I Went on a Ten Day Cruise and Never Socialized with Anyone

Is that something I might regret?

It’s not like we never talked to anyone. My husband and I chatted with other passengers in line for excursions and on the tender boat en route to Princess Cays.

But I noticed other couples making plans for dinner with people they met on board. Is that something we missed out on by not getting to know everyone on the ship?

I remember when my in-laws were around our age, they took luxury bus tours all over the place. And it seemed that after every trip, my mother-in-law came home with a list of people she got to know and was keeping in touch with.

I never asked whether those vacation-long-distance friendships lasted, or if the names simply became part of her Christmas card list.

My hair stylist who just wrapped a Carnival cruise says she met some interesting people and is keeping in touch through social media, but nothing more. She is in her early 20’s, so I think giving someone her phone number would be too much of a commitment.

I remember in the 90’s when cruising was all about eating dinner at a set time with other people. We hated that. We took one Disney cruise when our son was about five or six, and swore we would never do it again. It’s not that our dinner companions weren’t nice…They were. It’s just that we had nothing in common, and neither did our kids.

So we didn’t start cruising again until a few years ago when “anytime dining” became common. It’s a good thing my husband and I both don’t like to sit for very long. Extensive five course meals are not anything we would look forward to.

Thank goodness for counter service! Those grab-and-go places all over the ship are not very conducive to socializing.

I did however introduce two couples who we met during an excursion in the Dominican Republic. One couple who I encountered in line, said they were from Huntsville, Alabama. And then later on the beach while I was waiting for a snack, we met someone else, also from Huntsville. What are the chances of that?

Apparently, pretty good. I didn’t realize that Huntsville has grown into a very large city. Anyway, I introduced the couples on the beach, and they seemed to hit it off.

Don’t know if they kept in touch after the cruise. So I am good at matching people up, just not at establishing friendships, or even carrying on conversations longer than 20 minutes with anyone.

I did read in a Reddit cruise forum that a lot of those friendships don’t last past disembarkation. Life gets in the way.

Still, I would have enjoyed speaking longer to the Brits we met on the tender boat, or to the couple we met in an excursion line who were from our home town. I’m still a little reluctant to engage in long conversations because if they ask us to meet for dinner, I will be forced to politely decline.

My husband and I would rather spend our time on board, counting steps on the walking track or watching the sunset from our balcony.

Maybe next time, we will try to engage a little more. (My husband is actually more social than me.) I did enjoy interacting with crew members, especially a young hair stylist from the Philippines. He told me what it was like to live on a ship nine months out of the year.

We also discussed his favorite ports and which ones to skip. I’m sure he gets asked those questions all day long, but I found it fascinating.