I hate waiting. It’s not so much that I am impatient, it’s more like “Hey, I’m going on a cruise and I want to go right now!” Ok well maybe a little impatient. But there are some great ways to kill the time that that end up making the actual cruise itself a much richer experience.
One great time-killer is a party…and who doesn’t like a party?
If you are part of a group cruise, try setting up occasional parties with those you will be sailing with. More than learning their drinking and social habits, you can be much better prepared for the cruise once it rolls around.
Much like studying the deck plans before you get on the ship to help avoid bumping into walls the first half-day (always a good idea), studying the ports you will visit is also a good idea. Often groups will assign a specific port to a person, couple or family and they become the expert on it, reporting back to the group at one of the planning parties. This can be a lot of fun. I’ve seen it be as simple as that expert reporting briefly what they know of the port already to elaborate presentations that include visual aids, speakers who may have lived there, theme food nights, etc.
The more you get into it, the better.
If you’re a single person cruising by themselves or a couple, make each month a theme. Scan the Internet for information, go to the library for books or videos, contact the embassy of the country/island you might visit (those people love to tell you all about it) and get some good information on what to expect. Social networking venues of all kinds can be incorporated into your plan as well. You don’t have to get a big group together to make this work for you.
A side benefit of it all is that you might learn who in your group to avoid on the ship! If Johnny can’t hold his liquor on land, odds are he’s going to be in trouble on the ship as well. If Suzie is a flirt at the planning party, she’ll probably be big big big trouble at sea..or lots of fun, however you look at it.
The down side is that if you’re a couple it’s hard to avoid the other person you’re sailing with and if you’re a single trying to avoid yourself you need medical help pronto.
