"Experienced Cruisers"

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your opinion please.

What criteria do you feel constitues someone being an "Experienced Cruiser"?

Is it the number of cruises that you have been on?

The various cruise lines you have been on?

Ports that you have visited?

Or is it something else?

[Krazy Kruizers]

The reason I ask is because there have been comments on this board and another board among some recent cruisers.

[Candy]

I don't know if I'm qualified to say who might be qualified to give cruise advice in forums such as these. I think a person with a half dozen cruises on a variety of lines/ships might give reliable advice.

 

Someone experiencing his/her first cruise could certainly write a review; it's not until several cruises down the line that your expectations become more reasonable, and reviews more balanced.

 

On the other hand, there are cruisers with several dozen behind them who think they know everything there is to know about the subject. I tend to disregard those reviews that speak to insignificant details or unnecessarily slam the staff or crew for situations beyond their control.

 

Your opinion please.

What criteria do you feel constitues someone being an "Experienced Cruiser"?

Is it the number of cruises that you have been on?

The various cruise lines you have been on?

Ports that you have visited?

Or is it something else?

[tomc]

Let me give you my thoughts. I've been on, I think, 14 cruises and do not consider myself an experienced cruiser. I'm much more a babe in the woods (or on the water) and it's because experience is more than # of days, variety of ships or ports.

 

I think active participation in a wide variety of things is the key.

 

I see people here who can post intelligently about HMC, about various types of suites/mini-suites, which bars are good, which excursions and/or ports are noteworthy. They may have taken four, six cruises and amassed a large amount of info.

 

I have cruised in two locations only: Alaska on the old Rotterdam in the late-80's to 1996; and, since then, NE/C in the cheap seats on whatever ship HAL is running. I seldom take shorex and prefer the quiet spots onboard in the evening. Am I having a dull cruise? Not at all! I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it, gratefully out of the public eye. But, as you can see, I'm not the experienced cruiser who can answer many questions.

[sail7seas]

Let me give you my thoughts. I've been on, I think, 14 cruises and do not consider myself an experienced cruiser. I'm much more a babe in the woods (or on the water) and it's because experience is more than # of days, variety of ships or ports.

 

I think active participation in a wide variety of things is the key.

 

I see people here who can post intelligently about HMC, about various types of suites/mini-suites, which bars are good, which excursions and/or ports are noteworthy. They may have taken four, six cruises and amassed a large amount of info.

 

I have cruised in two locations only: Alaska on the old Rotterdam in the late-80's to 1996; and, since then, NE/C in the cheap seats on whatever ship HAL is running. I seldom take shorex and prefer the quiet spots onboard in the evening. Am I having a dull cruise? Not at all! I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it, gratefully out of the public eye. But, as you can see, I'm not the experienced cruiser who can answer many questions.

 

 

Tom....

I well remember a wonderful cruise journel you posted here on CC for us on one of your Canada/New England cruises. I waited daily to read your next contribution. You generously shared your views of what you experienced and what you enjoyed and did not. It was very informative and appreciated (by most of us).

You are, indeed, an experienced cruiser IMO

[tomc]

Thanks for the nice words. Perhaps you are right for my area of experience. And it may be a problem that some people try to come across as experts when they are stepping beyond their area of competence.

 

I leave in four weeks from today for a 14-day b2b (not the same as s7s) and am bouncing around the idea of a daily "LIVE" journal of some sort. Probably something posted at the same time each evening, maybe around 8pm/Eastern after supper.

[sail7seas]

Please post such an on-going journal, Tom.

 

 

I would particularly enjoy it as we will have just returned from our b-to-b's and I'll be able to relive all the highlights and wonderful experiences. I hope you'll do it. With your great writing style and humor, it would be great.

[stormyc]

I agree - I love the "live" reports!

 

It's so generous of people to give of their time while they are on a cruise to share their experiences with us back home.

[stormyc]

I should add that, although there are many intelligent and sophisticated answers to the OP's question, anyone who has been on one cruise or many cruises is an "experienced cruiser" to me.

[dakrewser]

AS stormyc said, anyone is an experienced cruiser after their first cruise. An experienced HAL cruiser after their first HAL cruise. etc, etc, etc.

