I love to cruise do you?

We’ve done several cruises….I hate the sea days so try to avoid them! Then we discovered river cruises! Far more civilised and peaceful! Relatively small number of people on board, you can’t get lost and can view the scenery during the day whatever the weather. Yes they are expensive, but on our last river cruise in June, the only additional money we spent was for coffees on shore. All excursions included…another one booked for May, but I appreciate that we’re privileged to be able to afford to do it!

I took a part-time job as PA/Carer to a disabled couple which involved travelling on cruises with them twice a year. Went with P&O and Royal Caribbean to Scandinavia Russia Estonia, Caribbean Islands, and Viet Nam Thailand and Hong Kong. The last 2 trips were flycruises.
OH wasn't keen on cruises so I booked a Mediterranean cruise for him to try it and we both love it. Have been on several cruises since.
If you hate it you can get off and fly home paying for your own air fare. The bigger ships are much more stable in the water so less chance of feeling sick. They all have lots of space on the decks to find somewhere quiet. There is a full medical facility with nurses and doctors. It's ideal for wheelchair users and very disabled friendly with staff very attentive to disabled people. You don't need to dress up if you don't want to. Lots of people in jeans and tee-shirt.

Anyone who says they can’t think of anything worse is missing out. A cruise is anything you want it to be from floating holiday camp to exclusive hotel. The only common factor is that you wake up somewhere new almost everyday and have no housekeeping or cooking.
We have cruised all over Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Southern Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Far East.
No fortnight on the beach for me!!

Anyone who says they can’t think of anything worse is missing out

It's a silly saying anyway.

Worse than being in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen?
Really?

Callistemon21

^Anyone who says they can’t think of anything worse is missing out^

It's a silly saying anyway.

Worse than being in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen?
Really?

When anyone comes out with that trite comment I usually give them a couple ( or more) examples that could be worse

Re. Dietary requirements query. Cunard definitely cater for most …. Whole gluten-free section in Lido (food court buffet-type dining option), for example, and religious needs respected

On cruises one only has a short time in each port and do not see really what the town/city is like. The back streets of Nice or Venice for instance.

I love them but sadly as a singleton it is getting too expensive.

I like the South Pacific cruises, blue blue seas, flying fish, open ocean with no land in sight. I didn’t particularly like the Singapore/ Thailand cruise though we did get to see some places we wouldn’t have normally. I like river cruises too but they are different and we find it is easier to ‘escape’ from people on the big ships. The river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam was wonderful and so was our Mediterranean Sea cruise with Viking. I’d say don’t knock them til you try them!

In my first marriage, I experienced about a dozen cruises, including one where we treated our widowed Mums to one to the Norwegian fjords. They loved it! My favourite was to Alaska.

My second husband was adamant that he wouldn’t like cruising but was tempted by a Fred Olsen one to the Christmas Markets, mainly because it included the Kiel Canal. Sadly, that was shrouded in fog but he was hooked. Since then we have also visited Norway, Baltic capitals and France, mainly by river, all with Fred Olsen.

We like the opportunity to visit new places without having to drive or pack/unpack or cook and we enjoy the port lectures and live entertainment. At times, we pursue different activities on board, sometimes separately. Depending on the place, we explore independently or on an excursion.

I abhor the mistreatment of staff in any workplace but whenever we’ve been ashore, several members of staff also had time to explore the port of call. Yes, pollution is a concern but then flying and driving aren’t entirely kind to the planet either. I was impressed to learn (admittedly in 1996) that Princess Cruises donated redundant mattresses, etc to the needy in some of their destinations.

It amuses me how strongly the non-cruisers feel about cruises. I’m not interested in skiing or beach holidays but understand that others love those. We aren’t all the same - that’s what makes life interesting!

The staff on the cruises we have been on get to go on shore at every stop but they have to be back before the passengers return. Obviously some have to be on board all the time but they roster this. We have found they will often chat and tell you things about their way of life. They do sign on for long periods of time but they get free meals and a bed and the ones we have chatted to loved the life. The last cruise we were on we asked a crew member how many actually had Covid on board and he told us - wasn’t a big secret. Most of the crew are youngish and most come from particular countries- Eastern Europe and Indonesia in particular. No one forces them on board.

We have mostly cruised with P&O, Princess cruises and now Saga since we passed a certain age. I totally dislike larger ships, especially when children are not disciplined and run amok- happened on a Princess cruise many years ago when the cabins were sold off cheaply.
I have dietary requirements and I inform the company on booking. During the cruise I am presented with the menu for the following day whilst at the evening meal. I can then request my meals for the following day and they are then cooked according to my requirements. Just to help, I am a diabetic on a low potassium diet which is unusual but doable. The chef on my last cruise admitted that he had to look up low potassium diets but everything I ate was fine for my diet. Never be afraid to ask to speak to the head chef if you have any queries or worries.

