Views on a cruise

Beckett
What a pity your cruise was not all you expected.There are cruises for singles as there are other holidays although I am surprised you did not find out of all those you did meet on your cruise someone to have a good old chat with.

Cruising? Prison,with the danger of drowning.

We have been twice down the Nile and loved it. It was a very small boat and always near the shore.

We also went on a Norwegian cruise and I hated it. As Teetime said it was very expensive and I felt we were surrounded by people all the time. We used to travel from Holland to England every year on a ferry across the north sea and to me it was just like a giant ferry boat.

I have been on about 12 cruises with Swan Hellenic when my husband was alive. Unfortunately they don't operate any more. The ships were small - Minerva 1 with about 350 passengers and Minerva 2 with around 750. No casino, musical entertainment, lectures on days at sea and wonderful organised visits, around the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Singapore to Hong Kong. Good food, unpack once, what's not to like? River cruises would be a good start, if you are doubtful. They visit somewhere interesting each day and no danger of being seasick. I would start with the Danube, where you will visit Budapest and Vienna. Yes, we sailed into the outskirts of Venice but were taken the rest of the way by river boats.

Only retired just before my 80th. I won a cruise in the 80's and loved it but then it was quite snobbish with 2 classes. Then a cruise with my daughter on Costa Cruises, lovely Italian ship.
Having retired I would treat myself and thought it was a safe way to holiday for an elderly single. Of course my first shock was the horrendous single supplements. I did manage to find one to the Carribean with only a £100 supplement. Picked up from a nearby town by coach and sailed from Southampton. Luggage put on coach and next appeared on my cabin. I love the long sea journey's and would be happy not to dock anywhere. This cruise was with Royal Carribean . I've have had 2 cruises since and loved every minute. Sadly all cruises have now become 'all inclusive' which have put them out of my budget. I do not drink and prefer to decide who I should tip so why would I want an all inclusive. So it's 'staycation' now.

Cruises are not compatible with chat about saving the planet, carbon emissions and moaning about celebs and royalty using yachts and private aircraft.

Been on one and that was enough. All the hype of seeing wonderful places ended up with managing to fit in a visit for about a couple of hours, not giving a real opportunity to explore a city etc. On board one minute mixing with folk of similar age then the next watching folk dragging their oxygen cylinders about. Catering was wonderful though as was entertainment.

I'd hate it!! The thought of being with all those other people & stranded in the middle of a huge sea. I am a bad swimmer so it terrifies me but not as much as having all those PEOPLE around.
Then you see the cruise ship people being herded off the boat for a look at the island they have stopped at & herded back a couple of hours later having seen nothing of the rest of the beautiful island.
We like to have a proper look around under our own stream with a car so we can see all the things the place has to offer.
But most of all I just want a secluded beach -to myself ideally (well DH allowed for short periods!) & I know just where we can find one! Just got back from it & longing to go back again ASAP.

We don't go with the herd, preferring to step off the ship and just go where our nose leads us. We also joined specific cruise websites to get tips and found lots of local companies that will take a small group to whatever you want to do at a fraction of the price of ship's excursions. We did wine tasting in New Zealand and had a guide to ourselves as nobody else had booked that trip. The only constraint was having to get back for sailing time.
As for people. We enjoy eating with different people. Most are interesting, but you need never see them again. If you really need to be on your own there are lots of quiet spots and there's no reason why you can't eat on your balcony ...room service is usually excellent.

Sailing into Venice was very emotional. Well, yes, it must have been impressive. But didn't you for one moment feel very uncomfortable and upset, knowing how much damage it causes to this wonderful, but very frail, ancient city?

I think I would have walked off the ship and not gone back on, sorry.

I’ve sailed on 3 cruises and loved every minute. I recall my 1st one and sailing into the Bay of Naples at the crack of dawn, I thought I’d gone to heaven. I then did a Caribbean one, seeing all the most amazing islands, paradise. My latest one this year was a month long South Sea Island cruise, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Hawaii etc the most amazing experience ever. Cruises are whatever you want them to be, dress up or down, mix with others or have a balcony and your own space, lots of activities or just be totally lazy. I love them ?

We love cruises and do one at least once a year since I retired. It’s such a lovely way to see so many different countries and I know you only get a taste because you are there for a short time it can persuade you to visit that country independently. Who can say they’ve been to Russia for instance and that’s for 2 days on a Baltic cruise? St Petersburg is amazing. I’ve never felt seasick even when we sailed through the dreaded Bay of Biscay, ships have stabilisers. Sailing into Venice was magical and very emotional. Once you give it a try you are hooked. We’ve only sailed on P&O and have never felt the need to try other cruise companies although we are considering the QM2 for DH 70th next year.

