To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

Who did you cruise with? We've done 30 cruises and only ever cruise on ones where you can dine at a time of your choosing and without sharing a table. And never use the buffets.

I find on every ship I've been on I'm constantly wondering where everyone else is.

OP: you need to research cruise lines carefully to ensure you get what suits you. It's a floating, 5+* hotel if you choose well enough.

I love them because they are so cheap! Just priced up a one day trip to Bath on a steam train £1000 per couple one meal included. For £2000 DH and I could cruise to the Canaries 14 nights all food and entertainment included.
We will not be doing the steam train!

Has anyone done alone when you have mobility issues?

I had an elderly relative who lived on board a cruise ship for a number of years. She was widowed and liked the idea of the on board classes and entertainment and meeting new people.

She had a wonderful time, but in my head cruise ships are for adventurous pensioners

It's cheaper than hotels in each of the ports.

It's everything I despise about travel and nothing I like. Environmentally horrifying while being the most surface experience of each place. With food poisoning.

But I can see why people like it.

This is a great post, I'm tempted now myself 😂

Tried it with DH and 21 year old DD. All agreed never again. The buffet is a scrum and the formal dining rooms is lovely but we got some total arseholes assigned to our table.

You don't get very long in each port so you see bugger all really and the ports are far away from everything interesting.

Personally I thought the entertainment was good but I can't say I enjoyed the crammed in sensation around the pool etc.

I'm also intrigued - I'd love to try a cruise but I get horribly travel sick (still!), even on a train. Concerned about booking a holiday only to find I'm being sick throughout (and travel sickness tablets tend to make you feel drowsy).

The holiday starts as soon as you get on the ship- no flights/transfers etc if you go from Southampton

If you go on a line like Royal Caribbean, it’s like stepping into another country- love that feeling!

It’s an unparalleled way of seeing the world- the fjords in Norway are best appreciated from a ship

Have been to Amsterdam and the ship was docked right in the city centre- amazing!

Our favourite thing is seeing a city or a different country nearly every day but coming back to your cabin- so no packing/unpacking etc

The food is as good as you want it to be, can pay to use better quality restaurants or slum it in the buffet!!

Also it’s a great multi generational holiday, grandparents can watch a show, parents can sit in the jazz bar and kids can be in the kids clubs which are usually excellent. Everybody happy!

The biggest downside is other people, but we just do everything at a different time to everyone else- we’re early risers so sometimes have the ship to ourselves.

You need to choose your line carefully, some we love and some we’d never do again!!