Some people love cruises dearly.
Other folks wouldn't set foot on a cruise ship.
I have a couple of friends who cruise often, and they want me to go with them. It's not the first thing on the top of my list of 1000 things I want to do before I die, yet they keep encouraging me to try it. I need your advice, please!

What do you love about cruises and why do you enjoy them?
What do you dislike about cruise travel and why would you not enjoy going on a cruise?

Are there any special destinations that you like better than others or favorite cruise lines that you adore?

"Even now; with a thousand little voyages notched in my belt. i still feel a memorial chill on casting off." ~ E. B. White
Brenda

I'm not a fan of cruise ships. My experience however is limited to a 3 day baja cruise. If i am on the oceans I prefer to feel the roll of the waves. I don't feel this on those big ships. I also would rather spend my time poking around town than inside a packed ship. I did however find the food in the diningroom to be very good.

A few years back my husband and I thought we might take a cruise but then I saw a travel show on the constant embarking/disembarking, all the waiting to get on and off the ship. Also the minimal time spent in a destination and we thought Naw!

We saw this one Greek cruise and they spent the afternoon in Santorini and then back on the ship and so on. I was like there in NO WAY you can say that you have any idea of what a country or place is like in an afternoon!! They get off, by some trinkets and come home and say they have been to Greece. Ok yes they have technically...what they should have is cruise version of the hop on hop off bus. If you find a place you like you can stay as long as you want and arrange for them to pick up when you are ready to go. In other words own your own yacht!

I will say that many people have told me how they loved their Alaskan cruises. I think seeing the coastline from a ship would be spectacular.

It depends on what kind of traveler you are and where your going. Some places like Alaska and Greek or South Sea Islands may work fine other places not so hot. Cost is also a factor, getting from point A- B, meals, entertainment, lectures on area etc.
I do know as a single traveler I don't really like them because I have to pay for 2 most of the time as fares are based on two in a cabin. I have done them with friends I travel a lot with because they wanted to go on this or that one,and because they have cheerfully gone to some odd ball places I wanted to go. If your not into the food\entertainment part then it looses a lot of its value IMHO.

quote:

What do you love about cruises and why do you enjoy them?
What do you dislike about cruise travel and why would you not enjoy going on a cruise?

Are there any special destinations that you like better than others or favorite cruise lines that you adore?

What I loved about cruises was when I could leave finally.
What I disliked about them: they are not suitable for my kind of travelling. I like to go to the markets, try a different language, hang out, cook and drink with friends. All the indifferent cruise food - and in such huge quantities - only reminds me of what real food enjoyment should be about.
But a cruise is not bad for a largish-scale reunion. In that case, the destinations do not matter.

Lesfaye, I agree with you 100%. By the way, the hop-on-hop-off cruise doe exist - in the form of ferry crossing, which is a faaaabulous way of travelling.

It's a matter of preference I have come to believe. We have been on two, one a short 3 day trip to Baja, and another a week to Mexico to see the solar eclipse years ago. Right now I think the only "cruise" idea on our travel list involves Alaska, although I am intrigued by the itinerary for Greek islands/Turkey. I also think that as we get older, it seems more inviting as a relaxing way to travel. That said, we are not cruisers.

I have never gone on a cruise, but my feelings are pretty much the same as Americana's. One thing that really prejudices me against them is the blitz of cruise ship tourists that always seem to be thronging the streets of Italian cities. Paris is very lucky not to be close to a sea where cruise ships can dock and send their passengers off on those day trips so they get to cross off one more city from their list and never really experience what the city is about. Rome, Florence, and Venice are just inundated with the cruise ship crowds.

I hate the idea of being cooped up and at the mercy of someone else's itinerary. Plus I get seasick, so I can't imagine ever going on a cruise. But I suppose I can see some attraction with a place like Alaska, although I'd still rather spend my travel time in Europe.

- Roz

Brenda,
I have been on a few cruises, way back when I worked in a travel agency and got great discounts. One of the nice things about cruising was being able to visit different places but settling into your cabin for a week and not having to pack or unpack. Many ships will sail at night, so you wake up in the morning in a new port and have all day to explore, but yes, the experiences at the destinations are short and fairly superficial.
I actually enjoyed the full days at sea the most, as it was so very relaxing.
I recall a Princess cruise where we had the same waiter assigned to our table every day, and he quickly learned our names, our likes and dislikes, etc. I ordered cappuccino at breakfast the first morning and after that when I walked into the dining room in the morning, "our" waiter would catch my eye and slip out, returning shortly with my morning cup of cappuccino. It made me feel so pampered.
I think that if you have never done it, you should give it a try with your friends, but pick your ship and itinerary carefully to match your interests.
- Marie

