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AIBU?

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Original poster

Massive Cruise ship holidays

319 replies

Roiesin57 · 09/02/2024 22:30

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

OP posts:
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CheersToMe · 10/02/2024 06:38

Me neither in that I don't sunbathe.
But it's lovely to sit in the shade with a book and a cold drink just watching the sea.
The trick is to find the quiet adult only spots.

I found port days were full-on with excursions, so it was lovely to relax on a sea day.

Backfromhols · 10/02/2024 06:50

Absolutely love cruises…go on 4 each year…just don’t enjoy other holidays as much. Have also made the best friends on cruises, we holiday with them all the time now.

Sausagenbacon · 10/02/2024 06:57

I haven't, but each to their own.
I hate the effect they have on the ports they visit though. We were in Kotor recently. The cruise ships literally dwarf the town. We sat watching tour groups led around the town, one group after another. To be frank, nobody looked as though they were enjoying themselves. Kotor is pretty small and it was overwhelmed.
We later went to Dubrovnik, it was just the same.

Namechangedjustforthis97 · 10/02/2024 07:03

Love cruising, have done a few and have a few more booked. We’ve only ever been on much smaller ships (600 passengers) and, having been to Pontins as a child, can confirm there is literally no comparison! 3 or 4 fabulous restaurants, no buffets or beige food, adults only, amazing service. It’s literally a 5 star hotel that moves around to interesting places. And yes, we do spend money at ports. Lots of overnights in port so we get off for the entire day and evening, go to restaurants, visit galleries, use taxis etc.
Eye wateringly expensive but actually always feel like value for money.
We’ve never tried the bigger ships because we’ve docked next to a few and I don't think they are for us, too big and crowded with massive queues to get on and off and just very…..loud? I can see why families would like them though, because there is a lot to do.

Bythesea99 · 10/02/2024 07:06

I think they look fun but wouldn't be able to enjoy it due to environmental guilt

AuntieMarys · 10/02/2024 07:22

Moier · 09/02/2024 22:46

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

This.
My idea of hell.

Toooldforthis36 · 10/02/2024 07:26

My idea of hell

Fairyliz · 10/02/2024 07:29

Roiesin57 · 09/02/2024 22:53

@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

Is this actually true?
Eg last year we stopped off at Lisbon. Had a walk around then arranged a two hour Tuktuk tour with a local man before popping into a cafe for lunch.
If the ship hadn’t docked wouldn’t the locals have been worse off?
Yes I know some people go on tours arranged by the cruise line; but in my experience this is a relatively small percentage of passengers.

SherylCrow · 10/02/2024 07:39

I have been on one cruise and loved it, booked another for this year. No crowds on board, spent a fortune in every location and explored a lot. Many misconceptions about cruises but I loved it. The food was pristine also and not a "chav" in sight. Just people who worked hard to pay for their holiday.

sixtiesbaby88 · 10/02/2024 07:48

I've never wanted to go on a cruise ship, but some of the small river cruises look quite nice, small boats with nice rooms, maybe the Danube or the Rhine

Shadowsindarkplaces · 10/02/2024 07:50

montelbano · 10/02/2024 01:32

I went on a Hurtigruten ship as well. It was a great mix of tourists and locals going home for Xmas. As you said it was a ferry for both cars and foot passengers (stopping at 3am to let a family get off at a tiny village). Cabins were comfortable and clean but quite basic. The food was absolutely fantastic esp if you like fish. The staff were efficient and very professional. Times in port varied according to the size of the port and varied from 30 minutes to 6 hours which was plenty of time to wander around, etc.
However a number of British passengers were upset as there was no nightly entertainment, there were few daylight hours, the Northern lights had a habit of appearing in the early hours so they had to get out of warm comfy beds, etc., etc. If they had read the brochure properly , then it might have sunk in that this was a working boat with space for tourists who didn't want to be cossetted and waited on every moment of the day.
One of the best bits was when a heel came off my boot; a heel that had just been repaired in UK. Reception said they would send it down to Engineering; 15 years later and heel still intact!

Show quote history

We had 'lectures' and daily meetings with the expedition team, usually local geography/ history. That was the entertainment that suited me to the ground. A talk about the Sami people was very interesting. We saw the Northern Lights one evening. There were organised excursions, or you could do your own thing. The idea of a huge hotel type cruise wouldn't appeal in the same way. We met interesting people, the staff were brilliant and food wonderful, not a chicken nugget in sight!

