poll: Cruise experience satisfaction

[GCurry]

There is a great big world out there, and I, and my little wife, want to see as much of it as possible. Cruising makes that easy to do.

The worst cruise I ever had was wonderful! Of course there were a couple, provided by the Marine Corp, but, they didn't call it cruising then.

[waterrats]

I think that in order for me to truly hate a cruise, i would have to be injured and evacuated from the ship. That would most likely not rank up there are a favorite. Then again, I will probably have loved the cruise to that point. From reading the boards, I have learned one think, if you think you have norfolk disease, enjoy yourself and party it up. All they end up doing is quaranteeing (sp) you to your cabin. That could possibly ruin my cruise as well. Don't use the hot tubs and wash your hands regularly and you should never end up sick on a cruise.

[momofmeg]

There are some things you have no control over. I voted in the 60% cat..but am willing to try it again, so make sure if cruising is or isn't for us.

 

We had no control of the 'slow pace' of this past cruise.. (our first one), due to the average age being probably 60+, even other 30 year olds on the cruise we met, very few of them, who had done several before commented that this sailing was by far the slowest.

 

We're willing to try it again... looking at Alaska for this Sept... and see how it goes. Another optoin, is that we didn't think there was anything 'special' on this cruise.... others have called it 'mainstream'. Maybe we have to try Radisson or Crystal to find what we're after...who knows.

 

Which line were you on and where did your cruise go? For example Alaska is a beautiful place but it tends to attract an older crowd-especially HAL.

 

Now you are young. The caribbean would be better for your age group-try Carnival, RCCL, possibly Princess.

 

Now that is just my thoughts. By the way I loved my Alaska cruise but it was about natural beauty and scenery and not the "party-party" caribbean feel. I am older then you though so even when I cruises Carnival I am asleep by 1 a.m.-I am not really a party gal.

[rc51]

Which line were you on and where did your cruise go? For example Alaska is a beautiful place but it tends to attract an older crowd-especially HAL.

 

Now you are young. The caribbean would be better for your age group-try Carnival, RCCL, possibly Princess.

 

Now that is just my thoughts. By the way I loved my Alaska cruise but it was about natural beauty and scenery and not the "party-party" caribbean feel. I am older then you though so even when I cruises Carnival I am asleep by 1 a.m.-I am not really a party gal.

 

 

We did a 10 day Caribbean on Princess.... maybe we just tried to do too much. Up at 6am every morning, busy busy in the ports (shopping, touring, water sports), back on the ship for before dinner drinks, dinner, and then the shows, and we weren't getting to bed till well after 2:30am..so I guess living on 3 hours sleep wasn't the smartest thing to do :D

[midnightsun]

I will admit, after my first cruise, I wasn't impressed.

 

I won't mention the cruise line, because it may have been my own fault, but my first cruise was a 4-day cruise in an inside cabin on an older ship.

 

I didn't know ANYTHING about cruising and probably had some expectations that weren't realistic.

 

Needless to say, I didn't have a very good time and I swore I would not cruise again.

 

That's before my husband talked me into going on an Alaskan Cruise.

 

I have always wanted to experience Alaska, and so I finally agreed to go.

 

To be really honest, what has made the difference for me has been this Cruise Critic Board...

 

The enthusiasm is totally infectious! :)

 

I have learned SO MUCH about how to enjoy cruising and how to find deals and take advantage of everything a cruise experience has to offer.

 

I am so hooked on the experience now, that I have even booked an Eastern Caribbean Cruise for 2006 - and I HAVEN"T EVEN GONE TO ALASKA YET!! :D

 

I am so excited about cruising now, that I would love to plan a vacation on a cruise ship at least once a year until I can't afford it anymore!

 

I find Cruising to be a really good vacation value and a fun way to meet pleasant people like yourselves that thoroughly enjoy the experience and love to share thier knowledge and experiences with their fellow cruisers!

 

We have an aft balcony reserved for Alaska and I can't wait!

 

Thank you Cruise Critic Members and fellow cruisers!!!!

[momofmeg]

We did a 10 day Caribbean on Princess.... maybe we just tried to do too much. Up at 6am every morning, busy busy in the ports (shopping, touring, water sports), back on the ship for before dinner drinks, dinner, and then the shows, and we weren't getting to bed till well after 2:30am..so I guess living on 3 hours sleep wasn't the smartest thing to do :D

 

We tried to do everything the first couple of cruises too. My hubby stills does tons every cruise. I myself though am more settled-my health is not as good as his-so I do a lot less but that is why we love a cruise. I can take it easy, read a book or do a little shopping and he can go scuba dive or snorkel to his heart's content. We alwys go to the shows after dinner. Usually we spend an hour or so in the paino bar or another lounge after the show and we are in bed by 1 a.m. and then up at 6 for coffee on the balcony or else the lido deck if we don't get a balcony. (we usually squeeze in a late afternoon nap before dinner too-our age)

 

I think the real problem was you did a 10 day cruise for your first cruise. Anything over 7 days is an older crowd often retired from work and as anyone under 65 still works usually and we have only so many vacation days we can take each year. If you did a 7 day Princess cruise you would have a younger crowd.

