate in a more sustainable way. Most of these sustainable ways we are reverting towards happen to cost more and are ending up less sustainable than the previous ways. It's really upsetting. We are spending too much time and energy focusing on more energy efficiency but it's a waste. I don't foresee food prices ever going back to what they were due to this mission impossible of net-zero emissions. Maybe that statement sounds negative, but it's just my perspective. 

Edited April 24 by 3Sisters

[LukeJ]

No I totally agree with you. Trying to go environmentally friendly but it ends up costing so much money, that you end up bitter towards it. The government in my view simply do not have a clue how to go about it, and listen again to minority and come up with something, just to show they are coming up with ideas, so hair brained, they simply do not work.

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ The impacts of becoming more sustainable are costing all industries more, and it is rubbing off on consumers. I love the mission, but the financial impacts are becoming quite evident. The financial implications were minimal in the beginning, but not they are becoming too vast. Cruise guests are clearly able to spend the extra because the industry is booming, but I'm noticing a huge shift in prices that I wasn't prepared for. I always want to cruise and have enough money to cruise comfortably but it's been hard to muster up the funds lately! I have to sacrifice itineraries, cruise length, or ships/lines in order to make it feasible for me now, and that wasn't always the case. Have you been impacted/noticed the price differences lately? I would rather just have to pay the older figures on an older ship than have to spend more for these shore-powered high-tech ships.