Very large cruise ships - pros and cons

That's funny Merlot.

Not for me. Too many people and if I’d wanted to stare at vast amounts of sea with nothing on the horizon I’d have joined the Navy and got paid for it.

Yes Mt61 not just to the water, untold damage to beautiful Venice.

Obviously gruesome is the wrong word. I was just thinking about those who go on holiday knowing they will die. Perhaps sadness is a better description. You have to be very careful about your use of words on Gransnet.

Greenfinch

I have heard this tooAveline about people who know they are unlikely to return. I have been told that some cruise ships carry up to seven coffins. Gruesome thought!

It's a legal requirement that cruise ships have a morgue, the capacity depends on the capacity of the ship. I don't think dealing with death is "gruesome".

We used to go to Butlins when our daughter was small. It was great fun. It was cheap for young families, nice food, a children's club which our daughter loved as she was an only child. She loved the swimming pools.

nanna8

Oh, and Butlins was absolutely and totally nothing like cruises. I wouldn’t go to a Butlins ever if you paid me a million.

I would! I’d go for £100k, come to that!

We had never been to Butlins, or TBH ever wished to, but dd and SiL were invited to a long weekend at one, for some friends/family get-together.

They had 2 very young children at the time, and dd said that despite some element of ‘rough’, which TBH she’d expected, it was a brilliant place for young children. That was at Minehead, and to be fair they were blessed with excellent beach weather.

Mt61

Kate1949

I would hate to go on a cruise. We have watched these huge monsters coming into Venice. The have banned them now because of the damage they were doing.

Don’t they do a lot of water damage in Venice?

Yes and not just that.
Damage to the buildings which line the canals because of their massive wash, damage to local shops because of vast numbers disembarking at once, damage to the lagoon because of their size.

Watch the ‘ Poop cruise’ on Netflix. Put me off cruising on those massive ships.

Kate1949

I would hate to go on a cruise. We have watched these huge monsters coming into Venice. The have banned them now because of the damage they were doing.

Don’t they do a lot of water damage in Venice?

earth.org/the-environmental-impact-of-cruise-ships/

However convenient and enjoyable a cruise may be - and I am sure there are many attractions, why are people constantly being encouraged to take these holidays when we are also constantly being reminded of the accelerating and dangerous degradation of land and sea? It seems crazy to me.

nanna8

Oh, and Butlins was absolutely and totally nothing like cruises. I wouldn’t go to a Butlins ever if you paid me a million.

You have completely missed my point.

Can’t say cruises have ever appealed. However 2 siblings and spouses have been on many of the smaller ship type, and have enjoyed them.

TBH I was put off them even more, on seeing some the people who got off some of the massive ships in Barbados. Now and then some of them would be dropped at our hotel beach (none of the beaches in Barbados are private, or weren't then, anyway, despite a lot of pressure - and I dare say attempted bribery - from some very rich villa owners.)
I still have a vision of a woman arriving in a leopard skin bikini, masses of gold chains, elaborate hairdo and loads of makeup! For the beach!
I know that sounds snobbish, but it did seem so inappropriate.

The other thing, we so often used to see the ‘floating blocks of flats’ arriving on the horizon in the early morning and leaving at around sunset - both our favourite times on the beach. But then we’re beach/sea lovers - I know others will differ.

A good post DrWatson from an experienced cruiser. I too wonder how often those who condemn cruising from an environmental viewpoint travel by plane.
We tend to go on the organised tours now we are older despite the cost as we have seen too many individuals left behind because they are late back to the ship and one refused to be allowed back on board by the Russian authorities because her passport had been stolen.
A contentious point for me though is feeling uncomfortable about being waited on and looked after by non-European staff presumably on low wages. However we often chat with them and ,for example, one waiter from the Philippines said he had a degree in civil engineering but could earn more on the ships to support his family.I just hope they are well treated on board by their superiors.

We prefer smaller ships (except for the QM2 when crossing the Atlantic). It's more expensive but a better experience in many ways.

Oh, and Butlins was absolutely and totally nothing like cruises. I wouldn’t go to a Butlins ever if you paid me a million.

We are looking for a cruise just now out our way and all the ones we like are sold out up to 2027. Us Aussies love to cruise, it seems. The only one we liked with vacancies sets off from Auckland so we would have to fly there first. We will probably book that one but it is a bit of a nuisance .

Just to add “shopping facilities “?
Why on earth?
Merryhell on the waves? Why oh why do some people see shopping as a leisure activity?

