Do you like or dislike cruises?
 

Wondering who enjoys taking a cruise? I know some people who only swear by cruises. I think if I had to choose, I'd prefer a land vacation instead.

I went through my cruise stage, but now I am over it. It can be a fun experience. It depends on what you are looking for. I think it is sometimes a good way to explore new places. It can also be a much cheaper alternative depending on how you do it.

This has been beaten to death over the years on this forum. Not again!

I agree with Dan.
And this should probably be in the "Cruises" or "Other" forum, not "United States".

I loved the first two cruises we went on, but I'm over it now, too. I prefer a land vacation. I find it to be more relaxing. I also prefer to make my own schedule and don't really care for all the structured and timed events on board a ship. However, my teenagers prefer the cruise vacations.

We cruise at least once a year, but I wouldn't want it to be our only type of vacation. The ports are important to me, not just being on a cruise. I love cruising Alaska, and a cruise in Europe is great with kids.

I think you should ask this in the cruise forum. If you do I'll reply there.

Why can't this message be posted in the US forum? I find it interesting and would not have thought of looking in the Cruise section. If you don't want to answer the question, then just go on to the next post.

Cruising is 'travel lite' in my book.
It's great for mindless vacationing if you don't have any opinions about anything and just want to be shuttled around.
Half of the fun of travelling for me is planning the trip, figuring what to do, where to eat, where to stay, and making it the BEST possible trip with high quality hotels/food, etc.

In addition, cruising prevents a visitor from really getting a local experience. I chuckle at people who say they've been to Venice, Istanbul, Naples, etc but they onlt set foot for a few hours. Thay might as well have been at Disney or EPCOT.

Cruising kills most everything I like about travel.

"I ... would not have thought of looking in the Cruise section"

?

Then what ELSE about cruising might you be missing? The forums are broken down into various topics for a reason. It only seems reasonable that you'd get better response to this in that forum.

I disagree with the comment that a cruise is "mindless vacationing". When you work 60-80 hours per week sometimes you just want to take a vacation to relax and not have to worry about the particulars.

Hubby and I both love the ocean. There's nothing like looking outside and seeing miles and miles of the sea with no land in sight. We love the time alone in our room and just looking outside to see the water. Vegging out and reading a book. Going to the movie theatre on the ship.

Now I would not do Europe that way, IMO you don't get the feel of the country without being there 2/4/7. But Alaska, perhaps may be best seen via ship cruising the glaciers and still being able to get off and spend the day doing your own excursions. To each his own. :)

I never wanted to cruise until hubby suggested it a few years ago for a change of pace. Now I'm hooked. Alaska in 2 weeks :)

In my younger free wheeling days of travel I thought that cruises were the evil empire of old folks who didn't have any sense of adventure. I swore I wouldn't be caught dead on a cruise.

Now I am a bit older, still have not done one, but I would be open to the idea. Did I loose my morals???

In a world with limited time and limited money, we have to make choices about our travel opportunities. When we spend a month in Guatemala with our children, we do not assume that it is the same as a day spent (or even a few hours) showing them Pompeii. I haven't been interested in spending a week at a dude ranch or a week on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands, but I am not dismissive of those experiences or those who want to do them. A cruise, like anything, is what you make of it.

I agree completely with "rebelyeller" and see no reason why this shouldn't be posted in the U.S. forum. Lilly could have reasonably thought that posting in the "cruise" forum might bring opinions only from avid cruisers; I would assume they are the ones who would be posting under "cruises." Or maybe she/he forgot there was a "cruise" forum, and never noticed it to begin with. WHATEVER! I also agree with "rebelyeller" that if you don't like a question, ignore it and go on to another. As my grandchild would say, "we are not the boss of each other!"

As for me, I have such motion sickness issues that I won't even try a cruise, but probably would cruise a place like Alaska, if I could. Most destinations though, I would rather be on land 24/7!

Meant to say "or never noticed it to begin with"... sorry!

Cruises can be fine--it really depends on what you're seeking in any given vacation. The advantage of a cruise is that, for a vacation involving moving from oneplace to another, it's your transportation and hotel all in one. While you sleep, you move to the next site. But it resembles a packaged tour, in that your time in any one place is governed by an external schedule. There's a lot of tradeoffs in choosing one type of vacation over another. I particularly enjoyed a cruise I took from Istanbul to Athens. I spent 5 days in Istanbul first, then went between places like Ephesus and and Patmos one day to the next. The land excursions at some sites were conducted by archaeologists, so a fascinating glimpse at history was provided. It also gave me an overview of some places to help me determine whether I wanted to go back to spend a week or two on another vacation or not. On the other hand, I took a cruise in Alaska that I can only describe as a floating prison with occasional shopping breaks. Not being much of a shopper, this did not suit me at all. As long as you find a cruise that fits your preferences, and don't mistake it for the kind of travel where you dig in and get to know a place, it can be a great experience. It will never be my only mode of travel/vacation, but it will always be in my repertoire.

We've been on three--they're fun, it's convenient and everything is done for you. However, by day 5 my husband and I get cabin fever. Plus we never feel that we have enough time in port. Plus we don't like the HUGE groups they caravan for the excursions. Hmmm, that said, we're taking an Alaskan cruise next year because you really can't see that part of it any other way. After that, I can't think of anyplace else we'd need to cruise as the best way to see it. Except Antarctica, which I always thought would be fun. However, when I mentioned it to my family they ALL looked at me like I had three heads.

I have to add that my kids LOVE cruising.

I think this is a very valid question to be asked on the U.S. forum! If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

Anyways, we prefer land vacations. Been on a cruise once and didn't care for it. Your restricted to there schedule, not enough time in port to check the places out. Didn't care for the food either. Just not my cup of tea. I know some people who just love cruises!

I thought a cruise was a nice way to experience the Caribbean for the first time. I now want to return to check out some of the islands I liked best.

Does anyone know if the "Fodors Police" on this post are allowed to carry guns?

Different strokes for different folks. We dislike them overall, but it's just personal preference. I could imagine circumstances where I would want to go on a cruise, but those circumstances have not yet occured.