doesn't it surprise you when someone DOESN'T have a good time on a cruise?

[atlcple2]

This morning I went to the orthodontist and my daughter still has her hair braids in her hair so he of course asked where we had been. I told him we had just gotten off the Mariner on Sunday for a 7 day cruise. He said "Wow! I get you were ready to get off the ship!" ... My response: "No way! I would have been happy to go another 7 days!". lol He had gone on a 5 day at some point and said he was bored by the end of 5 days. Everyone likes different things and cruising is not for everone. I personally am happy just relaxing on our balcony or on deck and don't have to do any activities. Others feel they have to be entertained 100% of the time. Some people you just can't please no matter where you are or what you do.

[terri23]

Some people obsess over deck chairs. I obsess over the bills in my wallet - they all have to be facing the same way. DH calls it my "Sleeping With the Enemy" thing. It really bothers me when they come out of the ATM every which way. OK, I get that it's a little odd.:D

 

LOL, they should be ordered by increasing denomination too, at least that's the way I do it! ;) And I have another friend that's the same way, so you are not alone!! My DH, CPA and former banker, just wads them up any old way in his wallet. I can't stand it!! :eek:

 

Erisajd, it's funny but nearly all the arguments you make for your vacation preference could be applied to cruising with just a tweak. Sounds like your cruise glass was half full.

[GrandReady]

I am one of those who do not love to cruise. We have only been on 4 cruises in the past 20 years but I have not "loved" any of them. I enjoyed myself and can't say I had a bad time, just didn't have the "wow" factor. Every 5 years or so my wife and I start looking at the cruise brochures and say to ourselves, "we had to have missed something, let's try it again." But so far we come back saying, "It was relaxing but just that there was something missing."

 

I'm not flameing cruising, it's just that we enjoy land based vacations so much more. We love the all-inclusive vacations in Mexico and have been to Europe several times and each of those vacations had the "wow" factor for us. We have been on 1 Norwegian, 1 RCL, & 2 Princess cruises so we have tried different ships.

 

I guess that is what makes us inviduals. So I'll just say happy cruising to you. I imagine that in 3 or 4 more years I'll be wondering again and take the plunge. Hopefully I'll finally "get it."

 

Everybody, have a great vacation, no matter what kind it is.

[blythe]

Sometimes it can be difficult to explain exactly what it is that makes cruising so appealing, especially when the weather or other things out of ones control can make for less than a perfect experience. My husband and I had always done land vacations (and enjoyed them) until 1986 when we had our first cruise on the Norway. What a ship! The funny thing is that at the time we cruised, in January, I had been having a little stomach problem so didn't feel too well to begin with. Then we had rough weather, missed Nassau, I was seasick and didn't feel too great during the entire cruise. On top of this we were in an inside cabin and I was a bit claustrophobic. Despite all of that, I loved the ship, the whole shipboard atmosphere, the islands, everything. I remember wobbling off the ship at the end of the cruise, my legs none too steady, and wondering "Now, how soon can I get another cruise booked?" One cruise was all it took. I was hooked. Every vacation since then has been a cruise. We talk about going back to land based trips but somehow always seem to end up booking a cruise. We have been off the Mariner for only a month and already I am looking at all the various websites for a good deal!

[cruzobsessed]

thanks for all your input. when i posted this morning it was merely "venting". having had a day to think about it....OF COURSE CRUISING ISN;T FOR EVERYONE. i guess what shocks me (still) is how uneffected he was by the ship itself. at the very least......be awed by it. and......they had perfect weather all week..... i think i'm still venting!!!:D

[kirbmeister]

Some people want to look for the negative. I have friends that immediately look for problems when entering a hotel room. They are proud of the fact that their complaints usually get a few dollars knocked off the room rate.

 

Personally I don't like starting out vacations looking for negatives.

