Ultimately, it’s up to you and how you like to travel, but the following is just my thoughts from our experience on our first cruise together. This was my very first cruise, but Austin’s second. He went on one when he was about 15 and doesn’t really remember much of it. I had been saying for some time that if I ever went on a cruise, I wanted it to be in Europe, since I’m not a beach person, and obviously we stuck to that promise.

Even though we had a good time, I think we won’t be doing another cruise anytime soon, if ever. Why? Because of unpredictability and lack of control. Three ports on the west of Ireland were canceled due to inclement weather, and while that was understandable for everyone’s safety, it was still a huge bummer. The weather the whole cruise around Ireland was actually pretty sad (although I’m sure you’re confused by the first two attached photos, which were taken on the day we boarded). I did my research of course, I was prepared for it to be rainy at any point in the day, but being on a cruise limited us whereas if we would have rented a car and road-tripped around the country instead, we could have spent more time in places, waiting out the rain or doing something else until the rain stopped at least. If you have ever been on a cruise and done one of the excursions, then you know that your time is very limited and not really your own.

Although I will say that having the premium drink package was the best decision we made the whole trip. Austin drinks so. much. water. that he really made it worth our while, and with the added day at sea (bringing us to a total of three at-sea days, instead of the initial two), we had even more time stuck on the boat, so we drank our share of alcoholic beverages, in addition to all my giant bottles of San Pellegrino. Another bonus of our drink package was also being able to use it at the Starbucks cafe onboard (with a limited menu), so I was able to get coffee on the ship that wasn't the buffet coffee… I’d say we definitely made the most of the drink package, but I wouldn’t recommend it for people who don’t drink lots of water or other drinks enough to make it worth it. Really think about this before making that decision.

In the end, it wasn’t horrible by any means. It was just slightly disappointing for us, but at least we gave it a try. I truly try my best to always try something at least once before knocking it. It also doesn't help that we were severely influenced by another travel couple that we follow that’s been on a few Norwegian cruises in this past year. They really made it look so much fun, but…they’re getting paid to do that (Lol). They also cruised at different times of the year, including completely different destinations and that can also play a huge role in the enjoyment of the cruise. Just some food for thought!

In closing, for real now, I promise to always deliver the utter truth when it comes to our travels and what it’s actually like. Even when I reach the point of getting paid to do so, I always want to be honest on the experience for you all.

So, where to next?

To Cruise or Not…