Massive Cruise ship holidays

[Roiesin57]

Do you enjoy them, or do you refuse to take one due to their impact on the environment?
We have taken one a few years ago and we had a lovely time. Everything about it was gorgeous and I fancy another one; but when I look at photos of them they look quite grotesque when they're docked in these relatively little seaside ports abroad.
Have you given up on foreign holidays because of the impact on the environment? And they're so damn expensive too

I've been on P&O's Britannia.
It was lovely.

Sorry but I think they are grotesque, polluting, probably expensive but I don't care because I wouldn't go on a cruise if it was free. All that poo in the hold, crowds of people, jammed in little cabins, Butlins on sea. Thank goodness many cities are banning them.
And yes, I limit travelling because of the cost to the planet, those cheap flights carry hidden costs. One flight to Australia pre pandemic, wiped out every carbon footprint saving of our entire household.
The planet is precious, thinking carefully before travelling and maybe imposing some limits is something we can all do for the sake of future generations who are going to have to live in a hotter, wetter, troubled world.

@HowDoYouSpellThat no I'm not a bot, I'm a real life human being & I'm looking for a nice holiday for dh 60th birthday. I never knew I sounded like a bot 😅

Not for me...too many people on that you can't escape from..
Organised " fun".

What holidays do you like?

I go on one most years …love it.

Cruise liners are like the vultures of the holiday world. Disgorge their multitudes into the same small spaces without spending much money within the local infrastructure. Poor people following a local guided tour just for the day with their headphones on, and not getting to experience anything about a place. That new behemoth liner!

I took my two children on a cruise last summer as husband couldn’t get away. We had a lovely balcony room for a fortnight and tbh the experience was much nicer than I was expecting. It was very relaxing and we got to visit some amazing places. I don’t think I’d do it every year but I would do it again.
I will worry about my one holiday a year when the Taylor swifts of the world stop flying by private jet.

@MissAmbrosia I'd forgotten about the impact on the local economy too. Hundreds of visitors every year who are not spending locally. I feel the same about these big all inclusive holidays with big corporations such as Tui. I read they're impacting small local restaurants

Makes me think of going on holiday to a shopping centre (which is what I think about Dubai also).

I’ve done a couple of cruises. One small ish one, out from Kenya, visiting some interesting islands, and one larger (although not huge) when my dc were younger.

both fitted the bill at the time, and were good holidays. I’d do another one, it as before, would research carefully and try to ensure that the cruise, itinerary, and boat suited what I was after.

Going on one this year for the first time in several years. Been on them before and they are fantastic. This boat is even better! A great way to see the sights of various cities/ports that I wouldn’t normally choose to go to. And they are VERY expensive, so hardly equivalent to Butlin’s and I’ve been there and enjoyed it also!

Don’t know what ships you are going on … the ones I am in are full of people spending plenty of cash at each location.
Shopping, taxis, meals, souvenirs etc

when I look at photos of them they look quite grotesque when they're docked in these relatively little seaside ports abroad.

They really do, it's a good thing Venice has stopped the now. So completely out of proportion.

We went on a cruise last year though, as we wanted to visit the Norwegian fjords and (unlike many other places) a boat seems like the best way - we chose Fred Olsen as they're not so enormous and still look more like ships than floating apartment blocks.

I wouldn't go on one due to the impact on the environment. I probably wouldn't enjoy it either but the environment is the main reason. I lived for a few years in a well known south of France resort which attracts cruise ships. Covid was a wonderful respite from them. The bay was so much cleaner. Most locals don't want them there despite the welcoming signs..

It has grown massively in the last ten years. These big awful polluting ships every day..

The town I lived in doesn't need tourism from that to survive. Smaller less well known towns don't either really.. It's an utterly selfish way to travel.

I went on the Hurtigruten coastal express, small ferry ship up the coast if Norway. It is used as a ferry, and as such, I decided it was best of both worlds.

I wouldn't go on something huge like TUI or P&O because it would be too busy, my oh is autistic and can't cope with crowds. We meant onNCL a few years ago and enjoyed it but stayed in the cabin a lot and did excursions ourselves to avoid the crowds. We had a really nice cabin with private deck etc, not an inside one !

The only kind of cruises that appeal to me are unfortunately ones that I am unlikely ever to be able to afford.
I agree that the huge modern cruise liners are hideous. There's all kinds of things wrong with them of course but the aesthetics would be enough to put me off even if they weren't so damaging environmentally etc.

You do realise that there is probably even more poo coming off planes right?

Hundreds of visitors every year who are not spending locally

I think the port fees and the tour groups bring a lot of money in, so there’s a conflict between the local population and local governance.

I wouldn't go because I can't see the attraction. SIL went on a cruise to celebrate a big birthday and was hell-bent on us joining her, but fortunately we managed to get out of it. I would have really resented paying out all that money and using up a big chunk of my annual leave for a stay in a glorified floating holiday camp.

Equally Airbnb's and holiday cottage cause massive long term problems for the resident populations. Both small towns and large tourist cities have cracked down. Which leaves hotels with their daily towel changing and buffets and pools no different to cruises.

Maybe its better if 5,000 people see Barcelona on one journey than on 2,000 individual flights? Cruise ship passengers are no different to any other day trippers; they buy stuff, they go to bars and restaurants and they use local services like taxis.
Cruise ships are also trying to convert to other fuel than crappy grade diesel mostly to comply with ever more environmental conscious law. Things improve every year.

My opinion… they’re not for me (been on one…had a good time but won’t go out of my way to back on one) but go if you enjoyed it and think you would again.

Buy stuff from the people hawking in the markets, have a drink when in port, tip your taxi driver…once an economy tips to a tourist based one, then tourist money is key.

I live on a Greek island that thankfully has a ban on cruise ships. Despite this, myself and many other volunteers spend hours every week clearing up rubbish and debris on the beaches from passing cruise ships, despite our council doing weekly cleans during the height of the tourist season. It is truly hideous.

I see these towering, sea faring apartment blocks up close on neighbouring islands and they are hideous. The passengers getting on and off in a rush, surging en mass to the bus or taxi. Not giving a crap about others because they are on a tight schedule. There’s no sense of individual adventure. They rarely have time to make it much further than the port or main town. And frankly, whilst they might be able to state that they have visited XYZ, they really haven’t. At best they have had a week or two on a floating hotel with a couple of hours spent in the port of one island or another.