To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

My parents have been ruining other people's cruise holidays for 25 years now.
My mum will talk at you and any sign of life will be reported back as 'he really took a shine to me'
You will get Christmas cards and out of date, slightly racist Facebook forwards every after.
We absolutely remember the aftermath of the £50,000 round the world trip - multiple d&v, complaints about the Australians not dressing for dinner, a sense of ownership about how the boat would manage without them as the life & soul of the party, boredom of being ushered and pacified, 24 hours, 7 days a week.
A woman at their table died and was in the ships morgue but they didn't miss her because she wasn't one for conversation.
They had multiple norovirus outbreaks and people were confined to cabins. The parents were arguing over who's turn it was to leave the cabin to have the shits in a public bathroom and how not to get discovered.
I asked about the norovirus recently, all memory has been wiped. Only 'your father sometimes has a dicky tummy but that could happen anywhere', and then they book another one.

It's rather put me off

Not really. It's pretty obvious. They aren't going to fork out money and use up holiday time to do something they won't enjoy.

Not sure what you’ve seen but this is not my experience at all of the cruises I’ve been on.

Ugh no.
Noisy, brash and full of people. Shopping malls. Sports bars. Casinos. Hundreds of people on sun loungers round a pool. Bloody water slides with people screaming continuously. Restaurants that look like the food court in a shopping centre. Indoor seating areas with massive screens everywhere. There always seems like there's massive screens everywhere, inside and out and constant noise including 'entertainment' bellowing down microphones into pool areas and loud music.
I don't enjoy any of those things on dry land so there's no reason why I'd like them any more trapped in a limited space at sea.
I know there's people that like that stuff. I really really don't. It's all down to what you enjoy I suppose.
I used to live in a flat that overlooked a cruise port. The noise is incredible and the crowds are ridiculous.
Just watch a walkthrough of eg a Carnival Cruise on You tube (when people are actually on board not an empty ship walkthrough) and it honestly makes me shudder as the place looks like hell on earth.
I'm sure river/fjord cruises are different.

My favourite sail ins
are

kotor
venice
Valetta
Istanbul

and the fjords are completely and absolutely stunning

I wouldn't say the cabin was "gorgeous", just pretty ordinary.

We went on our first earlier this year. Two weeks around the med, with p&o on their new arvia ship, convinced by my mum and husband who rave about them. (Both very young at heart and both under 60).

Me and my DH hated it !!
You are stuck to a itinerary, the days you get at a port are very restrictive, usually having to book a excursion to ensure you arrive back on time (or get left behind), most places we had at most 5 hours to explore, sometimes we were spending the same amount of time travelling to and from places of interest as we got there to explore.
Many ports were disappointing with not a lot to offer.
Entertainment was dismal.
Many evening entertainment shows you had to book onto in advance and were very often full.
Food sub par unless in paid for restaurants and even then it was just ok. (Bar one steakhouse which was incrediable, the highlight of the trip)
Staff seemed miserable.
Everything is an additional cost. Activities onboard, drinks (unless you pay for a drinks package), internet, shuttle buses, even bingo - we paid £30 for bingo!
You had to be up at the crack of dawn on sea days to get a sun lounger. Despite them saying you couldn't save beds, everyone did!
Pools are tiny and kids constantly in them; I got hit in the face twice by kids jumping into the pool.

For me, a two week all inclusive somewhere where you time is your own, you free to explore as your own will and or relax, your food and drink is included and you can book excursions if you choose usually as much better value; the ones we booked was literally for a coach journey there and back and we were paying minimum £70 each time.

Also, I got horrendous sea sickness the first 3 days, it was awful. The only way I didn't throw up was if I was lying flat on the bed, and didn't move. That was with taking sea sickness tablets before we even departed and everyday too. It did subside, but I spent the whole time at sea feeling queasy.

I couldn't wait off and vowed to never do another one again.
If you're tempted; I'd advised doing a smaller one first - maybe a long weekend or week at most..

In saying this, me and my partner love to go somewhere and explore, we spend very little time milling around the pool or beach, we get up usually around 8.30, out for breakfast at 10, and then spend the day just going with the flow and won't return until 8-9pm after having lunch and dinner. It just really wasn't our idea of a holiday.

Tried my first cruise this year and I can safely say I'll never do another one. I've tried all different kinds of holiday over the years and the cruise is the only one I categorically hated. We've heard so many people rave about them so we were really hopeful but hey ho... I guess it's a marmite thing - you either love it or hate it.
In answer to one of OPs questions - "Apparently you don't get sea sick...is this true?". I've been on many different boats and never been seasick until I went on this cruise so sadly it is not true. Medication did help however.

And on the other hand they can be right in the harbour. Sailing out of Kotor or Trieste at night time is unforgettable. Sailing into the Venetian lagoon or watching the sunrise over Santorini - likewise. We all love it - my sons hit the gym on sailing days and I go to the talks. Swimming in the afternoon. We’ve done wonderful trips - cray fishing in Norway etc

We’ve never shared a table with others - although my DF and DSM cruise a lot and have made some great friends this way.

