Why I’ll Never Go on a Sober Cruise
I know some people swear by sober cruises. They say it helps them stay accountable. Keeps them away from temptation. Offers connection through AA meetings and community dinners on deck. If that works for you, no shade. But if you’re expecting me to get excited about seven days on a boat full of strangers and buffet lines, it’s not happening.
I built Capsule Adventures to give people a real alternative. I’m not here to knock anyone’s version of recovery, but let’s call things what they are. Most sober cruises aren’t really sober. And the ones that are can feel like a floating support group that you can’t leave.
I didn’t get sober to be constantly reminded of the worst parts of my life. I got sober so I could actually enjoy it. Find the highs that don’t come with a hangover. That’s not what you get on a cruise ship with a communal gym and a poolside bar.
If I’m taking time off, I want to feel something. I want a sunrise hike that kicks my ass. I want space. I want silence when I need it, and conversations that matter when I don’t. And to the best of my knowledge, most cruises can’t give you that.
Most sober cruises still serve booze
Let’s start with the obvious: most “sober” cruises still serve alcohol. You might be part of a sober group, but you’re still surrounded by 2,000 people drinking on every deck. If you’re in early recovery, that’s not a neutral environment.
They’ll sell it as a safe space, but what they’re really offering is a small patch of dry land in the middle of an ocean full of temptation. Even the ones that truly try to stay dry have to work around the business of cruising because the money’s in the drinks. Cruise lines aren’t building these experiences around sober people; they’re squeezing us into an existing model that is for us.
Vacation is your time. It’s sacred. It shouldn’t be something you have to brace yourself for. It should be built for you from the ground up. Optimized for your life. If you are going to shell out thousands for a holiday you best make it one where it feels like it was designed with you in mind.
Boredom isn’t a sober vacation idea
What’s the replacement for alcohol on a cruise? A deck chair? A communal gym playing top 40 on repeat? That’s not enough. Sobriety shouldn’t feel like punishment. It should feel like a reward. I don’t want to sit through the same dinner every night while trying to avoid some guy slurring through stories about last night’s drinking session. I want something that wakes me up, not something that numbs me from feeling anything.
Cruises are about passive entertainment. But sober vacation ideas should be about engagement to yourself, and others who share your values.
I didn’t come this far to sit still. I got sober so I could do more, not less. I want to feel sore from a hike, not from pacing up and down the same hallway. I want food that nourishes me, not a buffet that leaves me hollow. When I build trips, I think about how you feel when you come home. Are you proud of what you did? Did you sleep well? Did you laugh? Did you push yourself? Or did you just make it through?
You don’t need a therapist to tell you which one will feed your spirit.
Sober travel shouldn’t be a week long AA meeting
Some cruises lean into the recovery angle so hard that the whole trip feels like one long share circle. That works for people who are in that phase of their journey. I respect it. But it’s not what I’m looking for.
The sober travel I’m interested in isn’t just about staying sober. It should be about building a better life. New stories. New challenges. Not sitting around swapping war stories from the worst year(s) of your life.
I’ve been to recovery and it helped me more than I could’ve ever hoped for. But that was the basement phase of my life. I’m not living in the basement anymore. I don’t want to sit in a makeshift meeting room – I want to get out there and live.
A sober trip should be full of moments that affirm your growth, not test your patience. You should come back feeling expanded, not drained. That doesn’t happen when the whole trip is built around managing what could go wrong if you take a sip.
Traveling sober isn’t a test of wills
Being around alcohol 24/7 and calling it a vacation isn’t smart. It’s stressful. Even if you’re solid in your sobriety, do you really want to spend a week managing your surroundings that hard? Traveling sober should give you breathing room, not test your endurance.
You need a space where the baseline is intention. Where you’re not reminded of the thing you left behind every hour. Where you get to forget that alcohol even exists, because no one’s pushing it at you, and no one around you is falling apart because of it.
Sober adventure travel should challenge you
There’s this idea that vacations should ‘test’ your commitment to sobriety. I don’t buy it. I’m not here to pass some purity test. I’m here to live a life that doesn’t require those tests in the first place.
There’s a real difference between surviving your sobriety and living it. I’m not in maintenance mode. I’m in build mode. I want to stack good memories. Earn my sleep. Say yes to things that scare me in the best way. That’s the bar.
So no, I’m not going on a sober cruise. Not because I think I’m better than it. But because I’ve worked too hard to feel like a tourist in my own lifestyle. I want space, connection, and life in 4K. I don’t want a week of dodging distractions.
If you’re looking for sober trips, sober vacation ideas, or sober travel groups that actually put you at the center of the experience, then you should try out Capsule Adventures.
