Six Surprising Reasons We Like Cruise Ships

Cruising isn't for everyone. But weirdly, it works for us.

On an Alaska cruise.

Brent and I have a confession to make: we really like cruise ships.

In fact, we just did a two-week cruise to Alaska, and right now we’re on a 28-day cruise across the Pacific Ocean — from Vancouver, Canada, to Sydney, Australia.

(The publication of Brent and Michael Are Going Places will go on as usual, but until the end of October, 2023, we will have very sporadic internet access, so it will probably take us longer to respond to comments and emails.)

Yes, we’re very aware that the environmental record of cruise ships is mixed at best. But — as we’ll explain in detail in an upcoming article — we do think it’s possible to do it responsibly.

We’re also not big on crowds, tourist hot-spots, or overindulging with food or alcohol.

So what gives with us liking cruise ships?

Here are six reasons why cruising works for us — and why it might work for you too. After that, we’ll also answer some specific questions on cruising that readers have asked us.

It’s very affordable — for us, anyway.

Post-Covid, travel has become unexpectedly expensive. But cruising has remained a remarkably good deal — one of the very best travel deals in existence right now, in our opinion, at least if you shop carefully.

It is important to consider all the costs. Quoted prices generally don’t include port taxes or the $15-$20 per person per day service charge that most lines now impose.

All told, we can usually find an interior cabin for $120 a day to $180 USD a day, total, for the two of us — and a balcony for another $20-$40 a day more.

This is only a little more than what we used to spend per day simply maintaining a house in Seattle. And now that we no longer have a mortgage or rent, we can simply apply that money to the cost of a cruise ship.

Photo by Alonso Reyes on Unsplash

Incidentally, this price includes lodging, food, transportation, and entertainment — but not alcohol, internet, or excursions, which can be quite expensive. To save money, we mostly forgo alcohol, and buy internet and excursions independently.

But there’s an additional money-saving twist: we use cruise ships as actual transportation, often crossing oceans to get to our next nomad destination. When you consider that we’re also saving on airfare, cruising becomes even more affordable — at least for us.

We get to avoid flying.

Flying is a drag. And long flights across oceans are even more of a drag. Brent says our recent 22-hour flight home from Bangkok to Seattle — via frickin’ Dubai! — broke him, and he insisted we not do any more flights for the rest of the year.

Which is one of the reasons why we’re catching that 28-day cruise to Sydney.