Her Boyfriend Opted Out of Spending Time with Her on a Family Cruise Because it was Their Last Spring Break in College

When it comes to senior year, many, they feel as if it’s the final chapter before starting their “real life,” and they want to squeeze as much out of it as they can. Can you opt to do it alone?

For many people, college tends to be the swan song of their carefree youth. People often look back fondly on their memories of their college years, the friends they made, and the unbothered times they had during their college years.

The Cruise Debacle 

His girlfriend’s family invited the original poster on a 10-day cruise during their upcoming spring break. Both OP and his girlfriend are seniors and will be graduating in May, so this will be their last spring break of college before they start their post-college lives. 

OP’s girlfriend’s family offered to pay for half of his trip, so he would only have to pay between $300-$400, which OP says is very generous of them, but he also says he’s not a “cruise guy.” 

OP’s girlfriend is disappointed and mad at him because her siblings and their significant others are going on the trip, and she’ll be the only one without someone with her. OP says there are several reasons why he doesn’t want to go and that his girlfriend’s family goes on a cruise every year, so he feels like he’ll go next year. 

OP also said that as this is his last spring break in college, he also wanted to see his family for a few days because he feels that his life will be busy once he graduates. He doesn’t know how often he’ll be able to get home to see them, especially his grandparents. He feels like this time is valuable to him. 

The Issue

OP also says he has homework over break that needs to be done, and he plans to visit a friend for a weekend at the beginning of the break. To OP, all of these reasons make sense as to why he can not go on the cruise, and he even sent his girlfriend’s father a text saying how grateful he is for the invite, but due to scheduling conflicts, he cannot go. 

However, he says that his girlfriend is now giving him the cold shoulder, and he feels like it’s unfair because he laid out all of his plans, and aside from the homework piece, which she says he can do on the cruise, he can go visit his family at any time. OP feels that because her family is only 30 minutes from campus and his is 12 hours, she doesn’t fully understand the difference between her being able to see her family and him seeing his family.

Redditors Weigh In

One Redditor said, “NTA. You’ve given very valid reasons not to go.

Your gf being disappointed is normal.  Being angry with your decision is unreasonable.  If she really cares about you, she would totally support your decisions, especially seeing your parents and grandmother. Go on the cruise next year.”

A second Redditor said, “It might turn out that they’re not compatible. If annual cruises with her family (including her partner) are important to her, and he really doesn’t like cruises, doesn’t want to spend money on them, has other priorities—this could eventually end up being a dealbreaker. No one’s necessarily wrong, but part of dating is figuring this stuff out.  (I hate cruises but love long driving vacations. Car trips aren’t for everyone! Fortunately, my spouse is also from a roadtrip family and does not enjoy cruises)” 

A third Redditor put it bluntly and said, “NTA. She wants you there to help entertain her – she’s thinking about herself and not you and your needs. Your reasons not to go make a lot of sense. Frankly, 10 days trapped on a cruise when you had other important people to see and things you need to do sounds awful.”

Another user said, “NTA.  You will have to handle a lifetime of regret if something happens to your family and you choose a cruise over them (spoken from sad experience, and it was only a weekend away).  While I understand her motivation for wanting you with her, she’s being selfish.  If she doesn’t appreciate your need to connect with your family, she shouldn’t be your girlfriend for long because, more than likely this will be an ongoing behavior.  Why not ask her to go with you?  I doubt she will, but at least it will give her a point of reference for how it feels to be asked to miss out on important family time.”

A user was also quick to point out, “NTA, and I really hope you can see that you have absolutely no reason to feel guilty for turning down the invitation.  If your girlfriend or anyone else keeps pushing you on it, explain that you have made plans to spend the break with your family & especially your grandmother.  You are correct that this may be your last chance for awhile to spend time at home with them, especially if you have a job lined up after graduation, and you deserve it.”

Finally, a Redditor added this, “Honestly, I’m with you on the cruise thing – being stuck on a huge, crowded ship with hundreds of strangers is not my idea of fun at all!  And even if you could afford your half of the fare, that doesn’t include the extras & from what I’ve read, those add up really fast.”

Redditors quickly took sides and determined who was right or wrong with this cruise situation. What do you think? Should he go on the cruise?

This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Neon Moon.

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