I’ve never been on a cruise either, but would like to second the notion that cruises that stop at different places in Europe every day do hold some appeal to me, since I wouldn’t have to worry about travel arrangements.
I’d also consider crossing the ocean on the Queen Mary II if I ever visit Europe if it were less than seven days to cross the Atlantic (although it’s not technically a cruise, these days it is catering toward luxury ocean vessel lovers and so has most but not all the amenities of a cruise).
If it were only 4 days to cross, I’d gladly spend the extra 3 days over air travel so I wouldn’t have to spend all those hours in soulless airports/cramped airplanes with no view, and wouldn’t have to worry about luggage restrictions. Plus it is very competitive with first class airplane tickets.
But even with lots of stuff to do on a ship, you can only do so much versus being on land: I’d probably be bored stiff after 3 days. Although if I weren’t travelling alone, I wouldn’t mind going on a cruise or ocean liner once as long as I could make sure I was never sober.
Hmm - I saw plenty of negatives, and reading it made me decide to avoid one cruise line, which I later found out was indeed a good idea. You have to look for consistency of criticism over many different writers, since even the best places piss off someone sometime. I found it no better or worse than your average hotel review site, which have the same issues.
On our last cruise a batch of Japanese cruisers monopolized the Japanese restaurant pretty much every day, which seemed a shame because I suspect they could do better at home for less. I suppose someone from the middle of nowhere might find it exciting, but being from the Bay Area I sure as hell wasn’t going to pay extra for a Mexican restaurant on board. The menu choices were not all that extensive either.
And they are definitely doing it for the money. Compared to our first cruise, or even our Alaska cruise, there was a lot of nickel and diming going on. For instance, they automated bingo, which let people play vast numbers of cards if they were willing to play, and made anyone wishing to play a card or two have very little chance. We went to trivia, still free, and the guy who ran it said that the PTB were mad because he drew more people than Bingo. They were clearly trying to make up the cut in fare by this stuff.
Like I said, go East to West. Our ship got stuck for a day on a sandbar in the Orinoco River, and I can tell you that a one day delay on a cruise ship is a lot better than a two hour delay in an airport.
One of the best things about a cruise ship is that you can’t do much. It is a very stress-free environment, and since phones and internet are not practical (the internet on ours was expensive and slow the one time I had to use it - even at midnight) so you have a good chance to kick back and read. I’ve never gone by myself, so I don’t know how it would be, but if you do I’d recommend going on a cruise with seatings and get a big table. Norwegian, the last one we went on, doesn’t have this, and it is negative. On the QE2 we wound up at a table with the Chief Engineer and Deputy Chief Engineer (alternating) and got to go to a cocktail party in their quarters, which was a highlight of the trip.
We did an inside cabin for our Alaskan cruise, which worked because it got us to go on deck more. We went North, and a port outside cabin would have been pretty useless. We did an outside cabin, window, no balcony for our last cruise, and while it was okay, we still found it better to go on deck.
But there is one advantage to having the cruise arrange the excursions: They guarantee that they’ll get you back to the ship before it leaves port, or they’ll pay for transportation to meet the ship at the next stop. If you go off on your own, and you are late getting back to the dock, you’re totally on your own.
Research any ports you will reach. If you want to go on excursions, it will help pick one, if you want to do it on your own, it will invaluable. When we went to Rome we learned from a guidebook to buy tickets at the Forum, not the Coliseum (tickets allow you to enter both) which saved us an hour on line.
Don’t expect the ship to help much. They only care about the excursions, and directing you to the stores which give kickbacks. The talks on the ports were a crude video about the place, with a lot of sales about how great the stores were. Not worth the time.
Also, avoid stores near the dock - in heavy cruise locations, they are loaded with junk.
Another choice is book the passage on a freighter on liner service. They carry up to ten passengers. It is point A to Point B. No pool, no shows, except the ocean. And you will dine in the officers solon every meal. Probably sit with the captian for a few meals, and if you are lucky maybe even the Chief Engineer. And then there is also the posability of meeting a Midshipman on a intern cruze. But you will have to book at least a year in advance, that is if things have not changed too much.