Much of what you say DrWatson to defend or vindicate huge cruise ships only serves to confirm my total antipathy to this form of holiday or transport.
If I want to go to a Butlins holiday camp (I don’t) I am free to. The thought of a floating Butlins trapped with up to three thousand people fills me with horror.
They are not environmentally sound, the damage they cause to harbours and ports is undeniable, their attraction as an entertainment centre dubious. Who cares if there’s a theatre? I can go to the theatre in my holiday destination city and enjoy a genuine experience of that country’s own culture. Posh frocks and DJ’s may be your fantasy, they are not mine.
The only justification to me for a cruise is a pleasant and enjoyable combination of an itinerary and getting there.
“To travel hopefully is better than to arrive” - you could substitute “enjoyably”, if that’s what floats your boat. Pun intended.
Small educational cruises with talks by experts on eg archaeology, history or art connected with our itinerary, or to see the Norwegian fjords best seen from the sea -yes.
But huge floating holiday camps? No.

Ivwe never been on an ocean cruise and would not enjoy it. I hate crowds. I once went on a Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxur and quite enjoyed it, However it was a small ship with good facilities. The main problem was that the other passengers had travelled from Luxor to Aswan and had already got into their little cliques. So they were not very welcoming. But I have never minded sitting alone and people watching.

The amount they ate was astounding. One woman was going back for second and third helpings. No wonder she got a bad stomach. I had my hijab with me and wore it around the bazaar in Aswan. I passed some of my fellow passengers who were being hassled by guides and locals. They never even glanced at me. It made shopping so much easier.

I rather enjoyed Egypt and later went back as a solo traveller.

And to sum up, re very big ships (up to 5 or 6K passengers these days).

Cons :- queues and delays to go onshore in the morning, and possibly for b'fast and evening meals (though such ships have extra speciality restaurants, they draw off a bit of the crowd).

Queues for the main theatre productions each night, and at busy times, the lifts (they have a lot of lifts, front, middle and back, but they also have a lot of decks/floors, and a lot of folk who don't want to do stairs!).

At a port where 'tendering' is used (they cannot dock at the town quay), more queues to go onshore and return later, the lifeboats have a good capacity, but lots of older people cannot leap on and off the things!

If you dock at a smallish town (several places in the Caribbean come to mind), the crowd from the ship will tend to dominate the entire scene (this gets worse if 2 or more ships are in town the same day, there's a website you can check that).

Pros :- a lot more shopping opportunities than on smaller ships?

Sorry, cruise info essay alert!! >>>
I rather feared what some of the comments would be, when I saw a question re Cruise Ships. Sadly such forums tend to draw a strangely high proportion of ill-informed opinions, or plain straight-out bias from the “Oh, I know I couldn’t go on one” crowd (how did they ever try an éclair, or a macaroon, etc, when first seen in a cake shop?!).

We’ve been on about 15 cruises, mostly in the Med, or northern or western Europe, with one in the West Indies.

The “ships pollute” point is WAY out of date, we’ve all (well, most) got a lot greener in the last 20 years, cruise ships too, they’re far better re waste & recycling now.

“Too much fuel”? Well, take a mid-size ship, say 2500 passengers, that would be how many planes if taking a ‘normal’ holiday to the likes of Spain, Canaries, Greece or Turkey? Something like 8 to 10 airliners going, and the same coming back? Far more planes of course if it’s a modern monster cruise liner! That’s an awful lot of jet fuel burned off, whereas a cruise ship plods about as slowly as possible. If you’ve flown anywhere on holiday in recent years, look in a mirror to see who’s costing the planet?!

Various forums are full of comments like “my partner said for years they’d never go on a cruise, but I finally got them to try, now they love it”. And why not, on a sea day, there’s lots of things to do, IF you want to, but if you just want to sunbathe, that’s fine (& on your own balcony, perhaps?).

Dining is a potential problem for some folk, what if you get stuck on a table with terrible people? Well, a proportion of ships these days commonly have ‘anytime’ dining, or casual dining when you pick your own time. And lots of tables for two. The ones with a more regimented main dining room, well, they invariably have two sittings, you can talk to the Maitre’D about changing table, or your sitting. They ARE quite used to this issue! The really big ships have several extra dining rooms, ‘speciality’ restaurants, so more choice if you like.

