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

To be fair I am the biggest introvert going but cruises work well for me.

(I fully agree with the different stokes for different folks idea!)

@OnGoldenPond I am an introvert and love having a balcony which I can sit on and read my kindle. There are also plenty of places you can sit where very few if anyone will also be there.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is the lectures on sea days. I was privileged to hear John McCarthy give two lectures and a Q&A about his experiences as a hostage in Lebanon for over 5 years. An Alaskan cruise had a wildlife expert on who gave lectures but also commentary on the whales we were seeing as she and her team tracked them.

I'm assured that they are fabulous holidays, I shall never know as it is literally my idea of hell on earth.

The OP asked about massive cruise ship holidays horrible Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean type. Not a refined river cruise or Antarctic exploration which are a totally different matter

Aside from all the other things I've mentioned and that they are generally just 'trashy' and environmentally vulgar what they laughably call 'state rooms' look dreadful. Horrible moulded plastic bathrooms. Teeny tiny rooms and tiny balconies from which you can hear everyone above, below, and each side and have their fag smoke wafting in. Grim. Reminds me of terrible 1970s hotels in Benidorm or the Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle which was demolished due to inhumane living conditions. DH and I call them floating council estates.

Also it seems like they go to n'th degree to ensure they can extract as much money from you as possible. Searching bags for contraband alcohol. Demanding you buy drinks packages. Paying a 'tip package'. Malls full of shops and gambling opportunities. Supplement to to go to a decent restaurant etc

I've no doubt people like this shit but for the life of me I can't understand why. I live in a city where sometimes up to 4 visit at a time. They disgorge groups of people who wander round the immediate city streets looking totally blank, purchase some Chinese made souvenirs of their 3 hour visit and who then sit in bars and seem to endlessly complain about everything to the poor wait staff (literally watched it yesterday) .

It's hardly experiencing a location. It's a tick in a box if that. I seriously cannot think of a single redeeming feature of a big ship cruise.

A gentle warning that Americans consider “formal night” a jacket not a DJ. You’ll be obviously welcomed in formal dress but American lines’ idea of formal is not the same as Brit’s’!

Yes but my idea of alone time is farmhouse in the mountains with other houses in sight. Can't get that even on the biggest cruise ship. Country walks would be pretty hard to come by as well. Hiding away on a balcony or in a quieter area of the ship would just be a way of enduring the trip, not having an enjoyable holiday. My money is better spent buying the holiday that suits me, not trying to make the best of a situation unsuitable for me.

I think I may be a more extreme introvert than you. I reckon in a previous life I was a hermit living alone on a remote Scottish island

@OnGoldenPond completely understand as we are all different.

@alfagirl73 I have never stepped foot on a cruise but your description makes it sound attractive.

Which cruise operators do you recommend?

Do teenagers enjoy cruises? Is it the sort of place they can find other teenagers to hang out with?

Teeny tiny rooms and tiny balconies from which you can hear everyone above, below, and each side and have their fag smoke wafting in.

Most cruise lines prohibit smoking on balconies and confine smokers to a corner of the outside deck.

I have always found the rooms to be a reasonable size. Yes the balcony’s can be small but big enough to sit on.

Yes they absolutely do.

When my now adult DC were teens, and younger, they had a ball going on cruises. They would say it was more enjoyable than doing 11 days in Florida many years ago.

We still all love cruising as a family and we’re doing the Fjords this year for the first time -can’t wait!

I also love reading, sitting on my balcony or up on deck with only the ocean for miles no land in sight is heaven to me . I’ve spotted pods of dolphins go by!
So many different styles of cruising for different reasons, some for entertainment like the mega ships and some for seeing lots of places in one trip.
We recently did the Baltic on Celebrity,you can see so many countries on one cruise I just wouldn’t book separate trips to Talinn Helsinki,Stockholm, and Copenhagen all in one summer. The guest speaker on board was an American lady, she was a Baltic countries expert and am amazing woman with a wealth of information her talks were exceptional both entertaining and informative.
We do love city breaks too! In fact I really just love travel 🤣

It is correct

All infectious diseases go round quickly.

Noro is notorious - that's why they ask for handwashing/provide sanitiser. Because unlike other restaurants, they have a closed community that will be eating in the same places for days. That level of precaution is only necessary in places which are considered higher risk. You don't see it elsewhere, because elsewhere the risks are nowhere near as great

This is what made the holiday for me. My teens made friends in the ship. Actually one found a school friend we didn’t know was going to be there which was a result. My 17 year old had a ball. The teens all hung out on the top deck until about 2/3 in the morning. There were always staff around keeping an eye out, the ship was super strict on ID, you had to use your sea pass to get any drinks which had your age and photo, so they couldn’t drink. The buffet restaurant was 24:7 with a pizza oven and ice cream bar so they stuffed themselves and I could go to bed knowing they couldn’t get into trouble

they also loved the combination of having some day trips and not having anything to do. The gym was excellent so they went there each day too.

