Reflections of a Kenyan travel blogger’s first time on a cruise ship sailing the stunning Mediterranean waters from Spain, through Malta and Greece with hundreds of digital nomads from 200+ countries.

From the moment I stepped onto the ship, I knew this was going to be a great vacation at sea.

At the peak of spring, the temperatures were mild outside, the air somewhat humid.

Going on a cruise had never been anywhere on my bucket list.

In fact, I’d never been on a cruise before and this was going to be my first experience on one.

The idea of being confined on a ship with a bunch of  “newly weds” and  “nearly deads”  on a trip that is all planned out for me is certainly not my idea of adventure.

Besides, I couldn’t fathom how I’d deal with boredom and claustrophobia all at the same time.

And let’s face it, mainstream media doesn’t help much to clear all this misinformation, giving the entire cruise experience a bad vibe.

First impressions?

The Good: a surprisingly relaxing 10 days full of fun and eye-opening workshop sessions.

The Bad, and the Ugly?

Read on!

Happy is the man, I thought, who before dying, has the good fortune, to sail the Aegean sea –  Nikos Kazantzakis.

My First Time on a Cruise Ship

I’d just flown into Málaga from Barcelona three days earlier.

An awesome solo female holiday destination in itself.

I spent 3 memorable days in the city.

Though this marked the beginning of a quintessential, easy kind of adventure, I was still sad to leave.

My departure port was Malaga , an easy 30 minute walk from my Hostel to Puerto de Málaga, rolling my tiny suitcase.

Up until this point, I still hadn’t fully grasped what my experience on an all-inclusive cruise was really going to be like.

In my little mind I still harbored images of watered-down cocktails, flat sodas, recycled buffet meals, sea sickness, and maybe norovirus if we’re too unlucky.

But as I soon found out, the Asian Proverb — ‘Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times‘ – was about to become my portion.

The thought of  waking up in a new city every day without having to move luggage; and  watching sunrises and sunsets by the sea for 10 days straight quietened my doubts.

A man confirmed my identity, and helped with my suitcase, before ushering me up the escalators and through a check-in area that oozed of luxury.

As if to give a preamble of what lied ahead.

I went through the usual cruise boarding procedures i.e. got my picture taken, got my cabin access card, etc.

Once I was checked in, I passed by the ship’s reception then went on to locate my cabin.

Number 578.

I found my suitcase by the door of my cabin, calmly waiting for me.

An exterior room with a window which made up for some great views (It’s better in person. I took this picture with my cheap camera phone).

I found white fluffy towels, a bar of soap, and a tube of shampoo in the bathroom; and quickly jumped in for a shower.

Discovering what secrets lay inside this gigantic vessel that I would soon be calling home for the next 10 days became an adventure by itself.

The Good

Being the optimist that I am, I beg to start with the highlights of my adventure, and then handle the less pleasant moments thereafter.

Gorgeous interiors

I was pleasantly surprised to see how a ship looks like from the inside.

As soon as I stepped inside, the only reminder that I was on water was when I looked out through the window or was on the decks.

It felt like being in a luxurious 5 star hotel (not exactly but you catch the drift).

The gorgeous lighting, multiple elevators, carpeted floors, the staircases, etc.

Beautiful views from my Cabin 

I particularly loved my exterior cabin – complete with air conditioning, a safe box, and a TV.

Outfitted with 2 comfortable single beds (even though I had paid for a single supplement), fluffy pillows,  and large wardrobes, the room was more than enough for me and my baggage.

The en suite bathroom was also spacious enough and well stocked with white towels, shampoo, bathing soap, and a hair dryer. The shower was hot and had great water pressure!

But the highlight was the beautiful views that the room provided. It didn’t disappoint. Each morning as I religiously woke up to catch the sunrise, the universe returned the favor with the most glorious of views.

As the days progressed, I discovered more and more things on board — such as 24-hour room service, a Jacuzzi, a sauna, a personal cabin attendant (oh yeah) who kept my room spotless 50 times a day – God bless your soul mate!

Several dining options on board

The dining options didn’t disappoint either. With the entire 7th floor and a good portion of the 11th floor dedicated to dining, I was never short of options.

