To cruise or not to cruise?

Have tried various cruises. For a first cruise I would avoid the Bay of Biscay! Take a short flight to pick up your ship (maybe Barcelona) Probs for about 8 days around the med. Get off the ship when u can and visit all the different places. I think you should enjoy it.

We cross the Bay of Biscay frequently as we live in the north of Spain. I love travelling by boat but 24 hours is enough. We once had a lovely holiday in Norway, travelling up by train and down the fjords by boat. We stopped at 2 places both going up and down and the cruise stops were much too rushed. 3 days was great on the boat but we wouldn't have wanted any more. At the moment we travel independently and use Airbnb a lot. I'll never say never to a cruise when we are older but as himself is only 76 hopefully we have a few more years of independen travel yet. Also, prefer to find my own entertainment.

Been on two cruises which I loved and DH absolutely loathed. To me cruising is the ultimate holiday but I doubt I'll be going again anytime soon. Dear friends tried it last year and I thought that if he took to it we might stand a chance of going again but sadly he too absolutely hated it. Good luck with your cruise and enjoy every minute of it.

We have been on one cruise, really wasn't for us. Two sittings for meals and you sat where you were told.Not enough seating for everyone during the evenings.We did enjoy the excursions and the food was excellent but rushed as we were in the first sitting, and there was no question of lingering over the meal.This was with P and O and a few years ago so things might well have changed and we do have friends who love it so to each there own.

We have done several cruises and unless,in very unknown territory ( Burma) we do our own thing. If you research your stops you can arrange for a local guide and transport at a quarter of the price of the ship's tours. Quite often others have asked if they could join our mini expartitions . We prefer small ships and the last one was visiting places of Byzantine importance. All the trips were included but we had been to a couple of places before so went our own way . I find one day at sea between strenuous explorations ideal.

I would love to go on a cruise but I dislike having to make smalltalk to strangers, dislike having to dress up, I saw 'the cruise' on tv the other night and that looked fun. People just wore jeans and shorts and had 'sexy legs' contests. However I think that this sounds just like a Butlins holiday which would be much cheaper.

I think I will stay at home as usual, costs nothing and I don't have to dress up and my garden chairs are as relaxing as I need.

I couldn't afford to go on a cruise so the question doesn't arise!

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Nanandgrumpy lots of people use scooters round the ships! I use a fold up luggie which will fit any cabin, but you may need to book a disabled equipped room with a bigger one.
I did have a blog on here about travelling with my luggie, but I'll try to attach a couple of photos of my disabled suite on Queen Victoria. By the way it is a princess grills suite.

You must have had the same Captain as us when we went to St Petersburg the year before last. November was bad choice the weather was so bad that we were home two days late. St Petersburg was worth anything 1 day was not enough. Black Watch it was can't recommend it and her crew too highly.

Ethel. You can dress up or dress down to your liking. That is the best part of the big ships. There's a place for everyone.
It wasn't for me, though.
This year we are hiring a boat on the Shannon, in Ireland.

I hope it's a sailing boat, not motor?

I thought all the rich people on a cruise would look down on anyone not dressing up.
I wouldn't want to join in activities just read quietly on deck enjoying the fresh air, that would be lovely. I would hate the attention of all those lonely men who go on cruises just to meet a female.

Actually I did go on a cruise 30 years ago and I lovely it, my late DH and I took a cruiser on the Norfolk Broads and just lived in jeans and mucked about on the river Bure, got stuck under Potter Higham Bridge and had a laugh. That's more my kind of cruise. lol. Not the posh kind.

Only been on one cruise-never again. So many things I hated. We struck a force 9 gale outside Lisbon and couldn't go in. I was seasick for 36 hours!
I didn't like the queues to get off the ship, the searches when you came back on board. The little time you had in each stop, you had to plan carefully no time for just wandering. Dressing every night is a pain. The endless attempts to take your photo and sell it to you are unbearable. The feeble attempt to imitate a lifestyle once led by the rich and privileged is pathetic. Spending every day overeating isn't what I want from a holiday.
The most interesting part was stopping in the North Sea whilst a passenger was airlifted by Air-Sea rescue helicopter (think he had had a heart attack).

