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

We go on a Marella cruise most years, so we like it. They are medium-sized ships.

I don't recognise a lot of the descriptions given here, but most are from non-cruisers who have absolutely no idea.

We don't really go up onto the pool deck with the lobsters, but find plenty of other parts of the ship that suit us. I like the adults-only deck with the shady cocoons to read my book and drink my cocktail. DH likes the coffee port.

We did a lot of the entertainment when the teenage DDs were with us but now we pick and choose what we want to do.

We always eat in the main dining room rather than the buffet. If we are lucky, we will strike up a conversation with those sitting next to us.

As for going ashore, we have always dumped plenty of money into the local economy - whether buying a nice lunch, hiring sunbeds, stocking up on limoncello , entry fees. Excursions are provided by locals, both coach drivers and guides.

A Marella ship will typically be in port for over hours, so there is no need for everyone to get off at once. Excursions have staggered leave times.

We have not experienced 'Butlins on Sea', but this is more driven by your fellow passengers rather than the cruise line. We've done our fair share of holiday parks when our children were young, and there is no way you could compare a cruise to Rory the Tiger.

My neice and her partner are in their early 30s and they love cruises . They have been on 4 and just about to do their 5th in carribean. They definitely are not chavs !

It’s not about a greatest hits version of travel. I far prefer a more “authentic” experience but as a single mum of teens without another family to go away with, it’s a good way to have a family holiday without it being really lonely. Think about that?

Not for me. I like to immerse myself in the history and culture of one place for a couple of weeks and wander about on my own.

But I see the defensive "only way to get a holiday for Reasons, you can't possibly say you don't like it or that it's bad" tribe are already all over this. Funny how people who like, say, skiing (also no thanks from me) are much more, er, chilled.😎

my dream holiday as a child was a round the world cruise with Alan Whicker and now Susan Calman, as much as Jane McDonald is good on the programme, I couldn’t put up with the bursting into song

my idea of hell on holiday would be in a all inclusive resort drinking cheap booze and eating English pub food, watching people run to the sun loungers and staying there prostrate for two weeks

These ports can refuse the cruise ships (Venice have and some of the fjords are not going to allow cruise ships from I think 2025 not 100% sure on the date) but the reason they don't is it does bring in money for the towns. People say cruise ship passengers don't spend money locally, but if they didn't why do the towns and ports allow cruise ships? They must get something from it.

Edited to add it is 2026 that only cruise ships powered by alternative fuel can visit the fjords.

Because those are the alternatives. Sure. Both sound like hell to me, so I do neither.

I’ve not been on a massive cruise ship but did a TUI marella European cruise, starting in Majorca, went to Sicily, Italy, Corsica and Spain. Had such a lovely time so yes I’d love to go on another cruise. It was a good mix of all ages and it was lovely waking up in a different place every day

There is a post on this very thread saying why see just one country when you can see seven and giving a long list of attractions. Others have said similar.

The fact you’ve booked cruises for another reason is irrelevant.

Btw, I’m not even knocking it. The idea of waking up in a new place every day is very seductive. BUT that type of itinerary is at odds with trying to spread tourists out a bit more in very popular destinations. That’s just a fact.

Laughing at these comments Butlins of sea, chav fest. Funny how they are from the people who have never been. It certainly wasn’t like that on the cruise ship I went on, far from it.

People going off on a one off cruise versus people who use private jets like taxis. Who is feeling the guilt, not the latter.

I have never been on a cruise, but I have researched. They are not all massive ships, there are smaller ones which don't have that holiday camp vibe.

If you don’t go, they’ll just sell your space to someone else so don’t go by any means but it will have zero environmental impact if you don’t go so that’s not a reason

I can't shake the thought that they are like giant petri dishes for contagious diseases. I thought maybe I was being unreasonable but my husband pointed out I got seasick on ferry crossings. He has sailed a lot and told me that even a large ship can pitch and roll in bad weather.

That picture of the one in tiny Fowey harbour put me right off.

I agree with Venice banning them. I think other places will eventually.

