Enjoy Your Next (or First) Cruise More
Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!
Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!
Do you enjoy meeting new people?
Are you energized by seeing new places?
Is being waited on a pleasure for you?
Do you hate to pack and unpack when you travel?
Less than one percent of the people in the world have ever cruised.
Until you try cruising . . . and learn to do it well . . . you won't appreciate that cruising is one of life's greatest pleasures.
Many people have misconceptions about cruising. I addressed those misconceptions and how to overcome them in my blog entry on October 3. Here's the link: http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_10_03_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html
Be sure to check out that material before reading the rest of this post.
Cruising is a lot more fun if you like the destinations where your ship will stop.
I recommend a longer cruise . . . if possible . . . so you can see more places. Most people take the path of least resistance and take the cheapest cruise they can find. Such cruises will usually go to the least interesting locations.
A good way to select a cruise is to use on-line resources to examine what's available in the harbor area. Most Caribbean islands, for example, are largely undifferentiated from a harbor view. The Hawaiian Islands by comparison are quite different from one another. In the Mediterranean, variations in national culture provide lots of variety from port to port.
The best cruise I ever took was in the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador. Each island was unique and fascinating. Most islands were uninhabited so we seldom saw postcard and t-shirt concessions.
If you have frequent flyer miles, consider using them to reduce the cost of your cruise by making the air fare cost irrelevant.
Cruising can be a lot more fun if you like your companions.
One way to be sure you meet adorable people is to take along your own. By that I mean that you should consider joining forces with friends, family and lecturers who interest you.
My younger daughter still delights in the memories of our family cruise on the Disney cruise line where one of her best friends joined us.
If your companions pay their own expenses, it doesn't cost you any more. If you can cram an extra child into your stateroom, the additional cost isn't very much.
Cruising can be a life-changing experience if you attach some learning that interests you.
Increasingly, cruise operators are seeking to book conventions, lecturers and to tie in with educational activities on land. For instance, most people describe Alaskan cruises as very special, and then go on to describe all the tours they took on land to see various environmental forces at work (such as glaciers and animal conservation). The trip to the Galapagos that I mentioned earlier had this element as well . . . as we each saw Darwin's finches up close and personal.
Try things you haven't done before.
Every night you will learn about dozens of different activities you can do on the following day. Most have some additional charge involved. All but a few will be designed to accommodate a wide variety of physiques, skill levels and energy. You will have a chance to try something that you've never done before. Many ports, for instance, have submarines. You can go down in them to see sea life much differently than you've seen it before. I was fascinated to see how the colors changed as we went deeper and the sea water filtered out the sunlight. Some of the helicopter rides are also very spectacular. I especially recommend the ones that take you to see volcanoes (such as on the Big Island of Hawaii) and lush tropical forests and canyons (such as on Kauai).
Get some exercise.
Cruising can be a non-stop eating experience, and you'll find that you are feeling over-full and uncomfortable. Exercising (most ships have a walking or jogging deck and a gym) can help you work a little of that off while making you less interested in overeating.
Plan for some romance.
Watching the sun go down can be a pleasant way to kick back and enjoy some private time with the one you love. Taking a carriage ride in Bermuda can make you both feel like country gentry.
Budget your trip so that you expect to spend quite a lot on extras.
Otherwise, you will find yourselves annoyed as you skip activities that would really thrill you. I suggest you plan to spend an additional $50 a day per person for extra activities.
Please add your comments with ways that you've found to make cruising rewarding. I'm sure that other readers will be interested. Thanks!
Can any billionaire do better? I doubt it.
Billionaires aren't going to want to be on a cruise ship. That's too common for them.
But a cruise ship will organize vastly more activities than a billionaire will for her or his guests, be more stable in a storm, and have a much larger group of potentially interesting people to meet.
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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!
Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.
Here are some upcoming subjects:
Tomorrow, I'll share the story with you of the "accidental mansion owner" and I promise that you'll chuckle for days over this one.
Thursday, let's explore plans for a terrific Thanksgiving.
On Friday, I'll describe my fantastic visit to the University of Michigan-Penn State game in
Saturday, we'll sit back and relax with our favorite music . . . and gain new benefits in the process.
On Sunday, let's listen to some great spiritual music to soothe your soul.
Monday, you and I will have a heart-to-heart about how to enjoy being with your siblings better than a billionaire.
August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!
Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!
If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.
Check out the latest index at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005/10/latest-table-of-contents-to-this-blogs_26.html to pick out your choice.
Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.
If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.
Remember to also visit
Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,
Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,
Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,
Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and
Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.
I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.
I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.
May God bless you.
Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge
Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell
posted by Donald Mitchell @ 10:44 AM
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