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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not like ocean cruises

161 replies

Moanranger · 07/05/2016 22:49

Well, I have spent some considerable time hearing people rave about cruises, lots of rather braggy Facebook posts, etc. I never saw the point. The antithesis of how I like to travel - simply & really dig down & get to know people & places. So Iwas finally persuaded to go on a short, bargain cruise -3 days, £80 going from Dover to Copenhagen to Rostock.
Well, it wasn't as bad as Ithought it would be - the ship absorbed the many passengers pretty well; I couldn't fault the service or quality, but I don't get it, really. I was quite bored, and the shore stops are too short to get any meaningful insight into local culture. I suppose if you like cheesy entertainment, Bingo, gambling, serious over-eating & a very artificial atmosphere, it's heaven.
Doubtless I will be flamed.

OP posts:

SwedishEdith · 07/05/2016 23:00

That just sounds like a long ferry ride, tbh. I imagine an actual 2 week one around the Med or the Caribbean is slightly more interesting but still not for me

Errata · 07/05/2016 23:13

DH's parents have been trying to get us to go on one for years. They are both of our idea of pure hell. It sounds like being stuck in a hotel you can't leave, apart from at certain set intervals when the ship docks. And frankly if I wanted to go to, say, Venice, I would go to Venice and spend a week there, not part of a day.

BillSykesDog · 07/05/2016 23:57

I think it's pretty much accepted that cruises are a pretty marmite thing and not for everybody. As far as I can make out the people who really love them tend to like the social side of a cruise more than they do actually travelling.

I prefer to have more independence and explore, but I'm told that they are great for older people who may struggle a bit more negotiating a new place independently or walking long distances etc.

Tangfastics · 08/05/2016 00:08

A bargain 80 quid cruise is just that.

CalleighDoodle · 08/05/2016 00:10

My parents retired then cruised. Theyve been all over. They dont socialise (they dont like people lol) but love cruising. They say they feel safe on board but still get to visit far off places and get treated very well.

Gide · 08/05/2016 00:12

Always thought cruises sounded very boring and I'd puke, I'm really sensitive to the movement. I guess it suits some people, not my thing, tho.

thecapitalsunited · 08/05/2016 00:56

I've only been on one cruise but I really enjoyed it. I did a transatlantic crossing though where you don't get off the ship for a week and the whole point of the cruise is to get to the other side of the Atlantic. It was fab. The fabbest bit was not signing up to the Internet package and being switched off from the world for a week. Bliss.

VimFuego101 · 08/05/2016 01:02

I've never been on one, but i don't get them either. To me, a ship is a way of getting TO your holiday destination. It would be like spending a week on a plane and calling it a holiday.

DramaAlpaca · 08/05/2016 01:09

My elderly parents love cruises & go on lots. They've been all over the world on cruise ships & seen places they'd never otherwise have been.

I've been on two cruises with my family & I like them for getting a taste of different countries that I can then go back to again for a longer time. We don't do the cruise entertainment stuff, that just bores me silly.

I wouldn't go on a bargain three day cruise though, it sounds like a booze cruise on a ferry tbh.

honeyrider · 08/05/2016 01:44

I was on a cruise around the Med last week and had a ball. I went on my first one last year and really enjoyed it. I had a couple of neighbours recommend them for a long time but I always thought they'd be boring but took a chance last year and had a ball.

I had been warned about the type of passengers some cruise lines attract and routes. Some cruise lines attract a mainly older age group while others more families or a wide range of passengers.

It's a good way to get a taste of places, some you want to go back to and others you're delighted you're just there for the day and glad you're not there for a few days.

BirthdayBetty · 08/05/2016 01:49

DH and I went on one for my 4oth and had a ball.

geekymommy · 08/05/2016 01:53

I think of cruises as being for old people who want to go places but don't want to take a chance that they might get out of their comfort zone. They get to go someplace warm, but don't have to eat unfamiliar food or stay in unfamiliar hotels or interact with foreigners. I know this is a stereotype, but if I went on a cruise, I'd feel like I was turning into that sort of person.
There are some actual problems with cruise lines. They don't always have the best health or environmental record, and they don't always pay or treat their employees well.

acasualobserver · 08/05/2016 01:54

There are cruises and cruises, aren't there? Your condemnation is too sweeping to be useful.

geekymommy · 08/05/2016 01:57

I'm sure all cruise lines are not created equal in terms of health or environmental practices, or in how they treat their employees. If I were to book a cruise, I'd want to do some research on the line's record on those things.