 

While someone with 20 cruises under their belt is more experienced than someone with one, the weight given to someone's opinion is very subjective and relies on more than simply the number of cruises.

[Ray-Barbara]

I don't think that being an "experienced cruiser" has anything to do with numbers, be it cruises, days at sea, etc. I believe it has to do with the knowledge one gets from cruising and this is done in two parts: planning and participation onboard. For example, in the past 24 months, I have been on 4 cruises. In each case, I have spent 100's of hours pouring through library books, questioning former cruisers, reading material on the Internet (CC as well as other travel sites and message boards) and setting up shore excursions even before I set my agenda. I don't let my travel agent do the work as I do it myself. Before I get on board, I want to know everything about my trip possible so that I can be an expert on it if call upon and not be surprised. Second, when I am onboard, I don't spend my time sitting by the pool reading all day. I attend all the activities possible so that I know every nook and cranny. I want to enjoy new activities that I don't get to do on land. I take lots of pictures (usually 1,000-2,000 each trip) so that I have something to remember my trip by in detail. I collect written materials from the ship to put in a scrapebook when I get home. I take every shore excursion possible so that I can see what is going on away from the ship. So, to me an "experience cruiser" is one who gets as much out of a cruise possible and then can communicate that information to others be it on CC or in his/her social circles. Good question.

Ray

[Vic The Parrot]

Just like everyone else said.

 

 

It's quality over 'quantity' ....

Be it 7 days, or 100 days. Anyone who has stepped aboard a ship

brings back alot of experience.

 

 

;)

[michmike]

experienced enough to know that the LAST thing I want to do while on a cruise is to be sitting in the internet cafe posting to this board.. or taking 2000 pics.. or taking copious notes to write a review when I get home detailing how long the flight or the taxi ride to the port took or what I had for dinner every nite..

 

fine for those who revel in those things.. but give me blue skies.. sunny beaches.. 2 or 3 good books...lazy afternoon naps on sea days...a steady supply of rum drinks and the occasional round of trivia and I'm a happy camper.. I heartily recommend that sort of "experience" to novices and seasoned cruisers as well

[Vic The Parrot]

And Mike....

 

 

Don't forget that a port 'o call isn't really necessary.

Those times you've described can also be found on a liesurely

crossing of either ocean.

 

;)

[jhannah]

What constitutes an "experienced" cruiser? How long is a piece of string?

[michmike]

Vic - When we leavin? *S*

 

I do enjoy the ports (as long as I can limit the ultimate shopping experience that DW imposes) but a leisurely crossing has its merits.. and by the third or fourth day I might even be able to marshal enough energy to play a game of pinochle or two..as long as the bar waiters knew where to find me..

[RevNeal]

This use of the word: "Experience" is defined by Websters as:

 

1. Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill
   
2. The knowledge or skill so derived.
   
3. An event or a series of events participated in or lived through.
   
4. The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group.
   

 

Hence ... a single cruise can constitute "experience" if the person who takes it desires to learn from the "experience." If someone has derived knowledge or skill in some aspect, or several aspects, of cruising, they have acquired "experience" which is valuable and worth sharing. It is entirely unnecessary that I, or others, agree with that experience; it is beside the point that the experience is particular to their cruise and their circumstances; it is still a valid experience that can and should be added to the database of cruise experience and thus enrich us all.

 

In other words: bring it on! I appreciate cruise reviews, remarks, observations, and impressions from anyone following a cruise. Reading and talking about cruises is the next best thing to actually being aboard ship!

[ekerr19]

experienced enough to know that the LAST thing I want to do while on a cruise is to be sitting in the internet cafe posting to this board.. or taking 2000 pics.. or taking copious notes to write a review when I get home detailing how long the flight or the taxi ride to the port took or what I had for dinner every nite..

 

Some of us do enjoy sharing the experience with others... on the final voyage of the Noordam (last November) I know there were many folks who wished they were aboard - but circumstances prevented it... and I was happy to share the daily happenings.

 

I am also one of those folks who likes to keep in contact with our kids (we have an adult, teen & pre-teen at home) and when they can't travel with us, it is important to us to have internet access to email them at home.

