I love to cruise do you?

dogsmother

I think it’s very unfair to comment on something you’ve not experienced.
We’ve been on several, we have after the first arranged our own excursions and chosen cruises with least sea days. This is the way we enjoy them. Others enjoy to remain on board for a lot of the time.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all we’ve done and have seen many places including an amazing 3 days stopover in St. Petersburg a second to none experience.

I've never experienced ebola or waterboarding, but I'm pretty certain I wouldn't enjoy either. I know I would hate cruising. I can just about enjoy a day trip on a boat in relatively shallow waters, but the idea of being out there in deep water terrifies me. Plus, I don't do crowds. So no, I don't need to sample the experience to know it's not for me.

As I said in my first sentence it’s unfair to speak about what you don’t know…….another expression perhaps is don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. Naturally if you’re afraid of being on the water….that’s another story.

I'm never aware of 'crowds' onboard Viking ships. I hate crowds too and would definitely avoid them. Luckily it's just not an issue on smaller ships.
River cruise ships are very civilised. Calm, pleasant decor, good food and lovely to sail slowly along on looking at the changing scenery on each side. No fear of mal de mer on river ships.

Aveline

I'm never aware of 'crowds' onboard Viking ships. I hate crowds too and would definitely avoid them. Luckily it's just not an issue on smaller ships.
River cruise ships are very civilised. Calm, pleasant decor, good food and lovely to sail slowly along on looking at the changing scenery on each side. No fear of mal de mer on river ships.

My inlaws did a few river cruises and thoroughly enjoyed them. They also did a trip on the Norwegian fjords in a working fishing boat. Still not for me though.

We were dubious about going on a cruise, after a bit of a discussion, we went to the Fjiords, beautiful, we enjoyed it so much. To be fair, the ship wasn't at full capacity, so this made a difference
The next one, I'd like to do the Med.
Previous posters have recommended river cruises and that sounds very interesting too.

Germanshepherdsmum

Some of us just don’t like being among a lot of people and want to do our own thing!

Precisely why cruises are not enjoyable for many.

Others, may well enjoy small boats, beautiful verandas, eating alone - served at a table for 2 - lovely food cooked by others, floating along seeing beauty at every turn, peaceful and pleasant.

Everyone could feel happy cruising exists, on various big and small boats for those who wish to holiday on water. Similarly, I'm happy some people like city living though I can't imagine such for myself.

We love cruises! It’s great to wake up in a different place each day (and unpack once). I’d rather be at sea than on a plane any day. The only niggle for us is the lack of ships departing from Northern ports.🙄 Its 250 miles for us to Southampton. The ones which do sail from the North tend to visit Iceland, Norway and the Baltic. We prefer warmer climes, although we have been to the fjords twice, once with lovely weather, once in the rain (June!!)😎
I certainly don’t like crowds or confined spaces (which is why I don’t like planes). There’s so much to do and plenty of quiet corners on a ship. My favourite memories so far are of sailing in and out of Venice, Naples and Malta - spectacular!!😎

To add, I think the most interesting cruise we went on was up the Amazon to Manaus, an extraordinary city in the jungle, no road to it but it has an opera house. Lots of street stalls and an indoor market modelled on the old Les Halles in Paris. The intermediate stops were also interesting especially a small town which had been a manganese mining port. It all brought back 2nd year geography lessons about S America. We also went to Bombay from Dubai which was an eye opener to me. My OH went there aged 14 and said it hadn't changed much.

In 2019 our daughter gave us a one day visit to the QM2 while it was in port in Southampton. We were fascinated by the ship and how it worked and what it was like so we booked a one week cruise to Norway to experience the ship in action

We had a pleasant holiday everything from staff, to food, to cabin,were fine. We had several interesting outings. Plenty to do on board, but not much that interested me. At the end of the day I was bored and glad to get home.

This is not a criticism of cruising. It is just that I am not compatible with cruises. I prefer to be in one place and pursue my own interests.

I hate packing and DH has always left it to me. He is also restless and 3 days anywhere is his maximum. Cruises suit me.we’ve recently been on one from Newcastle to the Hanseatic ports. There are far too few from Newcastle and we live nearby. I’m increasingly immobile so cruises suit me as I’m stationery but the ship moves.and DH does loads of research into where the ports are. We meet a few people and occasionally remain in contact over the years from a cruise but have never achieved that staying in a hotel for two or three nights. We rarely go one the tours but arrange guides at the ports ahead of time. In Orkney last year we had a brilliant taxi driver who took us to Skara house and the wonderful cathedral . It was the same in Taormina,Ephesus etc etc. we’ve booked a guide and a taxi. we have rarely gone to the shows but usually there are very good talks and we’ve met some very interesting speakers. I loved the cruises we’ve done on the Irrawaddy and the Mekong. I think the latter is the most beautiful river I’ve ever seen.