The only cruising I’ve done is on our boat on the (US) Great Lakes. You leave your home port and can go to any other big city port in other states. You have your personal gear, you’re traveling on your own time frame, you have family or friends along as crew mates, once docked elsewhere you can explore the other cities/towns, enjoy good restaurants, venues or cook on-board, taking your cabin/hotel room with you.
No need for big ship cruising.
Mini-cruising!
USA Gundy

Not many have their own boats though Gundy. My uncle used to sail but gave up his own boat as it was, ' Like standing in the shower tearing up fivers!'

nanna8

The staff on the cruises we have been on get to go on shore at every stop but they have to be back before the passengers return. Obviously some have to be on board all the time but they roster this. We have found they will often chat and tell you things about their way of life. They do sign on for long periods of time but they get free meals and a bed and the ones we have chatted to loved the life. The last cruise we were on we asked a crew member how many actually had Covid on board and he told us - wasn’t a big secret. Most of the crew are youngish and most come from particular countries- Eastern Europe and Indonesia in particular. No one forces them on board.

Those who go to shore and you can chat to are not the ones who are most abused, with conditions, hours and slave wages. You will never see them!

YES, survival and feeding their families forces them on board- like all slave labour all over the world.

These workers are kept well away from the clients!

''Modern slavery in the cruise ship industry often involves slave-like working conditions for back-end staff as well as recruitment practices that put workers in debt bondage

Employees on cruise ships, particularly back-end and unskilled labour staff, often face working conditions comparable to slave labour. Shifts of twelve or more hours without a day off for several months are common. Staff often receive very low salaries, which companies justify by arguing that workers receive high tips. With this system, however, staff bear major risks: If the cruise is not fully booked or if customers are less generous, their projected salaries can decline considerably.

Cruise ships often subcontract their staff recruiting to specialized agencies, handing over the direct responsibility for their staff and thereby paving the way for forced or bonded labour and exploitation. Migrant workers are at especially high risk of being recruited by dubious intermediate agencies, bonding them through fees for transport and visas, or having them pay for receiving a working contract, even before they have earned any money. Workers are attracted with the vision of working in a luxury environment but end up in sweatshop-like conditions under deck.

Many cruise companies take advantage of national laws allowing shipping companies to sail under foreign flags, making it even harder to hold them accountable when human rights and labour law violations occur on their ships.''

They often don't have passports, were lied to by recruiters, and are sacked without pay if they dare complain about anything.

Philippino staff are very open about their terms and conditions. Life back home isn't great. Good jobs are hard to come by and they appreciate good employers like Viking. There are many crew posting forums re their lives on board.

They often don’t have passports

And how do they travel to their ship without a passport? Of course they must have passports. Where do you get that ridiculous idea from?

The workers on cruise do work long hours, but they choose to work on cruise ships because the money they make, although low to us, is good money for them from the countries they come from. They have few expenses onboard as food and accommodation is provided, health care is provided (one told us how when he taken seriously ill how he was taken to hospital in the USA and treated with all expenses paid until he was well enough to rejoin his ship.) They do work long hours, but get to go home for holidays for several months at a time before rejoining their ship. How do you think they travel home via international airlines without a passport?
They make a lot of money via tips too, and no tax or insurance to pay on any of their earnings.

If we think about this logically, we wouldn't buy anything, go anywhere, go on holiday without detailed investigation because someone, somewhere is being exploited.

I'm not saying this is right but is it better than the alternative which could be extreme poverty for whole families in their home countries?

as very often with slave labour, they don't come off ships, so either no passport or passports taken away from them.

We are talking here about below deck workers- that you will never meet, never see and probably can't read or write.

Aveline - True! Don’t get a boat unless you can afford it!! It’s a very costly recreational hobby.

Your uncle had a sailboat which is less expensive to operate. We had a cruiser which made your eyes pop out of your head every time you filled it with gas. That was then - today’s gas prices are prohibitive 😳

Definitely enjoyed all the years of cruising. You never know just how many friends you have until you get a boat. True that.

Fleurpepper

as very often with slave labour, they don't come off ships, so either no passport or passports taken away from them.

We are talking here about below deck workers- that you will never meet, never see and probably can't read or write.

And you know this how?

maddyone

Fleurpepper

as very often with slave labour, they don't come off ships, so either no passport or passports taken away from them.

We are talking here about below deck workers- that you will never meet, never see and probably can't read or write.

And you know this how?

Perhaps Fleurpepper worked on cruise liners?

It’s possible Callistemon, but as the wife of a GP it seems unlikely, as she has mentioned taking phone calls from patients, even in the night.
She doesn’t know this, probably has never been on a cruise (I have and have talked to many of the employees) and I haven’t the first idea where she got this so called information from. Not sure she knows either!

Incidentally once in port, you see many of the employees out in the port building because they can get free WiFi there which they don’t get onboard (neither do passengers but that’s a bit of a moot point) and indeed you see the ones who are off duty going into the port town together. They are not chained up in the bottom of the ship never to see the light of day again like some sort of slaves. They get off the ship in port if they are off duty.