There were three main options:

1. The main Atlantico restaurant on the 7th floor which offered splendid a la carte dining options where tables are laid out with sparkling glassware and linens. At check in, we were assigned an early or late set seating time for dinner, which we had to stick to for the entirety of the cruise for every time you chose to dine here. We were also assigned a table and table mates and had the same waiters every evening.
2. The buffet restaurant on the 11th floor that offered dining options in a more relaxed atmosphere with flexible dining. Anyone could show up any time during the buffet times, serve to their fill, and sit wherever.
3. Located close to the pool area, the outdoor terrace and grill was my favorite dining spot. It had a casual vibe and I could enjoy my bites without having to go inside out of the sun.  I religiously visited this restaurant for my in-between meals.

Booze-free drink options

The virgin mojito and Piña colada very quickly became my go-to ‘specialty’ drinks of choice.

As someone who doesn’t do alcohol as a matter of principle and for health reasons, it was a welcome gesture to find alcohol-free options amidst the double-fists of cocktails and buckets of beer and wine.

That the alcohol-free options (at least the ones I sampled) didn’t go beyond “virgin” cocktails (read club soda and syrup) is a story for another day.

Complimentary non-alcoholic drinks such as soda, milk, water (cold and hot), basic coffee, and tea from drink-dispensing machines; hot chocolate and juices from a packet; etc. were available at the buffets.

Premium non-alcohol drinks such as sparkling and all bottled water, freshly squeezed fruit juices, smoothies, specialty coffees and teas (such as lattes, espresso, mocha, chai), energy drinks, etc. were also available but for a premium extra fee.

Mocktails on the other hand were available only by order from the different bars.

Less crowded

That our ship was relatively smaller than your average cruise ship meant that we’d have fewer choices onboard in terms of restaurants, activities, and entertainment.

The minimal number of cruisers however made up for these.

I remember us docking at the same port with another larger ship that had a total of 9 swimming pools – Oh Lord! Can you picture that ship full to capacity? No thank you.

Our ship didn’t feel too crowded. Except at the only two hot tubs – thank you Nomad Cruisers!

There was hardly anyone in the pool as we were sailing in Spring it was rather chilly most days.

It was easy finding a quiet spot and the top deck had plenty of chairs all the time.

One afternoon during a photo shoot I had the entire top deck to myself.

No free WiFi onboard

Why lie, I enjoyed the digital detox.

While this was a negative for some, for me it was a blessing in disguise.

I needed it.

Because the ship uses satellite to receive WiFi signals, it was rather expensive and I chose to pass.

So I would wait until the excursion days to catch up on mail and social media gossip.

The bad

Limited entertainment options

For entertainment, the cruise had a night club, a casino, a two-tier grand theater, a piano bar, live performances, a gymn, a pool, 2 hot tubs, a library, a kid’s room, and a few other bars.

After attending Nomad cruise workshops/talks/meet-ups, I would get a bite, and then relax till about 8 pm when I would watch a live performance at the  two-tier grand theater.

Thereafter, I whiled away most of my nights at the disco. Their well-stocked bar provide a steady supply of refreshing drinks.

Dancing the night away was a brilliant opportunity to interact with the non-Nomad cruisers.

Late dining

For some reason, all Nomad Cruisers were scheduled for the late seating on the a la carte restaurant which usually began at 21:45 pm. There’s no way I would starve myself up to such late night hours.

That therefore means that I missed out on fine dining and the opportunity to be served by the ship’s fanatic waiters/waitresses.

Due to the poor timing, I barely ate at the Atlantico Restaurant and instead settled for the flexible sitting/eating buffet restaurant.

Limited time at shore

Although every other day the ship docked and we got chance to get off, we barely had enough time to properly experience a city much more than walk it and indulge in a gelato.

The Ugly

Poor customer service at Malaga port

At this point, it’s worth mentioning that the check-in process at Malaga Port ruined my first impression of the cruise.

The staff could barely communicate in English, leaving me with so many unresolved questions.

For instance, I still lack have no clue why my passport and that of other cruisers from Africa were retained at the check-in desk while other cruisers were allowed to carry their’s on board.

While I get it that Malaga is in Spain, its equally important to note that the cruise is open to non-Spanish speaking people, otherwise put comprehension of Spanish as mandatory requirement for signing up for the cruise.

