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?

And I'd add, stopping off at places for a day on a cruise helped me know which places I'd go back to for a longer visit. Would never have thought of Puerto Rico but it's one of my favourite Caribbean islands now.

Yes. Basically all of this. An orgy of mindless consumption.

A question about river cruises (especially if anyone has done them in Germany) : is the water choppy? Is motion sickness a problem for those who are more sensitive? I love Germany and the cruises look amazing but I also get sick crossing a puddle...

The Hurtigruten ones have a knitting corner where you just pick up the needles and yarn and knit a square that they later make into blankets.

There were no water slides, swimming pools etc (one jacuzzi). They did have a talk every night, on......Nordic stuff. You don't have to go. They will keep us up as we crossed into the Arctic circle. And if the northern lights appeared.

Outings if you want them. In most places you can walk to the town though (but it's pretty icy further north so you might prefer not to). I did a couple.

I went half board, so breakfast and dinner but not lunch. So I ate on shore or bought a sarnie in the onboard cafe.

@ThePrologue a weekend 'taster' cruise is nothing like a seven night cruise. Much more of a booze cruise.

I've never cruised but would love to try it. Lots of good info here.

You don't get very long in each port so you see bugger all really and the ports are far away from everything interesting.

Not true of all cruise ships. The monster floating holiday camp resort ones maybe. The smaller ones can get to smaller more out of the way places where you can just get off the ship - or at least catch a tender launch - and go for a walk and get lunch somewhere. Sometimes overnights in port.

I was sceptical about a cruise, but we recently did a Virgin Voyages one. It was amazing. You get all the restaurants included for free, all are differently themed, my faves were an incredible Italian, a steak and seafood one and a Korean one... at the Korean you do drinking games with your table, which turned out to be good fun.

The ents were incredible, and loads of gym classes/fitness/dance included as well. We went to interesting ports, oh and the bonus is no kids! Great value for money when we worked it all out.

I didn’t mean to direct the comment at you - just making the point that what some folks love, others hate. I don’t know why cruises attract so much hostility, often from folks who have never been on one.

We enjoyed the music in the evening - overnight stop in Venice …

Sea days are great if you love being on ships! Lots to do, a nice breeze and no wasps.
Every day you wake up somewhere else. Wonderful.

Well, have you not seen the new Top Gun?

I don’t know why cruises attract so much hostility, often from folks who have never been on one.

Me neither. I often find in irl that if I mention that I line cruising the reaction is as if I'd announced that I enjoy eating babies.

The thought of being on a massive cruise ship full of people that you cannot get away from sounds truly awful to me. The pools look so so small and the cabins cramped. A day at sea to wake up somewhere new is just not worth it to me. I like going out to different restaurants in the evening when I am on holiday, would never want to be cooped up on a ship eating in their restaurants with hoardes of other people.

So when people wax lyrical about something that sounds so awful then yes, you will likely get a strong reaction.

The ones I go on are not awful. Smaller ships, no formal dressing up required. And it's actually quite easy to get away from people if you gave a balcony cabin. The thought of going on a package deal to some samey generic med resort to lie on a sun lounger for two weeks is awful to me.

Whenever I think I could get over my fear of being on a boat with 1000 other people that I can't get away from, I watch the videos of the ships hitting bad storms and that's enough for me. I will never, ever go on a cruise.

Well I don't like a sun lounger holiday and have never been on one. I am very very particular about the holidays I like and neither an AI resort nor a cruise would pass the muster with me.

Not sure why the 'cruise line people' feel the need to trot out the old 'AI generic holiday line' as if that is the killer punch and everyone else goes on these by default. There are other holidays available you know, perhaps you ought to look further afield and expand your horizons?

Yes but I've seen plenty on telly belching out black smoke and polluting the ocean with noise and sewage. I can't imagine the amount of fuel needed to shift an actual city stuffed to the gunnells with people around the world. It's just awful and I wish they could just be banned. We don't need to fuck up the environment just to listen to some cheesy singers in the bay of biscay and do a taster visit of Rome for a few hours.

I can't help but agree. I can understand why elderly people and those who are not mobile due to disabilities find them suitable. But for people who are mobile I find them to be lazy and distasteful way of travelling.

The answer is ' everyone' doesn't.

Enthusiasts do. Think very carefully about what you are looking for in a holiday yourself before being swayed by others' opinions.

I've always assumed the people who go on cruises are exactly the sort of people who go on an AI beach holiday

Terrible. I don't want a day to see a place. I want a week, minimum. And I don't like being on ships.
But apparently I can't possibly know that, and cannot say I don't want to go on a cruise without trying one.
Wrong.

The fjords are about 8,000,000 times more stunning when you catch them without any cruise ships belching their way down the middle

Quite. They worked well for my elderly ILs when they had mobility difficulties and basically wanted to stay in a floating hotel with no reason to disembark. It’s baffling why anyone else would contemplate a cruise.

I've done two small ones with P&O and loved it.

Food :I was very pleased. We did freedom dining so could come and go to the formal restaurant as we liked.

I really enjoyed the black tie night - sauntering about looking at the outfits was fun.

The entertainment - SO impressed. Absolute professionals doing several different shows every cruise, with smaller things like singing duos, pianist, harpist too.

I enjoy talks, demonstrations, history, literature, all were well represented.

The cabin - we went utter basic. Our choice. Two narrow beds, a teeny shower/ loo room, wardrobe and desk. I would love to try the swanky suites but we were practical money wise.

The people - both were child free. Our preference. So generally an older age group, no problem with rowdy groups.

Things to do - several pools on each, including a little one in the stern of the ship I don't think many had noticed, with its own bar. A very civilised library. The crows nest piano bar. Gym and beauty salon, tho you pay for those.

Excursions - did a couple of coach trips, felt a bit works outing to Clacton, but well run. I most liked when ship docked right inside Norwegian harbour town and you could just step out and you were there.

Constant sense of slight anxiety that the thing might sail off without us, tho!

Not a seasick moment either time.

I'd jump at another one.

I’m super curious (and have no horse in this race). But those who are concerned about the environmental impact.

A. Do these ships not have the equivalent impact of a small 5K town?
B. Isn’t the individual impact just transferred from the place where all the passengers are from? Ie. Bob and Mary have an input of X per day at home and they have the same impact of X per day on a boat.

On other words for the week on board a cruise ship… Bob and Mary are contributing to the impact of that particular boat but they are not contributing to their impact at home?

I feel like that’s the missing part in all of the “cruise ships are bad” articles.

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