Views on a cruise

Undertaken 3 cruises, different companies, different sized ships but preferred the smallest one which actually resembled a vessel rather than a floating skyscraper.
First trip was on an enormous ship; I’d expected Titanic without the icebergs and got Benidorm on waves.
The second was on the smallest boat, cruising the Norwegian fjords - beautiful and scenery marred only by enormous cruise ships that were also there.
The reality of cruising really came home to me on the third trip, visiting Dubrovnik along with another 5 ships. Seriously you just couldn’t move ashore! Made a mental note to travel overland in future and check all destinations for cruise ships’ schedules so I can avoid at all costs if any are in port.

Working for a disabled man I was expected to accompany him on cruise holidays twice a year. I was apprehensive but found I loved it. In fact I loved it so much that I got a better paying job and took my OH daughter and son on a cruise. They all loved it too. OH liked the fact that it was so big on the ship that there was always somewhere quiet he could go. I'd recommend RCI or PO who are both great for anyone with disabilities as my employer was in a wheelchair and the staff were really helpful. Also there is a doctor and nurses on board and a helipad to transport anyone seriously ill.

I'm not in favour of cruises. Breeding ground for norovirus and bad for the planet. Love sailing though!!

Excursions are expensive and not inclusive on Saga but they do cater for the slightly older passenger and take very good care of you. We find just going around on our own works well for us.

Carooline on Saga at breakfast you will have waiters bring you what you want when you want. Go to the buffet yourself or ask them to get it for you. They make numerous trips to look at your table to check if you want more tea or coffee or anything. The crew are always smiling and get on with each other. Their memory for faces is unbelievable. We get many hugs from all sorts of crew whenever we go on board. It’s lovely.

Saga if you’re over 50. None of the above issues or complaints. Smaller ships, high percentage of caring crew to passengers. No tipping, no set mealtimes, no fixed tables (unless you ask for it). Join in or not as you wish. Option to join other single travellers for going ashore if you want. No pressure. Everything is up to you what you do. It’s not for some but the vast majority of people we meet on our cruises love it and keep coming back.

We tried a P&O Caribbean cruise, the ship was beautiful, we had a balcony cabin which was lovely and there was so much to do that you couldn't do most of it!
We found the buffet restaurant on the top deck was like Butlins at sea, wandering around with a tray searching for somewhere to sit, not for us at all. You still had the 'towels on sunbeds' issues which really surprised me. When you sat down for breakfast you had to order everything all at once because the waiter only came to your table to take your order & then to drop all your food off in one go i.e cereal, cooked breakfast, toast, tea/coffee, sauces, butter etc if you forgot the toast or sauce you couldn't have them as you never found a waiter again!
The trips ashore were incredibly expensive if you booked them through P&O/the ship, on a first time cruise this is what people tend to do.
All in all, I loved seeing all the Caribbean countries, I enjoyed the cruise but it was a bit too much for the 'masses' really. I'd cruise again but go for a bit more upmarket one, less people, more 1:1, yes it would be more expensive but they generally include your trips ashore & drinks so worth it we feel.

Love cruising, was worried when my husband suggested it as I have been seasick in the past but rarely do on cruising, lots of different ways to cruise/ firms etc but try a few and see which company suits you.
Larger ships are ok if u want loads to do, but like large holiday parks, smaller ones are often thought of as dull but they are quieter with different forms of entertainment.
Agree with other commentators that some trips can be expensive and it can be fun to get off and explore yourself.
But sometimes if it's a multi site trip it is easier to go on an organised trip

I'm with willow, being an emetophobic I couldn't think of any thing worse.

BlueS would you be willing to share the company you travel with, please?

But ships go up and down on the sea. I dont like going up and down.
I have managed to feel wobbly on a canal boat which was moored in a basin. When people moved about the boat wobbled.
I will stay put. ???

DH and I went on a few cruises and absolutely loved it; we only went on smaller ships (fewer than 700 passengers), and just loved life on board.

I have now done 2 on my own (DH died last year), and have another one booked for next year with the same company. I go on my own and am really laid back about not being with anyone - I have got to the age now when I want to do things independently and in my own time. I don't want to share a cabin with anyone, so would never ask a friend to come with me. I socialise at mealtimes and other diners are so friendly and chatty. I don't mind being on my own and sitting reading in the sun, or just watching the sea go by. You usually find someone will come up and have a chat anyway.

