Cunard cruises vs land based holidays

[ballroom-cruisers]

There seems to be so much angst in the cruise forums, with quite a lot of posts complaining about one or other issue on cruises, and the Cunard forum is no exception.  There was a post on one of the forums on a well known media platform, about one of the UK land based holiday companies, who provide what has been called a 'cruise on land', with comparable entertainment activities, including theatre shows in the evening, ballroom dancing, and other  'sporting' activities in the daytime, as well as choices of dinner venues, and offered them a visit with the chance to video and put out public reviews.

One of those holiday companies was recently invited by the owners of a web presence which has cruise reviews and provides cruise information, to visit and film, with a view to comparing land based 'cruises' with cruise ship sea cruises.  So it looks very much like the land based holiday companies are seeing a potential opening to a market share for those cruise loyal passengers who could be tempted away from the voyages that lead to so many grumbles, and perhaps try a cruise-style break on land, where the issues they find on the cruise ships are not a problem.

This is particularly the case for the UK where there are increasing opportunities to have an easy journey to a land  based resort, where the atmosphere, meals, and entertainment are comparable to those on a cruise, and often in quite elegant surroundings - which would appeal to the traditional cruise passenger. So it will be interesting to see whether these alternative holidays become more popular relative to cruises.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
typo

[Pear Carr]

But they are land based! We cruise because we like to be at sea and particularly enjoy our sea days on a transatlantic crossing. 

[NE John]

From an American perspective, there were those types of resorts you mentioned located in the Catskills and Pocono mountains in NY and PA. Those are all long gone, substituted by huge family water park resorts. I know of no NYC high-end hotels that offer the type of experience you describe above. Even the iconic dancing venue the Rainbow Room closed some years ago. Forget about any “formal” nights at those resorts. 

The benefit of a traditional cruise is you get the above amenities while stopping at different ports and checking out different sites, something a land-based resort can’t do. Also, being at sea and walking around on a real teak Prom Deck is unique and unbeatable. 

It sounds more and more difficult for dedicated ballroom dancers like yourself to find your ideal space. So much of the world is going casual and I hope the tide turns back. 
 

Edited July 22, 2023 by NE John

[moses0]

Sounds like Butlins 

[Windsurfboy]

If we ignore for the moment of a cruise taking you to new places whilst you sleep.

 

I don't know of any land based "resorts" in UK that match up to a cruise. Yes there are some very nice hotels some of which at the top end have service and food that one may argue beats even QG. None have the integral entertainment and lectures of a cruise

 

Yes there are some superb land based actual resorts abroad, especially Indian ocean, that have food and service of the highest level, surpassing QG. These come for a price similiar to QG, but then you have to add on a significant airfare assuming you turn left. If you are into water sports like me then that's the day time entertainment sorted, but night time is low key. 

 

Of course the other option is a city land based holiday, which can have great hotels, food and activities / culture 24 hrs a day. 

 

It's a personal choice. If you are lucky and can afford it , do all three.

[ballroom-cruisers]

Of course those on this forum are probably all here because we do like being at sea, and we do like arriving at multiple ports over a period of a week or two, and enjoying going ashore. But at the same time a lot of us  like the on-board life, and the enjoyment of a high quality hotel experience, with lovely meals, as well as great entertainment in the evenings and daytime.  If the  latter are diluted beyond some level, so that the entertainment we love so much disappears, then the experience of being on board a wonderful cruise ship is no longer as attractive for us, and therefore if the primary enjoyment comes from the life aboard, with delightful cuisine, and excellent entertainment can be experienced elsewhere, but without that extra dimension of being at sea, walking the prom deck, or having nice ports of all to visit, then the appeal of the equivalent of on board life that can be experienced on land, may be enough to persuade some fraction of passengers to swap the cruise experience for high quality land experience.

 

The short comment about sounding like Butlins above will certainly be valid at some UK resorts - but certainly there are now experiences available on land that are nothing at all like Butlins, and staying in a resort built upon long standing classic stately homes has no connection with Butlins at all.

 

The comment above about it being more difficult to find the ideal space for dedicated ballroom dancers, is less so as time passes because there are an increasing number of holiday organizations that are now seeing a market for those who do enjoy ballroom dancing who want to do so as part of a more extended holiday. We are enjoying more of those each year, and it is nice to see that happening.

Edited July 22, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
Added sentence

[Windsurfboy]

I can't really  see any increase in cruiser angst over years, there have always been problems raised real or imaginary nothing's changed. You will get the same in land based forums. 