 

I also think that many first time cruisers appreciate the "day-to-day", "meal-by-meal" observations... after all, isn't that one of the primary purposes of this forum? :)

[cruzincurt]

The difficulty is separating "experience" from "opinion".

 

In the past, I've felt sorry for someone who spends the entire cruise looking through a viewfinder. Today's equivalent is taking notes to pound out on a keyboard.

[Candy]

One of the reasons I took the laptop on my last cruise was to take elaborate notes on the staff and activities in order to write a more detailed report. The only thing I did with it was check my email and fantasy baseball stats. I simply relaxed and enjoyed the ship. I hardly ever took the camera out, which is why the 22 photos were mostly of the cabin and food.

 

Candy <-- working on Zuidy V

 

The difficulty is separating "experience" from "opinion".

 

In the past, I've felt sorry for someone who spends the entire cruise looking through a viewfinder. Today's equivalent is taking notes to pound out on a keyboard.

[tomc]

I used to pity those people who had camcorders attached to their eyes, until I bought one. I use it judiciously, but I have a nice collection of videos that my friends say are rather good quality (I can't edit the video, but I can dub in music, along with keeping the camera audio), which I enjoy between cruises.

 

I travel solo, so e-mail is how I share my experiences with friends back home. I'm not as bad as the guy who was day-trading all thru his cruise, but it does bring great enjoyment when I check briefly in 3x/day.

 

If I had to hang out at the pool, or sit at a bar, I'd soon jump overboard.

 

That's the cruise experience: there's plenty of options for everyone, and everyone can go home happy in their own way.

[cruzincurt]

Although I do appreciate a brief review to get the latest information on a particular ship, nothing is more boring to me than someone else's vacation. But for some, I can understand how a long review can serve to let them remember their vacation through others. Reminds me of the days when we went over the brother-in-law's and had to sit through a slide show of their vacation. Or course we were polite and commented "how nice".

 

I think some spend so much time looking for details or negatives to put in their reviews that they miss the cruise. Just MHO.

 

As for checking in 3x per day, I guess I wonder why and what could you do about something anyhow? I don't check in 3x a day when I'm home.

[Tricia724]

To me, experience simply means "been there, done that." And certainly anyone who has cruised before is an "experienced" cruiser. However, if someone takes one cruise and it is an exceptionally good or bad cruise, their opinions will reflect that. cruzincurt hit the nail on the head that the difficulty is separating experience from opinion.

 

If I were seeking information from "experienced" cruisers, I would probably be appealing to those with a number of cruises under their belt who have probably had their share of good and bad situations and may have a more balanced opinion. Notice I said "may" have. In the end it all comes down to opinion.

[tomc]

As for checking in 3x per day, I guess I wonder why and what could you do about something anyhow? I don't check in 3x a day when I'm home.

I don't check in to see how things are going "back home" -- I could care less -- but to share what's happening on the trip.

 

Again, each to his/her/its own. I see people in the casino and wonder why; I see people in the bars and wonder why. You know why? Because they like it and it makes the cruise enjoyable for them. You see someone drop into the internet cafe for 5-8 minutes after lunch, supper and midnight and you're seeing someone making the cruise enjoyable for him.

 

I'm a communicator. I've always loved translating what's happening into readable prose (when appropriate, with humor and neat twists of phrase). I get a big kick out of my "Live From The ..." series and, apparently, so do the readers.

 

The cruise experience is ... wow! Everything! Yippee! All kinds of cruise lines, all kinds of activities, all kinds of people with all kinds of interests.

 

And it's gonna happen in less than four weeks! :)

[RuthC]

I, for one, hope that tomc does do another "Live from..." thread; I've enjoyed his past efforts tremendously. Four weeks to go, eh? Yippie!

Yippie for you, and yippie for me, 'cause that means my cruise is closer, too! And I will be continuing my The Happy Wanderer thread for one more year. Like tom, I also travel solo, and I enjoy sharing my cruise, as it happens, with the folks on Cruise Critic who have become friends. I love reading what everyone has to say, and I enjoy my cruise much more because of it.

'Ya gets your jollies where 'ya can.