I experienced motion sickness the moment the ship docked. In the days leading up to the trip, everyone cautioned me to come prepared. I was too prideful to believe sickness would actually happen to me. It was a wild feeling that felt like the world was sinking and folding in! I don’t know how else to describe it. Vertigo? It was also not so great timing sitting in front of a teppanyaki grill. A combination of controlled flames in my face on a moving vessel was quite the adjustment. My friend saved the day though and ran up to our room to rescue the dramamine that would accompany our first dinner!
We would spend the following two days at sea and used this time to explore what the ship had to offer. There were several bars, restaurants and places for entertainment. There was a theater on the ship and a casino as well. I couldn’t get over the tiny city functioning on water we were on.
Most of the guests were much older which I think would influence the style of entertainment each day. Sometimes I thought I was in a nursing home but I wouldn’t want to be on a boat with raging young adults instead either. At the end of the day anything was better than being behind a desk at work and nothing beats the freedom of being disconnected from life and the burdens we carry. There is no access to the internet so I gladly forgot about my emails, notifications and messages.
We would visit and tour through Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas over the next few days. You can choose to do different excursions through each port or just spend the day off the ship on your own as long as you’re back when the ship is scheduled to leave. My friend and his family are fluent Spanish speakers so I kind of felt like I had my own little Intensive Language program going on.
I’m open to taking another cruise. I’m not sure where, when or for how long. I hear there’s three day options that might be nice to try. Seven days was long but now that I’m back to reality, it may not be long enough! I know this style of vacationing isn’t for everybody and I think the way our generation explores the world is a lot more adventurous. People want to “live like a local” and blend with the culture. I certainly wanted that type of experience when I studied abroad. Cruising can barely scratch the surface of that expression but I think it’s still a great way to travel. It’s just a different style.
