Act like you are on a Cruise every day!

I recently went on a Disney Cruise with my family for Spring Break which was my first cruise in more than 20 years. It took the relentless urging of my wife not to mention a few glasses of wine for me to finally commit to the trip. I know that some people hate Cruises while others would consider themselves “Cruisers”. Although I don’t believe that I fit into either category, I quickly recalled what I loved about them within the first few hours of being back on board a cruise ship.

Sure, being out in the middle of the ocean gave me an immediate sense of relaxation not to mention the freedom from the endless emails that I typically receive on a daily basis. Then there is the continuous supply of food and drink; you find yourself eating and drinking things that you never would at home but you are on a cruise for goodness sakes…live it up!

All of the things that I just mentioned are probably why people love going on cruises so much but for me, what I really love and appreciate, are the people; both passengers and the staff! First of all, I talked to more strangers in a span of 3 ½ days than I probably do in a month and I am in sales! I found myself talking to people in elevators, at the bar, sitting next to me at a restaurant or in the pool. It is amazing how nice and friendly just about everyone is. I can actually be quite shy in social settings and I found myself telling pirate jokes to kids in the elevator (What is a pirate’s favorite color? rrrrange!).

The Disney Cruise line should write a book on hiring people because their staff was incredible (just about everyone knows how obsessed I am with hiring the right people). And when I say their staff, I mean every single person that I interacted with was amazing. How many times do you go out to dinner and actually call your server by their name? Get to know them? Our servers were amazing guys and they made our children feel special during each and every meal. They would serve my daughter's apple juice in a coffee cup every morning and were ready to impress my son with magic tricks every night. In return, I went out of my way to make sure they knew how much I appreciated them because I wanted to make them feel special. We eat out quite a bit and this never happens anywhere else!

Why does it take being on a Cruise for these behaviors to come out? And more importantly, can some of this rub off on us once we get our land legs back? I know it is going to be a challenge but here are some of the things that I am going to intentionally work on to help keep me in a Cruise State of Mind:

Treat every meal with your family as a celebration; don’t just go through the motions!

Be Present and Disconnect; go plug your phone into the charger and leave it in your bedroom for a few hours. It is liberating!

Take your blinders off and make people around you feel special without expecting anything in return; it doesn’t matter if it is a server at lunch, the lady at the dry cleaners, or the guys who cut your grass.

Talk to strangers; the couple from New Jersey can have a story that is just as interesting as the server from Croatia.

Have some fun rum island drinks every once in a while and an impromptu ice cream cone with the kids!