Most ships also have a separate ‘Buffet’ dining room, quieter than the MDR, when you really can choose what you want. If you don’t like the look of the MDR menu (available in the morning) then we quite commonly use the buffet. In there, if you like, you could have 3 starters and 4 puddings, nobody will mind! Go in the buffet late, for a tea or late-night snack, you’ll very likely see the entertainers (dance troupe, etc), come in to refuel, as their job makes eating at a ‘normal’ time a bit tricky!

If you LIKE dressing up for dinner, that’s often a big thing for some passengers, some women go to town with the posh frocks, and the boys wheel out a DJ or Tux! Check the brochures if that’s the style of a given ship, maybe 2 or 3 ‘formal’ nights on a 2-week trip? Plenty ships these days just do ‘smart casual’, which we’ve come to prefer. Or on a formal night, find us in the buffet, boring, yes, but rather less luggage!

For those unaware, most ships have a main Theatre, with a production show each evening – in fact often twice, so the first & 2nd sitting diners (if that’s the ship routine) can see a show if they want. There are also several other cabaret rooms, likely a bar with a small stage, perhaps a singer, pianist, guitar, whatever, and if that’s all too much, there are quiet areas where you can read, or perhaps the card game groups can gather.

We’re NOT keen on the biggest style of ships (3K+ passengers), but any potential ‘cruiser’ should check the STYLE of the cruise line, so if you’re not a ‘party animal’, probably avoid the likes of Carnival and NCL. The Fred Olsen line is a pretty sound choice, specialises in the ‘more mature’ British customer, and their ships are all in the smaller ranges – older too, in general, but well enough presented. Certain lines have mostly massive ships, and some will have significant numbers of American passengers, if that bothers you (but Chump won’t be there), lots of other options though.

For those with a bigger budget, there are several lines with smaller ships, ‘6 star’ style, often ‘smart casual’ throughout, as with Seabourn, Oceania, Regent, etc, or check Azamara for great service with perhaps slightly less strain on the wallet?! Smaller ships of course can get into smaller ports, without the need for the wretched tendering to go ashore (using lifeboats as little ferries – a lot of waiting in queues!).

What else, oh yes, Ship’s Tours! Cruise blogs and forums have for years had masses of complaints (on all styles of ship!) as they cost far too much, for what you get, and it’s a coach tour, with attendant possible problems. In 15 cruises, we’ve only had 3 such tours, in places where public transport and going our own way was too difficult.
These days, there is far more info about how to organise your own trip -- maybe with the same firm the ship has contracted?!

We come prepared with info and maps so we can go ashore and see what WE want to. I appreciate that anyone who’s disabled may be a hostage to fortune. I recall on a cruise along the Spanish north coast, we had a great half day, went ashore after the main rush had zoomed off, had a coffee, found the bus stop and correct bus in town to reach the botanic garden, then had lunch and maybe 3 hours taking in the exotic plants and trees, then reversed the trip back to the ship (you DO need to be well aware what time the ship leaves!). Two days later we were on a tram going into Bilbao, heard fellow passengers discussing their Ship’s Tour, essentially what we had done, it had cost them about £50 each, and they thought it was a bit disappointing. We felt obliged to compare our experience, far longer in the garden, and a stroll round the town, it had cost the two of us just under a single one of their fares! But lots of folk are either too timid, or just unaware of the possibilities. And these days there is far more info about ports that can be researched ahead of time (it’s part of the anticipation, for us).

We’re not keen on the really big ships, and we probably wouldn’t go on a cruise over 10 or 12 days, but we’ve had several lovely holidays on cruises. Somebody made a very good point, the routine when you disembark. This can be quite a shock, the need to mostly pack the night before, put your main cases out to be collected (you meet up with them in the terminal). And it’s an early start, that last morning, need to fit in breakfast, then wait to be called off the ship. But then, on a package holiday, you might be leaving in the early hours to get an early flight, and/or coming back on a charter flight at midnight or similar?!

Lots of cruise deals, so many ships these days – for advice on all things ‘cruise’, see www. Cruise.co. uk . . .for a range of deals/offers, many cruise bookers, we like IGLU Cruise, but Bolsover Cruise Club and Paramount are 2 of many others.

I know someone who works on Saga cruises. He said theres usually a couple of deaths on every cruise.

With the small islands the big cruise ships don’t pull into dock but send out tenders. Sometimes they take quite a while to get to shore,30-45 minutes, because they are anchored quite a way off in the deeper water. At any one time probably half the passengers would go ashore with many not bothering,especially the older frail people. I think these days they are very aware of pollution and certainly don’t dump any effluent into the sea. They wouldn’t last long if they did!