Even though I cruise nearly every month, sometimes more than one cruise a month, I also take trips that don’t involve ships.
A few weeks ago, for example, I met my college roommate in Las Vegas for a quick weekend. It was a wonderful experience catching up with one of my oldest friends — but it was also a brutal one. I had few affordable airfare options, so I left before 8 a.m. from Orlando (about two hours from my home) and flew Frontier, an airline that’s proud to offer uncomfortable seats and does not offer WiFi.
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When I arrived, Caesars Harrah’s Resort Casino did have my room ready for early check-in, so I was able to shower, work a little, and catch up on five hours of email and Slack I missed while I was in the air.
After two days, some nice dinners, a little gambling and a lot of conversation, I boarded a 10 p.m. redeye flight that had me back in Orlando in the early morning and back home before my wife had her morning tea.
It was fun, but in no way relaxing, and aside from the friend I had gone to visit, the only people I spoke with during the entire trip were waiters and bartenders.
The trip was also reminded me why I like to cruise — it’s all about the people and making connections.
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Dennis and Amy Post met Dan on an MSC cruise, invited him to a group lunch, and are now friends (and his travel agents).
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Cruises are inherently social
My Las Vegas flight experience could have happened in reverse for someone not living near a port, but with many cruises leaving from South Florida, which has three large airports, it’s generally easier to find affordable, non-brutal flights.
Once you arrive, the cruise lines offer transportation if you’re sailing that day, and many local hotels will have shuttles to get you to port.
The night before a cruise can also highlight the unique social nature of cruises. Grab a drink at any hotel bar that offers a port shuttle and you will meet people on your sailing. If you have kids, they might make friends before you even get on board.
Once you board, the intimate nature of sharing a living space with people tends to make it easy to make connections. In many ways, the activities you pick put you near people who share your interests.
If you opt for “Harry Potter” trivia or a duo performing Abba songs, well, you’re telling others a little bit about yourself. It makes for easy conversation and helps build friendships.
In addition, every person on a cruise has an easy opening line whether they are eating next to strangers or sharing space in a hot tub. It’s always okay to ask “Where are you from?” and pose questions about the person’s cruising experience. It’s an easy icebreaker that helps people connect and build relationships.
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After decades of visiting Las Vegas and Disney World and staying at Atlantis in the Bahamas, I have never made a friend that translated to the real world. On the other hand I rarely go on a cruise where I don’t end up adding a few names and numbers to my phone, and it’s not uncommon to meet people I will choose to sail with again.
Cruise crew is part of the joy
Over the rest of 2024, I’m sailing on Celebrity Reflection fairly often. The ship is smaller than some of Royal Caribbean’s megaships, and that makes it easy to get to know the crew.
Sometimes that’s just a worker whom you meet multiple times each day and with whom you share greetings. In other cases, you get a chance to talk to waiters, bartenders and other crew members, learning about where they came from, their families and their lives. The staff on most cruises is widely diverse, coming from countries all over the world.
When you sail on a ship more than once, it’s also not uncommon to be greeted with “welcome back” as you bump into people you connected with on previous sailings. The warmth and welcoming of the crew make sailing better.
Sometimes it’s just small touches that make cruising so enjoyable. The waiters in the coffee shop on Reflection know that I am working, so in the morning they bring me an iced latte and a bottle of water with minimal conversation. In the afternoon or evening when I drop by for a second fix without my laptop. we take time to chat and ask about their day, their families, and their time on the ship.
Not every crew member becomes a friend, but many become lovely parts of the experience if you show a little curiosity. On Celebrity Reflection over the past few months, I have had bartenders bring me my favorite bourbon while I was watching the Celtics march to the NBA title because the bars where the game was showing did not stock it.
Such small but seriously personal gestures of friendship are hard to repay, so I tip (well), I say thank you and I try to learn who the cruise workers are beyond how they take care of me.
I have also enjoyed real conversations with staff all over the ship, hearing what they’re missing from home and the places they sometimes get to see. I’m lucky that I get to sail often, but crew members often show an astounding ability to remember people from long-ago sailings.
People always ask me where the ship I’m on is sailing and often enough I don’t know. That’s because while the destinations can be fun, for me it’s the people that make a cruise.
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