[ssolomon56]

I guess everyone has their own idea of what's fun...and what they enjoy. Personally, I LOVE the organized games, high-end dining, waking up every morning with a new place to explore. Let's face it, it it weren't for cruising, there is NO WAY I would have seen so many places in this world.

 

Also, I realize that the way to fix things is to offer constructive critiques. However, some people are just cronic b**tchers. They will complain about everything and anything so much that it wrecks their fun, and everyone around them. Case in point.....a group of us went to dinner a couple weeks ago, and brought our 20 year old "waitress" DD along. She spent the entire meal complaining to everyone at the table about "how awful our waiter was". Admittedly, he wasn't great...but, he was friendly and we were all trying to visit, and weren't in a big rush anyway. But DD's griping was a total pain in butt!

[Chele60]

thanks for all your input. when i posted this morning it was merely "venting". having had a day to think about it....OF COURSE CRUISING ISN;T FOR EVERYONE. i guess what shocks me (still) is how uneffected he was by the ship itself. at the very least......be awed by it. and......they had perfect weather all week..... i think i'm still venting!!!:D

 

 

Look at it this way....are you easily "awed" by hotels? To those of use who find cruising less than exciting, the ship is simply a big floating hotel. Nothing more, nothing less. It is a place to sleep, eat, shower, change clothes, and keeps us mildly amused (sort of).

 

Yup, I'm not one easily swayed to cruise. I would like to try again, but I'm not willing to give up 7 days of vacation to spend on a boat surrounded by water and I wasn't overjoyed with the 4 nighter I took. That's my dilemma. Then again, I detest AIs as well, so it isn't a stretch to imagine that cruising is probably not the best fit for me.

 

The feeling of being confined is actually quite common for those of us who are skeptical of cruising. The one time I spent in an AI, I spent one full day and night before I was absolutely crawling the walls to get out and about. I felt the same way about the one sea day I experienced, except I couldn't just walk away from the ship. I was truly stuck. Way, way too boring. My attitude? Perhaps. But the activities provided on ship (hairy man chest contest, ice carving, TV trivia, karoake) are things that simply do not interest me. Funny, but people who cruise do not disclose to people who are cruising for the first time what exactly there is to do onboard, other than "do it all or do nothing," and "there's tons of 'stuff' to do." Yeah, that does set one up for a little disappointment.

 

For me, I am just one who prefers (but will not limit myself to) land-based vacations that are far away from AI resorts. For those who like to cruise, that's great! Sometimes it can be very difficult to find one's "vacation niche." Most people never find it. And even though this board is geared toward cruising, it shouldn't mean that those who are less than impressed with it should not be able to express their opinion. As long as some one is simply expressing an honest opinion, what's the harm?

[Giorgi-one]

I keep seeing this on various posts, but why do people have to be put in a position to "make the best of a bad vacation". It's not like we're spending a few hundred bucks. We usually get a balcony cabin on a cruise, and when I add up all expenses, it usually costs us around $4000 for one week. I assume that most couples would spend about the same, so why would anyone not expect a good time. I have never seen a brochure or advertisement from any cruise line, resort, etc. which said, "Don't expect everything to be to your liking, just make the best of your vaction on our ships".

[minnie00]

I can't figure out why the people who don't care for cruising are posting on cruise boards:confused:

 

but...their honesty is appreciated because some of the things they worry about, are exactly what we worry about. being confined or bored.

we have no interest in contests/karaoke/etc. but we only have 2 sea days and we plan on laying out and eating. :p

[Jsme]

i hope that i didn't come off like i was flaming my brother because i'm not..... it's just that for the month leading up to the crise i was getting so excited for them and then while they were away i checked the weather at every port and imagined what they were doing. we will be on our first voyager class ship this june so i couldn't wait to hear all about the adventure.....so when he came home and said that he thinks his next vacation will be at an all inclusive....because you can sleep late and still get a beach chair...... i couldn't believe my ears. oh well... different strokes for different folks.

