Cruises? Do you love them/ hate them etc ?

Don’t knock something you haven’t tried I ve never worn a little black dress or a floaty long one because I know I wouldn’t like them and I know they don’t fit my style so whilst I understand what you mean it’s not as cut and dried as that

I would never be able to afford a cruise and having listened to my friends stories which she thinks are wonderful I would get no joy On one cruise they went through pirate seas and had to put razor wire on board and all queue up in the walk way ‘in case’ … once she went on, a trip where the bus crashed into a wall no one hurt, she went on a saga one and told me about the walking frames lined up outside the dining room and the old man in the next cabin who used to knock for her to help him get dressed !! She goes on her own and thinks these ‘adventures’ are great fun but it would be a nightmare for me
But apart from all that I think you are either a cruise lover or not and that’s ok
I ve holidayed on a narrow boat with family and loved it I just wouldn’t want to be thrown in with lots of people for a month or however long, I d be lost, and being with people in long dresses and dicky bows would be such a nightmare even if I didn’t wear one
Trying a small boat cruise tina would be the best way forward if I was ever thinking of going on a cruise
but I m not so I ll let those that love them have my place

Isn’t it amazing how wide the chasm is between the lovers and haters ?

Never thought I’d like it but I love them. I prefer our river cruises to those on big ships.
Like the choice of where to sit, so you can choose to meet up with the same people or not, though even on a big cruise, you can ask to change tables.
So relaxing and so much to see.

I prefer river cruise to being on a massive ship. Have done a few river cruises and find them much better not so many people and a lot more informal. No massive dressing up every night , something we don’t enjoy.
Only large ship we have been on was cruise to Thailand Vietnam etc although the countries were lovely to see especially Vietnam didn’t enjoy being on a large ship.
Maybe try a river cruise if your not sure.

None of the cruises, big and small, that we have been on have felt crowded. Those big ships are huge and there are lots of places like libraries etc where you can be on your own. Even your own cabin though I would always get a balcony so we could sit with a glass of wine and nibbles in private. We would organise our own shore excursions though because you get better value and see exactly what you want to see privately.

I’m in complete agreement with TiggyW. We have been on quite a number of cruises ans would happily go again. We’ve seen many beautiful places both from the sea and the land. We’ve met all sorts of people although I couldn’t say that we have made friends. It’s a flexible type of holiday where you can do everything or nothing. The amenities and service are excellent.
My worst nightmare would be camping or a self catering cottage in the middle of nowhere. I love to visit country places but not stay there. I will never stay anywhere that isn’t as comfortable as my own home. Cruises get a lot of bad press. Yes there have been some issues but they are few and far between which is exactly why they get so much publicity. Don’t knock something you haven’t tried.

I've been on one cruise. We went to the Norwegian Fjords with CMV now sadly no longer operating due to the covid pandemic. The ship's capacity 1500 - 1800 or thereabouts.
I would love to do another cruise but not at present. I think I would stick to small ships. I really don't fancy one of the big cruise lines.

I absolutely love the chance to dress up for dinner because that doesn’t happen much here in Australia these days and I do miss it. It also means my husband will wear his evening suit and bow tie and I really fancy him when he is dressed like that ! ?

I’ve never wanted to go on a cruise. We’re not social animals, prefer to please ourselves where we go, what we do and how we dress and don’t want to have to sit with strangers making small talk. Also I’d be very wary of the speed with which any bug can (and does) spread in such an environment let alone Covid. I’m sure they are the perfect holiday for lots of people, just not something either of us wants to do.

Very interesting post this one. I am the queen of the outdoors with camping, caravans, skiing, sailing, hiking, cycling, windsurfing and believe you me I never thought a cruise would be for me. As for the comments to so many people being onboard I have always found a quiet part of the ship to read or sew or play a game with with other half.

After all the active hols and self catering a cruise has been a real treat sometimes and having someone else to do the cooking etc. We have been to Norway a lot and once the boat has docked hiking boots on and up the nearest mountain so still about to enjoy the outdoors.

Felt a cruise has been a treat and done sea cruises and river cruises which are very different.

But of course each to their own as they say.

There seem to be lots of posts on here from people who have never experienced a cruise.
We’ve been on several cruises, to the Med., Norway and the Canaries. We absolutely love them! It’s great to wake up in a different place every morning. (That’s probably why I also like narrowboat cruising!?) Our favourite cruise was on a P&O medium-sized ship from Southampton (we don’t like flying). We visited Cadiz, Malta, Venice, Slovenia, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Gibraltar in the space of 19 days!
There is no need to join in with any activities on a ship unless you want to; there are plenty of quiet corners for relaxation, e.g. the lounges, the library, the spa, the outside decks. Your own balcony! It’s no different from staying in a hotel. There are different restaurants to choose from, some formal, some informal. If you do want activities, there’s always something happening ; talks on various topics, dance classes, the gym, the spa, the pools, quizzes, flower arranging, destination talks, passenger choirs, etc. I wouldn’t book on one of the huge ships though; smaller is better.
Personally, I can’t think of anything worse than baking myself on a hot, crowded beach. Cruise ships have air con and lovely sea breezes. Cruises are not cheap, but I think they provide much more than a land-based holiday.
We haven’t tried river cruising yet - hoping to when restrictions are lifted.??
My only complaint is that we have to travel from Lancashire down to the south coast for most of the cruise departures; it’s about time that Liverpool became a main cruise terminal, rather than just a day visit for most cruise lines.

