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?

Too many Americans? What type of comment is that? In a whole list of things you don't think you'd like about cruising you include people of a whole nation?

The thing is though there is such a variety of cruise holidays that it’s impossible to generalise. Some ships offer none stop action packed holidays while others are a lot smaller with top end service and very luxurious. There is then everything in between.

A Royal Carribean Cruise would be my idea of hell but I can see why for others it would be a fantastic holiday. I have only cruised with P and O which we love but have decided we prefer the older ships as they are a bit less full on. We are trying Princess next year to see what they are like and I have promised DS when he is over 18 we will try Cunard as he loves the idea of the formality (best get saving now)

Princess are great, we went with them last year. I would advise you to book direct, our cruise planner was great.

Thinking of trying P&O next time.

Delighted I’ll never have to cruise with some of the people on this thread - very strong opinions on something they have never done.

Holidays I won’t do again … Camping (traipsing across a field in wellies to go for a wee, waking up boiling hot, no decent cooking facilities). Anything “self catering” (why would I want to go on
holiday to go to the supermarket, then have to make a meal, in a kitchen, with loads of things missing. Rural France (everything shuts at 7 .. very very boring). A UK seaside resort (expensive, and probably rainy)

…. but I gave them a try, before deciding I didn’t like them.

The thing is though there is such a variety of cruise holidays that it’s impossible to generalise.

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Generalisation it may be, but I think cruises generally involve ships.

A ship contravenes my life-rule of ‘never go anywhere that you can’t get out of in a taxi within ten minutes’.

Ridiculous comment. I have never been to Dubai and I know I would hate it. In the same way I know I would hate a cruise. It is very easy to appraise the characteristics of something without experiencing it. I can see with my own eyes what they entail. Anyone can. Notably, not one single cruiser has been able to justify the horrendous environmental impact and issues highlighted here.

Cat got your tongue?

We did a Ned cruise and never left the boat. It's lovely when everyone has gone for the day. One day we spent the afternoon as the only people in the cinema. Watched Paddington 2 with loads of hot chocolate and then went to the empty swimming pool area to sunbathe. Lovely

Being a lover of warm sea, I’ve certainly never fancied any ‘hot’ cruise, because I’d rather be in the sea, than on it.

Plus, we’ve had holidays on an island habitually visited by cruise ships. Some of the loveliest times on the beach were early evening - watching the sunset with a rum cocktail, listening to the tree frog chorus, - or early morning, walking along the deserted beach. And these were just the times when we’d see the massive cruise ships either heading for the port a few miles away, or leaving.

I wouldn’t feel the same about ‘cold’ cruises, but still can’t really fancy them. We did once do a 3 night, 2 city mini one, with Dbro and SiL who are great fans and were hoping to convert us, but I’m afraid it didn’t work!

What do you mean … cat got your tongue ?

I’ve no idea if I would like Dubai or not .. looks a bit glitzy, but there is a wide variety of hotels, and the restaurants look amazing.

Everything causes some level of environmental impact, from owning a pet, to eating meat, to driving a car, to flying, to having children. If we were to stop doing anything that harms the environment we would all be Vegan, have no kids, no pets, not drive, and only use wind/solar power.

The newer classes of cruise ship run on LNG which reduces environmental impact, and as an industry constant strides are being made to improve efficiency.

Cruises sound like All Inclusive on a boat. No thanks.

I’d love to go on a cruise but I can’t because if I looked out to see and didn’t see any land, I’d probably have a panic attack.

I see you have come up with a set of non relevant and non comparable facets of life in an attempt to defend the fact that massive floating hotels that disperse sewage into the oceans have an horrendous impact on the oceans and the environment.

Having children - necessary to perpetuate the species.
Having a car - for some people the only means they have to get around.
Vegan - vegan children are on average 3cm smaller it is not a viable health choice for many.
Pets - how is this relevant?

Did you read the article mentioned above where it is stated that the 218 cruise ships in Europe produce 4.4 times as many sulphur oxides as all the cars in Europe?

Perhaps it would have been better for the proverbial cat to get your tongue than to set out such futile attempts to justify them?

Interesting to read all these viewpoints. We are going on a Silversea cruise soon...anyone been with them?
First time cruisers so it's an adventure.

@Marinade gosh you're being quite strident here aren't you. I think most people aren't rushing to reply because who knows where to find reliable stats and figures?

There are environmental pluses .Cruise ships take sea water to turn into drinking water. That's got to be better than the equivalent thousands of tourists in hotels using the local water in dry areas.

