Why do people like cruises?

[rubyredknowsitall]

I'm sure it's partly personal for me as:

1. I can't swim well (I swim in the sea where I live a little but I'd hate to swim in a pool or lounge by it)
2. I don't drink alcohol
3. I don't like noisy music things

That's my image of cruise ships plus some excursions - like a fancy Haven holiday camp (although I loved haven as a kid!!!)

Is my image totally off?

Forgot to say also, there were all ages last week, couples, friends, young families, big family groups - lovely.

We did our first cruise for our honeymoon 11 years ago. My hubby didn’t really fancy it but knew I’d always want to do one so we went for it. We are now in double figures🤦🏼‍♀️🤣 I love the fact that you can do as much or as little as you want. I love that the food, drink, service and entertainment is generally much better than I’ve had in hotels abroad. I love that generally you wake up somewhere new every day and that if you like it you can always go back but if you don’t you aren’t stuck there for more than a day or two. Have been to places I’d never of thought of going too because they where part of a cruise itinerary. But! I truly believe you need to pick the right cruise line for you. If you don’t like getting dressed up don’t go on Cunard, if you do t want to be around loads of older people don’t go for Fred Olsen. If you want loads of stuff for kids you probably want to consider Royal carribean. The list goes on🤷🏻‍♀️

I’d never say never, not something I’d think to book but if a friend told me she’d booked a cruise for 2 but the other person had dropped out and would I like to go instead I’d probably give it a go.
We usually do self catering villas for our holidays, all at our own pace and we head out for some sight seeing, lunches, dinners etc at our own free will. Cruises definitely run on a necessary schedule but it’s reminiscent of school trips 😂 go here at this time, meet here at that time, don’t be late!!!
Dh and I have done a couple of all inclusives before without the dc and just use the hotel as a base with maybe a day or so just hanging out at the hotel, can’t do any more than that as we both get bored and restless.
And we avoid any hotel entertainment, from what we’ve walked past it’s absolutely naff and makes me cringe.
I guess like all holidays there’s never going to be one type that suits everyone and that’s great because that also means there should be something to suit your own needs - there’s a huge variety out there.

My elderly parents love cruises. My DM can't fly any more due to health issues, so they get a cruise that leaves and return from Southampton and that way they still get to travel. They ususally cruise around the Med every spring.

Also...we do AI holidays ocasionally and almost always leave the resort unless it's a very short stay. They don't lock you in or anything, you can go and have a mooch in the local town/explore the other beaches/go snorkeling.

Each to their own. There are holidays I like and don't like. You just go on holidays you do like and leave others to go on holidays they like.

I just know I'd feel trapped on a cruise. At least with a hotel you can come and go as you please, even if it's all-inclusive. I can appreciate the appeal if you have mobility issues though.

Those who are mourning the loss of Cruise and Maritime should check out Ambassador. It is basically the same but with different ships.

Why I like cruises:

The level of service is exceptional. Go into bar, lounge, restaurant, theatre, poolside, sit down, someone will bring you what you want. I imagine it’s the nearest most of us will get to living life like a celebrity or rich person.

Sailing into a new port early in the morning, looking at the changing scenery, sometimes at sunrise. Also, sailing away from ports in the evening.

The sound of the sea.

Sunsets at sea (especially viewed whilst sipping a drink or eating dinner).

Seeing a lot of interesting and beautiful places without a great deal of effort.

Coming back to the ship after a tiring day of sightseeing and knowing that I can have a cold drink in my hand within minutes and a choice of places to eat dinner without having to worry about how much it’s going to cost.

That’s just a few. I’m sure I could think of more, but I don’t want to bore you 😊

Different place every day, performances every night and good food and drink guaranteed whatever you go. They are alright.

One thing I've always wondered, are there lots of queues to get on and off, both when embarking and disembarking, and getting on and off at destinations?

I've always had the vague notion that I'd quite like a cruise, but what puts me off are the adverts you see on the tv now for those huge ships that look like a cross between a theme park and a gigantic block of flats, with thousands of people aboard. I don't think I'd like that much at all really - although I do like a theatre show as much as the next person I also get claustrophobic when I can't get away from throngs of people.

I've done river cruises as part of longer tours e.g. the Nile, the Yangse etc. I loved it. Chilled, beautiful ways to explore.

As a family we're going on our first family cruise in summer - Norwegian fyords. Can't wait!

As someone with ASD, I like the planned, straightforward aspect 🤷

The buffet dining would be ideal for you. You don't have to go for a big meal in the dining room. Roughly speaking in the buffet area you can help yourself to any kind of breakfast you fancy from about 6.00 until 11.00, lunch runs from 12.00 to 3.00. Then afternoon tea with sandwiches, scones, little cakes from 3.00 to 5.00, then the evening buffet from 6.00 til 10.00. Lots of ships will also do things like pizza and pasta after that. Of course you don't have to do it all but there is usually something available to fit in around whatever else you decide to do with your day and you just help yourself to how much or how little you want. For dinner you can often get the same meals as in the dining room but just at the portion size to suit yourself.