The ship’s crew does warn you about this if you decide to go off on your own, but for me it was worth it. I saved hundreds of dollars making my own arrangements, and could set my own pace. Invaluable. Also, I only planned excursions for days when there was an overnight at the port. Doing this, I was able to take my time and get back to the ship as late as I wanted. There’s a lot to see and do in Bermuda, and the two days in port makes doing a lot possible without having to rush.
An additional bit of information for those considering Bermuda as a cruise destination is don’t mistake it for a Caribbean cruise port. Bermuda is not in the Caribbean, and the residents will be the first to remind you of this. It is absolutely safe to walk around at night, and Hamilton and St. George have a good amount of nightlife, shopping, sights, attractions, and amazing beaches. The island is spotless and beautiful. Contrast this with the Bahamas which, in my opinion, is a filthy, smelly rathole with beggars and hawkers accosting you as soon as you leave the confines of the port. Plus you are warned by the ship’s crew not to stray too far into town on foot as it is considered unsafe.
Jamaica was kind of ratty just outside the port but friendly enough. Cozumel was also pretty rundown, but I have very fond memories of the horse riding excursion there.
Frankly, I loved being at sea more than the ports. Being out on the deck in the middle of the night with nothing but calm water out to the horizons under a clear sky and bright moon…words really don’t suffice.
I’ve cruised twice, once on Holland America to Alaska and last summer on Princess through the British Isles.
The biggest pro for cruising is just it’s convenience. Same room all trip, food whenever you want it, entertainment, drinks, all in one spot. Tons of people to help out and answer questions. It’s also a great way if you’re unfamiliar with your destination. It was the first time either myself or my mother had been overseas. I wouldn’t choose it for a return trip, but it was a great primer for at least getting our wits about us.
However I’d say the pros result in it’s biggest con. It probably isn’t the best choice if you’re looking for an immersive cultural experience. Part of going to a destination is to really experience the area first hand, which is going to be tough if you get to retreat to your floating paradise every night. Granted, I was surprised to find out how many people considered this a pro on my last cruise. A lot of people we met were recommending we stay away from certain cruises because there was “too much poverty.” Like God for bid we be forced to face what is reality for other people on earth. :rolleyes:
I think the most important part is that each cruise line tends to have a target market and you need to find the cruise line that fits your goals. For instance the Princess crowd definitely skewed much older. And I’m guessing an older couple looking for a nice relaxing anniversary probably isn’t going to be using the waterslides and rock climbing wall on a Royal Caribbean ship.
Speaking of Royal Caribbean’s rock climbing wall, here I ambeing lowered off of it after my climb. It is fun, I must say, but it is over way too quickly, and they force you to get in the back of a long queue if you want to go again.
By the way, they provide the shoes, helmet, and safety harness, and will not allow you to climb without all three. They also don’t allow you to climb back down once you’ve reached the top; you must rappel, which is kind of fun too.
Depending on where your cruise is located, their excursion offers will probably include fishing boats. Certainly our Alaska and Hawaii cruises did. We didn’t indulge, though, so I can’t say how good they were.
Neither cruise included anything like fishing boats that were kept on-board, though, and I doubt they’d be practical in any case.
I suppose I could have tried fishing off of my stateroom balcony, but being several hundred feet above the water line would have made that impractical as well. I’d have been far more likely to snag another passenger who was walking the Veranda deck a few decks below me than a fish in the water.
We’ve watched that happen on both our cruises. Both our cruises have been Disney - people put their kids in the kids club, then wander off on their own. And on both our cruises, the ship left port without waiting for parents whose kids were in the kids club. Get back to the ship on time, the ship has to clear its berth ontime or pay huge port fees and will not wait for you. Even if you have kids on board.
In one case the parents were running as we were pulling out - we stopped outside of port and they were ferried to the ship - but I understand the fees you pay just for that (much less an island to island hop because the ship has been gone for hours) are huge.
This one is apparently a really big deal for ships docking in Cozumel where people take the ferry to the mainland. That ferry can run very late in bad weather and Mexican roads can be…troublesome.