I am not a big one for the entertainment in the evenings, and just prefer to go and sit in the bar after dinner with a nightcap; there is usually some laid back piano music or a gentle singer in the background, which just suits me.

Other people might think differently, but really you don't know until you try it.

I’d never get my OH on a cruise he hates the idea of being trapped with a load of other people in a floating tower block for days on end. Really bad for the environment and those huge ships with thousands of people really clog up small ports. You can’t see much of any country in one day in a touristy port with thousands of others. Where does all their waste product go? As for drunken punch ups and seasickness. It’s a no from me.

Douro River cruise was brilliant for food and entertainment, daily trips were great value for money. Croisieurope do take children free in July and August, not ideal if not your cup of tea. Cunard is great, sailing from Southampton to Hamburg on Queen Mary 2 with my DDs and their men and then on my own on Victoria to Amsterdam and Zeebrugge for Bruges. Stayed extra night in Amsterdam due to horrendous weather, missing Bruges ? Got P&O Cruise to Amsterdam, Zeebrugge and Cherbourg in October, can't wait ?

Its not a credit system... giving up straw/dairy/meet/take away coffee doesnt make it okay to do do something as catastrophic as a cruise for "fun"

I loved cruising with my late husband so decided to go on a cruise alone last November. I hated it! Being on your own in a crowd is miserable. You need a companion and then it would be okay.

What about cows, notanan2? Are you meat and dairy free?

Your second paragraph describes my recent cruise to Norway quizqueen.

the world is a beautiful place. Is it wrong to want to see some of it? in a way that destroys it faster than any other form of travel?

Yes. Yes I think so.

I would never go on a sea cruise. A total waste of money, in my opinion, to be stuck on a crowded boat for ages with second rate entertainment and barely having any time to visit sights - no thanks.

I have been on a river cruise though-The Nile- and loved it. Lovely food, a nice rom with a little balcony, good entertainment and plenty of time for sight seeing. Make sure you get a room away from the engine room though.

the world is a beautiful place. Is it wrong to want to see some of it? Some of the places visited by the smaller cruise ships depend on tourism for jobs for their children. Many places we visited no longer have fishing as their main income. They rely on tourists to come and visit and to spend money they can use to care for their families. I am not talking about the floating hotel type of ships but the smaller cruise lines.

The thing about cruising is that you can make it work, whatever your preference. Traveling made easy, excellent food, entertainment etc. You can join in or do your own thing. Sadly DH health prevents us from any sort of travel, but would go again in a flash!

I ve never been on a cruise I couldn’t afford one but I ve never wanted to I can’t stand the thought of being in a herd and unable to escape and having to dress a certain way to fit in and all the dreadful tipping oh no thanks I ll do my own thing not be one of hundreds confined in a big space eating at 5he sane time and all the one upmanship
My friend loves cruising and puts on 1 to 2 stones every time

Went on our first cruise this year and really enjoyed it. It was a German River cruise with about 130 people on board. We are going to try a Fjord cruise on a much larger ship next year to compare.

Only just back from our first, a Baltic cruise , fourteen nights on a vast Royal Caribbean cruiser with 1000 staff and 3500 ‘guests”. We did it as a special treat for our fortieth wedding anniversary, actually the day we sailed out if Southampton.

Fantastic destinations, Helsinki, St. Petersberg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Tallin, Skagen, Stavanger, Oslo. Obit a couple if days at sea in the Baltic plus one journey up and one down through the channel and North Sea.

I loved it, but not sure I would have loved a long sea voyage across say the Atlantic and for me it was all about the destinations but my wife, who was more dubious, wants to go again so I guess it was right fir us.

Food was amazing, had to work very hard not to put on major pounds it was that nice, and we were lucky with a dinner group of like minded and similar humoured folk, but that could have been complex if we had not been lucky, but we were and the few formal dinners only demanded a cocktail dress and a lounge suit, no DJs for us, something that I know worries some people.

Like everything American, RC are a US company, you have to be very firm to keep the tipping under control, you have to make a point if cancelling the automatic tipping on the first day before you actually sail or you risk being lumbered, but that is the only important ‘rule’.

Sort out the destinations and visits you want to see before you go, I borrowed good guide books from our local library ands scanned town maps which proved invaluable as the ones the ship issues are all about expensive souvenir shops.

Great entertainment every night, the ice rink show was amazing, and I think if you go onboard with an open mind you will have a whale of a time.