Are You Ready to be a Cruiser?

"You only get so many spins around the sun – what will you do with yours?"

If you’ve been thinking about cruising and you’ve read every book you can get your hands on…even looked at boats or maybe even own a boat, maybe you should take a break from all that and first ask yourself a few questions to see if the cruising lifestyle is really for you. Cruising on your own boat isn’t like taking a Caribbean cruise on Carnival Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean. If you think it is....you may not be as ready to cruise as you think.

1. If the first thing that comes to mind when you think of cruising, is someone greeting you onboard with a tray of cold drinks...that's not the type of cruising I'm referring to.  The cruising I’m speaking about is when you captain our own boat and make our own drinks.

2. If the thought of making meals while swaying from side to side, while trying not to get burned makes you queasy...cruising may not be for you.  

 

3. If the term "clean clothes" doesn't have a large variance in definition...cruising may not be for you.  

 

4. Would wearing the same clothes day after day bother you? Would owning only a few pairs of shoes drive you crazy? If so, cruising may not be for you.

5. If you're not willing to give up your spa pedicures, manicures, gym memberships, waxing or haircuts and color...cruising may not be for you. 

  

6. If you're not willing to attend dinner with friends while smelling like diesel...cruising may not be for you.

7. If you hate the sun, wind and salt air...cruising may not be for you. 

8. If the thought of waking up at 2 AM with an anchor alarm going off, then moving the boat and re-anchoring seem too invasive to your sleep...cruising may not be for you.   

9. If the thought of tracking down the source of endless leaks in your house every time it rains sounds crazy to you...cruising may not be for you.

10. If the idea of drinking a tall glass of water that was seawater only 5 minutes earlier makes you feel sick...cruising may not be for you.   

11. If you don’t like the idea of spending 2 or 3 hours going to the grocery store or hauling your laundry for miles to a laundromat...cruising may not be for you.

12. If your idea of a hot shower involves more than a few moments standing in a small trickle of water...cruising may not be for you.   

13. If the idea of your entire life revolving around the weather makes you roll your eyes...cruising is definitely not for you.

   

14. If the thought of traveling at a snail's pace from one beautiful port to another…is too slow for you, cruising on a trawler may not be for you. If you like speed, keep your credit card handy, because traveling on a fast boat will cost you a fortune.

15. If waking up everyday to a new "to-do" list has no room in your life...don't even consider being a cruiser.

The comforts you enjoy while cruising have a lot to do with the boat your budget can afford. The nicer the boat...the more creature comforts you'll enjoy! Hopefully your cruising budget can afford something better than this...

And if a yacht like this is in your budget...just ignore the above info completely and start your wonderful life on the water. No matter what boat you choose if the answer to the question above is cruising...live your dream and do all you can to achieve it

Here's an article from another blogger about the 5 things you learn about yourself when living on a boat. Pretty interesting, but again the truth and experiences of living on a boat have a lot to do with the size and type of boat your budget can afford.