 

But Alaska does attract an older crowd so if you do Alaska go for either RCCL or Carnival as Celebrity, Princess and ESPECIALLY HAL atttracts an older crowd. Sone lines attract more older people and some cruise areas attracts older people. Carb. is usually a "young" spot even on Celebrity and Princess for a 7 day. I think the goof was it was 10 days. RCCL or Carnival though has losts more young people.

 

Now too summer cruising you may hate for the opposite problem-tons of kids. Then especially you would be happier on Princess or Celebrity.

 

Now this last post here right for this one said he hated his cruise because it was an older ship, 4 day cruise. That was our first cruise also but we LOVED it and as we had nothing to compare it to we did not realize what an old cr^&py ship it was. Now If your first cruise was a RCCL voyager class ship or a Princess grand class ship and then you did a cruise on Carnival Holiday or Carnival Celebration-it would be a MAJOR letdown. But since I have been on nice ships and cr%&py ships I can have a good time on any. I always say it is like comparing Six Flags to Disney World magic kingdom. Magic Kingdom is ofcourse best but that does not mean I can't have a great time at Six Flags. I just expect more when I go on a nicer ship then a cheaper older one-and that is

the KEY-the nice ships cost more.

 

If you do go to Alaska in Sept. be sure to look at the salmon spawning in Ketchihen. ( not sure of the correct spelling of that-hopefully you will know what town I mean.) Salmon will be in the streams/creeks close to a museum- I think it was called "Miss Sally's" which is a museum of an old bordello. Friends saw them when they took their Alaska cruise-they went labor day week. We were SO looking forward to it because they thought the salmon were always there. We weretold this was only in spawning season which runs late Aug/early Sept. when we asked "Where are the salmom?" If we ever cruise Alaska again we will go in early Sept.

 

Another beautiful place to cruise to besides the carb. is Bermuda. Bermuda had the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen anywhere. Now we have not done Europe or Hawaii-we are hoping to do one or the other for our 25th. I guess it depends on how our funds are looking-we have a daughter incollege and that comes first.

[Deb in Cali]

My husband and I have been on one cruise. It was a 4 day repo cruise for us to try it out. I was sure that I was going to love it, but I wasn't sure if DH was going to enjoy it. Well, I practically had to force him off the ship when we had to disembark. We are going on an 11 day to Alaska in June and we both can't wait.

We have tried just about every other type of vacation there is: camping, RVing, motels, hotels, staying with releatives, foreign countries, cross country road trips, flying to distant cities, the beach, Disneyland, etc. Each one has its high and low points. I would do every single one of them all over again. But then I choose to have a good time. My philosophy is from Auntie Mame "Life is a banquet and most SOB's are starving to death".

 

Even the worse vacation are like wine, the memories mellow with time and you remember the good points.

 

My boys are teenagers now and are more into themselves. They have been complaining about family vacations, so we have been going on some without them. The oldest is now asking when and where are we going on a family vacation this summer. Funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[waterrats]

Same here about our first cruise. I was up at 5am jogging, then active all day long and then by midnight I was pooped. Then I did it again the following day.

 

Our second cruise was a bit different. I started the week up at 7am and going to bed at 1am. The second day, up at 7:30am and in bed at 2am. The rest of the week I think I was up between 8 and 9am and in bed between 3 and 5am. Lots and lots of fun. I did lounge around the pool and relaxed more during the day. Doing Caribbean Princess again this year and will probably play it out the same way.

 

Everyone has a different way of enjoying themselves. Go out and enjoy it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

IMO I think you get the most for your money when you cruise - so much is included compared to a land vacation where, for example, meals are not included.

We will continue to cruise as long as our health holds out.

Now if we could only get decent air transportation to get to those cruises.

[GCurry]

What a great way to see the world, Eurorail is another, and what a lot of world to see. Yeah, every cruise has it's little ups and downs, although I can't think of any right now, the worst I ever had was wonderful. I wish the 30 somethings would get the hell out of the way, so us over sixties can get to the shore excursions.

[rc51]

IMO I think you get the most for your money when you cruise - so much is included compared to a land vacation where, for example, meals are not included.

 

We will continue to cruise as long as our health holds out.

 

Now if we could only get decent air transportation to get to those cruises.

 

After this weekend I'm not sure about 'the most for your money'.

 

We are in the process of booking an Alaskan IF we can actually find something worthwhile. The one cruise that fits our schedule and had a balcony was going to come around at about $7000 CAD for the 2 of us!!!!

