Do you get jealous of people who go on cruises

[Sportslady44]

Feeling very envious today. Friend is about to set off on a cruise for 14nights.

Cant stop thinking about it and them.

Can you put me off please?

Tell me some downsides of cruises.

Ewww no thanks. Doesn't appeal to me or DH in the slightest. I couldn't think of a worse thing for a holiday.

Good luck and Bon voyage to those that do, but it's not for me.

Op, jealousy is a horrid and negative emotion. I would try to work on that and attempting to remedy it rather than anything else!

Never in a million years, bleurgh......

To all the smug " you're just jealous snobs" posters: I'm sure it's very comforting for you to think that.
Meanwhile the reasonable person understands that different people like different things
Shocking and incomprehensible though it clearly is to you.🙄

“Liking different things” doesn’t explain or justify the vitriol and sneering on here though. And I haven’t seen anyone being smug, only trying to correct the often hilarious misconceptions and prejudices that many anti-cruisers seem to have.

One word. Titanic.

The demographic on the cruise we went on certainly wasn't 'load of upper middle class wankers' LOL! There was a disproportionate number of elderly, disabled and obese people though but we were surprised how many younger passengers there were and generally nothing posh about it.

You didn't have to sit with anyone else for meals. Choice of 8 places to eat on the ship, 3 were subject to a supplement but otherwise AI although the wine wasn't great. Buffet was only one choice out of 8.

As for Covid you couldn't board unless you were vaccinated, PCR certificate and so on. On board you had to take your temperature daily, weekly LFT, hand sanitizer everywhere, masks compulsory if moving inside in public areas (not cabins or sat down), extra cleaning. It felt safer than my local supermarket. Ships can't dock if they don't meet certain rules on this but outbreaks happen. I can't comment on old passengers dropping like flies as I don't think that happened.

As for dressing for dinner you don't have to but I was glad of the opportunity to wear a nice frock now and then, they don't get a lot of use these days!

Cruises aren't for everyone and they have a certain image. Travel is about variety for me so we tried it. I'm not sure we'd go again but it was an experience and mainly good.

@TheVolturi

One word. Titanic.

Planes crash/disappear a lot mote often than cruise ships sink!

Jealous of a cruise? Good lord no. I went on a Mediterranean one once, and its was the worst experience of a holiday ever.
Crammed on an over populated floating hotel. Sail at night and pull into port (if permitted) by day. The local population don't welcome cruise passenger's and quire rightly so.

In fairness planes do go missing more than boats sink but at least the whole fiasco would be over and done with quicker 😂!

I too have visions of titanic and norovirus, honestly you couldn’t pay me to go on one. The only family I know who go on cruises are the smuggest people I know.

Never been on one (can’t afford one either!) but they don’t appeal. Scurrying off and on a boat to see a port town wouldn’t do much for me. That said, everyone I know who’s been on a cruise has loved it.

@CounsellorTroi

“Liking different things” doesn’t explain or justify the vitriol and sneering on here though. And I haven’t seen anyone being smug, only trying to correct the often hilarious misconceptions and prejudices that many anti-cruisers seem to have.

The OP asked us to make her not jealous, some of us are trying to do that.

Telling her the food is fab, the crew are all attentive and smiley and the entertainment is excellent is not going to do that.

I’m loving all the naysayers on this thread who’ve clearly never been on a cruise and keep spouting out a lot of myths that put people off cruising. Please keep going as it keeps the prices down for me!!

Cruising is one of the best kept secrets for young families. I’m usually a backpacker type traveller, absolutely hate resorts but cruises are brilliant. Allow us to do all the independent sightseeing we love while the children’s needs are well met. Happy children = happy parents. Did I mention the free childcare which is excellent quality and allows you to enjoy a leisurely meal and drinks?!

Now to dispel a few myths

Seasickness - only once during a cyclone in Caribbean, never in the med

Unhygienic - They are the cleanest places I’ve ever been. We’ve never been ill. I use a napkin when handling buffet serving implements.

Forced entertainment - this is not a thing. There are lots of simultaneous available options to choose from, or simply sit in a quiet part of the ship looking to sea/ reading/ whatever.

Trapped with people - don’t recognise this, it’s easy to escape people and be alone as there are lots of quiet spaces. Very rarely see the same people twice.

Awful passengers - all old/ obese / lacking in culture - I’ve met Olympic swimmers, BBC journalists, top scientists, engineers. All on holiday, not there to do talks. There are some obese people and older people/ disabled... and good for them, easy holiday. But they are not the typical traveller. On the ships I’ve been on it’s a very international and well heeled crowd. The only exception is P&O which I would never sail again due to awful flag waving.

Unhealthy not fresh food - absolute rubbish. Food is prepared from scratch, all fresh. Lovely healthy food if you choose those options. I eat more veg and variety of healthy food on a cruise than in normal life. They make everything on board from scratch. They cater really well for allergies and fussy children- everything made to order.