MissTrip82 · 10/02/2024 07:53

Not for me, I’m introverted.

Are they terrible for the environment? Compared to what?

Ive been vegetarian for 30 years. But I’m not vegan. I drive a car. I fly in planes. We have a pet, and children.

I’d be a roaring hypocrite to pretend I was committed to the environment. i’m impressed so many others are child free pet free vegans
who don’t drive or fly.

Mischance · 10/02/2024 07:54

These ships are grotesque. And there is a new even more massive one that has just been built.

Not my idea of a holiday with built-in "fun" and flitting from place to place with no opportunity to really get to know them.

I do not fly - I have never liked the whole experience, but now that we know how damaging they are, I simply do not do it at all. There is no justification for a situation where people can choose to fly off somewhere at the drop of a hat and expect there to be a plane to suit. There will have to come a day when flights are rationed.

ExpressCheckout · 10/02/2024 07:59

I don't know anything about their environmental impact, but they are incredibly ugly looking things, and to me they look like they will topple over 😱

MoreCandles · 10/02/2024 08:02

I've never wanted to go on a cruise ship, but some of the small river cruises look quite nice, small boats with nice rooms, maybe the Danube or the Rhine

Now you're talking. We've been on 4 of these over the years. Danube, Rhone,
Douro and Rhone again. I think about 170 passengers. They're some of the best holidays I've ever had. They're a bit pricey so can't afford to do it every year,
not even every other year, but once you've paid for the cruise you've paid for virtually everything. Being on a river there's so much to see even on the move,
unlike ocean liners where all you see is sea. And sailing is often overnight so you get from dawn till dusk in the place you're visiting.

A massive cruise ship would not be for me. I'd pay not to have to go.

TheaBrandt · 10/02/2024 08:02

Never been in one but my god they are monstrous looking just jaw droppingly huge. There was one at an ancient small port town we were staying in it just towered over everything

Metallicant · 10/02/2024 08:02

My idea of hell.

Beezknees · 10/02/2024 08:03

I've never been on a cruise ship because it's not my type of holiday. But I have not given up foreign holidays, and I won't either.

ohtowinthelottery · 10/02/2024 08:04

You couldn't pay me to go on one. I can't think of anything worse than being on a floating holiday camp apart from the environmental impact and the effect on the towns and cities they visit. (I've been in Venice when they've docked before they banned them!)

I know quite a few people who do go on those holidays though. They experience very little of the places they visit. We much prefer to soak up the culture, eat food in local restaurants, see the towns and cities properly rather than following a tour guide with a giant lollipop like being on a school trip.

I have a 'special' birthday coming up this year. I'm planning a tour of Andalucia with some female friends and then a month interrailing down to Italy with DH.

Tatumm · 10/02/2024 08:08

Cruises are not for me, and I don’t like the negative aspects already mentioned.

If you’ve got a reasonable budget, an option is the Eurostar then trains around mainland European cities, staying half board in luxury spa hotels. If you like the moving around aspect, it satisfies that and train travel can be very comfortable.

Poppysmom22 · 10/02/2024 08:08

We have done a few on the smaller ships we don’t fancy the mega ships at all. And Venitians are so horrible to visitors it’s hardly worth trying to enjoy a cafe or whatever

SquashPenguin · 10/02/2024 08:12

Hideous. Wouldn’t be seen dead on one. That ‘entertainment’ they put on is my worst nightmare, as is being cooped up with all those people. Give me a proper city break exploring an area at my own pace any time.

Heather37231 · 10/02/2024 08:15

@Roiesin57 if you want to be convinced that a cruise is obscene, tacky and bad for the environment, you will get hundreds of posts here which take that view. Classic echo chamber environment.

But it would be better to take a step back, speak to your husband (as it’s for his birthday) and form your own view.

For example, you know that you can spend time and money in local restaurants and shops, nobody is forcing you to go on an organised tour. If you decide not to go on a cruise, the cruise will still go there. But you can go and spend money locally.

You know that you will see more places without flying and there must be objective data available about the environmental credentials of the big cruise lines.

1TangoWhiskeyAlphaTango · 10/02/2024 08:15

Went on a cruise last year with Royal Caribbean.

Whilst I think the concept is fine, it's not the type of holiday I'd personally choose to go on again for a host of reasons.

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