I'm not a cruise person either, but I do think it's a matter of personal preference. So if you really want to find out what people like about cruises, I'd suggest looking over at Cruise Critic or some other forum where cruiser fans tend to gather. Otherwise, asking on ST seems a little like going on a dog-lovers' forum and asking people why they like cats--some people may like both, but you're more likely to run into justifications of why dogs are better than cats! (Which, of course, they objectively are. )

Brenda,
We have only been to Alaska and I have to say it was amazing! We (my husband and two sons ages 17 yrs. and 13 yrs. at the time) went with my mom, sister and a another couple. We were on a tight budget including one room for the four of us and had a great time! Of course, part of that reason might be because we had sunshine all day every day, which is very unusual for Alaska, I'm told. It's the one vacation my husband and kids always ask to do again.

I also agree with what Marie (Italian Connection) said about cruises.

It is something you have to decide for yourself. Keep in mind that you don't have to take any of the excursions offered by the ship, you can do whatever you want.

Denise

Brenda, what I realised about our recent family cruise is that a cruise is less about the travel destination than it is about the boat experience. We enjoyed being with the relatives we were with; but also had to deal with 1785 others. We saw some of Alsaka, but not on our own terms. It was easy, but not particularly rewarding in the way our independent travel is.

We did a 14 day Med cruise in 1996. Never Again! We were partnered with a couple for dinner every night and they were dreadful. They were quite a bit older than us and had been on many cruises. We really liked the idea of eating in our room or on our small terrace, but if we didn't show up for dinner, they would scold us the following night. Said they didn't cruise to eat by themselves. We were completely intimidated by them and it ruined our trip. Also, it seemed like everytime we sat with people during breakfast, most of them couldn't help but tell us how much money they made and how much they had traveled or how much their house cost, what kinds of cars they drove and even during an evening show, the man sitting next to us with his new bride went on and on about his dreadful ex-wife. We're older and wiser now and wouldn't allow anyone to bully us like that and also, many ships now have open seating. I do realize that a lot of people truly love meeting new people, but we are rather private and like to choose people for ourselves.

We loved the different sites we saw, but were exhausted and couldn't wait to rest during the two and only sea days. We needed to be up for breakfast very early in order to meet our tour group for departing each morning at 8:00 a.m., usually returning around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Of course, we really wanted to just order room service, but knew that couple would be mad at us and make us pay the next evening.

As others have mentioned, we really have come to dislike the throngs of tour groups bused in from the ships. They DO really consume the cities they are visiting.

We would never consider another cruise and have settled into slow travel, taking our time and enjoying leisurely days.

Sorry, to be so negative, but it just isn't for us.

Sharon J

Hi Brenda;
We took one cruise, back in 1999, on the Celebrity "Century" in the Caribbean, and loved it!!!!
(I seem to be the only one here who did!!! )
We thought cruising was for old "fogies", until we went, but really enjoyed it.
You can join in as litle or as much as you like, and no-one is forcing you to get off the boat at each port and take expensive tours!!!
We did no tours, but got our own taxis and buses in each port, and really enjoyed each day at sea, too.
The people you meet are hit and miss, but if you go with friends, you don't have to put up with creepy strangers at dinner at least!
I would really recommend it as something to try.
And because you love to pamper yourself, you can certainly do that on a ship!!
And.... you only have to unpack once!!!!
Go on, what have you got to lose?! You'll never know unless you try!!!
Would it be to a warm part of the world? or Alaska?

I think it depends on the type of cruise and the way you like travel.

My parents (70, 73) just went on a 2 week river cruise, Budapest to Amsterdam, with Viking. They loved it. They particularly liked: just having to unpack once, not having to navigate trains/taxis/bus/car on their own; not having to do research on the sites (although my dad did it anyway) b/c they were given a guidebook geared to their specific itinerary and there were talks about the next days port/sites the night before; everything except tips were included (all meals, at least one guided tour per day); they docked right in the middle of town and usually were in small towns that were easily walkable; they usually had their afternoons free to wander around on their own if they wanted (my dad) or nap or read up on the sundeck (my mother); the daily tours were targeted at their age group - no all-day hikes, minimal hills/stairs, air-conditioned bus for one place that was outside whatever town they were docked in; the tours and talks were done by locals at each town, not by Viking employees.

The only thing they were not thrilled with was the food, which they thought was fine but nothing gourmet, nothing they would go out of their way for at home. They bought their plane tickets through Viking as well - for once it was the same as doing it on their own - and were very pleased with the service. Someone from the boat met them at the airport, took their luggage, loaded it onto a van, and delivered it to their room, and vice versa on return.

