Cruises - Go on, convince me!

A Bodie = Cambodia

It is possible to make a cruise work for you. If you want to be social fine, or would rather keep to yourself that's fine too. You wake up each morning in a different port or you can sit and watch the ocean. I didn't think that cruising would be for us but I'm so glad we did while we were able. I've seen fiords and glaciers, whales and bald headed eagles, grisley bears in the wild, visited the gold room in the hermitage and listened to elderly ladies tell us about life under Russian rule in Estonia. Would never have done any of that without being able to cruise.

Cruise ships are definitely environmentally unfriendly. They contribute massively to the pollution of the oceans and marine life. They may be fun for those on board but they are floating tower blocks discharging waste into the sea on a daily basis. I now expect a load of abuse and insults but had to put that information out there.

Vegansrock No abuse from me. I agree totally.

We have been on 3 different types of cruise: River (the Nile); Ocean Cruises and Gulet Cruises.
The Nile cruise was amazing: small boat (only about 150 passengers) and visited the most magnificent sites.
The Ocean cruises: still not 100% in love with them. Advantages: gorgeous food; different destination each day; luxury surroundings (favourite cruise line is Oceania which is very luxurious). Disadvantages: same surroundings every evening; we miss being able to wander around the streets of a resort after dining out; huge ships (that's why we choose Oceania, their ships are relatively small); expensive excursions (we did our homework before we sailed and booked independent excursions with local travel companies who guarantee to return you to the ship in plenty of time before it sails (always a worry!).
Gulet cruises: absolutely loved them, we've been on 3. A Gulet is a small (only holds 12 passengers) wooden sailing boat that sails round the coast of Turkey (or Greece and Croatia). They sail to a different place each day, giving you to opportunity to swim each time they make a stop. The food was amazing. It is the most relaxing holiday we have ever been on. The only disadvantages are that the cabins are small and basic and you are living cheek by jowl with other passengers (on each of our holidays we filled the boat with our friends, so no problem, but I do wonder if would be as enjoyable to be in such close proximity with strangers).
Each type of cruise is very different, I would certainly recommend trying at least one, until you do, you will never know!

What Curlywhirly said.
We have done the Nile twice and loved it but went on a larger boat to Norway and was not keen.
I would do a river cruise again.

We had our first cruise the year before lockdown. On the whole we really enjoyed it, food was excellent and our cabin was ideal. However, Captains Night was a farce in my opinion. 'He' , the Captain , was supposed to greet passengers at a pre-determined time during an evening, all passengers were advised to dress in their finery, were offered cheap nasty 'champagne ' and we all waited around for 45 minutes waiting for the Captain to show up! It was obvious that a few of the passengers were looking down their noses at others who they didn't consider were dressed quite haute couture!
Now, I have no objection to dressing for dinner but I saw Captains Night as nothing short of an opportunity for people to show off and pay an extortionate amount of money to have their photo taken with the Captain.

Ive been going on cruises for the last 5 years . Different types of cruises for different people . If you want a lot of noise go on a carnival cruise . There are great cruise companies about. I personally don’t like ships with more than 2.500 passengers .

Incidently, Oceania cruise line don't have Captain's Nights, or a photographer pestering you each evening and no requirement to dress formally for dinner (though do stipulate no shorts).

All forms of tourism are environmentally unfriendly. I can't see it stopping anytime soon although I suspect that it will go out of fashion within a generation. Having said that I'm glad that I have managed a few cruises in my lifetime.

We’ve been in about 4 cruises and our last one was a world cruise. We were away for 4 months and we enjoyed every minute.
What’s not to like?
Waking up somewhere different almost every day.
Experiencing other countries (although for a short time)
Entertainment (if you want it)
Clubs and activities (if you want it)
Meeting other people (if you want to)
Fine dining every day OR
Cafe style help yourself meals
Quiet rooms for reading or just watching the ocean

I could go on and on.

Having said all that, I will wait a couple of years until this Covid is under control, to go on another cruise.

We’ve done two, 2015 and 16, first in the Mediterranean, second Caribbean. Both with Costa, no dressing up, we had a balcony and drinks package which covered all drinks including coffees like cappuccino etc.
We particularly liked visiting places we hadn’t been before with someone else transporting us, the weather, choice of food and total relaxation. We won’t do any more, sort of been there, done that, although I’m aware there are many other types of cruise.

My holidays are always cruises. The advantages for a single person are many. You can be as sociable or quiet as you wish. The trips on the ship are always guided and, although I am happy to explore on my own, there are places where I feel safer in a group. Many varied things to do on board and there are quiet classes as well as jolly ones.

From the time you leave your cases on arrival the holiday does start - only unpacking to do. Food is plentiful and good. I have always travelled P and 0 - sorry caps key is playing up - and found crew to be helpful and pleasant.

I have not booked anything since Covid and shall wait and see how that affects cruises before I book again.

I’m really missing the cruises but I still feel a bit nervous of being involved in a lockdown on board. That would be a total nightmare. I will never forget seeing flying fishes for the first time in my life and there is no way, other than by being on a cruise, that I would have had that wonderful experience.

I agree with others in suggesting a river cruise. DH likens them to a luxury coach holiday.
We've cruised on big ships but only to see many different places on one holiday. We'd recommend cruising around New Zealand.
Treat the ship as you would a hotel and please yourself. Nothing is forced upon you and it's not Butlins on sea!

Pittcity it’s a good way to view it. We once went on a GRJ trip. It involved stopping overnight in different places which meant moving luggage. On a cruise, your luggage is unpacked once and travels with youwith no effort.

