southeastern

Why do you take things so personally and why are you so quick to make a PERSONAL attack on me? I simply made an observation-my point of view on a cruise. Lighten up, get a sense of humor and look at the topic rather than attacking a person and making assumptions about them rather than the topic. You know absolutely nothing about my travel experiences, education, etc. So keep the personal out of it and let people express their point of view. Lighten up, laugh, and ask yourself why you got so offended by a point of view. I have attacked no one personally concerning big cruise ships......and I could if I choose. That's not the point of this forum. I have no need to put anyone down personally, just give them another point of view. Good grief!

jacketwatch

Fmpden: Some folks you just can't take seriously.

southeastern

"Humor is something that thrives between man's aspirations and his limitations. There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth."
Victor Borge

jill1125

I love cruising and have been on many but not familiar with Royal Caribbean. I personally prefer areas other than Caribbean cruises though that's probably where most people take their first cruise.

I was shocked to read of Southeastern's experiences. I have never experienced any of the "If's" that were mentioned. This certainly isn't the norm....

jacketwatch

" A wise man does not waste words on one who can not hear." Confucious.

jacketwatch

To answer the OP's question we love cruising. Prior to our first cruise in 2002 our travels were all land based. After 2002 we have had one land based vacation, to the Big Island in 2004. All others have been on ships. In fact we love it so much we booked a cruise about 2 weeks after returning from our last one. Give it a try.

fosterag

As Mikie said in the commercial, "try it, you'll like it". If not, don't do another. We have traveled on Carnival, RCCI, NCL, and Princess and have loved every one of them. Been to Europe, Alaska, Panama Canal, Caribbean, Hawaii, and a transatlantic. We love cruising, but also love road trips. We have friends who went on a cruise to Alaska with us, hated it, and will never cruise again. Only you can make a decision as to whether you like it or not, but at least try it one time!!!

RONREYN2008

Love or Hate are two strong words! We really like cruiseing would be my answer & the reasons for this would be that we resisted going on them for many years because of the old stories of too many people,too rough of seas, too boaring people & so on. Well we went on our 1st cruise in Feb. of 06 & we really liked it. The food, the company, the sceenery, the sea days, the over all experience. You don't have to let yourself be hearded about like cattle, be that break away Maverick that goes on it's own path & does their own self guided tour of a port town or rents a car to go for a drive around an Island with a small group. We have brains use them. I have not been on a RC ship but go with an open mind & you should have chance to really like it. Good Cruiseing.

ciaony

I feel like I can skip the "Formal Dinner".

Do I really want to carry a suit onto a boat that goes to a beach town?

Your thoughts?

Seamama

Some people enjoy getting dressed up and some people hate it. Some people like "quick takes" of ports and some people would rather linger and explore. Some people get along with their fellow travellers for extended periods of time and some people need their own island. Etc. Etc. Etc. BeachBoi has it right about it being human nature. My husband and I love it. Its the most carefree and entertaining vacation in our opinion. If you want to be busy, there's busy. If you want to be lazy, there's lazy. We leave in less than 90 days. I can hardly wait.

FustoK

The ship might go to the beach but most ships are like very nice resorts.

On Grandeur, you will not need to wear a suit as RCI has become very casual.

As Seamama says, some like it and some do not. On main stream lines, we prefer those that have and enforce a dress code. One the upscale lines, folks seem to dress nicely without being told to and we also enjoy that. Country club casual is a great option.

We abide by the dress code published whatever it is.

TPAYT

My thoughts on cruises:

Not fond of the huge, get dressed up, take an hour to get off and on ships, although they do have alot of entertainment.

Love the smaller ones, especially the sail boats of www.windstarcruises.com and www.starclippers.com

Much classier, not alot of drunks or kids, and country club casual, so no formal nights. It's also much easier to get on and off at the ports, no long lines. It's like being on a private yacht with a couple hundred friends instead of a couple thousand strangers.

On the down side, there is not alot of entertainment, just wonderful dinners, maybe a little staff entertainment and a small casno, and great walks on the deck under the sails in the moonlight.

After 4 sailboat cruises and 1 large boat cruise, guess which one we like best?

Of course, to each his own---all travel is wonderful.

southeastern

Love Starclippers- have done two. You actually stay a while in port and have lots of freedom to do your own thing. You do feel like you are on a private charter.

ciaony

So, I'm back.

Probably my last cruise, but if not, I will definitely choose more wisely next time.

This cruise was chosen for us as it was a 40th birthday for a friend.

Some quick points:
1. The food was not good.
2. The dance music around the pool starting at 7AM was completely annoying and unnecessary.
3. Pulling the staff off the dining room floor so they can line up and dance "for our entertainment" was baffling.
4. Talented live band on main deck played the same songs, twice each, every day. (as a fellow musician, I felt bad for them)
5. Front desk clerks could not possibly have been less helpful or more effective at avoiding the phone.

I could go on, but the gist is our experience left my wife and me disappointed.

lindam

Don't give up on cruising!! I think the problem was the ship. We were on Grandeur in 97---she is probably getting old and tired. From my experience, RCCL doesn't put a lot of effort into the older ships.

Just my opinion!

Linda MI

ParrotMom

Sorry you had such a bad experienc.. we did on a Royal Caribbean Cruise too, but we have become addicted to their Celebrity line..much more upscale, better service and on our trans-atlantics we have met some wonderful people..

patandhank

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise ciaony. We've done several over the years - NCL, Carnival, Celebrity and Oceania. Our favorite so far out of all of them was Oceania, but it also has much smaller ships and we've realized that's the setting we like the best along with the port intensive itineraries. Trying Azamara in July so we'll see how that goes. We also travel a lot on land trips (usually on our own) and the more I travel the more I think a cruise or land choice depends on what you want to see. Some locales are more cruise condusive (going through the Greek Islands) while I think some are more land condusive - China or in-depth country visit. Hope you give it a try again.

letsgo39

Hate big ship ocean cruises and LOVE rivercruising.

svicious22

I love to cruise but it is its own thing to me, not better or worse than a land based trip but different. In a lot of ways neither one can replace the other for me, except for the basic goal of getting some r & r. If you like being at sea, you will most likely like cruising. If you are indifferent to it or get sick, you probably won't.

The one big negative cruises have is that things tend to go poorly (bad changes to plans/iteneraries) that you have no control over more frequently than land based trips in my experience. Cruise lines reserve the right to change their plans on you and believe me, it happens. But a cruise is certainly worth a shot for you, you can't rely on the opinions of others to tell what is right for you.

marly528

Of course cruising is a personal choice. It would be a strange world if we all liked the same things.
We love the "freedom" of a cruise.
If you feel like socialising, then you can. If you don't, then you dont have to.
If you feel like having fun, then you can. If you don't, then you dont have to.
If you feel like eating yourself silly, then you can. If not there are lots of healthy options at hand.
(it's surprising how much salad you eat when it's prepared for you.)
We have found you have to try different cruise lines and ships to find exactly the one for you.
Everything on a cruise ship is at hand.
No booking restaurants or theatres, a choice of bars and smaller entertainment venues, a shopping area and casino. What more could you want?
However, we have been very lucky and have never encountered drunks or unruly kids, then I would imagine that would be a different story, but even then you could escape to a quieter part of the ship.
Our favorite part of a cruise is to go to the midnight buffet, then take our food back to our cabin and watch a movie in bed!! Great!(dont forget the indigestion tablets)