I’ve gone on one or more cruises and I like them - will cruise again.
Been on a cruise once, and it was OK but not great. Probably no more.
Been on a cruise once and didn’t enjoy it- never again.
0voters
My wife and I have never been on a cruise. We’ve kicked around the idea of trying it, but with all the Norovirus outbreaks and now the cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak in the news, we’re thinking awww HELLS no to being trapped on a floating Petri dish.
My sister and BIL went on a cruise just a couple months ago. They didn’t think of themselves as cruise people, but some cruise ship loving friends talked them into going as a group. Well, their ship had a Norovirus outbreak bad enough to (briefly) make the national news. They both got sick, but not too badly, and towards the end of the trip, so they say they still enjoyed it.
I voted “once and never again”. It’s a crowded floating tenement filled with noisy assholes, and every member of the crew and every inhabitant of the “quaint” little islands has their fucking hand out demanding a tip.
Never, ever, ever again. I’d pay a substantial sum not to go.
I’ve been on quite a few cruises and I’ve enjoyed them. I think some of the people who dislike cruises don’t realise you can go places other than the Caribbean on a party boat. I’ve seen Barcelona, Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Malta, Sicily, Athens, Cyprus, Rhodes, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Rio de Janeiro and many other places that are not simply tourist traps.
As far as getting sick goes, I got Covid after a cruise once (which wasn’t fun).
But what I don’t like is when you disembark at one of the stops you are on their time. You have to be back by a certain time. Missing a cruise ship departure is a nightmare.
When we travel we like to be on our own time, staying longer or shorter if we wish.
Mrs. J. and I are in the category of never been on a cruise and have no wish to. I suppose I might be able to get a discount if willing to serve as ship’s pathologist, but nah.
I was just reading the section on cruise ships in the book Infections of Leisure (a fun read, which covers the nasties you can contract on vacation and through various leisure activities, including hot tubs and dining out). According to one study cited in the book, there’s less than a 1% chance of contracting a gastrointestinal illness on a 7-day cruise (the edition I have was published in 2009, so new data may have emerged since then).
Among other things, the book recommends travelers on cruise ships be up to date on their vaccines including for typhoid and hepatitis A, and that you check your ship’s inspection score on the CDC website (avoid ones with an inspection score of 85 or less). It didn’t help that the CDC fired its full-time inspectors under the regime of RFK Jr., but supposedly inspections have continued* and even increased, if you believe the industry (which has or should have a vested interest in preventing outbreaks). I would also want to know what percentage of the crew has been properly vaccinated, if it’s possible to find that out.
*I checked on a couple of ships at random on the CDC website and inspection dates from this past January are listed.
**before embarking on your first cruise, I recommend reading the Pendergast mystery The Wheel of Darkness, much of which takes place on a luxury liner crossing the North Atlantic, featuring murder, overeating and drinking, promiscuous activity and the ship on a collision course with a rocky shoal.
Been many times. Once already this year, and going on 2 more this year. Will probably schedule yet another for 2026, so 4 total. Actually 5 total if you count the one over NYE 2025-26 as part of 2026. Which I don’t.
There are cruises that are like a day at Walmart where everyone was given a bottle of Jack on their way in the door and then not let back out until 6 hours after they’d finished their bottle. Don’t do that kind. Unless that’s your bag.
On a big big ship? No thank you. Not a fan of huge resort complexes with acres and acres of grounds. But I like the ocean and I like boats and I like to see new places I just don’t want travel there with several thousand people.
Cruises are a mixed bag in my experience . My first three were Viking cruises in Europe which are smaller ships with no kids. The last of these was the deathly boring Norway/Northern Lights cruise after which I declared “No more cruises”. That lasted until Little Steven’s Underground Garage stuffed twenty of my favorite bands on a four day cruise to the Bahamas. I did that again last month and will probably do it again next year. But that’s basically a music festival with room and board. Without the bands, you couldn’t pay me to get on a cruise ship leaving from an American port with token stops in the Caribbean, Mexico, or Canada.
Been on five Royal Caribbean and one Celebrity cruise, don’t plan on doing any more big ship cruises. Big fan of Viking smaller ships. With them we have done an ocean cruise(900 people), an expedition cruise(300 people) and four river cruises(180 people). Their service is great. We are actually on back to back river cruises right now, up the Rhone to Lyon, bus to Basel, then down the Rhine to Amsterdam. Just arrived in Amsterdam this morning.
Their beds are a bit hard and they don’t put a top sheet on, just a duvet. My wife asked for two blankets under the bottom sheet for some padding and to add a top sheet which they did. When we changed boats from the Rhone to the Rhine, our new cabin already had the two blankets and a top sheet. They called ahead to pass our request to the next ship. They do a great job with things such as transfers and meeting you at the airport. They are of course more expensive then the big ships but things like Wi-Fi is free and the ocean and expedition ships have free washers and dryers. The river ships because they are small often dock in the downtown of the destination.
