To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

[malificent7]

It has never appealed until recently. I thought it sounded like you are trapped to an itinery, on a long , boring journey woth only a day in each place and no space from fellow passengers but everyone I know seems to love them...i am seriously tempted.
So what is so good about a cruise and has anyone actually hated them?
Is the food as good as everyone says and is it relaxing? Apparently you don't get sea sick...is this true?

What’s the age range on Saga please? On Celebrity Apex next month (too big for me but was a good deal), really like regent Splendor and for me perfect size :))

It’s open to anyone over 50. A companion over 40 is allowed if travelling with someone over 50

Our experience, though, is that the majority of passengers are older - in the late sixties to seventies range

I’ve got a number of friends in their 50s and - in general - I wouldn’t think a Saga cruise would be their thing

Thank you
we are early 60’s, so another couple of years or so & then maybe try it. I have to say was blown away by regent. Loved one price for more or less everything.

Stingy? I said COMPULSORY tipping, not tipping individuals for excellent services received eg cabin steward, regular waiter.

As I see it, the fewer ‘included’ fripperies the better, as I’m not paying for unwanted extras.

If you want to spend an extra £1.5k a week for ‘free’ drinks, that’s your choice. I’m happier to refill my insulated bottle with chilled filtered water rather than add to the mountain of single-use plastic.

As oft-repeated, horses for courses.

We had all this on MSC too though. Tips were included in the price.
We had a drinks package that included Wifi and speciality meals.

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Tips are included on P&O, they make of very clear no tipping is required.

The room service is free too. Free water and hot chocolate seems a bit silly when all the food, water and hot beverages are included anyway!

Exactly.
PS P&O offer free hot chocolate if you know where and when to look. I couldn’t find any on Cunard however.

I don’t like hot chocolate but you can get it in the buffet on p and o.

i don’t use single use bottles so wouldn’t see bottles of water as a perk, I just fill my own.

All we paid extra for on p and o was drinks and wifi. WiFi certainly not compulsory

So many polarising comments and views on this thread. It’s obvious that holidays are each to their own, for example I know I wouldn’t like camping for example, but one of my friends loves it.

Me and DH really enjoy cruising. We don’t do it every year as we enjoy a land based holiday to our favourite place in Greece where we have been going for a number of years.

We actively avoid the huge ships and prefer the smaller ones - we know that RC or Celebrity wouldn’t suit us for example. We have just come back from a week’s cruise on Ambassador to Denmark and Norway. Lovely smaller ship, interesting ports including Copenhagen, and adults only. We didn’t do any organised trips, just got off and wandered, enjoyed the sights, had a lovely lunch on the harbour in Copenhagen, it was a great relaxing trip.

it was a new cruise line for us as we’ve only previously been with P&O who we love. There were some things we loved, and some we thought P&O do better so horses for courses. We met some really interesting people and some we’d be glad to never see again! Food and entertainment were good. We’d travel with them again.

Yes this is all about cruises from the users’ pov but I bet those who live or even holiday at resort-stops hate cruises. Swarms of people all being disgorged at once 😁

I have 3 friends who use wheelchairs, all of whom have travelled independently on cruises. They all said how incredibly helpful staff were and that it's ideal for them, as you can do as much or as little as you like, pop back to your cabin for a rest if you need to, or there are talks, films and live entertainment. Some of the shore trips should be accessible as well. Do your research, don't go for the "party" type cruises, but Fred Olsen and P&O were recommended. Also they all recommended getting a door-to-port taxi there and back, so you're not struggling with luggage etc.

Yes I totally get that. I now holiday a few times every year and plan to live in a port town I “discovered” on a cruise.
But.. passengers get off at 10am and are gone by 8pm. They don’t Airbnb the place to death or buy up second homes , they do buy souvenirs, snacks and transport. They are day trippers.

Yes, which is the negative. Cruisers aren’t staying in local accommodation, eating in local restaurants, and aren’t staying more than a day. They add very little to the local economy.

I've been on one, when a teen, with my family. Unfortunately I was seasick the whole time and slept while my family enjoyed the on-ship entertainment. As soon as we entered the port I'd wake up feeling fine!

They use local transport for excursions, which will often include lunch at a local restaurant, provide employment for local guides, take on supplies from local suppliers.

there will be passengers that disembark, wander round then back on the ship but also plenty who spend.

For anyone going to the Caribbean there is the excellent ‘you save they benefit’ Facebook group. They organise excursions with local operators, cutting out the cruise lines as middleman, so directly benefit local taxi drivers, guides, venues etc.

The cruise line I cruise with, Azamara, organise concerts for passengers in some ports or invite local performers on to the ship to perform. The concerts are free for passengers but obviously the performers are paid.

Regarding mobility issues, if you travel from Southampton for example, you can take your own mobility scooter on board with P and O. We were on a cruise last week and we were talking to a lady who needed a wheelchair. If you fly- cruise, you can't take you scooter on the plane because of the battery but you can hire a scooter for on the boat, but she said this was very expensive. Also, you need to tell the travel agent/ cruise company that you have mobility issues ASAP, as depending on your level of need, an evacuation chair needs to be booked in your name, just in case, and there are a limited number.
We've done 2 cruises with P and O, fabulous food, both in the buffet and restaurants, lovely staff, trips are expensive but if you book with P and O they won't leave without you!
We did "Rome in a day" and had about 8 hours there, admittedly not enough time to do everything but it gave us a taster of what we'd like to do if we had more time, so we're thinking about going for a long weekend. We walked 12 miles that day, so if you've got mobility issues a coach/ taxi trip might be better for you.

We've booked another one for 2027!

Also if you go on cruise critic and search for your roll call then there maybe others on there that are happy to share excursions. We rarely do ship ones unless timings are tight. Save a great deal and you can tailor it well.

If you look on the destination boards of CC there will be recommendations for tour guides as well. Also tours by locals is really good as they have a dedicated search for ship excursions.

How do you get REALLY cheap deals?

Tips are included on P&O, they make of very clear no tipping is required

If only, @Negroany
I've only been on them once - never again - and the constant hovering of the room service stewards in the last 24 hours would suggest otherwise

My main gripe, though, was that with the passenger being 90% British the standards were chosen accordingly. If it had been even half US guests they'd have had a riot on their hands

Is that true? Excursions are organised including food / wine or tourist events.

When we did a cruise in Norway and another in the Far East, we ate in local restaurants during the days in port. The local economy benefited from our spending.

I couldn’t be doing with these 5k+ capacity cruise ships. They are far too big. Seen them on holiday on boat trips and docked in Funchal, Dubrovnik. If you are spending a day in a place where cruise ships dock and have flexibility to when you go, check online the ships at the dock each day. It makes such a difference.

My parents do river cruises. Due to the physical nature of rivers, the boats are c150 capacity. Plus as towns were created due to the rivers, they can get off the boat and straight to the attractions. Whereas some destinations on larger cruise ships, have to take 00s of coaches to the place. By the time you get there, it’s time to board the coach back to the ship.

River cruises are more expensive but you get a larger cabin. So you can relax better

On a local economy given the tensions about housing in some places perhaps people arriving spending and leaving can help more than hinder.