By Jason Heinemann for the Orbitz Travel Blog
If the idea of a week-long maritime adventure with several thousand ebullient passengers aboard an activity-filled floating paradise sounds worse to you than a root canal, chances are you've never taken a cruise. Plain and simple, cruise vacations are a nonstop thrill of a lifetime. Yet even those of us who secretly know there's no better way to spend a week than lounging poolside while dashing from one exotic port to the next know the experience is riddled with familiar cliches. Here are 7 signs you just got back from a cruise vacation:
1. Former House Speaker John Boehner looks like he could use a tan.
If there's one thing the cruises deliver in quantities greater than all-you-can-eat shrimp cocktails and giddy good times, it's copious amounts of vitamin D. Sure that may not ring true for all cruises, like a Baltic excursion for example, but chances are if you're from the Midwest or Northeast and boarding a ship bound for Barbados, you'll return home one week later with a healthy bronze glow--or looking redder than a tomato plucked at peak season.
2. You find yourself wandering the ethnic foods section at your grocery store in an attempt to recapture the feeling of experiencing multiple countries at once.
Bargain hunting in Barcelona, meandering around Monaco and scuba diving in Santorini, all in the space of a few days? No wonder people love cruising. How many other vacations zip tourists from one foreign country to another in what feels like a matter of minutes? In the cruise world, it's not uncommon to eat a morning Danish in Denmark and end the day with a nightcap in Norway. It simply doesn't get any more thrilling than that.
4. Even the slightest sign of inclement weather plunges you into deep despair.
Remember when you heard the phrase "snowmaggedon" and immediately tore open a few packs of Swiss Miss and climbed into a pair of Ugg boots or when a rainy day meant rewarding yourself with a House of Cards binge marathon? If waking up to anything less than blue skies and bluer waters send you into a rage, you might be suffering from PCSD (post-cruising stress disorder), for which there is only one cure--booking another cruise, of course.
More from the Orbitz Travel Blog:
Four great regions of Spain: What to see, do and eat in each
23 cruise tips that will change the way you cruise
5 unexpected souvenirs to buy on your next Europe trip