Which company is best for singles? Have done several holidays on my own but never a cruise, except River Nile with Solos Holidays.

Thanks Galen for that info.

I think on balance we are still happy being independent travellers for now. We'll save the cruises for later

some people have had alarming experiences on cruises by the sound of it, and some have rather outdated opinions on the types of passengers. We have been on 3 and we certainly are not rich, and do not 'look down on other passengers' nor do we bore others with details of our previous holidays. As for knobbly knees........really? There is no need to go on organised trips unless you wish, they are expensive and can involve being herded. We get off the ship at leisure and visit the port in our own way, there are always taxis, tour buses, trains, or just walking, have a wander around, have a coffee, then go back on to the ship. And no, you certainly cant take alcohol on board with you, your bags are xrayed for security when you get back on, besides which sitting in your cabin drinking smuggled booze is not exactly living the dream! Many cruises offer drinks packages, I believe Fred Olsen do a deal of £10 per day to upgrade to all inclusive drinks. I realise that cruising, like all types of holiday, suits some people, and doesnt suit others, but base your decision on facts, not on hearsay and rumour!

Ethelbags I have never yet met one of those men!
I spend a lot of time quietly reading on my balcony or out on deck, or doing my crochet.

I have never been on a cruise nor wished to do so. My husband and I loved camping and caravanning. When he retired we let the bungalow and took to,the road and explored out of the way places in Europe, spending the winter months in the south of Spain , for ten years until he died. We met all kinds of people of many nationalities who enjoyed the same interests.

Been on a few cruises and loved them. If you go in late Spring, or late summer the Bay of Biscay should be ok. Get a cabin in the centre of the ship and not too high as that is where you feel the least movement. But with the bigger ships there isn't much anyway. I recommend the Med as there are so many interesting stops whatever the itinerary, and sailing into Venice is just wonderful. 10 - 14 days is a good length for the first time. You don't have to dine with other people at all if you don't want to.

Go for it and have a wonderful time!

I have never been on a cruise - and reading this thread, I cannot see me ever doing so. It really doesn't sound like my kind of thing.

I like to go somewhere, get settled and really get to know it. I always look for somewhere with a sea view or a lovely view, so that relaxing time can be spent reading and enjoying the view.

The whole "herding" idea puts me right off. Maybe the basis of this antipathy is the fact that I went to Butlins as a child and was smacked by a Redcoat!!

We have resigned ourselves to enjoying places via the TV - there are so many wonderful travel programmes that can be seen from your armchair.

We did a Riviera coach holiday last year and really enjoyed it; the people on our bus were great fun but I guess we had a bond in that we were all living our dream of seeing America. It was very tiring, though. I can't see me ever doing a cruise; I sat on a boat for a day going to Santorini an back once and was terribly bored.

There isn't anything that could persuade me to go on a cruise, it would be my very worst nightmare.

We love cruises. New places every few days and mostly you sleep whilst travelling. So much to do on sea days if you want to or just relax with a book . Can't say I have ever felt herded. Dress up if you want or just relax and use the buffet . We have seen so many lovely and interesting places and people and enjoyed plenty of time doing our own thing, There are few rules and so much choice.

We have done a couple of cruises and despite our initial reservations we love them!
We went on fly cruises and then tried one from Southampton.Both have their pluses and minuses.
The ships we go for tend to be the ones that say they are less formal and they have been, they have a choice of dining rooms and times so you can meet lots of people if you want to or ask for a table for 2 and you don't have to sit and chat to strangers. You don't have to dress up on these but they have a couple of formal dining days but even on those days you don't have to wear posh frocks but can do if you want to.
Our first one was just for 7 days in case we didn't like it but we did!

We`re going on our first cruise in April to the fjords. I`ve always said I didn`t want to cruise, as I prefer to stay in one place and get to know it, but hubby has always fancied cruising. I gave in this year, but we couldn`t afford a warm climate cruise, so fingers crossed we`ll enjoy it. Ethel, your fear is also mine, that people better off than us, or with more cruising experience, will look down their noses at us, just hope they don`t.