To Cruise Or Not To Cruise

The Diary of a First-Timer

When the opportunity arose to try cruising for the first time on a 3-day ‘Cruise to Nowhere’ for a work conference, I asked myself why I had never experienced the salty joys of cruising before.

A list of fears immediately crossed my mind:

• Debilitating seasickness.
• Not being able to see land and no stops in port.
• Would there be enough activities to keep the boredom at bay.
• Annoying passengers.
• And the food – you hear so many stories!

The reality turned out to be far removed from my baseless fears.

We started our initiation on a 3-day ‘Food & Wine’ cruise. After pushing off from the dock and sailing into the sunset, we joined the rest of the conference delegates for our welcome cocktail party. The rest of the passengers partied the night away on the main deck at the ‘Blanc Party’ as we prepared for an unforgettable experience of food, wine and entertainment.

As the next day dawned, there was no land in sight instead a beautiful sunny day and calm seas, although things in our cabin weren’t so calm after a big night!

We enjoyed a late breakfast before the first conference session, which was held in the main function area. This was also the nightclub come nightfall. The ship is an amazing venue for team building and bonding as all the delegates are in the same place for the entire conference which means they work, eat, and play in the same space.

It’s great to have everything at your fingertips; if you forget something, just wander back to your cabin. You can take your drink with you and there’s no looking for a taxi home!

Over the next couple of days we ate some amazing food in a huge array of venues from the extensive buffet and Asian Fusion restaurant to the Celebrity Chef inspired restaurant. We also got unbelievable pizza in the early hours of the morning on the way back to our cabin!

The highlights of the ‘Food & Wine’ Cruise included:

• Wine tastings
• Masterclasses
• Live food demonstrations
• Ice, fruit & vegetable carving demonstrations
• Martini & Tequila classes
• Coffee appreciation
• Wine and food pairing

There is a different bar for every evening, the casino, live shows featuring legendary rock stars, movies shown on the big screen on the main deck, karaoke and cocktail bars.

Our cabin was basic with no porthole or balcony, single beds and a small but adequate bathroom. We could have had the beds pushed together however this felt like an adventure so we left them be! To be truthful you hardly spend any time in your cabin so for 3 days it suited us well.

So in the end my fears were groundless, there was no seasickness only the self-inflicted variety and instead of being worried about not seeing land and no port stops, I felt kind of free.

There were so many activities it was impossible to do everything in 3 days and everyone was so happy and having a great time.

The food was delicious and the choice was amazing with something to suit all tastes, just book your restaurants of choice as soon as you board as they book out fast.

After an amazing 3 days on the high seas we returned to port during the early hours of the morning enveloped in a thick, white fog. As we stood on the deck the fog horn sounded sending shivers down my spine.

I knew then, standing on the deck, that this was the highlight of my trip and that I’d been infected with the drug that makes you return again and again.

Image Credit: Sebastian Gabriel