 

Oh goodness I hope what I said did not make you think you had flamed him. Or that I thought you had. I did not mean that at all. Please vent all you want. I think this is what these boards are for sometimes. I sometimes feel the same way. Now I am all worried someone thought I was accusing you of flaming. I would NEVER say that. Once again if what I typed came out that way I did not mean it that way.

 

Someone else said something about some people should not cruise. I totally agree. It is either for you or not. LOL I love cruising totally addicted and would cruise once a month if I could. But others do not agree with me.

 

I totally agree with what you posted. I just meant to add I would not flame someone over it (not meaning you were). I read so many times on here where someone vents as you did and they get flamed for their feelings. I hate to see ugliness on the boards.

[zqvol]

as you can see from my name...... i live, eat and breathe cruising. either actually planning, doing or just reading about it on cruise critic. so, when my brother came back from his 1st cruise in 4 years (and the last one was on sovereign) and this one was on the ADVENTURE..... i was sad (for him because he didn't enjoy it) and surprised. his cheif complaints were.... that he never really relaxed because of the chair situation on sea days (somehow i can get past this), that you HAVE to be back on the boat by a certain time (cuts into time on the island) and he said he was very disappointed with the dining room food. what's funny is.....we usually eat in the windjammer and think that food is good!!! wheni asked him his impression of the ship....he said, 'YEAH IT'S HUGE" anyway...they came home on sunday the 26th if anyone else was on this cruise can you tell me your thoughts and how do you all feel about the subject?

p.s. they had spectacular weather all week...so why was he complaining?:rolleyes:

Why does it surprise you that someone might not like a cruise. Maybe it is just not his thing. Doesn't mean that anything at all was wrong. Hey some people love the ballet and others can't stand it. Just one of those things.

[brn2crz]

Well I would like to know where you get your "private home from".:) :p (unless you mean its a friend or families that you don't have to pay for..)

 

In 88 we stayed on the big Island in a hotel, not an AI...airfare and hotel for 4 was around 6000... then we had to eat play and by junk as well....It was easily a 10,OOO trip....

Of course there are deals to be had on land based...And granted...If money were no object,I would do many more land based,and a home rental would really be the way to go

But even in A JS...I have never spent any where near that kind of money for a cruise...I could book an OS for that price...

 

Anyway...To the Op....

I can say there have been some trips I have had,that if it were my first cruise...I may not have gone again..

But luckily I am the kind who just loves being on the water...And the mojo of a cruise....But we had 2 really really bad times on the Celebration out of Galveston... Some of it had to do with it being a group cruise...and a broke down ship...and really crappy weather..

But thats enough to make some people not tie up that kind of money,if

they risk having a complete bummer of a time..

[Onessa]

I'm never surprised when someone complains about just about anything - there some folks out there who are always looking for something to complain about. I'm just glad I am no longer working for one of those people!

 

We take a variety of vacations - cruise, land, air. I'm mainly concerned about the "where I am going" part of the vacation. I was concerned that I'd HATE cruising (because I don't sit around well, and I looked at cruises as people laying around in a deck chair - ok, I was wrong!). But the cruises we have taken have been port-intensive and have been ports that I am interested in (HI, Pac NW, Maritime provinces, Baltic states, etc.).

 

If the ship isn't exactly what I wanted, or didn't have the "wow" factor - it isn't going to ruin my time. If I didn't like my waiter or if someone came to the dining room wearing flip flops, it isn't going to spoil my vacation.

 

I know people who have taken a cruise and have never taken another - just not their thing. I have friends who tell me I HAVE to try this AI resort that they go to in Mexico - and I say, that's just not my thing. You try something with an open mind, you realize that you'd have enjoyed yourself more doing something else, you live and learn.

[Disneycruisers]

I would hate to go camping. :eek: I'm sure there are many who love camping and would be surprised to know that I could no way have fun on a camping trip. It's just not for us. To each his own!!!!

 

I'm right there with ya!

