Baby Steps

In watching the TV show "This Is Us," you can't help but think about the different phases of your own life, and how you evolve to have different capabilities and desires.

I've reached the Empty Nest phase, fortunate to have the flexible schedule and sufficient funds to finance vacations of which I could only dream when I was single, newly in love or a young father.

In fact, lots of what Julie and I now do exceeds my youthful dreams.

I certainly didn't start out thinking a two week cruise to Hawaii would be affordable or something I would have time to do.

Making jumps from camping to weekend escapes to Palm Springs to spending 5 nights in Cabo and then to Hawaii seemed about as amazing as life could be.

Once I took a cruise and realized how much better I could travel for the same net expenditures once I added up all the meals, entertainment and lodging, I was sold.

If you're ready to make that stretch from weekend trip, possibly having experienced difficulty convincing your significant other to make the leap with you, maybe you need to put your dream cruise to the Mediterranean or Alaska on the back burner temporarily and take a short cruise departing from closer to home.

While many experienced cruisers take these trips as "booster shots" between longer cruises if not as their regular travel bread and butter, the primary reason cruise lines offer these short trips is to give people a taste of cruising.

Once you try it, you'll want to go again.

Cruising has the highest customer satisfaction rating of any vacation.

Before long, you'll find yourself no longer thinking in terms of price but of immersive experiences.



This is particularly noteworthy if you are having trouble getting your spouse to commit to a cruise due to some kind of unfounded fear about being bored on board.

While I get excited about longer cruises on the best ships to the most exciting destinations just as you do, I am always happy to help you plan a shorter cruise and help you find the perfect arrangements for your needs.

Princess has some great short itineraries from L.A. and Ft. Lauderdale for the next couple of months.  Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival feature shorter offerings year-round.  I'd love to give you details if you email your interest to Wes@CruisePlanners1.com

See what cruising is all about, and if you're like 95% of first time cruisers, you'll be planning your next cruise before you get off the ship.

Before long, you may find your reluctant cruiser pulling you along to a previously unanticipated dream voyage.