Being out at sea reduces hayfever and avoids the very high temperatures of the Med.

Basically we love them- just as we love driving holidays. Our idea of hell is a fortnight in an all inclusive resort.

I did that last year. Nothing to compare to as I did it as a trial (doing a Canaries one later this year with DP).

I loved it. Sleeps 500, had about 130 on it, so very quiet. There were day guests but that was no issue. And yes, there is goods being loaded and unloaded at port but that has no impact on you at all.

Re sea sickness. I get very seasick so was worried. But I took (non drowsy) tablets and actually by the third day I didn't need them. I took sleeping tablets at night (which was when the ship went out to sea) just in case. But I was fine.

The fjords are amazing.

Looking forward to the one later this year. We only did it because DP's daughter works for the cruise line so we get a significant discount. She's showing us around the Queen Mary this weekend which I'm also looking forward to!

With the Canaries, I've already been to most of the stops, so for me it's just a floating hotel with a local lunch at each stop. And I don't have to buy food or cook!

Well, we love them and have been on several. We chose port intensive cruises and do our own thing when off the ship. On board you can do as much or as little as you like. You can eat in anything from a coffee shop to the buffet to celebrity chef restaurants and then dessert restaurants, cheese and wine bars etc. I could go on. Not once have we suffered food poisoning or noro. We’ve met lovely people, kids are well taken care of and the entertainment has been brilliant ranging from cirque du soleil to full on concerts.

As someone above said, the idea of camping or a week in Cornwall or self catering or AI at a Turkish resort is not for me at all. Just as well we are all different.

It's interesting that a lot of people who detest cruises have never been on one

Hurtigruten is very sustainable as it serves the coastal communities but the ships are lovely - small numbers of passengers compared with conventional cruises but amazing food (all local), numerous places to see along the route (including the northern lights) and gorgeous cabins.

Ignorance?

I use Bolsover they are excellent.

Edit we sail with celebrity but have our first Regent one booked. They can be as relaxing or as busy as you like.

I like the lectures, dh the casino. We research our own trips and tend not to do cruise ship tours as they can be expensive.

We usually cruise once every few years and then land holidays as I don’t like flip and flop holidays.

People like them for different reasons, I like them because it's a road trip that someone else does the driving, it moves when you are asleep. The food varies a bit but is generally good, some are ai, others aren't

You don't need anyone to go with. I've done the vast majority of my cruises solo. It's such an easy safe way to holiday as a lone woman.

I went on a celebrity one years ago and it was heaven

That is dreadful. I knew they were damaging but that's almost unbelievably terrible.

They’re not for everyone but we went in one last year, Cunard, from Southampton and around the western Med. first 2 days were hard work, trying to work out what to do and when. Once you start stopping at ports, it’s really nice and easy.
chill and let everyone do everything for you.

Definitely recommend Cunard, very few kids so this helps!

Would love to cruise but no one to go with, also somewhat concerned about the environmental impact. I know they are trying to make these ships cleaner.

I went on a Caribbean cruise with a younger(17/18), wild friend and her family when I was (almost) 21, as a last minute replacement for her sibling.
It was a luxury American cruise ship and I was lucky that the wristband they gave me was an adult one, so we could drink.
The passengers were all families, couples and the elderly. We befriended a gay ex couple who did our hair for the gala dinners in exchange for letting them try on our dresses. They regaled us with lurid tales of their encounters with said family men in the ship’s sauna.
We had an absolute riot, flirting (and more🤭) with the Italian waiters and getting absolutely hammered.
I have vivid memories of waiting at the dock for my friend, who’d disappeared off with a random on a Caribbean island and wondering how on earth I was going to explain her disappearance to her parents and grandparents, before she bowled up on the back of a moped minutes prior to departure.
I’m not sure if I would do it again as am not really keen on other people and like to take my time exploring places, but have fabulous memories of a really fun and relaxing time.

Let other people rave about it and good luck to them but for me? No freaking way. I wouldn't go on a cruise ship if it was free. Just thinking about it sets off my claustrophobia. The thought of being trapped on a floaty thing with nothing but deep water all around, just no. I might be irrational but I just couldn't do it.

Not for me. Tried a Russian cruise ship in the Black sea twice ( 2 h in and then 2 h back with some music and using the swimming pool) - both times developped 40C t and total sickness which lasted more than a week on the shore. NEVER AGAIN

We did 11 weeks for a special birthday-Southampton to the Caribbean (Bermuda, the Bahamas) via the Azores, Panama, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, Falklands, Uruguay, Brazil, Cape Verde, Southampton.

It was amazing and we loved it. It gives you tasters of places to go back to. So many places to see in the future, so little time 😃