To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

Where do I find the cash? When I first went on cruises, I could only afford a windowless inside cabin that probably used to be maid servant quarters (QE2, now that was a proper ship) but it was worth it to get on board. These days my annual cruise is my main luxury. I drive a cheap car. I never traded up on houses. I don't have kids (which drops my carbon footprint a lot). I don't drink. I don't do much socialising, mainly because so much of it revolves around drinking. But once a year I go on a fantabulous cruise. I missed it so much during Covid times. Holidaying in the UK in a nice hotel in an interesting area? Not remotely as good. And seen as so much weirder ashore to be travelling/dining alone. Whereas on board it's seen as perfectly normal. It is something to look forward to the rest of the year. Something I can so happily do alone. Something I have occasionally happily shared with my parents, who also love a nice civilised cruise.

God, I need to book my next one.

@Marinade

They are safe and easy holidays for single mums with young children. And for older folks, who don’t have the physical energy of others but who want to see different places.

God this makes it all sound even less appealing than before!!!!

Also staggered by all these people who have done 20, 25, 30+ cruise holidays - where on earth do you find the cash?!

Staggering.

My favourites are NCL and Cunard

It's totally different.

Every cruise I've been on, we are off the ship straight after an early breakfast, spend the day sightseeing, have lunch out, back on ship for dinner. Nothing like spending the day in your AI hotel.

Which was your favourite @sunnysal?

I've been on maybe 30 cruises and I love them. Every cruise line is different and suited to different experiences. You don't have to do anything you dont want to but there are lots things to do. Some of the speakers I've heard are really good. There are painting classes, gyms , films , choirs,wine, tastings, craft meetings. The food is fabulous and you can dine w8th different people or as a couple. im not very mobile and it's a good holiday for me. I've met some wonderful people, Sally Gunel, Mary Berry's brother! And just generally interesting travellers. They are really conscious of pollution and you can go to really interesting talks about how they deal with rubbish,effluent etc.

And you know that because.... You have been on an AI?

I am not talking about the food particularly - its more the actual concept of a packaged type holiday with the limiting experience that entails, such as eating in the same place every night, not being able to go out of an evening and peruse the lovely local restaurants as you are being hoarded off somewhere else on your floating block - polluting the sea as you go.

Cruise food and the options you have is nothing like AI beige food.

The cruisers who denounce AI hotels and their generic beige food have failed to notice that their floating block is essentially an AI hotel on rudders...

Cognitive bias perhaps?

But Bob & Mary x 2000 x #of cruise ships are driving, shitting, and producing waste will have an impact on the environment.

I’m not trying to argue that these ships don’t have some impact but it’s a bit disingenuous to imply that the impact of them doesn’t have an offset somewhere else.

Was it smooth sailing or was it choppy like the sea? I'd so love to be the kind of person that could do a big glamorous cruise but I get seasick and I'm sort of terrified of the ocean. I've thought about a river cruise but I wonder if Fjords are a good compromise.

A 7 day cruise from Southampton to the Fjords is an Ideal first cruise.

Definitely get a balcony as you spend time cruising in the Fjords with spectacular views.

Think about the time of year as the sunrise and sunset times vary enormously. In May June you get really long days and the waterfalls tend to be fuller due to the meltwater.

Breakfast in the main dining room is much better than the buffet.

If you can, get a cruise that stops at Flaam and do the return train journey - sit on the RHS to go up as the views are better.

Take layers including waterproofs as well as sun cream!

Bleurgh nah - too many people, brash, loud, pit-stops at lovely places that would be better explored at a slow pace. If norovirus hits, you’re all getting it. Pools are tiny. Not for me, but others rave about them so each to their own

No more baffling than why some people like wearing black clothes.

Or why some people prefer a cat to a dog.

Or why some people prefer a BMW rather than a Nissan Micra.

Or why some people prefer to live in the countryside rather than a city centre.

Not sure why anyone should be "baffled" that other people have different likes/dislikes in any walk of life.

I’d hate it. Travelling is all about exploring and experiencing a new place and culture for me and a cruise is basically just an all inclusive hotel. It’s always baffled me when people go on holiday to stay in the hotel.

And yet people post asking the question again and again.

People know what cruises are like, they know what SC is like, they know what AI resorts are like yet they still post asking why people like these things. They deserve to hear the most obvious answer.

You wonder why some people have different preferences to you? Really ?

I mean that looks like a floating office block too. Just a slightly smaller floating office block

Not all cruise ships look like that. The line I cruise with looks like this. I cannot abide the really huge ones that look like floating office blocks

Have you the statistics for the carbon footprint/pollution of a Med holiday resort to compare?

I.e. the power station providing the power (plus the pilons, substations, etc). The water treatment plants, desalination plants, pumps, etc providing the clean water and removing the dirty water? The pollution from the airport/aircraft, all the taxis and coaches, all the local workers using cars and motorbikes to commute home to work. All the delivery lorries delivering the food, drink, souvenirs, etc. The power used by the hotel for heating, lighting, cooking, waste disposal, swimming pools, etc. The power and utilities for building the hotels, shops, restaurants, roads, hospital, etc?

You really can't just pick seemingly "big" figures from a cruise ship without comparing them against ALL the carbon footprint and pollution of alternatives!

I've only ever seen cruise ships from the land and am just appalled at how big and intrusive they are. One came into Venice when I was there once and it ws like a 30 storey, modern shopping centre had been dropped into the city. Also, the ones on the German rivers are like a block of flats on their sides.

@ZoeyBartlett thanks, never heard of that one, I'll research it

That's ok then? This is from a Friends of the Earth article in 2022.

https://foe.org/blog/can-cruise-ships-dump-garbage-in-the-ocean/#:~:text=U.S.%20law%20requires%20cruise%20ships,every%20year%20by%20cruise%20lines.

It’s quite legal to dump sewage and food waste into the sea. U.S. law requires cruise ships to treat waste within about 3.5 miles of shore—but beyond that, there are no restrictions on dumping polluted sewage and graywater. Researchers have estimated that over a billion gallons of sludge made from excrement and food scraps are released into the ocean every year by cruise lines.

I find the ships with the pointiest noses the most beautiful. Some bows are too short and stubby!