The Mekong cruise was wonderful , I loved it and seeing places like Angkor Wat and the temples enroute. Well worth it and Vietnam was really, really inexpensive when we went, as was Cambodia.

We go on all inclusive cruises with ships no larger than 750 guests. Space to passenger ratio means no overcrowding and plenty of places to sit including poolside. Also approximately 2 crew to guests, personal service and no queues. Most conversations are about where people have travelled either on cruises or elsewhere, their leisure pursuits and of course food is discussed. I have never heard duty free as topic of conversation though!! Though these cruises look expensive, when you consider the add-ons with other companies - speciality restaurants, drinks, excursions, transport and shuttle buses - they are very good value.

We have cruised for many years starting off with larger ships which at the time we thought were wonderful. I have to say now that we are a bit older we still love cruising but with smaller more discerning ships. They offer you absolutely luxury and comfort. We both enjoy the feel and comfort on the ship, love the balcony room where we can sit and watch the sea go by soaking up the sun. The food is extremely good, food I could never cook. The facilities are second to none in all aspects of ship life. I enjoy getting dressed every evening for dinner but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. However, I also realise the whole concept of staying on a floating hotel, visiting various different locations every day is not for everyone, it just depends on what you look for on a holiday and for us it's cruising.

We've done 8 cruises. They're great. We never wanted to sit at a table of strangers so we always had a table for two. Entertainment isn't compulsory. You can walk out if you don't like it. The ports are great to explore. Those who've never cruised shouldn't really have an opinion as they have no idea what it's like.

We have been on big ship cruises and find them very restful.
We don't pay for shore excursions but do our own thing. It's very convenient to be able to visit so many different places without the hassle of getting to them.
The food and wide choice of dishes is superb and there are lovey lounges to sit in and just read or do your own thing.
I'd love to go on a smaller ship cruise but they seem to be very expensive.
I think we'd enjoy a river cruise too but we prefer to drive around other European countries and choose our own itineraries.

Nile cruise fabulous. The culture,scenery,experience fantastic.
Sea cruise,my idea of a nightmare.
Each to their own!!

I'd love to cruise in principle but can't get my mind past the amount of pollution they cause.

I’ve been on about 10 cruises over the years, first one with our 3 boys to the Caribbean many years ago, great for families. We’ve been on 2 already this year, one on a massive ship. Think the lady is right who stated it’s like marmite, you either hate it or loathe it. We obviously like it because for us the positives outweigh the negatives - no horrendous airport queues (we’re lucky we live 25 mins from Southampton), we like waking up in a different port, we dip into whatever activities on the ship we find interesting and we’ve met and chatted to some nice people over the years. It also is a very ‘easy’ holiday and I think as you get older that appeals a bit more. Saying that, we’ve never been on a cruise for longer than 14 days. It’s definitely worth a try for those who haven’t done one. Choose a smaller ship would be my advice. Several of our friends who ridiculed us years ago for going on a cruise, have now become converts and go on one occasionally.😉😀

Unless I happened to be single, which I'm not, I can't think of anything I'd least like to do. I'm sure if I were single I would have to be desperate. All those people. Expensive trips from ports so you don't see country visited. No not for me.

We regularly cruise with a company called SeaDream. They have two identical ships. Maximum 100 people; Norwegian owned; great food; you can sit at a table for two or a bigger one if you meet someone you’d like to have dinner with; lovely itineraries to interesting places; casual dress. My husband particularly appreciates not having to pack a tie

The answer to the OP as far as I am concerned is - yes and no.

Yes because I enjoy visiting so many destinations, the food and relaxation.

No because I find such an enormous amount of people on the latest cruise lines an absolute nightmare.

My choice are much smaller quieter ships - but they tend to cost very much more. Silverseas would be my choice. River cruises are always smaller.

No and a big no - pollution.

Been on both Ocean and River Cruises. On ocean cruises I find sea days boring, much prefer River., smaller numbers. often tie up alongside cities I like to visit..eg Cologne, no formal nights so less luggage, smaller numbers and friendlier. Good for sightseeing en route. Lot more independence…if you want it. Been with Saga and Viking. Both good.

Cruising not for me. Went on a cruise 15 years ago to Alaska sailing from Vancouver. It was a means to an end - DH and I wanted to see Alaska, go dog sledding etc all of which was fabulous, but we didn't enjoy the cruise aspect of it. Too many people (most of those we met were quite loud and obnoxious) and too much "organisation". The cruise was the last part of a trip which began with Rocky Mountain Train journey followed by several days in Vancouver - a wonderful journey and a great experience. Would repeat that part of the holiday at the drop of a hat but would never go near a cruise again...

Yes we like to cruise from Southampton. No waiting or delays in airports. No cramped flights. We prefer the smaller ships. We tried P&Os new Arvia with over 5000 passengers and wouldn't opt for a large ship again. However Arvia does run on LNG so is a very environmentally friendly ship.

Well, I am almost persuaded. So I had a look. Sadly, too expensive for me.