A Gen Xer’s Ode to Cruising

Allegiances run strong when talking about cruises. Team anti-cruise might be against it because of the potential for sea sickness, the misconception that it’s only for old fogies, the anxiety-inducing thought of being stuck on a ship in the middle of the 13,000-foot ocean, the temptation of food/drink 24 hours/day to make you gain a few lbs, and the whole environmental impact of behemoth floating cities. I get it. However, since Justin & I thoroughly enjoyed our 14-day transatlantic cruise on Holland America this month, I’m going to use this blog to dispel a few myths and defend why we love boat life!

Is there limitless food & overconsumption? For sure! There is basically a banquet feast for a tsar from 7am until 9pm. Here’s my counter: the food court style Lido Deck is a no judgement zone where you do you. What I will say in defense of the buffets is that it caters to every possible culinary impulse. Y’all know Justin has Crohn’s disease, so his tummy has special needs that change daily. After seeing how Justin was able to find and eat whatever he wanted, especially since there were always bathrooms nearby, I pointed out that this might be the best vacation for someone with Crohn’s! And if you don’t want to eat in the Lido Deck Buffet Area or Main Dining Room where they serve you, there are speciality restaurants as well. 

Will you gain weight? Maybe? You have to use your self control around the food just like you would in any other situation. Facts, I walked more miles on the ship (always choose the stairs!) than I would have in my daily life at home, especially this time of year. Particularly when we stopped in the ports (which I will get to in a separate blog post), we chose the adventure-based itineraries. Cruises can certainly be a flop-and-drop vacation—if that’s what you want and need—but it wasn’t for us. 

Will you sometimes hit traffic in the halls behind the slow walkers and sedentary retirees in electric scooters? Yes. Cruising is synonymous with being in your golden retirement years, so I would say “they” still dominate the landscape. Of the 1900 passengers from our voyage, a whopping 37 were between the ages of 36 and 50. Forget about Millennials; I think there were less than 10. My theory is this is a byproduct of choosing Holland America cruises, as they are slightly higher end in pricing and service. But also, this extended maritime expedition of 14 days (versus a 5-day cruise) is probably a poor example of the regular representation. We easily found friends just a little older than us, but also enjoyed when the old biddies came up to us to praise our nontraditional life. We also got to know the cruise and entertainment directors pretty well, and they were both in their 30s (I forgot to take pictures with them!). 

Do you have to dress up formally every night for dinner in the dining room and sit at a reserved table shared with others? You can, and there certainly are photographers around to capture the moment with prom-style backdrops if you choose. Gone are the days of set table and strict dress codes. I mean you do have to wear shoes in the buffet area, and pants in the main dining room, but that seems to make some sense to most humans. 

Will you get bored on the ship? The cruise offered the best of both worlds—lazy days and endless activities, so I can’t answer that for you personally. What I do know is Justin is the energizer bunny who needs to do all the things, while I cherish mundane moments like reading. Whomever you go with, I promise there is something for everyone. Basically, you get to be in the same place, but do your own thing. Let me give you some stats about our Holland America’s Oosterdam ship: there were 5 bars, 1 casino, 1 gym (with fitness classes), 1 pickleball/basketball court, 2 outdoor tracks, 1 spa, 2 saunas, 4 hot tubs, 2 swimming pools, 1 shopping center, 1 art gallery, 1 library and multiple “rooms/spaces” where you can find quiet solitude for card-playing, work, etc. The satellite Internet is so good on boats nowadays that we were able to play digital nomads and do some reluctant work while we were on board. There are group trivia and games (Bingo!!! Poker tourneys!!), lectures, and unique entertainment performances (we had a comedian 2 nights on our itinerary, as well as some other nightly entertainment options). People came to know us on board because we were always volunteering for the group games, like “Dance Through the Decades” and “The Love Connection.” (Side note, we won the Love Connection even though the other couples were married for 39 and 55 years, respectively!). 

Perhaps our favorite part was the live music scene. Every ship has different venues, and our go-to on Ooosterdam was The Rolling Stones Lounge. We went to a Q&A with the band and learned that Holland America put together this 7-member band. They don’t know each other before coming on board to play together for 4 months, and mastered their setlist of about 220 songs! They were freaking amazing. They hosted several theme nights & parties, like Holland America’s famous Orange Party and Halloween Party. Will you watch old people do the Macarena and the Cupid Shuffle? Yes. All in good fun though! 

Will you get seasick? I occasionally get carsick and seasick (as does Justin), but not so much that we will avoid boats. We brought meds, but never needed them, even when the boat was listing through the 15-foot waves from tropical storms in the Atlantic! Apparently this was a very smooth crossing and could have been worse …  

Don’t the costs add up? They can. Justin’s nickname being “Deal” means he scored this cruise for a really reasonable base price (we booked it in Aug, and they were offering discounts to try to fill up the ship). We treated it like a vacation, which is why we purchased the “Have It All” package. It might have been excess for us—including 15 drinks (coffee, tea, smoothies, alcohol) per day—but because it included Internet, 2 meals at the speciality restaurants, credit toward excursions and on-board credit, it worked out. I still believe cruises are a high-value way to travel. You unpack at a base camp, yet see multiple places. We spent less on the 14-day cruise than we did for 8-days in Hawaii in 2022.

Do you feel pampered? Absolutely! Holland America’s roving crew members make the hard work look easy and are always smiling and happy to be working. They know your name by day 1, take your drink orders and clean up after you. A better picture of how high caliber the service is meant to be: there are purposely no garbages around the ship.  

So there’s my argument for the floating resort city on the sea. If you’ve never considered a no-fuss cruise vacation, don’t be blinded by any preconceived notions about it and maybe open your mind to it? And if you still feel like 1900 passengers on Holland America is a vile mega cruise ship, know that there are smaller options, and even cruise lines that are more geared for families for single millennials.