ForalltheSaints · 08/05/2016 07:36

Two of my work colleagues regularly go with their wives on cruises and love it. Though because I get seasick you will not get me on one, and the OH has no wish to go on one either.

Original poster

Moanranger · 08/05/2016 07:51

geekyI agree. Environmentally they are terrible, I am sure, but then, so is flying. The cruise I went on was pretty mixed age wise. The people density is concerning & one traveller said the whole lot got bad colds in the first day or two. There was lots of coughing, spluttering, sneezing on a coach to Copenhagen & I hope I don't get anything.
I have a problem with the whole environmental-wastage side of mass& luxury travel. I saw one table order three entirely separate cooked breakfasts each & then nibble at each.

OP posts:

LittleHouseOnTheShelf · 08/05/2016 07:55

We go on cruises, I don't go for the social life but for the travelling so we choose ones with plenty of stops; we went to the Baltic and stopped at 10 different places and about the same when we went to the Med. I wasn't keen at first but it's a great way of seeing several different countries.
When we're on the boat I relax somewhere with my kindle, go to the gym or do some sporting activity with the children.

ShatnersBassoon · 08/05/2016 08:10

Your trip sounds more like a return overnight ferry than a cruise as most of us imagine one. Like all things, you pays your money you takes your choice.

I've never been on a cruise, but I can see the appeal of the longer, more luxurious holidays available. It's an easy, non-tiring way to see lots of places, and you seem to be treated well on board.

Roystonv · 08/05/2016 08:10

We have and plan to in the future try to get an itinerary that goes to places we are unlikely to visit for say a week but do want to learn something about. A Baltic/Artic cruise would come in this category. I feel I would rather learn something about an area than nothing. Also, not all people, certainly as they get older, are happy travelling to some areas with no support; at least they are trying to expand their horizons.

molyholy · 08/05/2016 08:49

Yanbu to not like cruises. Why would you be . Each to their own. But it doesn't actually sound like you went on a cruise. It sounds like for 80 quid, you went on a posh ferry. Sounds like you were too bothered about other peoples breakfasts and how much they ate to be have a good time yourself. Almost like you were determined not to enjoy it.

Errata · 08/05/2016 09:08

It's very obvious to see why cruises appeal to those who like luxury hotels, who may be worried about foreign food/customs, and who have limited mobility and/or energy so like a very untiring way of spending brief periods of time at various destinations without organisational faff - this is exactly why my PILs, who are in their 70s, conservative and not in the pink of health, like them. I completely get it. What I find less easy to get is that MIL continues to urge us to come, and says we would love cruises - 'everyone does, even the young people!' - given that, as she knows well, our idea of a good holiday is climbing mountains/a city with a lot of art and culture/walking the Shikoku pilgrimage trail, and we would both go crazy from frustration at having a day or less in Istanbul or Stockholm!

Sparklingbrook · 08/05/2016 09:12

Mmm. The thought of being on board with so many other people doesnt appeal. And I couldn't have a cabin without a window.

Lots of relatives seem to love them though and rebook each year.

Being confined to your cabin the whole cruise with Norovirus would be a worry though.

SlightlyCrumpled · 08/05/2016 09:15

We love cruising, we are not in our 70's, worried about travelling etc, etc. We love all kinds of holidays however & would never limit ourselves to one kind.
Our children would always choose a cruise if given the option.
Shame you didn't enjoy it, but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed that one either.

Hydroshield · 08/05/2016 09:20

There's a huge amount of stereotyping bollocks assumed about cruises. Especiall when the cunting Daily Fail gets started on them.
Most people judge cruising on the mass market lines with large ships such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and P & O, for example.
The experience on ships like those is completely different, as is the passenger demographic, to luxury cruises such as Seabourn, Crystal etc. Then you have Sea Dream and Windstar, ships with a much more casual vibe.
I enjoy cruise holidays, wouldn't touch the likes of P&O, Thomson, Royal Caribbean with a barge pole though.
I like small ships with no more than 550 passengers. Seabourn is my favourite cruise line. No £599 for 7 days specials with them though

Sparklingbrook · 08/05/2016 09:20

I would imagine you have to be very very sociable. Do you always have to share a table with others at mealtimes? I would hate that.

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