To cruise or not to cruise?

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.

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.

some people have had alarming experiences on cruises by the sound of it, and some have rather outdated opinions on the types of passengers.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!

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

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

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

I went on a cruise with Celebrity a couple of years back, and it was lovely. We had a really bad gale one night, with massive seas and a howling gale, but there was no rockin' and rollin'! The ship's stabilisers kept everything comfortable, and although it rattled a bit, it was no worse than being on a rackety train, so my awful fears of being seasick were unfounded.
The ship was like a floating palace, spotlessly clean and so big that it actually had a golf course on the top deck. I loved just being on board, there was so much to do - there were lots of shore excursions, but I found them too exhausting and only went on two. Venice was lovely, 'cos not much travelling between ship and town - I would do that any day.
It was my first and only cruise, but I loved it and would happily go again if I had the opportunity.

We like cruising although travelling down to southampton from glasgow is a bit of a pain. We have been on 5 cruises each time with saga. The average age is 75. We felt quite young as we are still in our 60s. Saga ships are smaller and very friendly. The crew are very friendly and nothing is too much trouble for them.
This year we are giving fred olsen line a go. They do some cruise s which leave from greenock. They are smaller ships as well so hope we enjoy it.

The only way to travel amazing, especially from Southampton, feels like going on a real voyage!!

We did a Mediterranean cruise a couple of years ago with friends. We liked seeing different places and being able to chill out on the ship in the evenings.
I think it's a good way to check out different locations, with a view to a return visit, but I think I prefer to get to know a place at my own pace.

We did 36 hours on a cruise ship whilst travelling independently round Norway. Hated it! The worst part was the stops when everyone was herded off the ship to the museum or whatever was at the stop which was then jam packed. No no no not for me. I like my independence on holiday and to make our own decisions and to be honest I like my husbands company and don't feel I want to be particularly sociable to other people. Makes me seem a grump which I am not...it is just that cruising is an absolute definite no no for me!

I'm afraid I didn't enjoy our only cruise and would never go on one again. Having said that, I am the only person I know who doesn't like cruising. We went on a large P&O ship to the Med as I was worried about being seasick on a smaller ship. I needn't have worried as it was as calm as a mill pond both ways. We had a lovely stateroom with balcony, but it was terribly boring seeing nothing but sea for days. I didn't like all the sunbeds crowded next to each other round the pools and mass entertainment wasn't for us. The days spent on shore were all a bit rushed and regimented and we were put with different people each night at dinner as we weren't able to choose a table for the entire trip. So many people just bored on about their previous trips. I did enjoy the dressing up at night and the occasional dance. I just didn't like being confined on a ship and yet in some ways it was too big.

Not to mention the throwing up!