 

That's $1000/day !!! How can anyone actually think this is 'cost effective'?!!? :D

[atlmagic]

Our favorite things?? -- all your meals included -- all your entertainment included -- having to unpack only once -- having someone available to take care of your every need. :D :D

 

Hmmmm. I already have all that stuff. I'm MARRIED! LOL

[DEL67]

We are seeing the world one port at a time. We may not be able to get ito spend as much time as we would like in any one city or country, but my husband is disabled and for us, crusing is the only way to go.

[ger_77]

I realize that not everybody has a wonderful time on every cruise, and neither have we, but we haven't let that stop us from trying it again. Just because you get a bad hotel room in one city, doesn't mean you will not find a better one another time.

 

We've been on cruises where the itinerary was changed while we were on board the second day, due to engine trouble (were supposed to go to the Eastern Caribbean and ended up going to Nassau and Cozumel), and we also had the experience of being without all of our luggage for 3 full days while on a Mediterranean cruise. Sure, we were inconvenienced, but did we let it ruin the entire cruise? No, we just made the best of a bad situation and enjoyed what we could however we could. We're looking forward to our 6th cruise in October/06 back to the Mediterranean, and this time we'll be packing a little more clothing in our carry-on luggage than last time! :)

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Since I met my hubby 12 years ago, every vacation we've gone on, except for our honeymoon in Hawaii, has involved a cruise. From the Jubilee (just2 weks after we suffered a major earthquake) through the Sapphire (beautiful scenary in Alaska), we have enjoyed every one. We regret that the Paradise has given up its no-smoking policy -- we wouldn't mind another smoke-free trip. And we usually get an inside as we stay as much time possible outside of our cabin...with the money saved going for our next trip.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My mother -- who had never taken a cruise because my parents were convinced that ships were dirty -- finally took her first cruise a couple of years ago at the age of 81. She went with my sister, who's been on some cruises, and enjoyed herself.

[stanford's girl]

[font=Arial Black][size=3]We don't think there is something as a bad cruise. Now before I get flamed, let me explain. Our first cruise, we had the gangplank crash through our window as it was being lowered. On our 2nd cruise, we ran into a hurricane, staying out to sea for 5 days trying to outrun it. Talk about rock n' roll! On our 3rd cruise, we had the people next door have a party in their room every night until 4 a.m.. We feel a cruise is what you make it. Get over the bad and embrace the good. We have always had a GREAT time.:D [/size][/font]

[fellowcanadian]

we have only done cruising twice, but we love it. we will do two later this year. why two? because we are from western canada and it is far far away from miami and the airfare is more expensive than the cruise.

if we had live in florida, we would definitely do this at least twice a year. land vacation is ok, but i don't need all that driving and trying to find a decent restaurant to eat. we had been to overseas, but cruise is still the way to have a relaxing holidays.

put it this way, if we take a land vacation, i have to pay for all the expenses. however, dw loves cruising so much that she paid for the cruises herself, no question asked. so you see, if dw loves it, we the hubby can actually save money because dw will chip in her $$$$$.

[sunworshipper3]

We only started cruising in 2001, but have cruised every year since, with 2005 being our longest (11 night -Celebrity's Summit). It was the best by far of any we'd been on. But then there is no such thing as a bad cruise!! :D
We love cruising!!!!!!

Pat & Mike :cool: :cool:

[debmkay]

I am one of the 100% group, yes, we have had some not so pleasant things happen, but you can have that anywhere on any vacation. cruising is as relaxing or as active as you want it to be. This cruise will probably be active since we have never done the Panama canal, aruba, costa rica. So we will be doing lots of excursions. but the + side is we have 4 total at sea days so relaxing time there.

[bayofbiscay]

[i][color=magenta]I think after 35 cruises I am just getting into the swing of things.:eek: [/color][/i]

[BOGI]

[quote name='cruisingfreak']I live & breathe cruising. Never been that way about anything before. It becomes very addicting.


Minette[/QUOTE]

Hi,

Agree 100%. Addicting:D

Bogi

[jpf]

My wife and I went on a Celebrity cruise to Burmuda, Sept 2003. We left from N.Y.C. during an afternoon rain storm. This was foretelling, as the cruise was shortened by a hurricane that hit Burmuda. The island of Burmuda is just beautiful, the water. the sand, the coves are incedible. The ship itself was only so-so, the food probably the best item on the ship. My wife never really got her "sea legs",which is kind of ironic since her Dad was a WW2 Naval vet. We went on a land based vacation last year ,so this year I convinced my wife to try another cruise, this time a 9 nighter out of Bayonne to the western carribean, she was reluctant but agreed to go. I think this cruise may be the the one that desides for us the future of our cruising, Iam trying to be positive...............:)

[bayofbiscay]

[i]Come on you would have to be very unlucky for"lightening"to strike twice.No two voyages are the same.You will hav e abrilliant cruise and remember "keep taking the pills".[/i]

[jpf]

Just wanted to thankyou Keith"bayofbiscay" for your encouragement concerning our next cruise, actually it was my wife who became seasick, I just went with the flow......... and hopefuuly lightening won't strike twice, or in this case no HURRICANE.........:)