 

Flame away at me for this one, but I'd rather have no vacation at all if my only choice was camping!

[Nliedel]

I'm never surprised when someone complains about just about anything - there some folks out there who are always looking for something to complain about. I'm just glad I am no longer working for one of those people!

 

.

 

This reminded me about something that happened at my wedding (we had two. The nightmare before the legal wedding with 300 guests and the legal wedding in Vegas. If I had to do it over again it would be Vegas only). A friend of my Father in Law who is known to be cheap brought 5 people to the wedding (friends) when we had only invited himself and his wife (without asking) then came up to me and told my "your caterer sucks"... I smiled and said I was sorry he did not like the food. Nice because I had made almost all of it myself (I am a pretty good cook and it did not suck btw). He then walked out with three disposable plates he had scrounged from the kitchen full of the food that "sucked". We still laugh about it to this day. Oh, while it does not matter, because it truly was not about gifts but this amazing love we had found (13 years and going strong) the guy gave us a whopping $10.00 cash. He was a car salesman and told my Father in Law at the reception he had made $200,000 dollars the year before! :p

 

Neither here nor there but I love that story.

[Nliedel]

I'm right there with ya!

 

Flame away at me for this one, but I'd rather have no vacation at all if my only choice was camping!

 

Sadly I do not have a choice. I have four sons who love to camp. I mean they LIVE for summer weekends. I managed to put them off (the older two) while I was pregnant and in the hospital for a chunk of it and last summer cause JJ was so small but this summer I am stuck. Last night I was informed by the camping mafia that we are even buying a new, bigger tent. whoopie. Somebody shoot me. Cleaning fish is NOT my idea of a good time. Bugs? Not fun.

[Cats' slave]

I just got back from the Mariner and I want to go again, but I have to wait a year. Sometimes life's so tough.

 

This is a great topic. My take on this is that some people never have any fun, no matter where they go. They can suck the life out of you. Others could go to the Motel 6 down the road and have the time of their lives. Everything that went wrong would be funny and telling about it would make it even funnier. I have friends like that. They make my life so rich and wonderful.

 

So when someone doesn't have a good time on a cruise, my first instinct is to wonder if they are a life-sucker-outer. When I reconsider, maybe it's just that they don't enjoy cruising. They're not wrong, just different from me.

 

They might enjoy going to a house or hotel somewhere and staying put, like a vacation my husband and I took to Estes Park, Colorado, where we read books for a week. It was a terrific week, so relaxing, warm and cozy. We came home enriched by the experience but many people would have considered it boring.

[Naismith]

I am not too surprised if someone doesn't like cruising if it is their FIRST time, but if it isn't, then I am because you know what you're signing up for.

 

It's an interesting point, but I'm not sure this is entirely true because of the changes over time in cruising. Some positive (the self-debarkation), but some negative. One of my favorite RCCL ships from just a few years ago has recently been refurbed, and they have gotten rid of some of my favorite features.

 

So it is with a certain amount of trepidation that I consider cruising her again.

 

In a way, it would be better if it *was* my first cruise on her, because I wouldn't have the grief of loss.

[brn2crz]

 

They might enjoy going to a house or hotel somewhere and staying put' date=' like a vacation my husband and I took to Estes Park, Colorado, where we read books for a week. It was a terrific week, so relaxing, warm and cozy. We came home enriched by the experience but many people would have considered it boring.[/quote']

 

 

Other than the Ocean,Estes Park is my favorite place in the world..

Have not been in about 10 years....I know it has grown a lot since I first went in 77...Nothing boring there...Looking for Big Horn Sheep,feeding the birds and chipmunks...Driving up to Trail Ridge Road..Hiking to Emerlald Bear and Dream Lake...Horseback riding...Listening to Fall River from our Cabin...with Jacuzzi on the deck..Fly Fishing on the Big Thompson...

