Things I Learned From My Mom: Cruises are Fun

Randy’s mom knows how to have fun!

Randy and his mom having fun on vacation.

My mom and I look alike, have similar mannerisms, and pronounce the word “measure” funny (or so Beth claims). We get a bit shaky when we don’t eat, and while we both like to drive, her foot is much heavier than mine, if you get my drift. While we have a lot of similarities, one thing that we’ve been divided on for years was cruising, you know Love Boat-style vacations. When I was a tween, she sold me on a Disney cruise, but money was tight, she was a single parent (love you mom) and, well, that ship sailed without us.

Randy’s mom knows how to have fun!

It’s not that I was against her cruising (baby boomer speak for a cruise ship vacation), I just didn’t think it fit my style of travel; no room for any serendipity or so I thought. My mom, on the other hand, loved it: fantastic food, dancing, exotic ports and best of all it was all inclusive. For years, she would go off to sea, and come back a week or two later regaling me with her Jimmy Buffettesque experiences and saying how I had to try it. And I’d explain, ‘that sounds great mom, but you know, cruising just ain’t my scene.’

It’s Beth’s parents coming home from a cruise. Happy faces everywhere. 🙂

Of course, like most things, she was completely right and I was wrong. A few years back she finally got me on a short cruise from San Diego to Ensenada. And I have to say, I really enjoyed the all inclusive aspect of cruising. It’s kind of like a floating Las Vegas casino, except you don’t have to pay for the all-you-can-eat buffet. Besides just being out in the open ocean, my favorite aspect of the cruise was being able to order room service at no extra charge.

Randy, his mom & grandparents on the cruise ship!

Now that Beth and I are traveling full time, we keep telling my mom and stepfather that they need to meet us somewhere during our travels. However, because they only get limited vacation time and aren’t independently wealthy, it has been difficult to figure out how to get the most bang for their buck. But I think I found the perfect solution, a cruise on one of the world’s greatest rivers, like the Yangtze or Rhine. Over the past few months, I have seen Viking River Cruise reviews on other travel blogs, and it sounds like a really good time. Because my mom would only have a couple of weeks, I think taking this style of cruise would allow us to see a lot within a short time period without some of the other stresses–transportation days for example–that go along with international travel.

Randy, his mom & grandmother enjoying vacation together.

If anyone has traveled on an international cruise, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it, especially if you have been on an American cruise line like Carnival. I’m curious to hear how foreign river cruises can compare–food, entertainment–to their American counterparts.

Happy Mother’s Day! Mom, Grandma, Grandma Woods, Mary Salvon and Grandma Gamble

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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Randy Kalp is a semi-intrepid journalist traveling the world and missing his 7-pound hound. He smells of rustic cherries and smiles like a pineapple. He is the all round awesome sauce that keeps the wheels of Beers & Beans 'a spinning. He also loves the Lakers.

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14 comments

  3. My mom and I both shake without eating too, haha. She’s traveling in Mexico right now! Having fun I’m sure.. but not cruising.. I’m not really a fan of cruises either, but I’d certainly go to spend time with her :]

    Great post

    1. @SeattleDredge, I miss Mexico. We use to go to Baja alot when we lived in San Diego. Yeah, going with my mom and grandparents made the cruise that much more special.

    2. @Seattle Dredge, I miss Mexico. We use to go to Baja alot when we lived in San Diego. Yeah, going with my mom and grandparents made the cruise that much more special.

  4. I totally understand why you said you’re parent had limited vacation. Since I still work full-time and Disney vacation policy is 10 days earn as you go (Which sux). My last Job Give us like 20 days.So vacations days to me are so precious now. Anyways I haven’t done any cruise yet, a lot of my friend keep telling me how nice it is just to visit different port and you just sleep and wake up the next day you’re in the port you want to visit. They keep telling me to try it at least once too :). BTW Youparent looks so happy in those pics.

    1. @Sarah Wu, It’s definitely a different way to travel. And I got to say I do like it. Yeah, 10 days is a little rough, but they may actually work well for a cruise.

  5. Ohh! Yes! A Viking River cruise sounds perfect!
    Love you,
    Mom

    1. @Diane, Here’s to wishful thinking. I think it would be a lot of fun too! Happy Mother’s Day

  6. I get shaky when I don’t eat too! Somebody recently told me that wasn’t normal and I have something wrong with me, but I think I just have a fast metabolism and need to eat every few hours. It’s worked for me for this long. 🙂

    I love all the photos in this post! Both of your parents look adorable. I have only been on a Celebrity Cruise (also with my family) so I can’t compare it to anything else. I wouldn’t suggest Celebrity though because my sisters and I were the youngest ones on the boat so there wasn’t much of a nightlife or anybody we really connected with. It may not always be that way on Celebrity, but that was my experience.

    1. @Christy @ Ordinary Traveler, Yeah,

      I agree with you. It’s always worked for me too!

      There were younger people on our cruise, but then again it was more like a weekend party cruise to Ensenada. Next time, I’d like to take a cruise to somewhere where we couldn’t drive to within two hours. Thanks for the heads up about Celebrity.

  7. awww randy! you wrote a mom post too! love it (and i get shaky when i don’t eat too- haha) and we have the single mom thing in common. so wonderful that we got good ones, right? you two DO look alike- such cute pics. you know, i’ve only been on one cruise ship when i was eleven and i barfed my brains out for 6 hours and understandably haven’t been anxious to get back on one since. maybe i should give a short one a test run!

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