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AIBU?

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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:
cleaty · 10/05/2016 09:08

There are specialist cruises where you can do adventurous activities. But most people who go on cruises can no longer hike along a coastal path.

corythatwas · 10/05/2016 09:10

" Their one experience could be awful because of the ship/cruise line they chose and they would hate cruises forever. It's like saying "I don't like hotels". It depends on the hotel, much like it depends on the ship as to what experience you have."

I can see what you mean Roussette, but for me it wouldn't depend on the hotel if I was stuck to the hotel area and could only get off at certain organised times. There isn't a hotel in the world I'd enjoy on those terms. Each to their own, I suppose.

corythatwas · 10/05/2016 09:12

Even if I was no longer able to hike along a coastal path, there are still plenty of holidays that would allow for more freedom: my 84yo parents are planning a train journey through Europe which sounds absolutely fabulous. They will stop where they like and move on when they like.

cleaty · 10/05/2016 09:17

I went on a fabulous Antarctica cruise. Not all cruises are the same.
Other amazing cruises are in the Galapagos and down the Yangtze river in China.

Dancergirl · 10/05/2016 09:17

It's a good way of seeing lots of places in a short time without having to pack and unpack each time.

In 12 days we visited Copenhagen, Tallinn, St Petersburg (2 full days there), Helsinki, Stockholm and Skaagen. It was fantastic. Yes you don't get much time in each place but you get a flavour of the city and you can plan to come back for a longer time.

I was worried about sea sickness but I barely felt the ship move. The shows and entertainment were top notch. The dc loved the pool area, water slides and climbing wall!

ephemeralfairy · 10/05/2016 10:27

Going on a cruise just seem like a great way to get norovirus Confused

mumto2andnomore · 10/05/2016 10:36

We love cruises, always sit by ourselves at dinner so we don't have to socialise, rarely do the organised excursions and do our own thing. It's a great way to see lots of places in one holiday, and not because we are scared of foreign food !
Each to their own, I would hate camping I'd rather stay at home

bibliomania · 10/05/2016 10:40

I've signed up for my first ever cruise this summer, so will have an informed opinion in 3.5 months time. Past travel has been backpacking round places of historical interest, but it's just me and dd and she's clear that that's not her thing. I'd like lots of other children and activities for her, I'd like the chance to visit some new places, and I'd like straightforward logistics. I originally wanted to do some small group overland travel but the company either couldn't muster up enough people for the trip I wanted (nobody apparently sharing my enthusiasm for Albania) or the trip was outside my price-range. So we shall see. I'm very excited about it.

Sparklingbrook · 10/05/2016 10:50

Does seem that way ephemeral. My Mum was telling me about someone's friend currently on a cruise ship that had been deep cleaned but was confined to his cabin with NV currently.

Plus another report in the paper www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36245284.

NickiFury · 10/05/2016 11:05

I hated cruises too....before I went on one. And I have honestly yet to meet someone who went on a decent cruise and came back still hating them.

honeyrider · 10/05/2016 11:06

"In 12 days we visited Copenhagen, Tallinn, St Petersburg (2 full days there), Helsinki, Stockholm and Skaagen. It was fantastic. Yes you don't get much time in each place but you get a flavour of the city and you can plan to come back for a longer time."

I'm hoping to do that cruise in the next couple of years.

One benefit of getting to visit a lot of places is that it gives you a taste of each place, some I'd go back to and others I wouldn't.

The thoughts of spending a week or two on a sun holiday just lounging by a pool or beach would fill me with dread.

AnotherUsernameBitesTheDust · 10/05/2016 11:09

I've just been a cruise. I wouldn't normally say it was my thing - I like camping and long hikes, but I really enjoyed it. Maybe because it was a child free holiday! And I did go hiking up a mountain in one of the ports we stopped in, so there's always opportunities to do stuff like that.

I guess there's always the possibility of norovirus -like schools and hospitals, it goes around when people are all together in confined spaces.

I think someone was sick in the restaurant while we were there. It was dealt with calmly and quickly - the whole section was taped off and cleaners wearing masks were cleaning the whole area. It looked like they take the risk of it very seriously. I've already had it this year and the speed it went round just the family was alarming!

I'd definitely go on another one, just need to find someone generous enough to pay for it, because I'm skint now! Grin

Roussette · 10/05/2016 11:25

Cory
I think it's the inactivity and the fact that the whole programme is chosen by others: I want to have more input and be able to change my plans. Pottering around islands in a dingy- yes. Watching the sun set from a coastal path I have just walked along- definitely. Being taken around islands on a schedule chosen by a cruise company- far less appealing.

