We Love to Travel. But Cruises Look Miserable.

SweetSue92

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Jul 18, 2018
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Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?
 
Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?
So don't buy a ticket, Sue.
I went on one once. I am a born tourist and I have had very little chance to travel, so I enjoyed the places we visited. I wouldn't go on a cruise again, although it is nowhere near as bad as you imagine. To me, it almost seemed like a "wine tasting" for Caribbean countries.
 
Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?

Having lived on a few ships in my military career, I can say that the draw isn't huge for me. But it seems most everyone I talk to who has gone on one enjoys it. People I didn't think would at all.

They have morgues, but I don't see death rates on ships having a major jump. Noro and Gastro suck, but wash your hands lol. Being beholden to the weather counts anywhere. Just a couple weekends ago we went out with the camper for the first time of the year and it was pouring rain the entire time. I joked with my wife that if we still were tent camping this would be the first and last camping trip of the season. Plus most cruises aren't running the north atlantic in the middle of the ocean, but much smoother waters. I've been on some ships up by Korea, and that was nasty... But I haven't heard anyone talk about major sea sickness that I know.

Not everything that one person likes another will. I think I'd enjoy an Alaskan cruise myself, but not really interested in the ones south.

The "lot of people in one place" is the thing that I don't think I would enjoy all that much. But different cruise liners have different setups and target clients. Some are more kid friendly, where your kid can play away all day and you can do your thing separately. Some are more around the night-life scene. Some more around good food and relaxing.

I really don't see myself anytime soon being able to make a trip to Alaska with the camper, so honestly, a cruise might be an option there, and from what I've heard it's less of the party/disney kid scene.
 
I never had the desire to be stuck on a floating bar with a propeller attached to the end. That being said, some people do enjoy them, but they aren't for me. When I go away, I like to settle in and explore the place, and get to know it.

Although, I may make an exception for one of those river cruises through Europe, although I believe you get off the boat each day, and stay at a hotel at each stop.
 
Been on ten cruises

Floating hotel and nightclub. Different port every morning.
Good way to see multiple destinations.

Only downside is you have about eight hours at each port
 
Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?
Try a submarine trip.
 
I never had the desire to be stuck on a floating bar with a propeller attached to the end. That being said, some people do enjoy them, but they aren't for me. When I go away, I like to settle in and explore the place, and get to know it.

Although, I may make an exception for one of those river cruises through Europe, although I believe you get off the boat each day, and stay at a hotel at each stop.
The cruise is really developed for old farts that have limited mobility, thus all the damn lurking diseases...
 
Going on a charter flight was okay they let us drink on the way down but the return flight was a bummer and no booze was served..
 
Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?

Norovirus is highly unlikely on a Cruise ship. In reality you have a far better chance of picking it up at a hospital, a nursing home, a daycare, a school, or anywhere else. Norovirus is an extremely common illness, comparative to the common cold, or yearly flu.

The only reason this is referred to as a 'cruise ship' illness, is because it makes the news, when a large cruise liner returns to port because of an outbreak. When dozens of kids get sick, and their parents equally get sick... it doesn't usually make the news. It's just "oh there's a bug going around".

Yes, cruise ships have morgues. People die. People who are older, are more likely to die. The demographic of people who take cruises, is typically retirees.

Cruise ships are typically not beholden to waves and weather.

Go back 100 years, and maybe you have a point. But today, with GPS, and satellites, cruise ships almost never get even near bad weather really bad weather. Unless the Cruise company is garbage. Obviously you get what you pay for. But most of the notable brands are as much interested in avoiding weather to keep customers happy, as wanting to protected their obviously massive investment in a cruise ship. Severe weather can damage any ship, and cruise liners are not cheap.

You are more likely to get hit by bad weather at a beach resort that can't move, than a ship can will steer clear.

All that said, I typically just don't like crowds of people, and thus I don't think I would enjoy a cruise so much. But then I likely would not enjoy going to any tourist destination where tons of people go.

Years ago I found a castle like inn, that sat on top of a large hill in Kentucky, and had hectares of land around it. That was more appealing to me than a cruise, because it specifically was not a tourist destination, and you had miles of bike paths over the hills, and no one anywhere nearby.
 
