Treatsea

Hello all – I have long wanted to take Pride of America’s Hawaii cruise, and I might soon have a chance to do so. I’ve taken several cruises but I don’t have experience booking my own. I’m not asking for a breakdown of the best ways to book a cruise, but I want to be sure I have my info straight.

I will most likely be traveling solo. At first, that meant the solo cabins on the ship are very appealing, until I saw that they cost much more than the listed price for inside or even some balcony cabins as a single. My immediate reaction is that I don’t understand this, maybe it’s a supply-and-demand thing, but I don’t know why I would pay more to get less.

Is that really how it is supposed to be? If I can get a better rate, I would not plan to book directly through the cruise line. Has anybody else done a single cruise on NCL and know the best way to go about it?

That's a CEO, so I presume that is in jest.

Does anyone have opinions about which cruise lines do better than the others?

The poster who made comparisons between the cruise industry and American social policies/political policies was making many assumptions about me. There seems to be this idea that as Americans, we're all supportive or complacent about the countrywide policies when it's simply not true. I do not consider myself responsible or complicit about the fact that there is a low minimum wage, and I as individual can't do much to change that. It was interesting, for example, that this poster mentioned the company I work at, as there is no such thing - I don't work for any company.

When I originally opened this topic, the objective was to get discussion going about cruising ethics (and it has), since I'd encountered it in various travel circles. I wanted to know what frequent cruisers thought about the ethics of cruising to try to get several perspectives. I was/am just trying to play devil's advocate.

1 hour ago, clo said:

Never asked WHAT.  And I'm a big believer in all the untruths in the Bible.  Hey, you brought it up, right?

Well, to be fair, I looked up the verse in question they referenced (how many of us know so many off the bat?), and it's about "not making a show of your religion (or righteousness) before others." So I'd say that's one of the good ones.

11 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

To be fair to voluntourism there are good ones that that are focused on progressing communities not just keeping them dependant on charity. The thing is like everything you have to your research so you are making the best choices.

True, I believe medical mission trips such as Doctors Without Borders are good ventures.

8 minutes ago, clo said:

I had to look that up.  Didn't know there's a name for it.  What's the problem with it? I'm sincerely interested.

Glad you asked, here’s a few articles that explain the issue:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/13/the-business-of-voluntourism-do-western-do-gooders-actually-do-harm

http://web.archive.org/web/20160218001420/http://almost.thedoctorschannel.com/14323-2

https://www.savethechildren.org.au/Our-Stories/The-truth-about-voluntourism

https://www.worldtravelguide.net/features/feature/does-voluntourism-do-more-harm-than-good/

19 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

What is it about the cruising that you feel is an ethical issue?

 

Big meg ships?

Crew Pay?

Tourism in general?

 

Do these same things apply to almost everything the middle class and richer do for pleasure?  Slippery slope to focus on cruising 

Some I've talked to see megaships as more of a problem than small ships. The principle to me is that, not every way of traveling is ethical. For some people, they'll evaluate countries as places they won't go to. Or peruse businesses that are exploitative. I'm not intending to write off cruising but there are some things I won't touch with a ten foot pole, such as voluntourism.

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

While local ownership would obviously be beneficial to the locals,  the tax revenues and the salaries which tourism generate both help the residents.  It can be argued that any business, anywhere, tends to “take advantage of the workers”.

Good point, poor working conditions/worker treatment seems to be the norm of the world, sadly. If we were hellbent on only pursuing businesses with good working environments or ensuring our money is going where we like it, we could never buy anything.

I love to travel, as we all do, and recently I've been thinking much about travel ethics. Because I love to cruise that has compelled me to think about ethics of cruising. Recently, cruises have been getting a bad rap, with some suggesting you should never go on one. They cite things such as, worker conditions, environmental impact and impact on the destination ports.

I looked on here and was surprised that Cruise Critic didn't have an article on cruising and ethics. What is your take on the ethics of cruising?

Hi! I'm not new to cruising but I have a friend who is. He's wanting to book a cruise for the first time, and I've never done my own cruise booking. I've always heard it's best to book with a travel agent and that's how most people do it, but I'm not sure how to get started or where to find a travel agent. Anyone have any tips on starting the cruise booking process?

Norwegian doesn't list the pricing for their studio cabins online. Anyone know what the typical price is?

You pay for what you get.

Also, I find it interesting that on Cruise Critic Carnival is usually accepted as a quality, good value line, and Costa isn't, despite selling at similar price points.

You pay for what you get.

I've been on Norwegian once and it's a low base price, and I thought it was pretty good for the price.

Short answer No. Not because costa would be European, which is in itself a weird statement as I am still looking for he common European characteristics shared between for example Sweden, Germany, Italy and Greece.

 

But a clear no because of quality, service and value. They are doing pretty much what NCL, RCI and others do just worse.

How does MSC compare?

Depends what cruise lines you like. The short answer is "Carnival for Europeans", with more emphasis on nightlife than food. If you're looking at Europe, the experience will vary wildly depending on ship, itinerary and time of year (avoid European school holidays unless you really like kids). If you've already traveled in Europe and hated it, then Costa is probably not for you. But I'm on Deliziosa in January with an American group, it's our 13th Costa cruise, and there are a lot of loyal American customers.

I would be more likely to try a cruise in the Caribbean (or another destination) and not Europe.

I've been cruising for several years. I like to try new cruise lines to sample different styles of cruising. I've been wondering if I should go on Costa. I'm American, so it would not be the most natural choice compared to other cruise lines. I'm up for an adventure, but I know that it would be different from other cruise lines. Before I'd think about going, I'd want to know if I would be prepared to face the differences, and anything that could prohibit me from enjoying the experience. I'd appreciate insight anyone can offer on the matter.