By Land or By Sea: Do You Really Have to Choose?

Ironically enough, the first time I ever decided to step foot on a cruise ship was right as the world was starting to open back up after the COVID-19 pandemic. We had all been home for what felt like forever, travel was finally becoming possible again, and Luke and I came across an Alaska cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line that was just too good of a deal to pass up. To make it even more tempting, the deal was for the Haven, Norwegian's "ship within a ship" concept. Basically, it is a smaller private area within the larger cruise ship with its own restaurant, lounge, pool area and some additional perks. It was a very bougie introduction to cruising, but after being stuck at home for so long, it felt like exactly the right way to reintroduce ourselves to travel.

I also had absolutely no idea if I was going to like cruising. I grew up in a family without a lot of money, and cruises were definitely not part of our family vacations. I did not grow up around people who cruised regularly, so this was completely new territory for me. What I did know was land travel. I loved exploring cities, wandering around without a schedule and having the freedom to change plans when something caught my attention. I did not know how I would feel about being on a ship, whether I would get motion sickness or whether I would feel trapped knowing I could not just leave whenever I wanted.

The night before our cruise, we stayed at the recommended hotel just a block from the port. We could leave our car there during the trip and either walk or take the shuttle over when it was time to board. That next morning, I woke up, looked out our hotel window and there it was: our ship. I knew cruise ships were big. Obviously. But knowing they are big and standing there looking at this enormous ship towering over everything around it are two completely different things. I remember being so excited and also feeling my palms sweat a little because suddenly this thing we had booked was very, very real.

When it was finally time to board, we walked up the gangway toward the ship, and I can still remember what that first walk felt like. There is something about crossing that threshold from the gangway onto a cruise ship that feels special. You are greeted by smiling crew members who make you feel like they are genuinely happy you showed up, even though they have probably welcomed hundreds of people before you. I have cruised several times since, and that moment still gets me every single time.

We completed our safety drill and were basically told to go explore, so that is exactly what we did. I wandered around completely amazed that all of this could exist on one ship. There were restaurants, lounges, shops, entertainment spaces and quiet places where you could just sit and watch the water go by. I also remember thinking there was absolutely no chance I was ever going to learn my way around this place.

Everything felt new, and I took advantage of all of it. I went to the activities. I explored the ship. I sat in the observation lounge and watched Alaska go by. I talked to other passengers I never would have met otherwise and spent time talking with crew members and hearing about their lives and experiences. I discovered pretty quickly that if I wanted something to do, I could find it, and if I wanted to sit somewhere quietly and watch the world go by, I could do that too.

One of my favorite memories from that cruise was not even an official activity. Because we were sailing later in the Alaska season, there was a chance we might see the Northern Lights. Somehow, the people staying in the staterooms around us all started talking about it, and before long we had created our own little Northern Lights watch. We exchanged phone numbers and promised each other that if anyone saw them, it did not matter if it was one in the morning, we were calling everybody and running outside.

We spent the entire cruise watching the sky and waiting for those Northern Lights to make an appearance. Spoiler alert: they never did. But weirdly, that is still one of my favorite memories. A group of people who had been complete strangers days earlier were suddenly all in on this ridiculous mission together. There was this feeling of community and anticipation that I had not expected to find on a cruise ship, and I loved it. The lights never appeared, but the anticipation gave us something to share.

By the time we came home, I was sold. I was ready to book another cruise and then another one after that. This person who had always loved exploring by land was suddenly pretty convinced she had discovered an entirely new favorite way to travel.

And then I went on another cruise.

The funny thing is there was nothing wrong with that cruise. The ship was beautiful, the staff was wonderful and the food was lovely. If I had written down all the ingredients of a good cruise before we left, technically they were all there. But I did not love it the same way.

The itinerary had more sea days and fewer opportunities to get off the ship and explore. The reduced capacity we had experienced as cruising reopened was also gone, and suddenly the ship felt much more crowded. I would see an activity I wanted to do, walk toward it, realize how packed the space was and decide to do something else. I also made a mistake that I did not recognize at the time. Because I had cruised before, I stopped treating the ship like something to discover. An activity would come up and I would think, "Oh, I did something like that last time," and skip it. I was not wandering around with those same bright eyes looking for something new. Without realizing it, I stopped participating in my own vacation.

With fewer ports and less interest in the activities, I started feeling like all there was to do was eat and drink. And listen, I enjoy both of those things, but there is only so much eating and drinking you can do before even that stops being fun. I came home wondering if maybe I had gotten carried away after Alaska. Maybe cruising was not really for me after all. Maybe I was a land-travel person who had simply taken one really great cruise.

It took going on more cruises and paying attention to what I enjoyed, what I did not enjoy and where I found myself happiest to realize I was asking the wrong question. It was never really about whether I liked cruising. It was about figuring out what kind of cruising I liked and, even more importantly, realizing I did not need cruising to replace the way I already loved to travel.

I learned that I really enjoy itineraries with plenty of ports because exploring the destinations is a huge part of the experience for me. I like ships with quiet spaces where I can sit and watch the water, but I also want activities and entertainment when I am ready for them. I enjoy meeting other passengers and talking with crew members. I like having choices, but I do not necessarily want to fight through a massive crowd every time I want to participate in something. Someone else could read all of that and want the exact opposite, and that is kind of the point.

There are people who get on a cruise because they want to completely decompress. Give them a book, a pool chair, a cocktail, some live music and several sea days with absolutely nowhere they need to be, and they are living their best life. Then there are people like me who sometimes use the cruise ship almost like a traveling hotel. Take me somewhere new, let me get off and explore all day, feed me a great dinner when I get back and then move the hotel to another destination while I sleep. There are ships and itineraries that can do both of those things incredibly well, but they are not necessarily the same ships or the same itineraries.

That is what I think gets lost when people talk about cruising. There are die-hard cruise people who will tell you it is the greatest way to travel, and there are equally passionate cruise haters who will tell you it is crowded, boring and basically their worst vacation nightmare. The funny thing is, I think they can both be right. Cruising can be boring if you are on a ship or itinerary that does not offer the things that keep you engaged, and it can be overwhelming if you choose a ship packed with thousands of people when crowds make you miserable. It can also be incredibly relaxing, ridiculously fun, full of new places and one of the easiest ways to see multiple destinations in a single vacation.

The more cruises I took, the more I realized this really was not just a lesson about cruising. It is true about every vacation we take. You have to understand what actually interests you, what your hard no's are and what makes you come home feeling like your vacation time and money were well spent. Do you want a packed itinerary or mornings with absolutely nowhere to be? Do you want to be surrounded by people and activity, or does your idea of heaven involve finding a quiet corner where nobody talks to you for three hours? Do you want to see six places or really get to know one? There is no universally correct answer, but those answers should absolutely change the trip you choose.

Today, I do not think of myself as a cruise person or a land-travel person. I am both. Cruises absolutely have an important place in how I travel, but they will never replace everything I love about exploring on land. I still love wandering through cities, finding neighborhoods I did not know existed and having the freedom to change plans because something interesting is happening down the street. I also love walking up that gangway, knowing I am about to unpack once and wake up somewhere new a few days in a row. I do not need to choose between those experiences anymore. I just need to know which one is right for the trip I want to take.

I have also stopped trying to recreate that first Alaska cruise. There is something special about experiencing anything for the first time, and I do not think you are supposed to recreate it. You are supposed to learn from it. I never did see those Northern Lights, but years later I can still picture all of us watching the Alaska sky, ready to call each other at some ridiculous hour if those colors finally appeared. We thought we were waiting for the thing that would make the night memorable, but it turns out we already had it.

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