Their boat had maybe 150 passengers or so (no young children although I am not sure it is prohibited), so it was much smaller than an ocean cruise. Most of the passengers were retirees, 50+. There was no set seating in the dining room - you could eat with whomever you liked, but meals were only offered between certain set hours. Entertainment was minimal - local musicians after dinner sometimes, a pig roast and beer on the sundeck, a cheese and wine tasting, and one other special event I can't recall.

They were pleased with their room, which was on the top deck - plenty of room for two with a table and sidechairs, plenty of closet space and storage, comfortable queen bed, not-miniscule bathroom, large picture window. So if you don't want to do pre-trip research and planning (which i love), don't need to be able set your own itinerary (which I do), aren't looking for gourmet food (I am) or lots of entertainment (fine with me), it might be for you.

I second the recommendation to check out cruisecritic.com. They have many forums grouped by type of cruise (ocean, river, barge, etcetc), by cruise line, etc etc.

If you are looking at a European river cruise and want more info, feel free to let me know - my parents would LOVE to tell you about it and show you their 100s of pictures.

[Edited to insert paragraph breaks for easier reading]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Roz,

I thought I will never cruise, and frankly, kind of looked down on the cruise crowd. But life is a good teacher, even in advanced age, and here we are, less that two weeks away from starting on a Mediterranean cruise! I will post about it a bit later but what happenned to change my mind?

Our life-long friends and us happened to have the 50th wedding anniversaries in 2008. We are really very close friends but we don't travel together for a variety of reasons, among them the four of us being "alfa travellers" ("my way or no way") and are travelling in completely different styles and for different reasons. We are all four aware of this and it did not impact on our friendship in anyway.

So when my friend and I got together to plot a celebration trip with common denominators and without dominators, we decided that a cruise will be the most "democratic" way to travel together: same itinerary, same accommodations, same lifestyle.

More on the cruise in due course.

(P.S.: This will be my second cruise. The first, on the River Po, was described in my related trip report)

If you can give me a day or 2 to gather my thoughts I will return with a response..
right now I need to whittle down all I have to say on the topic.

I have been cruising for 30 years (I'm 43) with 150 cruises under my belt with itineraries around the world.
I have the highest status with Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.
and 135 days with Holland America. I leave in a month with my mom on another one.

I also do immersion land travel...

I see the differences clearly.
I have fine dined on the high seas or eaten one too many jambon e fromage on pigeon pooped church steps. Laundry on daily basis...or smoke filled clothes for a week.

If you can provide me the itinerary you have possibly considered that will also shape my response.

It's been intersting to see what other think on the topic,
Karen

What a delightful group of responses you received, Brenda. It's been fun to read...

I agree with KT that ST may have the wrong dna for cruise questions. I am very much an "alpha" traveler and want to be in control of where I am and who I'm with, and yet have enjoyed cruises immensely. There's something very soothing about the motion of the ship and the days at sea are great...what is there to do but relax? We've cruised as a solo couple (met several other couples we bonded with) and with family/friends.

The venues that I have decided are best suited to cruises are islands (Caribbean, Greek) which may not warrant extended stays individually (or would just take too much time) and the Panama Canal (which sort of requires a ship to be appreciated... ). My inlaws raved about the barge/river cruises in Europe for slow traveling...they walked along the river faster than the barge was moving.

Anyway, I say an emphatic "YES" to cruising.

Bill

For us, with one exception, cruises are about the ship, the relaxation and, with any luck, the good weather. They are not about the destination because no "slow travel" advocate would consider 4 hours in San Juan a "trip."
That said, when we have been exhausted, we have found a cruise a lovely sybaritic respite.
The one exception, and it was glorious, was spending a week with friends renting a turkish gullet and visiting marvelous villages and archaeology sites around Antalya and the Mediterranean. No trip has ever been more satisfying: 8 good friends rented the boat together, with a first rate crew and guide, and it met and exceeded all of our expectations.

I understand Brenda's problem. To me getting there is important. Spending days doing it is not me.

OK,good cruise ships have fabulous amenities and if you like that life style then the captain can take the ship say 10 miles offshore and go round in circles. It doesn't matter.

On the other hand a cruise around the mediteranean with lots of stops would be interesting. I admit to being interested in a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. Great boats and, best of all, plenty to see. Ironically, two very good river cruises are run by Austalian operators. But of course anything run by Australians has to be good!!!!!!!!!!

If you need a week or so to recouperate then it may be a good option. It really is down to life style.

I have never been on a cruise and it isn't really on my list of things to do BUT I have a friend who did a cruise with her husband for their 25th wedding anniversary. They did a cruise around the Pacific Island and just loved it. I guess all that sun and laying by the ships pool wouldn't be bad. They got off at various islands for the day and then moved on...