Searching all the Galleries...Oh gosh...I need a trip back.. :o

[abridalmaven]

You must be awfully lucky, because even when I control my vacation there have always been small problems that have to be dealt with (How have you learned to control the weather?). The key is learning to deal with them and not letting it spoil the vacation.

 

Amen to that. We were in Hawaii in a upscale resort last year, I would have been bored to tears if we just stayed at the resort ( which our friends did for the most part). But luckily we rented a van and went off and did our own thing all over the island most days and when our friends were done relaxing so much ( come on they are retired, relaxing is way of life for them now). And when they felt like coming with us they did. To be honest two weeks in Hawaii on the same island woud be too much for me, I would die of boredom. In fact since we have now done Hawaii twice, unless we were going on a cruise again we would not bother, been there done that, now on to more exciting places.

 

I live on an island that has great beaches and so if that is what I wanted I could spend everyday in the summer there and always get a spot, so to me, that is not a need for vacation. And to be stuck at any resort when it is rainy just stinks! Cruising always has something new to see, and that is the great part. We do other vacations also, and love amusement parks and just driving and discovering things. Staying at one place only ( except in Orlando) is out of the question for us anymore.

 

But some people can find fault with anything and for them, I feel sorry:rolleyes:

[elleluv]

as you can see from my name...... i live, eat and breathe cruising. either actually planning, doing or just reading about it on cruise critic. so, when my brother came back from his 1st cruise in 4 years (and the last one was on sovereign) and this one was on the ADVENTURE..... i was sad (for him because he didn't enjoy it) and surprised. his cheif complaints were.... that he never really relaxed because of the chair situation on sea days (somehow i can get past this), that you HAVE to be back on the boat by a certain time (cuts into time on the island) and he said he was very disappointed with the dining room food. what's funny is.....we usually eat in the windjammer and think that food is good!!! wheni asked him his impression of the ship....he said, 'YEAH IT'S HUGE" anyway...they came home on sunday the 26th if anyone else was on this cruise can you tell me your thoughts and how do you all feel about the subject?

p.s. they had spectacular weather all week...so why was he complaining?:rolleyes:

 

I can totally relate to what you are saying... a co-worker just got back from her first cruise. I helped her plan it... helped her pick the ship, pick the itinerary, pick a hotel.... I was completely emotionally invested in her vacation! ;)

 

While she was gone, I checked the weather for her ports, thought about what she was doing.... "oh, it's 4:30, I'll bet they are at the muster drill", or "oh, they are in Labadee today, they are probably having the BBQ lunch right about now".... you get the idea. It sounds like you did a little bit of the same with your brother's cruise.

 

It occured to me while she was gone that it was really going to be hard on ME :rolleyes: if they came back and said "well, yeah, it was ok, but I don't know if we'll ever do it again"

 

I was very relieved when she got back. They said it was their BEST vacation ever, they had a blast and are ready to book their next cruise! She's totally hooked! :D

 

I can imagine though how it would be to be so excited for someone and then have them not have a good time.

 

It's a good thing though that not everyone loves it like we do or there wouldn't be room on the ship! :D

[lawsoncd3]

I can't imagine that anywhere you go where someone makes your bed, leaves you chocolates, makes critters from towels, and cooks and serves you and entertains you could be all that bad... but then, as long as I don't have to I'm a happy camper, err, cruiser...

 

Don't sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff.

 

Dona :)

[beachchick]

Okay, I admit I have not read one single post on this thread. I'm just going to answer the original question posed in the thread's title:

 

No, it doesn't surprise me. People have different likes and dislikes, and cruising isn't a type of vacation that everyone enjoys.

 

beachchick

[Sheffie]

I have a friend who was given a cruise vacation and didn't like it. She didn't like them telling her when to be back on the ship, when to eat, etc. I think it boils down to control issues for her. When on vacation, she likes to go and do what she wants when she wants. Last year she was given another one and told them thanks, but no thanks. Too bad she couldn't give it to me!