 

The only potential problem I  may envisage is if ships keep getting bigger, then embarkation becomes much more of a hassle. 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

There seems to be so much angst in the cruise forums, with quite a lot of posts complaining about one or other issue on cruises, and the Cunard forum is no exception.  There was a post on one of the forums on a well known media platform, about one of the UK land based holiday companies, who provide what has been called a 'cruise on land', with comparable entertainment activities, including theatre shows in the evening, ballroom dancing, and other  'sporting' activities in the daytime, as well as choices of dinner venues, and offered them a visit with the chance to video and put out public reviews.

One of those holiday companies was recently invited by the owners of a web presence which has cruise reviews and provides cruise information, to visit and film, with a view to comparing land based 'cruises' with cruise ship sea cruises.  So it looks very much like the land based holiday companies are seeing a potential opening to a market share for those cruise loyal passengers who could be tempted away from the voyages that lead to so many grumbles, and perhaps try a cruise-style break on land, where the issues they find on the cruise ships are not a problem.

This is particularly the case for the UK where there are increasing opportunities to have an easy journey to a land  based resort, where the atmosphere, meals, and entertainment are comparable to those on a cruise, and often in quite elegant surroundings - which would appeal to the traditional cruise passenger. So it will be interesting to see whether these alternative holidays become more popular relative to cruises.

 

Sounds like Warner Hotels?

 

We did a couple of Warner breaks in 2018 and early 2020, and did another two a couple of months ago.

 

These are not luxury hotels, and the food is not to the standard that I imagine is on Cunard.

 

But they are perfectly acceptable for a short break, with evening entertainment in a theatre or a show lounge.  We spent a week at Bembridge on the north eastern tip of the Isle of Wight, and enjoyed sitting on our balcony in the early evening as the cruise ships sailing out of Southampton went past. Then we went on to Cricket St Thomas in Somerset, for a 4 night stay in a country house hotel.

 

Warner's Hotels are in either waterfront or country house locations and are very pleasant, and have some cruise-ish elements

 

Next year we'll go to Heythrop Park, a large country house hotel in Oxfordshire, and then to a smaller beach front location in Suffolk.

 

 

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

I can't really  see any increase in cruiser angst over years, there have always been problems raised real or imaginary nothing's changed. You will get the same in land based forums. 

 

The only potential problem I  may envisage is if ships keep getting bigger, then embarkation becomes much more of a hassle. 

 

It sounds like the companies with larger ships have found a way to make embarkation of 5000 passengers doable. For me, aside from simply not wanting to sail on a mega is the itinerary challenge as more ports are limiting cruise arrivals--Bar Harbor, Key West, Venice, and now Amsterdam. 

 

I like the resort-type amenities on a cruise, but I can't imagine staying at a resort. The itinerary and destinations (and the sea!) are why I cruise. Entertainment is a bonus. If I want to travel for entertainment, I will go a city that has a good variety of theaters and museums and architecture to look at. 

 

[ballroom-cruisers]

I would not be surprised if more ports get added to the no-go places after some Norwegian fjords, and as you say, Amsterdam, and of course Venice has now limited which ships can go in to the centre via the Grand Canal.  It is certainly possible that the cost both financial and in pollution of the big ships coming in, and the need to provide a very costly berth facility and port-side terminal, and security, with all the attendance financial, maintenance and staffing costs, is not offset by economic benefits from the large disgorgement of human cargo for a day at a time. No doubt we will all be following any changes in ports where cruise ships are no longer welcome.

[exlondoner]

For the sake of clarity. Amsterdam authorities are looking at ways of doing this. It has not happened yet, and may take some while. 

[moses0]

1 hour ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

The short comment about sounding like Butlins above will certainly be valid at some UK resorts - but certainly there are now experiences available on land that are nothing at all like Butlins, and staying in a resort built upon long standing classic stately homes has no connection with Butlins at all.

 

twas a joke:) Not having lived in the UK for many years dunno what happened to Butlins. 

 

[ballroom-cruisers]

6 minutes ago, moses0 said:

twas a joke:) Not having lived in the UK for many years dunno what happened to Butlins. 

 

 

If you do a quick web search you will find Butlins is still alive and functioning well.

 

One thing that is noticeable with posts both on this forum and various others not just on CC is that all have some level of spread of posts that are of three main types - glowing positive reports of lovely experiences sometimes littered with nice pictures that people are happy to share, grumbling posts that often generate a huge thread of 'me too' posts with a smattering of those who feel the complaints go too far, and innocent questions in need of real information in reply. Some of the latter end up as people disagreeing from two opposite ends of the spectrum.  However it is interesting that there are forums where there are many controversies and disagreements of opinion, whereas there are other forums where there are very few complaints about service or facilities, and where the majority seem very happy with the holiday(s) they have enjoyed. Even on CC the forums for some cruise lines are generally quiet, with most posts pretty positive when they do appear, even if the numbers of passengers who are on the ships is not too much different to those on Cunard.  Whilst a lot seem quite happy with the Cunard offering, it is clear that there is a significant level of discontent.  How Cunard runs its operation into the future and how passengers respond will be interesting to see.