Clearly greenhouse gas emissions are too high but its the International Maritime organisation sets the targets. 2030 is the milestone year to reduce emissions by 40% .MSC have already cut their green house gas emissions by 37.8% from 2008.
Sewage is treated according to strict international regulations. Cruise ships have follow the same guidance as all the hundreds of other vessels on the sea. Technology moves on in response to demand.

@Sirzy I have been on Sky Princess and found it no better than P&O sadly although possibly more entertainment on the ship. The decor is very American and a dated considering the ship is relatively new.

Judging by the pages of adverts in the Daily Mail, it's readers must be their core passengers. That's enough for me.

…you need to chill out a bit, I know, go on a lovely relaxing cruise.

BTW … it would be much much better for the planet to have a lower birth rate, having no children at all means no environmental impact. If indeed the argument is that we should consider the environment before making any life choices, no children, or maybe only 1, would be the environmentally friendly option.

Pets have a huge impact on the environment .. all that land given up to raise crops & animals for pet food. What about all the waste product they generate ? If you are worried about the environment ban pet ownership.

You miss the point with veganism … the huge environmental impact of the meat industry far outweighs the environmental impact of cruising. Want to save the planet ? Stop eating meat.

Me & my husband only have 1 child .. I’m offsetting my future cruises, by not having another - no need to thank me.

I find it irritating to be told that you can't criticise something that you have never experienced.

I think most people are not rushing to reply because they know that cruise ships are an absolute eyesore at ports, they flood the areas they arrive in with tons of people who wonder around all day but do not spend much in comparison to those people who are holidaying there (see Venice where they are not liked at all for this reason), the entertainment is naff, you are cheek to jowl with tons of other people, spending days at sea just sounds unappealing, the pools are small, and the environmental concerns are legitimate.

When I was in Split, Croatia, the lovely port was ruined with the sight of these awful white industrial looking monstrosities, set against the smaller charter boats. Horrible. And they have signs up warning people not to sit down because I understand the cruisers do not like eating lunch as they have filled up on breakfast so they dont want to use the restaurants.

You reference to green house gases is very lame as it is seeking to place the blame on the International Maritime organisations, but even this does not address the sewage that is chucked into the oceans. A vessel is simply not comparable to a cruise in terms of the amount and type of sewage. Are you seriously content with this?

My brother & his wife have been on a few. He doesn’t like flying so a cruise is a good way to get to see the world together. They’ve been to lots of countries they probably wouldn’t have visited otherwise.

Both of them speak really highly of the cruises, the food always looks amazing too.

They are both early 30s. The last one they went on, they said there were more young people on as opposed to previous years, so perhaps they are gaining popularity with the younger crowd?

Silversea .. lucky you, their ships look amazing. I hear good reports. You might want to join a site like Cruise Critic, you’ll find review on all lines .. and roll-calls for future cruises

If Venice didn’t want cruise ships, it wouldn’t have cruise ships … like every other port, they like the money that the cruise ship brings. It not just spending (and many cruise ship passengers will buy things), it’s mooring fees, port fees, wages for coach drivers, guides, taxis etc.

if there was not a benefit to the local economy, the ships would not be allowed to dock.

As someone who lives in a location being destroyed by liner tourism I completely abhor the whole industry tbh.

It's not that simple.
I live in a location now popular with liner tourism and local residents have very mixed feelings - nobody listens to us though.

https://www.mundycruising.co.uk/cruise-news/cruise-advice/cruise-ships-in-venice-which-ships-are-not-banned-from-venice

Perhaps read this? Thankfully the larger species of these monstrosities have been banned from Venice so clearly they don't bring the benefits you seek to promote?

They are still going, just dock further out and come in on a Tender

So you are using more fuel and resources to get there on tenders. Got it.

And how long does it take to get on the tenders? Queing up to squeeze onto tenders to see Venice, you could not make this up.😅Its like being in the dinner queue at school.

What a horrible way to enter the beautiful lagoon of Venice. But I get that people are desperate to travel on these floating monstrosities so please, fill your boots.

I agree with all of the above, having cruised with Royal Caribbean from Southampton twice now.

On balance though, personally I would add into the mix, for me personally, I would only book a minimum junior suite so that I could dine in coastal Kitchen every evening - this is my hard line. I like a more intimate and less cramped, quieter dining experience for the dining and am not so fussed about the speciality restaurants tbh. Windjammer is fine for a quick Pitstone for breakfast and lunch but it's so busy and noisy.

@malificent7 - if you are curious about sailing, I'd encourage you to join a few Facebook groups for various different sailing dates or, for example, there's one purely for Anthem of the Seas. I'm sure there are for others too. Test way you'll get a good overview of other people's experiences, good & less so of their sailings for you to get a balanced view of what to expect before you commit to booking one.

Hope this helps.