Top Ten Things My Husband Loved About Our Recent Cruise

The pool deck during my family vacation onboard the Norwegian Gem last month.

Yesterday I mentioned that I already spent my tax rebate . . . on a cruise. In actuality my vacation, onboard Norwegian Cruise Line's new It Girl, cost a helluva lot more than any rebate check I'm gonna get, but that's because I opted for one of the few ships sailing out of New York City (our backyard) in winter and because I splurged on a "mini-suite" with a balcony. And boy, was it worth every cent.

That's me and the kids on our cabin balcony in New York Harbor, March 15, 2008. We loved getting to the warm weather of Florida and the Bahamas without having to get on a plane.

As I wrote the other day, I don't think mammoth cruise ships are the best vehicle for seeing Europe's world-class sights and absorbing its culture. I DO think they're a great way for exhausted parents to get some R&R. For this particular vacation, you see, our goal was not sightseeing. Our goal was sleep. That meant we needed a ship with (1) a great child-care program in which to park the boys, (2) sports facilities for exhausting the two little Energizer Bunnies, and (3) a been-there-done-that itinerary, so we wouldn't feel pressure to race around each port trying to see as much as possible in our limited time.

The water slide was key: It allowed us to exhaust the whirling dervishes with minimal exertion on our part.

I can't tell you more about our cruise because it would give away my article in Conde Nast Traveler's upcoming August issue. My husband, Tim, has therefore graciously offered up the top ten reasons why HE loved the cruise. After the jump, a husband's perspective.

That's our four-year-old having a blast with the Kids' Club counselors on the cruise line's private island in the Bahamas.

Top Ten Reasons Why My Husband Loved Our Vacation on the Norwegian Gem:

1. I loved never having to dress up.
2. I loved that there was plenty of time at sea, where I could do nothing but sit and stare at the ocean.
3. I loved having a balcony, and I loved the secure child-proof lock on it.
4. I loved the child-care counselors. Every one of them was outgoing and friendly (unlike on our last cruise), and their nicknames were great: Strawberry, Bubbles, Kool-Aid, Junkyard . . . .
5. I loved the fact that the captain went to the Kids' Club to introduce himself to the children. And that he wasn't some Adonis out of central casting: He looked like the kind of captain who's seen enough barroom brawls that he can get you out of any kind of trouble.
6. I loved that we had a choice of 10 or 12 different restaurants. And the signs around the ship telling you how full each restaurant was, so you knew where to go for dinner.
7. I loved that we tendered at only one port (the private island). Everywhere else we walked on and off the ship, so we didn't have to wait in any line.
8. I loved Deck 7, where you could walk around the entire ship; that deck was always empty.
9. I loved watching the Space Shuttle take off from Cape Canaveral (at 2:30 a.m., about five hours after we'd left Port Canaveral). About 500 other passengers got out of bed to watch it, and it was well worth it.
10. I loved that my wife actually stopped working for a week. She read a 700-page novel and didn't touch her blog once.

There I am on our balcony, absorbed in a novel.

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Comments

Hi Wendy!

That looks like a great family vacation, with something for everyone. It must've been wonderful, seriously, if you didn't even type a word of your blog! (Perhaps was there just a quick hop into the internet cafe that hubby didn't know about?) I guess it doesn't matter whether you did or didn't, since he FELT you were really on vacation!

I've never tried Norwegian, but sounds like they have some great ideas. The restaurant "capacity" sign is genius! It's such a pain to arrive at any restaurant (cruising or not) and have to wait, all the while weighing how much time it'll take you to find another place to dine, and whether you'll have to wait there as well! What a great plan...it probably saves the staff from much griping, too.

Also, the captain popping in to the kids' club is very impressive and thougtful. My kids would be in awe, as the captain is normally just a booming voice they hear over the intercom. So cool!

I can't wait to travel on the "sister ship" of the Norwegain ship you profiled. My sister, friend and I take a rock cruise every year (booked entirely for fans of the Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies) and they're finally changing from the crazy carnival of a cruise line they've used the past two years.
I can't wait for this upgrade to Norwegian now!

Thanks! Paula in Seattle

Posted by: paulala | April 30, 2008 at 01:17 PM

Thank you Wendy!!! Your vacation sounds absolutely heavenly to me!!!! I am also the mother of two very enthusiastic boys so I am hoping this blog will convince my husband to do this cruise one day! Thanks for the blog and I am so looking forward to your article in the August issue!

Posted by: SuzR | April 30, 2008 at 02:29 PM

Hi Paula,
Will you be sailing on the Norwegian Pearl or the Norwegian Jade? Let me know, and I'll e-mail you some tips for getting the most out of the ship at the lowest cost (e.g., where there's a cappuccino machine so you can get cappuccino for free rather than paying for it at the Java Cafe).

Hi SuzR,
Great to hear from you again! My husband says that, if your husband would like, he'd be happy to tell him more about the cruise and answer any questions he might have, from a guy/dad perspective. If you want to get in touch, just e-mail me at wperrin@cntraveler.com. Would you be sailing out of NYC as well? And how old are your kids? I have SO MANY tips for how to get the max out of this ship and itinerary -- which travel agent to use, which cabin type to choose, how to spend your time in each port (we bought none of the shore excursions but, instead, did our own perfect thing in each port), where to eat breakfast, how to survive the buffet, which restaurants are worth spending extra money on and which aren't, etc. The learning curve for this ship is particularly steep; once I figured it out, though, and sussed out how to make the ship work for me, the vacation became precisely what the doctor ordered.

Posted by: WendyPerrin | April 30, 2008 at 09:30 PM

Sounds like a great cruise for your family and kids.

Sometimes I get frustrated with my husband's addiction to his blackberry; also known as the crackberry. It's nice to hear that you were able to take a break from posting on your blog and truly enjoy reading a good book.

By the way...was it "Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?" Kidding!

Posted by: WhataTrip | April 30, 2008 at 11:51 PM