To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

Yeah mostly nonsense.
-pollution happens with all global travel
-been on about 15 cruises and never been ill once
-destination people roll out the red carpet as people spend money there
-cruise ships are generally not slap bang in the middle although I’ll grant you that they used to cruise “through” Venice but not any more
-most people don’t “eat all day” but there will likely be some people eating as people like to eat at different times
-time might be shortish on shore but that is compensated by being able to see lots of different places. If I really loved a place, I would likely go again on a short break
-15 plus cruises and never been in a storm. Only once had difficult sea conditions and that was around New Zealand where the ocean is extremely deep and there is a lot more swell
-entertainment is great!! Cinema, comedians, musicals, quizzes, dance troupes, guest lectures - always something going on
-virtually impossible to “fall off” unless you purposefully climb up and over the railings
-sinking is extremely unlikely

Our DC also love cruises have been on many from the age of about 5 and up. DD aged 24 and her boyfriend chose a cruise for their summer holiday this year. DS would love to go but is single and all his friends wanted Tenerife!

you might have guessed but we absolutely love cruising and find holidays in one place quite boring.

I went on weekend 'taster' cruise. 2 nights.
Longest three weeks of my life.

Don't, don't, don't!!

I did a cruise with my teens for the first time last year. We did celebrity which is proper 5 star.

The food is outstanding, I could take or leave the buffet and it got a bit busy but the food was excellent. The actual restaurants were all very good.
it was great for teens because they could make friends, do whatever they want without getting into trouble, it’s extremely strict on alcohol and the simply can’t get hold of it.

There are quiet places to sit as well as busy areas.

service is outstanding

I quite liked getting off st the ports. Granted they’re not there that long but you get a nice day out. We didn’t do any organised tours but planned something to do at each stop. You can’t compare to a city break but it’s a lovely way to relax and also do a bit of sightseeing

n not sure I would do it without kids but it’s the best trip you can do with teens in my opinion

I worked on cruise ships for 10 years throughout my 20’s so I am always going to be a little biased. I have since been back as a passenger with my husband and young child and it was fantastic.
My daughter loved the kids club so we got to enjoy time relaxing in the knowledge she was having fun and being well looked after. There are cinema’s, shops, theatre, bars, a library, spa, pool, slides, on some ships you even have a “go ape” style course or even a surf machine!
the whole idea of a cruise is to get a glimpse of the ports. Are you going to be able to do everything in a day? No of course not but it helps you work out where you may want to return to.
sea days are relaxing as you have nowhere to be. If you don’t want to be around people you can enjoy your balcony or find somewhere quiet onboard (even with 5k people you can always find a quiet area!)

I would say it all depends on your perspective though. If you go already having a preconceived opinion then you will probably find fault. If you go with an open mind you may enjoy it :)

I think the answer is 'it depends'. I went down the Nile and it was brilliant - you sit there and they move the scenery! Everyone wants to see the temples so the boat stops, you all get off and go with the guide, then back to civilisation on the boat and minimal hassle.
The other thing about cruises is that you can get pissed enjoy the evening entertainment and just stagger back to your cabin. That was especially good fun on the mini cruises over to Denmark and Sweden.

Cruises are great for kids. The kids clubs are great - and this means it is also a holiday for the parents! They also love swimming and getting out and getting ice cream as much as they want.

We go with princess and get the premier package, feels luxurious to just have champagne whenever i want, order as much food and wine to my room as i want, and to be able to go to amazing restaurants as much as i want and not rack up a huge bill. The entertainment is actually really good.

There’s an also a constant sea view! i love having a coffee on the balcony while the sun rises/sets.

That said, pick your ship. The hidden charges I’ve heard about on many cruises sound really frustrating, and some (such as MSC) sound noisy, crowded and stressful to me but maybe great if you want more of a party atmosphere.

They are like small towns so no not crowded. No good for swimming though, pools are always tiny.

It's nice because the travelling is part of the holiday instead of feeling like you're sitting around waiting to get from place to place like any other form of transport.

Didn't get seasick at all, although one of my friends was v sensitive to the movements and couldn't sleep at all for a week.

Only thing I didn't like was the "servants" feel to all the staff, who can't do enough for you and seem happy enough but it does feel very like min wage Downton Abbey, especially uncomfortable because they aren't white and I don't like people waiting on me hand and foot in general, especially as some passengers seem to treat them like shit.

Also environmental issues and wastage of things like food are a big problem.

And the average ages are 60-80, even though Virgin Voyages promotes to a younger age group it's still older people. I'm not really a fan of that to be honest, would rather be on a ship with people more my own age.

For someone that dislikes cruises yet has been on many.. I feel like no matter where the ports of call are, it feels like the same holiday in the same room so many times. In fact it's come to feel like a floating prison.

People sit in the jacuzzi (a live Petri dish) then get in the lift where they spread what they've picked up.. I am ill on every cruise. Unfortunately my dh loves them. He keeps upping his game and luring me with suites in the quieter section but I hate the whole hierarchy thing. I was told to walk to the front of a very long queue in the heat with elderly people in it and just couldn't.

The only exception is places that wouldn't be accessible.. otherwise give me a nice hotel any day.

Easternstandard- we loved Royal Caribbean when the kids were younger- loads of activities for them and we loved the American slant to the food/entertainment

We also like Princess- they have a system where you can have food/drink delivered to you anywhere on the ship which is amazing after a day hiking mountains in Norway!