Edited July 22, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
Added paragraph

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

From an American perspective, there were those types of resorts you mentioned located in the Catskills and Pocono mountains in NY and PA. Those are all long gone, substituted by huge family water park resorts. I know of no NYC high-end hotels that offer the type of experience you describe above. Even the iconic dancing venue the Rainbow Room closed some years ago. Forget about any “formal” nights at those resorts. 

The benefit of a traditional cruise is you get the above amenities while stopping at different ports and checking out different sites, something a land-based resort can’t do. Also, being at sea and walking around on a real teak Prom Deck is unique and unbeatable. 

It sounds more and more difficult for dedicated ballroom dancers like yourself to find your ideal space. So much of the world is going casual and I hope the tide turns back. 
 

Think Dirty Dancing film, The Deerhurst, Huntsville Ontario was the nearest we’ve got to an all in North American  resort.

Great fun, especially with children.

[NE John]

5 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Think Dirty Dancing film, The Deerhurst, Huntsville Ontario was the nearest we’ve got to an all in North American  resort.

Great fun, especially with children.

Exactly what I was thinking, Dirty Dancing.
 

I believe there is a strong correlation between the frustrations of ballroom dancers, “dumbing” down of dress codes on Cunard, office workers, everyone, and this high degree of acceptance of “come as you are”. 
This massive acceptance of today’s casual movement is the root of our frustrations. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by NE John

[Winifred 22]

As a solo  cruiser a land based anything sort of holiday has zero attraction from me. I have no problem with the current Cunard offering and will certainly be happily sailing in the future and have many different options booked until 2025. As an aside as a child in the 60’s I loved Butlin’s 

[D&N]

We don't want to go on holiday, because we are on holiday all the time. We took almost all our holidays here for about eighteen years because it was the only place we wanted to go on holiday.

We have lived here for over seven years and can go to some of the most visited places in the world for day trips any time we want. Why would we want to go anywhere else? 

 

Queen Mary 2 presents us with a unique experience. I can wake at 3:30 am and feel the keel flexing as the ship ploughs through a force 9 gale. That flexing is reassuring when compared to feeling the bow crashing into every trough on a North Sea ferry crossing.

 

But to the comparison with land. I've only searched for a few minutes, but I don't see any hotels or promoters offering us 14 consecutive nights of dancing to live music with full board in top quality restaurants and a choice of lounges where we can take elevenses, afternoon tea/coffee and drinks. And of course that's without considering all the other entertainment and activities that we probably don't have time to take an interest in.

 

If anyone knows of such a land offering, please let us know about it. It might be useful if Cunard withdraw QM2 during our lifetime and don't replace her.

[ballroom-cruisers]

Yes you are right about no 14 night consecutive dancing on a land based break  (none that I know of either). What has become fairly easily available are 3 or 4 night weekend or midweek ballroom dance breaks though, and some land-based 7 night ballroom holidays but with a need to fly to get to them.  However whilst at the moment a two week voyage with Cunard still provides the opportunity to dance ballroom and Latin in the Queen's Room every night, there does seem to be a push from the top to limit that by dilution and it all depends whether the gurus in their offices in Southampton wish to push that further, or not, that will govern how people feel about paying for two weeks at sea, if they can't do ballroom dancing every evening, even if the remainder of the experience, is still 'life aboard not too dissimilar to the previous experiences.  Over the next year or two we will all get to know if the experience on board is changing  in a way we feel we can continue to enjoy, or not. Equally the land-based ballroom holiday organisations will quite likely increase availability if they see a profitable market with a ready made supply of dancers who wish to enjoy that, even if it is 3 or 4 nights at a time with other more local dances to go to from home in between those times.

[D&N]

The one thing we miss here is dancing. A "Diner Dansant" at a restaurant typically involves a rough singing act and a couple of tables space in front of them or perhaps an outdoor dirt space in a car park.

 

The odd time you encounter a real dance event it's a bit different from UK. If quickstep music is played many locals will dance a solo form of charleston. Waltz tends to be somewhere between old-time and Viennese speeds.

 

I can't see us being tempted to fly to the UK for a 3 or 4 night break. Or to Southern Spain for 7 nights. I found the latter, no idea if that was the one @ballroom-cruisers was referencing.

 

We originally thought last years B2B crossing was a one off and had another more complex trip involving the Rocky Mountaineer and QE Alaska planned for 2025. A glimpse of something in a YouTube video killed that trip for me.

We enjoyed last year and look forward to reprising it in 2025, and then in subsequent years on basis of booking cabin we want on release date.