The disco experience

I love to dance.

It’s not a secret.

Well, I really have too many nice things to say about the music experience.

It all depended on the DJ’s mood on a given night.

Some nights it was great. Other nights it wasn’t.

I also wasn’t impressed that the disco only opened between 11 pm and 2 am.

Seriously!

The Nomad Cruise experience

As much as cruising had never made it anywhere on my bucketlist, I would be lying if I said that I had never had a subtle longing for a cruise experience.

In April, I finally succumbed to my cravings.

But it wasn’t to the standard/regular cruise. WebWorkTravel was hosting the world’s first, but their 6th, networking vacation conference workshop (networkation) at sea –  hello Nomad Cruise.

Picture this: an all inclusive cruise jam-packed with interesting workshops, meetups, and talks; an endless stream of cocktails; sleazy entertainment; buffets; extended periods of networking in hot tubs; fun shore excursions; and hundreds of digital nomads from more than 200 countries.

Yep, I can know where your head’s at now. And you’re right. It was hard to say no.

The idea intrigued me—especially because I would be cruising solo.

Nomad Cruise is the type of  workshop/conference that attracts repeat attendees.

Over the course of the cruise, I’d meet people who had either been to a previous Nomad Cruise, or first timers who swore to their life that this wasn’t their last.

What I loved most about this crowd was the similarities we shared.

For the first time I would say I am on a one year sabbatical and using the time to travel the world; and I wouldn’t be met with blank stares.

It was also a great pleasure being able to put faces to names and websites.

The spirit of the Nomad Cruise event was neat, relaxed, and pretty easy-going.

The talks and meet-ups were very enlightening.

I learned a lot.

Most of us moved around solo or in small groups;  I met some really fun people and it was surprisingly easy to network with fellow nomads.

I remember one time when almost 15 of us half-submerged in the hot tub (one more appropriate for like only 6 people). As we got talking and sharing our various experiences, we suddenly became lazy to get out and re-stock on our drinks. Being the entrepreneurs we were, we came up with the idea of “charging an entrance fee” for any new people who wanted to get into the tub. The fee – you bring drinks for all those in the tub then we let you in.

The cruise staff were extremely helpful and friendly.

I rarely had a dull moment.

One thing though, I still can’t wrap around my head is how differently my experience – especially the days at sea- would have been had I not been here as part of the Nomad Cruise event.

I abhor betting.

Neither is lounging by a pool for hours on end my kinda holiday.

How would I have spent my days?

The Verdict

Although going on a 10 day all-inclusive cruise mostly disconnected from the world wide web (except for the occasional checks when at shore) in a rather casual  atmosphere, is pretty far from how I would ordinarily travel, it was hard to pass up this opportunity.

I certainly wouldn’t want every holiday of mine to be like this, but for sure, once in a life time is ideal.

After so many years always taking care of others, it was a great experience to have everything taken care of for me. From not having to worry about what the next meal would be, and instead just show up for meals; to not have to worry about cleaning dishes, tidying up, dealing with discipline issues, or doing laundry – okay I did some of my laundry, etc; felt like paradise.

I spent most of my days attending talks and meet-ups, lounging, eating, partying, and going on excursions.

How I didn’t put on any extra weight is still a mystery.

As we were on a rather small ship and on a conference, maybe I didn’t get to taste what exactly it means to be on a typical cruise (with 6,000+ plus cruisers and staff on board, and no workshops/talks/meet-ups) and therefore would probably have had a different first time cruise experience.

Something that blew my mind was that a 12 – storey boat could balance on water for 10 days while here in Kenya, construction engineers can barely keep a 2-storey building a float on solid ground.

Don’t even get me started on the buildings that collapse day and night, resulting in loss of lives and valuable property. I digress…

Well, after this cruise experience, I can confidently recommend that if possible, everyone try and go on a cruise at least once in their life time.

Who knows, you may find a way to fully unwind from the cares of the crazy dry land that you presently call home.

Have you been on a cruise before? Do you have questions about going on a cruise? Whichever side of the divide you’re on, lets continue the conversation in the comments below.

For more information about the next Nomad Cruise event, visit their official website here.