The same, btw, for booking arriving airfare through your cruise line. If you plane is delayed, the ship WILL LEAVE without you - but if you booked your airfare through the cruiseline, they’ll either wait or get you at the next stop. When cruising, its often a good idea to fly in the day before, just in case.
Back when I was in the Navy, we used to always joke about wives who wanted to go on a cruise right after you got back from a six-month deployment. That being the case, it took a long while after I got out before I considered going on a cruise.
Just this year, after our last Disney vacation, we saw all of their advertising for the Disney Cruise Line, so we decided to try out a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas. We really enjoyed it–it was much more relaxing than a Walt Disney World (WDW) vacation. We liked it enough that we booked another cruise for next year, because you get a significant discount if you rebook onboard.
We liked the Disney cruise a lot, both because we like Disney, and the absence of gambling on board. (I’m not morally opposed to gambling or anything–I just don’t like the casino atmosphere.) There’s plenty of entertainment for adults onboard, though, and no shortage of alcohol.
We are considering a Mediterranean cruise and an eastern Caribbean cruise in the future.
If we do the Mediterranean cruise, I’m aware that the port visits will be somewhat curtailed–but we’d be able to see a number of cities without having to arrange for transportation and hotels. The cruise begins and ends out of Barcelona, and we’re also considering flying home via Paris, and staying there for 2-3 days.
We cruise for the value and the fact that we like to sample.
(1) I like not having to pack and re-pack for moving from hotel to hotel
(2) The price for cruises is an incredible value (we get the cheapest room)
(3) Cruising forces us to have ‘downtime’ where we sit back and relax. We like to hit the port early and do active things (7 hour hike to and on a glacier – awesome!) then come back to the ship and read at a bar with drinks and live music before dinner.
Basically, cruises fit our style. It’s a rare city that we would be okay staying a whole week. We LIKE to sample, so cruises are perfect for us.
It depends on the cruiseline.
For Disney the upcharge restaurant is absolutely worth it. The charge is only 10 dollars and the difference between the upcharge restaurant and standard dining is huge. (The implication is that the standard food on Disney kind of sucks). So on Disney, the upcharge restaurant is very much worth the price.
For Holland America, the upcharge restaurant is NOT worth it. The charge is 20 dollars and the incremental quality is tiny compared to the main dining room. (The side implication is that Holland America has rather good standard food).
This is mostly true. There are perks given to big spenders (and even for repeat cruisers), but nothing so blatant as to make the cheap room guests feel neglected.
The service on cruise ships is amazing. The staff learn your name quickly and refer to you by name. At dinner the servers are happy to take away anything you don’t like and bring you something else. Can’t decide between appetizers? They’ll bring both!
I remember my first night on Holland America. The server could tell I didn’t like what I ordered. I didn’t want to make a fuss, but he insisted on bringing me something else. I’m glad he did, my second entree was delicious.
We chose inside for the value and the fact that I don’t like light when I’m sleeping. We stated in hotels in Anchorage and Seward before the cruise and the brightness when trying to go to sleep was disconcerting – not terrible, but weird. For the views, we like going to the public outdoor areas anyway. We like flipping from side to side as well. If we had a balcony, we would constantly be wondering what the view was like on the other side of the ship.
Disney’s first two ships (the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder) both have classic cruise liner lines (especially when viewed from the side) and have Art Deco and Art Nouveau themes to them, respectively. For example, the forward smokestack on each ship is solely present for aesthetics, being otherwise non-functional. (Actually, it houses the teen club.)
They do have many more than three decks though, and their new ships (the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy), have so many additional decks that it’s ruining their classic lines, IMHO.
Absolutely. Our flight from SFO to Vancouver for our Alaska cruise was over 3 hours late. We had arranged to come 2 days early to go to Victoria, so it was no problem for us, but a lot of people in the waiting room were on a cruise leaving that day, and they were freaking out.
When we went to Rome on our own, it was Easter Sunday, and we discovered that a lot of trains had been canceled. We got the last one, and made it just about on time. Luckily about 50 people from the cruise were also on the train with us. The ship didn’t leave for another hour, but I was pretty nervous. You get from Athens to Piraeus by subway, so that was a bit more reliable.
That being the case, it took a long while after I got out before I considered going on a cruise.