I've taken 14 cruises. And if you ask me which ones truly changed me, I don't have to think long. There are three.

The first, in September 2021, because it wiped out a prejudice in one go. The second, in August 2023, because it showed me three cultures could fit into a single trip. And the third, just a few weeks ago, because it reminded me that even after many cruises, there's still so much left to discover.

In this post I'll tell you about all three: what I thought before, what happened on each one and what I learned. And above all, what they can teach you if you've taken one or two cruises and are starting to feel they're all the same.

Yes. Not because the ship is special, but because sometimes a trip forces you to see things differently.

It happened to me three times, each in a different way. The first changed my idea of what a cruise was. The second, my idea of how much you could see on one. And the third, my idea of why I travel.

For me: that I was wrong.

Before my first cruise, I thought cruises were for retirees. Boring. Everything scheduled. A place to eat, drink and lie in the sun. Basically, a crowded beach resort that floats.

In September 2021, I boarded the MSC Grandiosa. And that first trip was, quite literally, a wake-up call.

On day one, I explored the entire ship like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. I read the brochure, studied the deck plan and by the end of the day knew where everything was. Everything amazed me: the central promenade with its giant LED ceiling, the Irish pub, the gym full of light…

On day two, sailing out of Barcelona at sunset with a DJ party on deck, I ended up talking with an Italian couple. About life, cruising, personal growth. And right then I thought: "This is for me."

But something else changed how I saw it. I've worked at theme parks. I love them. And as I explored the ship, I realized something: a cruise isn't like a party beach town at all. It's much more like a theme park. In its logistics, in everything that goes into it, in how every detail is designed so thousands of people can have an experience.

That was the first lesson: cruises aren't what I thought. They're much more.

I found that out two years later, in August 2023.

I took a ten-day, nine-night cruise in the eastern Mediterranean. If memory serves, on the MSC Splendida. We sailed from Istanbul, and since it was the city we most wanted to see, we arrived early and spent four or five days there.

Istanbul blew me away. We saw everything. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, Galata Tower, the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace with the sultan's private quarters… We cruised the Bosphorus, crossed to the Asian side to explore and watch the sunset from there, and saw the Maiden's Tower from shore. We even had dinner at Salt Bae's famous restaurant.

What impressed me most was the light. The light on the buildings, the architecture, the history around every corner. It's a culture shock, even though it's the most Westernized part of that world. A truly beautiful city.

Then the cruise began. Kusadasi, Athens, Katakolon, Corfu, Bari, Trieste… and I think I'm forgetting a stop.

Ephesus, the city I'd never heard of. From Kusadasi we went to ancient Ephesus. I'll admit it wasn't on my radar. I'd probably heard of it, but only in passing. And suddenly I was in one of the great cities of the Roman world, standing in front of a huge theater that held around 25,000 people. As someone who loves Roman history, I was speechless. It was a "wow, how did I not know about this?"

Olympia, where I didn't expect to be moved. From Katakolon we went to ancient Olympia. It was one of those places you don't expect to impress you, and it does. Standing in the stadium where the Olympic Games were born. Understanding the idea behind them. Standing where the flame is lit before every Olympics. Almost everything is ruins, but it was very well presented, with 3D reconstructions, and I walked through it in awe.

And in Athens, in a single day, we saw nearly all the highlights. I'd been before and saw almost the same things. Just as incredible.

The click. It came around the third or fourth city. I stopped to think about everything we'd seen and thought: "Wait, how much have we seen already?"

Here's a little secret. Before and during trips, I watch history videos about the places I'm going to visit. Even with a guide, I like arriving knowing a bit more, because I always find facts I love.

On that trip, I learned one that blew my mind. The famous golden horses of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice were taken by the Venetians from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, today's Istanbul, during a crusade. And there I was, starting the trip in Istanbul and ending it in Trieste, a stone's throw from Venice, where I'd been before. It tied everything together. Three cultures: Greek, Roman and Ottoman. In ten days.

That was the second lesson. To see everything I saw on that cruise, I'd have needed at least six or seven separate trips to completely different regions, spending a lot more money. Yes, in some places I'd have seen more. Some I want to explore properly on land, and a few I've already gone back to. But for others, what I saw was enough.

A cruise isn't just a ship. It can be the most efficient way to discover the world.

I learned this in October, on the Costa Favolosa, my 14th cruise.

I've told you about it in other posts. I went to Norway to fulfill a childhood dream: seeing the northern lights. And I saw them five nights in a row. I went solo. I treated the trip as time for myself.

But what changed me most wasn't just the northern lights.

It was exploring cities on my own, at my own pace, something I hadn't done in a while. And at the same time, visiting other places with people I hadn't known two weeks earlier. Complete strangers who ended up as friends, or at least great travel companions.

It was seeing landscapes unlike anything I'd seen before. And realizing that after 14 cruises, I still had so much left to discover.

That was the third lesson. No matter how many cruises you've taken, every trip teaches you something new. And it almost always has to do with people. Every cruise I've taken has confirmed it: a ship is a wonderful place to meet people from all over the world who, like you, are travelers.

From these three trips, I take one practical tip I always follow: arrive knowing something.

Before each stop, watch a history video or read a bit about the place. You don't need to be an expert. But when you arrive at Ephesus knowing what it was, or at Olympia knowing what it means, you don't see stones. You see a story.

And choose carefully which city deserves more time. On the Istanbul cruise, that's what we did: since it was what interested us most, we arrived days early. The other stops, in a single day each, let us see the highlights.

Because at first you focus on the ship. And ships are more or less alike.

My first cruise changed my idea of the ship. The second, my idea of what lies beyond it. And the third, my idea of what happens inside you when you travel.

If you've taken one or two cruises and feel the next one will be the same, my advice is to change the question. Don't ask which ship you'll take. Ask what you want to experience. A route full of history. A natural phenomenon. A solo trip. A place that's not on your radar.

What changes how you travel isn't the ship. It's what you choose to experience with it.

In September 2021, I boarded a ship convinced I'd be bored. Two years later, I crossed three cultures in ten days. And this October, I got emotional looking at the sky in the middle of the Norwegian Sea. If the guy who thought cruises were for retirees had known all this, he'd have boarded much sooner.

What trip changed the way you travel?

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