[ballroom-cruisers]

There are different dance breaks available by flying from the UK into European countries - Spain does have some, as do other countries like Portugal and Cyprus and a more careful search will find a few others too. I guess your local 'ballroom' dances in the Cote d'Azur sound a little different to those in various parts of the UK. Ballroom dance evens are a different animal to sequence dance dance events, and indeed there are line dance events as another flavour again.

[3rdGenCunarder]

26 minutes ago, D&N said:

We originally thought last years B2B crossing was a one off and had another more complex trip involving the Rocky Mountaineer and QE Alaska planned for 2025. A glimpse of something in a YouTube video killed that trip for me.

 

I'm curious, what was it that put you off that trip?

[Lakesregion]

As far as I can determine, if you are capable finacially to book the Grills, then you can also find land based vacations of similar or even better quality. On the othe end of the spectrum, I have yet to find a single land based vaction (Mickie D's and Motel 6 not withstanding) that yields the same level of travel, housing, food and entertainment that any cruise offers even those on the mega 5,000 barges.

[MrsPeel55]

haven't read all the posts, (I have some neurological issues that scramble my reading after long paragraphs and it is 04:18 am , haven't slept for 3 days so it makes it worse)  probably many of you have said here before ( I saw someone said looks like Butlins?) 

 

This is no "new" thing, just an old thing using a new marketing- publicity trick....

Holidays like that exist in every resort 5 stars(or maybe less too!)  or private high class membership clubs in every country I traveled too. 

 

I love the cruising because is on sea, on a ship, even a river cruise is a marvellous experience not comparable to being on land.

 

I doubt very much they will take away from people who love cruising.

I love land holidays, we are all avid travellers in our family (my husband's too, our daughter inherited the bug) but would run away from that kind of resort....

when we go on land holidays we want to see the city in depth (something you wont do in a cruise tour), the culture of the place, that takes more than a day.

We stayed in a 5 stars resort in Turkey in 2011 for Easter, was absolutely stunning. They had all the different kind of dining restaurants you could choose, shows in the evenings , activities of all kinds all day.. we only loved the rooms we were allocated, the pools and the beach, the marvellous food that was Turkish ,also dined one night at a Mexican which wasn't all that, so we kept finding different Turkish options, everything was great, but we spent most of our time doing tours outside the resort...we even went diving in the Med.... In the past 15 years we have been to Belgium a couple of times , France a few times (plus took. my daughter to Disney Paris when she was 10), Spain many, many times (first week of June just gone we were in Seville) and some African cities, we usually run away from that kind of land resorts ......  Our family owns private membership resorts in Argentina, Brazil and in Punta del Este in Uruguay , most of them have all the offerings, fabulous indeed if you like staying in land in one resort... it is a very, very different type of people to the ones who love being on a ship... I think is just a desperate marketing trick...

About people complaining about cruises....

People complain, is a human trait.

Some people have a perception of a trip that can be completely different to another who went on exactly the same trip....

but people complaining at the moment also has to do with us coming out of a world wide pandemic that almost broke society.....

we are having a climate craze, there are strikes of health care, air traffic controllers and ...well, I am quiet sure you are all aware of the way the world is at the moment.

I am just looking forward to our upcoming cruise and wouldn't change that for ANY holiday, even if they gave me a choice of a free land holiday, will still choose to pay for my Queen Vic cruise in ... 6 weeks YaY!!!!!

I

 

 

[MrsPeel55]

7 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm curious, what was it that put you off that trip?

 

I'm curious about this too...

But I think I get the feeling....

My dream was Venice in the Orient Express.

Until I watched a documentary made with the Venetians explaining how Venice isn't Venice anymore, it was heart breaking....

Now we probably will look into a cruise that combines with the Orient Express, saw it actually advertised in a Cruise Critic  email , but we think next would be QM2 crossing, need to think it through as we also have a LOT of family and friends in the USA who are offend if you don;'t go to see them..... that's why I asked of it was possible to stay in the ship ... I love our family, I do.. I swear, but they are sooo many! LOL

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, MrsPeel55 said:

 

…About people complaining about cruises....

People complain, is a human trait.

Some people have a perception of a trip that can be completely different to another who went on exactly the same trip....

but people complaining at the moment also has to do with us coming out of a world wide pandemic that almost broke society.....

we are having a climate craze, there are strikes of health care, air traffic controllers and ...well, I am quiet sure you are all aware of the way the world is at the moment.

I am just looking forward to our upcoming cruise and wouldn't change that for ANY holiday, even if they gave me a choice of a free land holiday, will still choose to pay for my Queen Vic cruise in ... 6 weeks YaY!!!!!

I

 

 

I agree with all your post especially the quoted part.

I'm excited for you, for September, and if you have any thoughts or questions about the ship or the cruise, ask me and I’ll try and find the answer for you.