Celebrity are a slightly better version of Royal Caribbean and had an amazing cruise visiting the Baltic countries last year.

We’re not a fan of P&O at all, but they’re relatively cheap tho, have lots of sailings from UK and if you like all things British it may suit you.

MSC is very multicultural and has stunning ships, but has more limited included food options- not great unless you love pizza!

Not tried other lines but Emma cruises is the place to go to find out more- she has a YouTube video and website.

From British ports- other lines that go are Disney (££££!!) Cunard ( Quintessential British!) Norwegian ( similar vibe to RC) Fred Olsen (older ships but well liked British food) Ambassador (new company, older ships)

Upper end- Viking, Seabourn, Regeant (all ££££££££!!)

Oh I think they sound utterly ghastly op.
Never been on one, but this is what puts me off, in no particular order:

• all the gas guzzling pollution and sewage - where does that go?
• norovirus risk
• everyone at your destinations hating you
• feeling embarrassed that your socking great cruise ship is cluttering up the ports of places like Venice, ruining the view
• being with lots of other people mostly eating all day
• having to rush back to your ship after only having the shortest time to explore somewhere
• terrible Facebook compilation videos of cruise ships in storms
• cruise ship entertainment - cringe
• risk of falling off the thing and ending up in the sea
• it sinking

Sorry, this is an awful list. I'm sure a lot of it must be nonsense, but you'd never get me on a cruise ship, ever.

For us they are ideal. Ds would struggle to fly so we drive straight to the port, we don’t need to worry about the amount of luggage we take which is great with all of his medical supplies.

There are lots of quiet areas for DS, we don’t tend to join in the activities as that’s not what we want to do. We enjoy the food and the variety of locations.

when I first went I was sceptical but now I love it.

I wouldn't want to go on cruises all the time, but I've hugely enjoyed the two I've been on (Baltic cruise for honeymoon 20 years ago and Med cruise with in-laws a few years ago). We normally do self-catering or camp, and cruises are incredibly relaxing by comparison. Food was great, locations lovely, I enjoyed being on the ship. Both times I had one day of horrible seasickness though!

That is still very far to travel to Cadiz or Madeira though! I spent a day doing a speedboat tour in Croatia and to be honest with you that put me of being at sea for any prolonged period of time life!

@Skyrainlight could you tell me what company that was. I have been given money for a special holiday and that sounds amazing.

Oh to be clear, I would never dream of doing a cruise and have visited Rome by plane. I have spoken to someone who did a Med cruise that included Rome and it sounded horrendous. She is American and that is quite typical from what I understand.

Rome is an extreme example - but those cruises where you spend one day in each visting port just do not appeal to me whatsoever.

Likely stop at Gibraltar, Madeira, Cadiz or similar. Maybe Barcelona then three Canaries. Sea days we swim, gym, eat, cinema, theatre, golf range, escape room, Go Ape type thing, read, shuffle board, go to talks, music bars, walk a few miles, join a group, from gay travellers to exercise classes or art.
Plus we do spend a lot of the time supervising elderly parents, but that doesn't apply to everyone!

I went on a cruise with my family, parents, brother & wife & my husband, it wasn't my choice of holiday and I was really not looking forward to it at all but I enjoyed it. Started in Venice, went to Croatia, Turkey & Greece. What I liked was that it was so easy, everything was taken care of, you can choose different trips on the land days, in Croatia we spend the day at an amazing waterfall. We ate lunch and breakfast looking out at the sea, evening drinks watching the sunset. There were a couple of club nights which were great fun, cocktails, off to the restaurant afterwards before falling into bed that was a walk down the stairs. So convenient! I'm not sure if I would go again but I had a great time.

I don't understand spending £5k min to fly to Turkey, sit round a pool all day and eat AI buffet food for a week - but hey, some people count down the days to their annual break.

Horses for courses.

How long will you be at sea going to the Canaries though? Spending days at sea sounds dreadful to me, but each to their own

As you say, each to their own . I love sea days! It can be very relaxing.

it’s true that ships can be a bit crowded at times - especially at the buffet, and some bars. But it’s easy to avoid the crowds - go to the buffet at non-peak times, or eat in the main restaurants instead, even at breakfast and lunch. You’ll soon find quieter spots around the ship. Food is generally good to excellent, and specialty restaurants are excellent on the whole.

We usually cruise with NCL - as we love the freestyle atmosphere, and we’ve never had to share a table with anyone (unless we’ve chosen to)

I know they wouldn’t work for me. I hate hotels, and would want to spend an absolute minimum of a week somewhere I was interested enough to visit.

We did a Caribbean cruise a few years ago and it was amazing. The ship is enormous so it never seemed super busy to me.

Sea days were great. It meant exploring the ship, relaxing around the pool etc and then we’d wake up in a new place.

You don't have to. You can get off in the port at anytime and do your own thing. You'd be crazy to do Rome from the cruise port unless you honestly believe you will never have the opportunity to do it again. But that's not likely as you can get a flight to Rome for £50! Get off the boat and look at local stuff. Or plan your own day and go to Rome (if must!) on the train.

How long will you be at sea going to the Canaries though? Spending days at sea sounds dreadful to me, but each to their own.

Which liners do you rate or not?

This pretty much sums up how I perceive cruising. The thought of landing in a port at 8am and having to race around a city at break neck speed to see things just does not sound enticing. Additionally, the 'ports' can be miles away - e.g. The 'port' of Rome is not particularly close to Rome itself.