We just don't particularly do cruise ship's excursions. You dont have to do that. We research and meet a local guide and they can take you to places that no tourist goes to, there is nothing like local knowledge and they are always such lovely people with such an enthusiasm for their country. An abiding memory from a recent cruise was sitting in a family restaurant in a little known part of an area of Phuket and the family fussing round us cooking delicious food. And in another part of Asia going to someone's garden and seeing what they grow - all courtesy of local guides.

As far as the hotel analogy, I get what you mean. But to be able to visit say 12 different places in 4 different countries is so wonderful. I've got certain places on my bucket list where I just scratched the surface and want to go back. I would never have been able to go to so many different islands/countries without doing it by ship.

Original poster
Moanranger · 10/05/2016 11:36

OP here. I did not hate it, but was not won over. I get that you go to lots of cities in a short amount of time - I went to Copenhagen on my own, not the ship's excursion. But you still have all the regimentation of getting off ship, which I felt took me back to being a school child.
Anyway, my favourite holidays have been :17 days in Cuba with our own guide staying in people's houses. Pretty much did what we wanted with guide's local knowledge; 10 days of wild camping in roadless Berber areas of Morocco, again with local guides.
.I get the child-friendliness of cruises.
My Cuba holiday cost about what a week cruise in Caribbean or similar would cost; Morocco was much cheaper.

OP posts:
NickiFury · 10/05/2016 11:41

I must admit it is a bit scary when you get off the boat and you are clock watching. When we got off in Madeira, the kids wanted to go to a beach so we got a taxi and asked the driver and he took us to what he said was the best beach on the Island. It was absolutely beautiful but I just couldn't relax because it was quite remote and I was scared we wouldn't manage to find a taxi to get back in time. As it turned out it was absolutely fine and we were back with hours to spare and ended up dropping the wet sandy swimming stuff off and getting back off to go shopping and go to a park Smile

Notso · 10/05/2016 12:14

I like the idea of visiting different places its being entertained at that puts me off. That and other people. Oh and buffets, PIL rave about them. I hate a buffet.
For perspective I don't like camping or caravans either.

honeyrider · 10/05/2016 12:21

"Oh and buffets, PIL rave about them. I hate a buffet."

You don't have to go near the buffet, you can go to the restaurants on the other levels for your breakfast, lunch and dinner and have everything served to you.

cleaty · 10/05/2016 12:37

I would hate a cruise in the Caribbean I am sure.
I travelled independently in a country with few tourists. We ate at tourist buffets as it was one of the few places outside expensive restaurants that was safe to eat in terms of hygiene.

Dancergirl · 10/05/2016 12:42

Going on a cruise just seem like a great way to get norovirus

I was worried about this too, being an emetophobe.

Can't speak for other cruise lines but Royal Caribbean are fantastic for avoiding it. They have purell hand foam at lots of points on the ship, they don't let you back on the ship or into the restaurant until you've used it. And they are always cleaning everywhere.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 10/05/2016 12:42

I completely agree about the lack of time to enjoy the places visited, but for me it's more about getting a taste of them and considering if I might want to go back

Admittedly on some lines the old thing about the passengers being "newly wed, over fed or nearly dead" can be uncomfortably near to the truth, but with lots of research into the best ship for the individual, there's little to beat a cruise IMO

And for those it suits it's very, very addictive Wink

cleaty · 10/05/2016 12:44

When I was on a cruise it was a quality one. Nearly everyone ate in the restaurant. The small buffet was only used by those who wanted a snack.

There is a wide variety of cruises. Saying you don't like cruises, is really like saying you don't like hotels. So in Mexico you get small ships that are geared toward adventurers looking to dune buggy, parasail and trek through scenic terrain. Or cruise through the Amazon. These tend to be small ships and often go places that are fairly inaccessible any other way.

edition.cnn.com/2013/11/19/travel/adventure-cruises/

cleaty · 10/05/2016 12:46

But I went on a traditional cruise to Norway when recovering from an operation. Walking was difficult and I would not have dreamed of going abroad otherwise. I surprised myself by enjoying some of the traditional elements of a cruise.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 10/05/2016 12:49

Also agree with those saying it's best not to use the cruise company's excursions; quite apart from the ridiculous prices, pottering around in a organized group of 40 is my idea of hell and the insistence on visiting the "recommended shop" is tiresome

Anyway it's really not necessary - even if you've planned nothing ahead, whenever a ship arrives the local tour guides fall upon the passengers like a plague of locusts Grin

cleaty · 10/05/2016 12:55

Unless you go to Antarctica as I did. There are no local tour guides ;)

KERALA1 · 10/05/2016 12:55

My ils adore them. They are extremely nervous travellers, enjoy coach trips and actively like being herded round and told where to go. I get extremely sea sick but despite me telling her this mil is determined to convert Dh and I to cruising - it's never going to happen.