I’ve been on Carnival twice: once in 1996 (Carnival Sensation) as a college graduation gift from my parents, and once in 2007 (Carnival Liberty) with Mrs. H and my siblings, their spouses, and my mom and stepdad, after they came into some money (inheritance). Carnival allowed smoking pretty much everywhere at those times, as did probably all other cruise lines, except Disney, at the time. Fortunately the cruise industry has tightened up on this.
I agree with the concerns about virus transmission and enclosed spaces, but spoiler alert: the news media isn’t telling you about the hundreds of cruise ships that return home each day with zero sick passengers. Take reasonable precautions, is what I’m saying.
I also agree that the nickel-and-diming, and in particular, the aggressive demands for tips, can be a bit much. In fact, so aggressive were the vendors in Jamaica, including one who actually grabbed me (for a fraction of a second I was prepared to punch him in the schnozz but I didn’t want to wind up in a Jamaican jail). Next time I’m on a ship that docks in Jamaica I’ll be staying on the vessel. Fuck that place.
Still, on balance, I would say that cruising is a fun experience and I would do it more often if I had the money. In fact, Mrs. H and I are sailing on Norwegian Escape out of New Orleans in December of this year, as we have come into some money (inheritance). We won’t be going anywhere near Jamaica.
I am not a people person. I’ve never been on a cruise, but my husband has (before we met) and has told me about them. My sense of most cruise trips is that you can’t really get away from people. That, plus most of the activities I have read about I am not interested in, means no thanks.
My husband and I were in Venice one early April, and we strolled down to where the cruise ships come in and debark passengers for their day trips, to have breakfast. What a nightmare that looked like from the outside. Huge crowds trying to follow their one harassed tour guide with a flag.
I have thought about maybe a cruise from California to Hawaii (no stops), around the islands, then just stop off somewhere for a few days and fly home. This does not seem to be a thing, I guess it would leave too many ships deadheading back to the mainland or something. That might be one way I would be willing to dip my toe into the cruising life.
The question that immediately occurs to me is: why would I need a cruise ship to visit these cities? (OK, there’s a couple of islands on the list too, but other than them.) Besides, I’d probably want to spend more than a few hours in each one if I went there at all.
When I’m in another city, I like finding a good restaurant and enjoying the local cuisine at supper, and experiencing the streets both in the evening when they’re crowded with people, and at first light when the streets are nearly empty.
I can’t see how that works out with a cruise ship. Regardless of where one’s cruise is, ISTM that most of one’s time would be spent on the ship, including a good chunk of one’s waking hours.
Sailing ships or bust for me, had a wonderful one on a schooner out of Rockport, Maine, 2 decades ago. I’ve been jonesing for another but the economy and politics keeps dissuading me. No f. way I’d go on a McCruise on a huge polluting overcrowded behemoth, as my soul would be shriveled unto nothingness by the end of it.
I love cruises - since my husband retired, we now go on three a year. A large part of the reason is because we want to be able to do different things - maybe I want to lay in the sun or go someplace with live music and he wants to gamble in a casino or play golf. That’s not going to be easy to do if we stay at a hotel in Florida or outside Boston and have one car. So really, our choices are between all inclusives and cruises - and the cruises have always come out to be less expensive than the all inclusives, which seem to run about $300 per person per night.The cruises are even less expensive now, because there are discounts due to my husband’s casino play. I have a 19 day cruise booked for a total of around $5000 for both of us , including taxes, gratuities on dining and drink packages, and travel insurance. That’s about $131 per person per night.
Another thing is that the CDC keeps (kept?) track of outbreaks of gastrointestinal viruses on cruise ships and no one keeps tracks of outbreaks and theme parks or resorts. It’s easy to find out that there were 23 outbreaks of GI illnesses on cruise ships under the CDC’s jurisdiction in 2025 - but it’s impossible to easily find out how many similar outbreaks occured in other US vacation destinations. You probably have just as good a chance getting norovirus if you spend a week at Disney World.
That’s true - but lots of people don’t mind that. Same as some people like all inclusive resorts and never leave them.
Went on one. I was not on spring beak, but a number of them where. They would get a beer and just stand in line to get another one. Beer ran out.
Due to a medical emergency, the ship was a day late getting back to port. These idiots deceided to shut down the bars (still had some booze), because, 'Hey, we didn’t know we would run late “You only paid for 6 days, not 7. At least we’re feeding you.”
There was nearly a mutiny. They opened the bars.
My wife and I are actually going on another. Totally different company and crowd.