I've never been on one and it seems a lot of stress with idiots like this potentially causing trouble.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c4mamfleWs

Lucca

Pretty sure we had a thread like this quite recently. I’ve been on three. Two with another couple -river cruises so small boat. and one on our own also river but a bit of a night mare as day one you went and sat randomly at a table and then Found you had to stay there for every meal ……and we did not find the other people congenial! (Probably mutual) would never do it again if there wasn’t free seating

We stayed in a hotel like that once! Absolutely nothing in common with the couple and obviously both tried to time things to avoid each other, which didn’t work! Fortunately they left after about five days and their replacement were much more friendly.

Pretty sure we had a thread like this quite recently. I’ve been on three. Two with another couple -river cruises so small boat. and one on our own also river but a bit of a night mare as day one you went and sat randomly at a table and then Found you had to stay there for every meal ……and we did not find the other people congenial! (Probably mutual) would never do it again if there wasn’t free seating

Went on a very eventful Nile cruise with DH and friends years ago. Other than ‘the events’ it was great and the excursions fabulous.
I’d do it again.

never been on one, can't afford it.....but, watched on tv a docu; when cruises go horribly wrong so would definitely not go on one.

www.channel5.com/show/when-cruises-go-horribly-wrong-other-travel-nightmares/

We went on a river cruise in 2019 and it was the best holiday I’ve ever had! I loved the small ship and the fact that there weren’t hordes of people, but really enjoyed getting to know some of the other passengers. We had booked one for last year, cancelled and tried again for our anniversary this year - cancelled. I’m looking forward to the time when I will feel safe to go again. Don’t know whether I fancy ocean cruising, the days just sailing kind of put me off a bit.

I've never been on a cruise but if I were on my own, I think it's something I might try. I think there's lots of different types of cruises and I'm sure I could find something I'd enjoy. A friend went on one with her husband and members of her family, she thought she'd hate it and tbh went under sufferance but much to her surprise she really enjoyed herself.

About 15 years ago, my wife and I went on a couple of cruises on a relatively small ship (600-700 passengers). One was a Mediterranean cruise and one a Baltic cruise. We enjoyed the experience but we have never been tempted to take another cruise.

harrigran

I would never consider going on a cruise, it is my idea of a waking nightmare.
I have never taken a package holiday in my life and certainly would not want to be in a floating tower block,

We have done several cruises, but not in those 'floating tower blocks'. There are cruise companies that run smaller ships. The one we had many good times on has gone out of business, but I believe Fred Olsen has some samller ships. We found a passenger number of 4 - 500 was quite acceptable

Absolutely love cruises! Late DH and I did 3 or 4 together, and since he died I have been on both a river and an ocean cruise.

I only go on small ships, so not thousands of people, and have been happy to choose my own company or go and mix with other passengers. I love the dressing up for formal nights, and you always have the choice to choose an informal restaurant.

But the main attraction for me is just being at sea and the sea days are brilliant. Love sitting and relaxing with a book on deck. It's a 5 star hotel that sails to a different destination every day.

I have just booked a cruise for August next year, and am keeping my fingers crossed!

I have never been on one,but dh`s friend goes on them at least twice a year and loves them.
I may be adventurous one day

I’d love to find out! I’ve heard a lot of good things about cruises but my OH isn’t really interested. I had just about persuaded him to consider a river cruise along the Rhine (he was born in Germany) but then Covid struck!

I am thinking about booking one for myself once things have settled down to the new normal.

Personally, I can't think of anything worse than going on a cruise! The idea of being stuck on a boat with all those other people fills me with horror. I'm very open minded and will try most things, but I know cruising isn't for me.

First cruised many years ago it was a Caribbean one that I'd won we paid to take our 14yr old son he did make friends and continued corresponding for a few years with a lad from Puerto Rico and he was the go between within the group being the only English Spanish speaker. At the time it was the largest ship but looking at them now they are far to large. Found the Americans were the ones for dressing up,although our table had two lovely other families who didn't so felt at home with them.
Our second cruise was a smaller ship on the Nile (another competition win) this was far nicer only 100 passengers very relaxing and more personal.
Would love to do an Alaskan cruise but the long flight would put DH off so looks like cruising off the agenda unless can get him to do European river cruise.

We had two successful cruises when our youngest son was 12 and 13, his older brother and sister were away at university so we thought he would have company.

We didn’t like the dressing for dinner as at the time we had a lot of formal dinners through my husbands work but I understand for some people that’s a big part of cruising.

We loved waking up in a different port and we discovered fabulous places some of which we have returned to.

Some people treated the ship as an all you can eat floating buffet, there was a lot of trouble around sun beds, we don’t tend to try and make friends on holiday but we noticed lots of couples and families had palled up.

All in all it’s been a good experience and one we may try again.