Carnival brand ambassador John Heald recently asked his Facebook followers a simple question: “How many cruises did it take you to get hooked on cruising?”
Heald’s post received a staggering 2,600 replies within a day. While there was certainly some variety in the number of cruises it took now-frequent cruisers to realize it was the best type of vacation for them, there were two answers that came up far more often than others.
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It was a good-natured question by Heald that generated passionate responses. That makes sense because his audience of over 500,000 followers would largely consist of people who are very into cruising.
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How many cruises did it take for most people to become regulars?
Not surprisingly, the most common answer (by far) is that people who now cruise regularly were hooked after just one cruise.
There were several who gave this response, even if they were hesitant to get on a ship at first. As commenter Randy Breen said, “One, but my wife wanted me to take a cruise for years, and I finally said ok, and the rest is history. Now we have done 58 cruises and have 10 booked.”
Others also said they knew they were at home as soon as they stepped on board. “1!! I fell in love immediately, and I’ve cruised as often as I can since,” Heald follower LeAnn Duncan said.
Matt Wolfe similarly posted “Never felt so happy or at peace than in the middle of the ocean. I was instantly in love.”
Some shared specifics about why they loved cruising right away, especially when it comes to traveling with a family. For example, “Once on the Mardi Gras with my kids and wife! Best time ever and worth every penny! Something different about being able to travel to many countries in one trip for less than traveling to one by plane," said Brian Marshall Gomez
As a parent of two young children, I can completely understand the desire to not have to buy four airline tickets to travel to an exotic Caribbean destination. A few years ago, we considered a family vacation to St. Kitts (a popular Eastern Caribbean cruise stop) – until I saw airfare for the four of us would be twice the cost of an entire cruise.
For some Carnival passengers, two cruises is the magic number
Not surprisingly, many people said it took two cruises before they got hooked. This certainly makes sense. After all, many people go into their first cruise not fully knowing what to expect, and this can affect their enjoyment.
For example, maybe you booked a room type that ended up not being the best choice. Maybe you didn’t know about making specialty dining, shore excursions, or spa reservations in advance, and you missed out on certain things you wanted to do. Or maybe you needed seasickness medications and didn’t think about bringing them the first time.
Whatever the reason, it seems like after a do-over, many people realized that cruising could be far more enjoyable than their first trip made it seem.
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Facebook user Liz Murray-Wilson shared:
“It took 2 for me. My first cruise I was on with a group of friends. We had rough seas and despite taking OTC seasickness meds, I was sick the majority of the time and ended up having to get help from the medical team on the ship…However, then I met my now husband, and when the friend group cruise was announced, he was interested and we decided to give it another try with me getting prescription patches. We had an amazing time and now we're both hooked!”
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Of course, it took some people a little longer. For example, one commenter found that the cruises they took while they were working were too stressful but fell in love with cruising after retiring. But the overwhelming majority of now-frequent cruisers knew they found their new home away from home at sea within one or two trips.
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