I went on my one and only cruise a few months after my husband died. Saga, it was utterly expensive as a single passenger, around £5000 for a canaries 10 day trip but hey ho my first solo holiday and I just wanted a rest.

Cabin was very good, entertainment and food excellent. I was the only one ever in the small fitness room. They sat me at a fixed table, the same people for every dinner, they were nice and gave me lots of tips. I saw several people struggling with infirm partners, several much older people and some younger than me at 67 then

I spent 3 of those days in my cabin because the sea was oh so rough, people were sliding everywhere and then the nausea hit me, I lay on the bed and as I flew up and hit the bed as it came up to meet me. The staff were loevly, very kind

So the cruise served its purpose but gave me the most dreadful long lasting bronchial cough afterwards. I could hear people coughing very badly from the first night. I coughed badly all the way home in the saga taxi.

Cruises are not for me, there were people on there planning a world cruise, said it was cheaper than a care home.

Great holiday. If you care to stay on board all day there are activities to suit all tastes from dawn 'til late night. Theatres on board provide good entertainment. Number of restaurants from which to chose. Buffet or waiter service breakfast. We don't stay on board when ship is docked, we prefer to go on trips or explore the port on our own. Cunard, P&O and Royal Caribbean to be recommended.

Are you not concerned about latest proven figures on massive pollution though?

Just wondering, has anyone ever been on a Cruiseship that sailed right into the heart of Venice? How did it make you feel?

Take travel pills just in case.... I felt slightly sick frequently and it changed my appetite a bit...i.e.I went off tea and coffee ( a bit of a nuisance when it's free lol) however I've always been prone to travel sickness and other than that it's great fun?

Seasoned cruiser here and absolutely love it. Royal Caribbean, P&O, Norwegian are great, middle of the road prices.
For a more upmarket experience, Cunard (I met my husband on the old QE2 on my first cruise). Oceanna, Silver seas, seaborne, Crystal.
Definitely worth paying extra for a balcony. It makes all the difference.
Favourite cruise ever was Alaska (sailed with Celebrity cruises). Absolutely magical and I have never said wow so much.
Suggest trying a short one first (2-4 nights) to see if you like it.

I wouldn't go on a cruise, the amount of pollution they produce (atmospheric and waste) is shocking.

I've just done a Fred Olsen cruise to the fjords and absolutely loved it. Always able to find a quiet corner, ship was by no means huge (700 passengers) and was small enough to get into ports barred to the bigger ones. Food was lovely and the ports were not hugely crowded.
I was very apprehensive as we're not used to all inclusive holidays but I'm completely hooked although will only be doing the smaller ship cruises.

We went on a Nile cruise once. Does that count? We loved it. It was so relaxing but entertaining as well.

From a very outdoor woman here who is always fell walking, cycling, gardening, skiing, etc to say yes I have done cruising and been a completely different experience from our usual active holidays. On the first one I felt like going Baa baa and following a load of sheep but after a bit really enjoyed the wonderful food, always did our own trips (way too expensive from the cruise liner, huge rip off) saw some very interesting places and even enjoyed the days at sea with some good reading, knitting, puzzles, scrabble etc. But you are only in ports for such a limited time and off again so you have to be quick to take in what you want to see. But having recovered from surgery it has been a super holiday to chill and relax on.

I have always said I would never cruise but was unexpectedly offered a cruise after one of my Mums friends dropped out at the last minute.

I really enjoyed it. The food was excellent with plenty of options to choose from - from fine dining to self service and pub grub style food.

The entertainment was superb with plenty of things to do during the days and evenings.

I wasn't over-impressed with the organised trips when in port, I found them expensive and too regimented for me. I went on one or two but 'did my own thing' after that.

Never felt 'overcrowded' there is plenty of quite areas to be found - unless you are the type who always wants the best spot near the pool!

I still prefer to travel independently (I don't think you really get to see an awful lot of a country when you're only in port for one day) but I would definitely go on another cruise, perhaps when i'm older and less inclined to explore on my own.

Go for it - you won't know until you try.

We’ve been on three. They were the ones where you fly to a port and sail from there. I didn’t want to sail from England as you have to have more days at sea. (Also the Bay of Biscay!)
We like to ‘people watch’ and never feel crowded. The one up the Panama Canal was absolutely fascinating.
I also loved the Celebrity cruise to the Caribbean.

My experience was 'Butlins on a Boat'. Hated it - am very reluctant to go again. Can't complain about the places we visited - just the 'cruise' experience.

Cruises are not all the same, or cruisers either. You can pick a cruise where you are somewhere new every day and wear yourself out sightseeing (us) or pick one with many sea days and just veg out in the sun with great, unlimited food and live entertainment. Anyone who says they would be bored on a cruise, but who would sit by a pool for two weeks, should think again.