To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

Ocean cruises don't appeal, for one they're incredibly bad for the environment. When we were in Antigua the port often had liners in, they were huge it was like a stadium emptying after a big match.

Also on a boat trip we went past a couple and they were both in dire need of refurbishment, peeling paint, rust etc.
We also ran into trips on beaches and usually the price in beach bars went up when the trip was on and down when they left.

Great info thanks!

@DysonSphere Yes.

Unlike other sectors it is usually better to book through a cruise agent rather than the company direct. They have better and exclusive deals on top of what the promotions the cruise line offer. End of the month is a good time to book as they need to make sales targets.
It is never more to book through an agent than directly by the way.
Also if anything goes wrong they sort it out. The cruise line is more worried about an agent not promoting them to its customers than one guest saying they won't ever cruise again etc.

A negative of cruising is that prices are very dynamic. They go down as well as up. Decide on your non variables whether that be ports or ship or dates or price and look around. Never book if its not got some sort of offer!

Azamara are saying you get $500 free credit for booking.

Is that a normal sort of offer for a cruise ship?

Well this thread descended quickly into ridiculous territory.

But still, I feel intrigued to try a cruise now, they sound fun and like you get a lot for your money. And I had no idea they offered such varied options for entertainment, I previously assumed was all a bit low bar. I feel excited to try one, maybe next year. Thanks for starting the thread OP.

I'd recommend Azamara for the kind of cruise you are looking for.

https://www.azamara.com/home

I've done South Africa, NZ and South America with them.

I was recently on a flight with people returning from a cruise to Greenland, Iceland, Faroes... They actually seemed like the sort of people who you would want to be on a ship with. They were mostly retired, but clearly educated, not loud, humorous.

I would be interested in going on a cruise to places like South America, Central America, Bahamas, maybe even parts of Africa, Australia, Oceania. I do not imagine ever travelling specially to the first two places, because of crime fears and an interest only in the "highlights" of each place, rather than every square metre. Can anyone advise what companies I should look into? I also like the idea of ships which run lectures or just have enough space for you to sit somewhere with a book and look out to sea.

Jeez
Whatever happened to just going on a fun holiday?

@GreenTeaLikesMe What do you mean by "in trouble" ?

The worse is economic problems meaning we as society can't consume at the levels we have.
Going green means not consuming things at the levels we have.

Doesn’t have to be a continuously increasing population.

Staying flat or declining gently would be fine.

The issue is when you get the population contracting and aging so sharply that it creates terrifying fiscal shocks. That kind of stuff will make it very hard to finance and build the green energy transition.

People on average are already having a lot fewer kids. That’s OK up to a point, but if the fertility rate continues to drop, we could be in trouble.

I haven't made a comment on buffet v population but I am interested in posts such as pp who seem to suggest population should keep increasing

And am wondering if that's what they meant

The size of population we can sustain is directly linked to how much that population over consume.

But those without children will depend on the next generations to care for them and run the cruise ships and hospitals and roads and restaurants etc when they are old, so it seems odd to wish them away.

It seems a weird set of priorities to think we should have a much smaller population but those who exist should trundle round the earth on hulking monstrosities playing bingo and gorging themselves silly at an all you can eat buffet

Slightly off topic but do you mean you would like the population to keep increasing? And not at any point to decrease

I don't agree at all, and trying to save the planet through non-reproduction is essential a form of degrowthism. We are going to save the planet through green technologies, and to pay for and build all the green technologies, we need young people generating wealth.

I think the biggest threat to the planet right now is that we may not be able to get all the green infrastructure we need built if we end up lacking enough young taxpayers and spending nearly all the money we do have on pensions and healthcare.

That's my argument too. I get a free pass on all environmental stuff.

And I dramatically cut my carbon foot print by not having children. It'll take more than a few cruises to cancel that out.

I went on my first cruise last month after some persuasion as i’m not really keen on the sea.

We went Cunard on the Queen Mary 2 to Hamburg for two nights. I absolutely loved it. Easy to get on, staff amazing, cabin really comfortable, food great. Just a beautiful ship. Lots of entertainment, afternoon tea with harpist playing, beautiful art deco lounge bars with live jaz to listen to in the evenings after dinner. Just fab.

Do your research beforehand and choose one which goes to places you really want to see. Pick a smaller, adults only ship - much calmer. I love the fact that you only unpack once but have a new destination each day - your hotel travels with you! Also, you don’t have to think once you are on board, everything is provided for you - very relaxing

Thank you! I just got that from your post 😅 obvs a cruise virgin

No, you don’t. You can sit anywhere you like. You have the option to be on your own or with others it’s your choice.

@Nothanks17 No you don't have to. You are assigned a table but you can wait for a table that suits you better, no problem.
I didn't like the idea on my first cruise but it can be more fun than you think especially for the first couple of nights. Once everyone has sussed all the options, people will inevitably choose the buffet, room service or speciality restaurants some nights.

You have to sit and eat with strangers?

We hate flying. We are very unadventurous so they suit us. We have tried a number of ships now and have our favourites. Cruise lines vary massively. I enjoy researching the ports. I plan what we are going to do before we get there so we can make the most of our time ashore. I love sitting on deck and watching the sea. I find it so relaxing. I’ve always managed to find a quiet spot. I thought I’d hate it before I went on one but I loved it when I finally went. There’s a lot of snobbery about cruises. Try it if you want and if you don’t like it you don’t have to do it again.

@Meredusoleil I went on Azura about 18 months ago. She is one of my favourite ships because I like the Spa pool and Glass House. Azura is showing her age and a refit will freshen her up but fundamentally she is an old ship and will not compare to Iona and Arvia.

I will certainly travel on her again but I am realistic about what I am getting for the price.

Cruising is ace. My last post suddenly got deleted! I mentioned a huge online Chinese retailer.