We’ve been on three cruises, Alaska, New Zealand, and the Baltic. Alaska was amazing, but the last one was probably our favourite, on and off at Newcastle, a small ship with no pretensions, but the food was first class and the activities - including the exercise and art classes and expert talks - were all top notch. Interesting destinations, including Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn and two full days in St Petersburg, and a bonus was that we could just walk off the ship and straight into town to do our own thing at all but one stop. We now know where we want to go for a longer stay when we can (Helsinki). The fortnight cruise cost us around £800 each, as we got a last-minute half price deal. Unfortunately the company’s gone out of business in the pandemic, as we were thinking about their British Isles cruise.

On the other hand, I’ve never fancied cruising to the hotspots - when we’ve been to Italy we’ve seen huge groups piling off the ships and filling the streets and never wanted to be part of it. And the floating cities that followed our little ship round the Baltic certainly don’t appeal either.

I have been on three river cruises. Two with good friends, who we mostly ate with but also mixed with other people as and when. Tables and places were not assigned, which was. Ice,
Then one cruise we went just us. Walked into lunch first day and sat randomly at a table with three other people. Then we were told that’s where we had to sit for breakfast lunch and dinner for a week. We found their company pretty dire to be honest (probably mutual !). Put us right off.

Nice, not ice.

ixion

Guess I'd just feel really embarrassed being seen to disembark from something like this.

Exactly- and no, you don't need to have been on a few cruises to know about the damage and pollution they cause.

Or to know how you would feel about disembarking in your 1000s in a small port, allo going to same cafes and restaurants- and no time to explore further- and have to return for a certain time.

No-one will ever convince me. A river cruise, or local cruise around the UK, in smaller ships with outdoor cabin- this I am considering for when this pandemic is truly over.

This chap is an expert in all types of cruises. He has loads of useful information. But judging from the comments to his videos, whether he is positive or explaining the drawbacks, he can't convince anyone to change their mind about cruises.

youtube.com/c/tipsfortravellers

We've had some wonderful cruises over the years. Gulet cruises around Greek Turkish islands were my favourite but they were 25 years ago and definitely wouldn't be suitable now. Not the same but just as enjoyable were the numerous canal barge cruisers we hired for long weekends. Lots of fun if you go as a group and everyone helps with the locks. Loved our two weeks cruising round the Norfolk Broads and would do that again but OH wont. As for Ocean vessels we've sailed on a few small and large visiting Egypt and Israel before the troubles and I'm so glad we did. In recent years we've visited the Baltic twice and the Fjords all fantastic holidays. Friends have pre conceived ideas about cruising on large ships ie dressing up, cramped conditions, nowhere to sit but we found none of it true. If you want to dress up for a couple of formal nights thats fine but you dont have to. The most popular place on formal night is usually the buffet with no one dressed up. Entertainment is there if you want it but no one makes you go to watch a show. We've seen some wonderful artists from West End theatres along with some very funny comedians but if it's not for you, dont go to the Theatre instead sit in a quiet bar listen to a pianist enjoy the ambiance. We love waking up to a new port every day. Occasionally do a ships tour but mainly DIY. The ports usually have a tour office where you can pick up a map and find info on buses, places of interest etc. Its a new adventure every day and we love it.

I've worked with large cruise ships, doing the ground handling and organising coaches and guides for people taking excursions organised by the ship. I found the numbers of people heading off together quite overwhelming. Having been on board cruise ships for lunch while working with them I think popping on for lunch is just about as much as I could take. There's just too many people.

However, I have worked for many years as a Tour Manager and I've also worked on river cruises as a cruise escort. I love river cruises. The ships are generally boats, so much smaller and around 150 people tops i.e. 3 buses!

I really enjoy the fact that you wake up somewhere new and you also get a different perspective on places too.

However, couple of things to bear in mind with river cruises;

Firstly you can often end up with boats moored alongside each other so you have to walk through several boats to reach land. This also means your cabin window can be very close to the ship parked next to you, causing some privacy issues.

Secondly, some river cruise ships cruise during the day rather than night. This can be good if you want to sit and enjoy the views. Cruising at night can sometimes be noisy depending on where your cabin is located.

Thirdly, river cruises can often involve locks. These have to be booked in advance and if there is any delay in the program, for whatever reason, it is unlikely that the rest of the lock bookings can be changed. This can mean excursions or visits can be cut short of cancelled.

Finally, river cruises can be impacted by river levels. This can often mean cruises can't do all or the whole of the proposed route.

(Picture shows a typical river cruise boat)

Was lucky enough to be invited onto a cruise from Sydney to Southampton, Sea Princess. I loved every minute of it, met some lovely people, saw fabulous places that I would never have done normally, highlight was walking the Siq to Petra, food was fabulous and plenty to do on board if you want to. Never got invited to Captains table, phew, but our dining room and the people working in there made us all feel very special. Never any illness, and am sure even more l precautions will be taken especially now.

Only been on one cruise and don't intend to do another. I don't like being regulated and supervised all the time. You may wake up in a new place every day, but getting off to see the place involves queueing. You have a limited time in the place and have to be back on the ship at a certain time- you have to queue again and have your bag searched. On shore you queue at every attraction. Meals are huge and too much food is wasted. Some people seem to want to eat all the time.
Years ago they had hand sanitiser at the restaurant doors and you were expected to use it because of the Norovirus. Goodness knows what they will have now!!!