Santa Clarita, California - Princess Cruises recently released results from its fourth annual Relaxation Report, conducted in celebration of National Relaxation Day on August 15th. The national survey revealed that men and women have different notions of what makes a vacation truly relaxing. In fact, maybe there is validity to the idea that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, because almost one in four women would rather read more, whereas 34 percent of men would rather have more sex on vacation than at home.

The survey also revealed that men might know how to better relax than women. In fact, 45 percent of men feel relaxed when they return home from vacation as opposed to 43 percent of women who feel tired and need a vacation from their vacation.

"It’s definitely interesting, although not all too surprising, to see a distinction between how men and women like to relax while on vacation," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. "The good news is, male or female, whatever the preferred method of relaxation, Princess Cruises offers a wide variety of restful and relaxing options for any traveler looking to unplug and escape."

Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises, which annually helps more than 1.7 million passengers "escape completely" aboard its worldwide fleet of ships and exotic destinations, commissioned the annual report in an effort to uncover consumer attitudes towards vacation and relaxation habits and behaviors to better ensure their customers have a fully relaxing trip.

Go Big or Go Home!

The majority of Americans aged 35 and older report that it typically takes them two or more days to settle into their vacation, perhaps needing extra time to unplug from the office. In fact, nearly 2 out of 3 Americans surveyed prefer at least a full week away on vacation, as opposed to a day off here and there, to completely check out and feel relaxed.

Celebrity Vacation Date

Men and women also seem to be at odds when asked which female celebrity they’d like to relax with – 40 percent of women would rather laugh with comedian Ellen DeGeneres, whereas 42 percent of men lean toward girl-next-door Taylor Swift and on-screen siren Scarlett Johansson. When asked which male celebrity Americans would want to vacation alongside, men and women came together and agreed collectively (22 percent) that leading hunk Hugh Jackman is their man of choice.

When it comes to a musical companion, Justin Timberlake wins hands down in a showdown with Rihanna, with 18 percent of men and women preferring to get their sexy back versus 13 percent who would rather shine bright like a diamond.

In analyzing generational preferences, Millenials (approximately 18-31 years of age) tend to prefer younger celebrity companions with almost one quarter choosing Scarlett Johansson (22 percent) and nearly one third choosing Ashton Kutcher (31 percent), while Boomers would rather spend a vacation relaxing with folks closer to their own age, Ellen DeGeneres (25 percent) and Anderson Cooper (22 percent).

No Wake Up Calls, Please!

Nothing says relaxation like burying yourself in white, crisp clean sheets with no alarm clock set. Millennials agree, with one in four choosing sleep as the activity they most enjoy doing more of on a relaxing vacation than when they are at home. On the other hand, only 14 percent of Americans 65 and older are eager to sleep on vacation.

Not surprising, while it may be challenging to achieve with children along for the ride, nearly 1 in 4 parents prefer sleeping more on vacation than non-parents. In fact, for parents, getting more sleep on vacation is more of a priority than having sex (23% and 20% respectively).