Having worked for Princess Cruises for a couple of seasons, I will say this: cruises are not for everyone but some people love them.
If you prefer having wheels under you ass and an organized program, cruises are for you. They are safe and organized and take all the stress of planning a travel agenda away while providing a wide variety of activities, both on board and on land. The food can be fabulous onboard the ship. Service is the best, most of the time. Be aware the different cruise companies cater to different demographics: i.e. families vs. singles.
If you like the ability to choose, to take it or leave it as you desire, you might consider some other options. Maybe take a cruise ship for part of your trip and then change over to a more individual agenda.
Have a nice vacation, whatever you choose.
 
Hubby and I love to travel: near, far, by car or air. But we never, ever want to cruise. We see all kinds of pitfalls and almost no positives. For one thing, when you cruise you are constantly surrounded by people. Everywhere. A press of people everywhere--a floating city of people all stacked up together.

Cruise ships have morgues.

Cruise ships have norovirus.

Cruise ships are beholden to the waves and the weather.

How unpopular is this opinion?

Having lived on a few ships in my military career, I can say that the draw isn't huge for me. But it seems most everyone I talk to who has gone on one enjoys it. People I didn't think would at all.

They have morgues, but I don't see death rates on ships having a major jump. Noro and Gastro suck, but wash your hands lol. Being beholden to the weather counts anywhere. Just a couple weekends ago we went out with the camper for the first time of the year and it was pouring rain the entire time. I joked with my wife that if we still were tent camping this would be the first and last camping trip of the season. Plus most cruises aren't running the north atlantic in the middle of the ocean, but much smoother waters. I've been on some ships up by Korea, and that was nasty... But I haven't heard anyone talk about major sea sickness that I know.

Not everything that one person likes another will. I think I'd enjoy an Alaskan cruise myself, but not really interested in the ones south.

The "lot of people in one place" is the thing that I don't think I would enjoy all that much. But different cruise liners have different setups and target clients. Some are more kid friendly, where your kid can play away all day and you can do your thing separately. Some are more around the night-life scene. Some more around good food and relaxing.

I really don't see myself anytime soon being able to make a trip to Alaska with the camper, so honestly, a cruise might be an option there, and from what I've heard it's less of the party/disney kid scene.


If you go to Alaska, take the train.
 
A trailer park with bronze propellers.

Though I wouldn't sneeze at a trans-Atlantic trip aboard the QM II.
The QMII was not a cruise ship and the trip would greatly depend on whether you were First Class or Steerage.
There's no more steerage....The QMII and QEII basically have 4 classes of rooms: luxury, luxury with a porthole, above-deck balcony room, and deluxe suite....None of the rooms have appointments any lower than what you'd find at a Marriott hotel.

Cunard Queen Mary 2 14 Night Transatlantic Cruise departs New York, New York | The Cruise Web
 
A trailer park with bronze propellers.

Though I wouldn't sneeze at a trans-Atlantic trip aboard the QM II.
The QMII was not a cruise ship and the trip would greatly depend on whether you were First Class or Steerage.
There's no more steerage....The QMII and QEII basically have 4 classes of rooms: luxury, luxury with a porthole, above-deck balcony room, and deluxe suite....None of the rooms have appointments any lower than what you'd find at a Marriott hotel.

Damn! And I wanted to meet Kate Winslet!
 
A trailer park with bronze propellers.

Though I wouldn't sneeze at a trans-Atlantic trip aboard the QM II.
The QMII was not a cruise ship and the trip would greatly depend on whether you were First Class or Steerage.
There's no more steerage....The QMII and QEII basically have 4 classes of rooms: luxury, luxury with a porthole, above-deck balcony room, and deluxe suite....None of the rooms have appointments any lower than what you'd find at a Marriott hotel.

Cunard Queen Mary 2 14 Night Transatlantic Cruise departs New York, New York | The Cruise Web
Very true nowadays. Cruise ships are not a primary means of transportation and seek to provide a luxury experience. Modern day steerage equates to coach class on aircraft.
 
A trailer park with bronze propellers.

Though I wouldn't sneeze at a trans-Atlantic trip aboard the QM II.
The QMII was not a cruise ship and the trip would greatly depend on whether you were First Class or Steerage.
There's no more steerage....The QMII and QEII basically have 4 classes of rooms: luxury, luxury with a porthole, above-deck balcony room, and deluxe suite....None of the rooms have appointments any lower than what you'd find at a Marriott hotel.

Cunard Queen Mary 2 14 Night Transatlantic Cruise departs New York, New York | The Cruise Web
Very true nowadays. Cruise ships are not a primary means of transportation and seek to provide a luxury experience. Modern day steerage equates to coach class on aircraft.
Except the food is better
 

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