They aren’t paying for accommodation though. And they don’t need to pay for much food as they get it on the ship. So they are just paying for souvenirs and small meals. So they don’t contribute that much to the economy.

I'd love to go on a cruise on one of the smaller cruise ships. Can't afford it but will go if I win the lottery. 😀

I think my issue with them would be the same as AI/resort holidays. I am not a sitting down/relaxing on holiday person.

I’m not an expert in this, but I would imagine it varies greatly between destinations and different interests within a place (residents v businesses, etc.).

I don’t think it’s as straightforward as cruises being equally good or bad for all destinations. Venice is in a very different position to an island with a small economy that has no developed tourist industry.

Me and DH have cruised on and off over the years, culminating in our longest cruise - a month - last year to the USA and Canada.

We love it. Always go for the smaller ships as some of the bigger newer behemoths full us with dread. We went on P&O's Iona in 2021 when she'd just launched and was sailing at half capacity after COVID. It was lovely, but I can imagine what it would be like at full capacity and it wouldn't be for us. We went to the States on P&O Aurora and that size is perfect.

You can always find a quiet spot to read and have a drink, and no-one is forcing you into doing things you don't like or joining in with classes or go to the entertainment. We just treat it as any other holiday, relax, have a nice dinner and a drink after, see a show if we feel like it, just do our own thing. Same with port days - we like to have a wander round, take in the sights, lunch in a restaurant etc. We'll do an organised trip if there is something specific we want to do or see, but really we're just happy pottering.

We've been to some great places on cruises - loved NY and Boston last year for example. We like the fact that we visit several different places on one holiday, identifying places we'd like to go back to in the future.

Basically it's horses for courses isn't it. Some people will love them, some people try it and it's not for them, some people will never try it and will decry anyone who does like it. Just as well we're all different.

I went for the first time last summer. It was great. I'd do it again.
There were small nods to trying to be more environmentally friendly, no buffet so less food waste, glass water bottles refilled in the cabin each day so no plastic bottles, recycling waste water using heat from the engines.
But I'm not daft and know the bigger picture is they are pretty terrible environmentally.

But really I just don't care enough to make the environment a priority when taking a holiday.

I have never been on a cruise, but I have researched. They are not all massive ships, there are smaller ones which don't have that holiday camp vibe.

Yes we like Azamara. Very relaxed, no "formal evenings", often overnight stays in port. About 500-600 people. And tender landings when the ship anchors out in a bay and you get a boat to shore.

Cruise Ship passengers are not banned from Venice, nor are all cruise ships.

Some drop anchor out and shuttle people in, some stop further down the coast and bus people in, some still stop at the Cruise Port … if the cruise passengers were not adding to the economy, they would be banned altogether - which they are not. Venice had a tourism problem, and that is all tourists .. cruise ships are just one BUT the economy of the city depends on tourists - so they make noises, but nobody is really banning anything.

I saw a programme about the Scottish Islands once, they get a cruise ship into port every couple of days … do a roaring trade selling kilts and shortbread to the Americans, who all leave about 6pm, and the place goes back to being quite … the locals loved it.

I don't approve of massive cruise ships. I prefer small ones and we have had some enjoyable holidays that way. But they tend to be more expensive.

So many reasons that I wouldn’t want to go on a cruise. Many mentioned here so I won’t repeat them but for me some of the things people talk about as a reason to love them sound awful to me. Drinking cocktails in an adults only deck, the coffee port, if we’re lucky we start a conversation with the people next to us. I just want to have a pint in a country pub, go surfing, watch the sunset from a campsite and switch off from modern life when I’m on holiday.

It’s also annoying people keep saying there’s no time to do anything. I mean as if you have an extra 6 or 7 hours if you stay in a place. You get up, knacker yourself seeing stuff and going places and then go and have dinner and maybe go and see something else.

Plenty of the ships give you till 10 to back some are all night. Personally I eat later on holiday and go back to my hotel room/ apartment / cabin and snuggle down with DH and some wine. Doesn’t matter what sort of holiday I’m on.