I have been on a lot of cruises and with the exception of P&O (beautiful ships, but passengers/food/entertainment not to my liking), I don’t recognise any of the criticisms reflected in reality, besides the environmental impact (true of all foreign travel).

As for not seeing places, we just focus on 1 thing in each place, plus lunch/ walking. Never felt cheated Or rushed or surrounded by cruisers. We take local trains and buses or taxis and blend in like any other tourist. Spend our money locally like any day trip, buying coffee / water / food. We don’t do ships tours.

OP, I've been on several cruises and I have come back 5 or 6 lb heavier on every single one of them.

I wouldn't go on a cruise even if I was given the best possible room/perks for completely free. Absolutely no idea why anyone would want to

Because the experience is nothing like what is described here by most who've never been on one.

Everything said here is what my OH said. He refused to go, said he couldn't think of anything worse, sane people all the time etc...

He started to question things after I'd been on 5 and kept telling him it was nothing as he feared. He finally agreed to try, more to prove ne wrong than anything.

Sure enough, he loved it! What did he come home to tell people: it really is nothing like what you imagine it to be!

My advice is actually to go on bigger cruises because you actually have much more room and places to avoid the crowd if that is what you dread. I about hate crowds, hate shopping centres, but on the cruise, I get up around 7am and its very quiet. We usually eat earlier so that we can enjoy the facilities when most people are getting ready and having dinner.

You quickly learn which cruise lines suit you best. Carnival for partying, Royal Carribran for more activities. Same with destinations. European with many Italians and Spaniards are mid more hectic and loud than those with mainly Americans.

Not jealous at all.

I recently watched a tv programme about a huge cruise ship which held 5,000 guests.

There were several pools. The one they showed, poolside was crammed with people on deckchairs and with the large number in the pool I'm pretty sure it became a pee pool very quickly.

the 'entertainment' reminded me of Sunday night at the Londom Palladium, 60 years ago.

I'm a solitary person and could see me spending the whole cruise sitting on a chair on my balcony.

One of the river cruises would probably be enjoyable (far less people for a start) but I'm physically disabled and can't do stairs or walk long distances with my walking frame so unless I could take and use my mobility scooter to use onboard, that's also a no.

You quickly learn which cruise lines suit you best. Carnival for partying, Royal Carribran for more activities. Same with destinations. European with many Italians and Spaniards are mid more hectic and loud than those with mainly Americans.

This. There is a huge variety of cruises out there and to assume they are all the same is ridiculous. We like Azamara, used to belong to Royal Carribbean but now independent, smaller, stylish ships of 700-800 passengers, all inclusive including drinks, no big theatre shows, adults only and geared to couples.

We've been on two. The food was amazing, we enjoyed the entertainment and did not feel that anything was forced. They were big enough to find quiet spaces.
The downsides for me were:-

1. The ports. Industrial, a long way from anywhere. Difficult to really see places.
2. The seasickness. 2 cruises and 2 episodes from hell for my poor sea sick kids.

I feel like I've done it now and wouldn't want to go again. I'd like a.much smaller experience if anything

We don’t do ships tours

Very wise, Turningacornernow Why go with a huge group or pay $$$$ for a "small and intimate group tour" when the second is precisely what you can book direct with locals?

My only exception is when the sights are a long way from the ship (Giza, Rome, etc.) and even then you have to hear at dinner about those who've gone it alone and had a much better experience!!

We like Azamara, used to belong to Royal Carribbean but now independent

Are they?? Somehow I'd missed that so must look at them again

My own favourite was Oceania, but now they're been taken over by NCL the prices have more than doubled and I'm dubious about paying much more and finding corners have been cut

For those that have not been...not same restaurant every day but choice of several, silver service or self service. Vast choice of foods for every meal. Pizza bar open until 2am and just help yourself. Dessert bar open for afternoon tea every day. Choice of entertainment from piano bar, singers to full on shows, afternoon drama, cinema, swimming, hot tubs on deck, quizzes, loads of children completions and clubs for days at sea. I have never felt seasick. Large cabins with balconies. You can wake up and breakfast on balcony. We go every 3 years or so for a week without kids. We do adult sightseeing, dress for dinner, or not, spent time together doing romantic things so horse and carriage ride around Rome or visiting fjords.

I also fancy a river cruise but have read they do have some drawbacks. They often berth alongside each other so you could wake up one morning and find yourself looking into someone else’s cabin. Also you might find yourself having to walk across other boats to get to land or get back to your boat.

An Evans Evan coach tour with all-inclusive catering in a massive float apartment block? Hell, no.

If I were to travel more I'd use trains, buses, and planes to see things...and something called a ferry to get over the blue bits.

My idea of a nightmare. Butlins at sea.

I'd love to do a Norwegian cruise but I just can't a-fjord it......😁

@toconclude

Wouldn't take one if it was free AND they paid me. Shudder. All that enforced intimacy with complete strangers.

I can genuinely honestly say that I too would not take a cruise even if offered to me for free. And there is literally no other holiday I can think of that I'd say that about.