Some stop at Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, Kagoshima, Hiroshima, Hakodate, Aomori. Plus Busan, so they actually leave Japan.

I'm visually impaired, did my first 2 cruises solo at 27 and 28, in 2017 and 2018. I like them because once I'm orientated, ships are easy to navigate, I get to see lots of different places, and can do organised excursions so I can see things I'd never be able to on my own. I love watching the sunset out on deck with a drink, seeing different entertainment of an evening and generally enjoy the atmosphere on board. I love a formal night and dress up, a thing I don't get to do often at home.

First cruise was with P&O round France and Spain from Southampton - travel agent suggested it as it would be familiar with it being a British line. Enjoyed it, was one of the youngest on board but met some great people who I spent time ashore with at one port, and did 2 trips with independent companies.

Second one, decided to try NCL - an American line, and a Med itinerary, had a drinks package and booked some specialty dining. Met lots of people from all over the world, did 2 trips again with independent companies and then 2 amazing days where 8 of us stuck together and hired a driver for the day (in Rome and Florence).

In May I'm doing a similar Med itinerary to my NCL cruise but I'm taking my best friend - this one is with Royal Caribbean. He's never cruised and I picked this as on NCL I missed set dining, but loved the demographic of the passengers - younger and from all over the world. He is very similar to me so I'm hoping I've made the right choice. We will see - so far he's very excited, as am I.

Not really. There can be if it’s a tender port but it’s no biggie. Often the ship will make sure those on ship organised tours get off half an hour or so before general walk offs. When a ship is docked in port it’s easy just to come and go.

I've been on 4 cruises and have never been swimming on the boat. The last cruise I went on I didn't drink at all due to meds I was taking.

Of course I'm sure there are plenty of party style boats with people getting pissed every night but equally a lot of people just like to go to relax with family and friends enjoy nice food and get excellent service whilst seeing different places.

@Ulysees we went on Aurora, adult only ship, P and O. We'd go with them again, it was brilliant.

I always assumed I'd hate a cruise. The thought of it made me feel claustrophobic and I had this idea they were for old people who wanted to dress up and dine at the Captain's table every night.

We were taking DDs abroad for the first time, live close to Southampton and I couldn't face the hassle of airport, transfers etc so we said sod it, we'll try a 7 night cruise and it'll just be nice to have a break.

Well. It was nothing at all like I expected and DH and I both absolutely loved it! The main things I liked were:

Excellent kids club with UK regulated staff with regards to ratios etc (P&O) so DDs were happy and entertained.

Food and service absolutely excellent.

Loads of choice of places to eat, bars, quiet spots, shows, activities, library, somewhere to just sit with a drink etc.

So easy. Just drive and park at Southampton, on the ship soon afterwards and your holiday has started!

Beautiful scenery and getting a little insight into different places so we know where we want to go back to and explore further.

Zero expectation to dress up if you don't want to (we didn't.) Some people like to and that's fine too!

For most of our holidays we plan our own itineraries, book everything ourselves, go self catering and are constantly out and about. They are great but tiring..... still the bulk of our holidays though.

On cruises we turn up, don't have to lift a finger, DDs are entertained and DH and I can just sit with a book and a cocktail with a sea view. I absolutely love them for the relaxation factor.

I like booze too, but I'm an alcoholic so I can't drink
There are daily 'Friends of Bill W' get togethers on board, they are well attended with much laughter.

I had to look up 'Friends of Bill W' because I didn't know it. It's related to AA - thankfully there isn't AA where I live

I'm very, very anti AA as I feel it's a cult. A lot of alcoholics steer well clear!

but what puts me off are the adverts you see on the tv now for those huge ships that look like a cross between a theme park and a gigantic block of flats, with thousands of people aboard. I don't think I'd like that much at all really

I would hate that. Some of the cruise ships we saw in port in Dubrovnik looked like a hideous block of council flats.

I have only been on a mini cruise on a small ship in Indonesia, and it was brilliant. The maximum capacity was 150 passengers and the ship wasn't full. From Bali we just visited Sumbawa and Komodo.

I would love to take the Hurtigruten ferry up the coast of Norway or take a cruise on the Hebridean Princess or do one of the cuises on one of the smaller boats along the coast of Croatia. Those huge cruise ships don't appeal to me.

@PepsiMaxLime we went with P and O, Aurora, it's an adults only ship which is why we chose it. Cunard was doing a similar one at the same time which was a bit cheaper but a much bigger ship, ours had 1800 passengers. We left from Southampton, went to Haugesund, Tromso, Alta and Andalsnes, and we went on trips in most of them. The scenery was breathtaking.
There's plenty to do in the day, each day they produce a newsletter to say what's happening and you can do whatever you like. We spent a lot of time walking round the ship, chatting to people we'd met, eating (lots of eating!) watching the scenery. It was really cold in Alta, -20° with the wind chill but dress appropriately and you'll be fine. Hang on and I'll l post a picture of the news letter.

@PepsiMaxLime there you go.

I have done two p and o cruises up to the Fjords. Only port I wasn’t keen on was Haugsund. The rest where varying levels of stunning with Olden being my favourite personally