I have been on about 10 cruises and never been ill, even though on one we were informed that some people had gone down with noro and to take extra care with hygiene. I have however contracted noro twice during hotel stays.

As to a previous comment from a PP about being squashed into a teeny tiny room, the rooms we have had have always been bigger that our bedroom at home.

We went on that too and loved it, probably because it wasn't a cruise in the traditional meaning of the word. We also went on a Nile cruise and loved that too, other than those I can't see me going on a massive cruise ship.

So I worked on (at the time) the largest passenger ship in the world. It was Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas.
To respond to some points.

We had a smoking side of the ship, so smoking balconies, smoking areas etc were all confined to one side. Anyone caught smoking on the non-smoking side would be warned or disembarked.

Formal nights were optional. If you were dining in the main dining room, you were expected to dress up (many men in tuxedos and women in everything from cocktail dresses to gowns), but if you didn't want to take part, you could eat in the buffet in your normal clobber.
Speciality restaurants were always more formal dress.

There are places to go to escape the masses such as the library or some of the quieter bars. Some areas of the ship were less busy because nothing happens there. Ideal.
Other areas such as main promenade, activity deck etc are rammed most of the time.

Different ships can run the same area but with different itinerary, so if you want plenty of port time, you can see this in advance.

There are some brilliant, less showy entertainment options such as lectures (trunk shoe jewellers talking about creating jewellery/sourcing gems, watch specialist talking about history of watch making etc, guest lecturers talking about travel, history etc), activities such as wine tasting, backstage tours of staging areas, cooking classes etc. obviously you also have the OTT entertainment such as the themed nights on the prom, open deck parties, quiz shows, flash mobs etc.

Drinks packages are very expensive and the ship will sell you more duty free stuff than you're allowed to bring back to the UK which catches a lot of people out.

As staff, we were onboard for 6-8 months at a time. We sat through every 70s Night and heard every joke (and every idiotic comment). We smiled through being shouted at for the weather and for the prices. Racism from guests is awful.

The whole thing was big, brash, OTT, exhausting, so bright and colourful...crew areas were way more real and relaxed. Loved the experience, but like i say, if never go on as a guest.

Yes if you go on the bigger ships in the holidays there are loads of teens.
But be warned it can be expensive as they will want to go again the next year and the next year and the next year, well into their 20’s.

Alright Hyacinth Bucket, chill your tits before you go full on and your butler has to get your smelling salts.

I can Promise you, nobody from a council estate wants to holiday with you ANYWHERE wether it be in a cruise ship, a tropical island or in your palace grounds while you ride you very very high horse. You sound positively awful and judgemental.

Which cruise line were you on? We’re not regular cruisers but the ones we have done had big bedrooms with sofa and plenty of space. The o suite was a similar size to hotel bathrooms. They had good water pressure and lovely toiletries. The balconies were big enough for two sun loungers and a table and we couldn’t see or hear the neighbouring cabins.
We didn’t do the ships excursions but booked our own - very well arranged with great guides who were locals so had lots and f interesting experiences.
The food was excellent - both the buffets and restaurants. The drinks packages were good value for top shelf choices of drinks.

Thanks for the replies about teenagers loving cruises. Never done a cruise before but can give it a go for the teens if that means they are more willing to come with us on holiday. Meeting other teens will be a big draw for them as will be the drinks, I suspect.

Hope this is not a silly question but are cruises All Inclusive, so you don't have to pay extra for the food? I assume drinks you pay for unless you have a drinks package?

Do you have to sign up and pay for activities or spa or gym?

are cruises All Inclusive, so you don't have to pay extra for the food? I assume drinks you pay for unless you have a drinks package

Usually, the food in the main dining room and buffet is included but there will be some extra (better quality) restaurants that you have to pay extra for.

Tea, coffee, water, and a limited range of soft drinks are available free of charge from dispensing machines.

Do you have to sign up and pay for activities or spa or gym

It varies. Spa treatments you have to book and pay for (and they’re very expensive and they’ll try to flog you their expensive products).

The gym is usually free and there may be some free classes but some classes you have to book and pay for.

Entertainment and activities like quizzes and competitions are usually free, but there may be some things you have to pay for e.g. behind the scenes ship tours (which I recommend - very interesting).

Be aware that some events that are billed as activities are actually thinly disguised sales promotions for the art gallery and expensive shops.

Many thanks @HeddaGarbled that is good to know