Why do some people hate cruises?

[brc1978]

My father will never go on a cruise. Never. He told my mom that she should go with the girls (my sister and I). I told my mom and sister about my experience and they want to go on one this year.

 

He is probably the one person that would definitely enjoy it. Casino's, entertainment, all you can eat (and, boy he can eat) yet he will not go.

[CJHAN]

my brother will not cruise because hes seen 2 many movies.

[Cruise Junky]

my brother will not cruise because hes seen 2 many movies.

 

God, I hope Speed 2 wasn't one of them ;)

 

My girlfriend refuses to step foot on a cruise ship as she's scared to death of rouge waves :eek:

[printingchick]

What is life without cruising? I would rather have surgery than go camping. No airport hassle, no unpacking and repacking, no fighting with the kids as to where to eat, etc. Works for us and has for 30 years!!!

 

Ha..ha! I have to agree. I'd take surgery over camping! A trip to the dentist would be a tough call, however.

 

I used to cruise with my best friend. When I met my boyfriend a few years ago, I worried he might not like cruising. What if he didn't? Would I force him to go along? Would I cruise without hiim? Giving up cruising certainly was NOT an option.

 

Luckily, he was equally hooked after his first cruise! We're taking our third cruise this weekend. We will book our 2010 cruise while on our 2009 cruise! We're cruise junkies...just like the rest of you!

[sassy73]

I have yet to go on my first cruise, but I have a feeling i will like it, but that I will still like land vacatiions too. What is great about this cruise is I'm going somewhere that is hard to navigate on a land vacation. Years ago, a couple of friends told me that for those of us who roll (in wheelchairs, lol.) seeing Alaska via a cruiseship is the only way to go. The man I'm going with had a partner with AIDS who died over ten years ago, and they cruised quite a bit. Though not in a chair, the partner had a lot of stuff to bring with him, and it was so much easier to cruise than do land vacations. (though they did those too, they were contantly travelling!) There are some places that I like the notion of a longer stay, sampling more local couisine. (Pasta in Italy, nothing like it.) getting more of a feel for the culture (Paris.), but for Alaska the main thing is just seeing the great landscape that is very unique. I am also though planning to go to the Russian Orthodox Church as I'm Greek Orthodox.

Edited January 15, 2009 by sassy73
proofreading is good.:)

[mypleasure]

I always said that I would hate cruising. Several friends said I would hate cruising because they know that we like to do our own things and like to keep regimented structures to a minimum.

 

Last year we decided to try a cruise to alaska and now we both love cruising and are going again this year and who knows in future.

 

So what turned us around? Well, I discovered that there are cruiselines that do not have formal nights. I hate dressing in fancy clothes with a vengeance. I only want to wear trousers and a top, nothing fancy just comfortable. I guess resort casual suits me. Same with Tony, he wears a suit and tie fr work so doesn't want it on holiday thank you.

 

I also discovered cruiselines that allow you to dine when you want to. Being told when I can eat is a big no-no for me. I cannot be hungry to order. One night maybe 7.30, another 8 or 8.30 and some nights later still. My husband feels the same too.

 

I discovered cruiselines that allow you to eat with who you want to. I would hate being told to sit with 8 total strangers and be expected to make small talk all week, what if I found nothing in common with them? I am also very concious that my accent is very strong and some people may not understand what I say. Also my husband is very, very shy and probably would not speak until the 3rd night! That said we did meet a couple from the mid-west. They were a little older than us but we kept seeing them everywhere we went, got to know them and did enjoy a lovely evening of drinks, meal and more drinks with them.

 

So the truth is people hate cruising for a lot of reasons, most of them either poorly informed pre-conceived notions or they tried it once and didn't get an experience that suited their particular likes and dislikes. What I like about cruising today is the fact that it has changed dramatically and it is possible to find lines to suit most personal tastes providing people will open their minds and be prepared to be a little flexible about stuff.

[DebbieS732]

So what turned us around? Well, I discovered that there are cruiselines that do not have formal nights. I hate dressing in fancy clothes with a vengeance. I only want to wear trousers and a top, nothing fancy just comfortable. I guess resort casual suits me. Same with Tony, he wears a suit and tie fr work so doesn't want it on holiday thank you.

 

I also discovered cruiselines that allow you to dine when you want to. Being told when I can eat is a big no-no for me. I cannot be hungry to order. One night maybe 7.30, another 8 or 8.30 and some nights later still. My husband feels the same too.

 

We feel exactly the same way. I doubt we would have gone on another cruise if it weren't for the the any time dining, the ability to sit by yourself and the ability to dress casual. I'm glad the cruise lines finally figured out that 'one size' doesn't fit all.

[Go-Bucks!]

My parents are world travelers and have been for about 40+ years. But a few years ago, when they were in their mid-70's, they took their first cruise, but didn't enjoy it. Dad said he was bored and didn't like being in a country for such a short time. Mom was scared of the rolling motion of the ship and also bored. Since my parents are very active and young for their ages, they weren't happy that most of the passengers were in their 80's and 90's, in wheelchairs or scooters, and many were on oxygen. They described it as a "floating nursing home."

 

But I think they weren't happy because they didn't take any shore excursions; they didn't get involved in any ship activity except the golf simulator; they just sat by the pool all day reading books; they didn't go to any shows or evening entertainment; and they took too long of a cruise for the first one (14 days). I've tried to convince them to let me plan a cruise for all of us and it will be fun. But they refuse. Oh well; to each his own. :cool:

[starrian]

I don't hate cruises, but here's a few of the reasons why I prefer land trips to cruises:

One of the main reasons is FOOD! I want to eat the food of the country I'm visiting (esp. Greece, Italy, France).

I like to experience the museums, people, and culture for more than a day.

I like to plan my own time and go at my own pace. (I don't do tours either.)

[tanyanubin]

Mh husband had been after me for years to cruise, and I had resisted. I had always been phobic about deep water because of that old black and white Titanic movie. Used to scare me to death as a kid. I used to freak out if we went out of sight of land in a motor boat, lol. Then we had a number of deaths in my birth family, and my remaining siblings wanted to bond. We decided to go on a vacation together. When they voted to do a cruise, I didn't want to make an issue of the whole water thing, and I just stayed quiet about it. Turned out I loved it! We even ran into a gale in the Gulf of Mexico, and it was a blast! We all sloshed around in the pool like little kids, laughing our butts off. So many of the people who think they'll hate it would probably love it.

[Spikesgirl]

First I thought this thread would go poof and held off commenting upon the OP's question. The fact is some people hate cruising because that's how humans are wired. it's because we can. All individuals with invidual tastes and preferences - it's all a matter of taste and choice. Even within the world of crusing, you have people who prefer one line over another, large vs. small, families vs. solo. It's what we are and it's something to celebrate not malign.

[dkjretired]

I think a lot has to do with news media's negativity towards cruising. Remember the saying in the news world, "if it bleeds it leads." When you listen to the news media you would think that the only place that Norovirus exists is on a cruise ship. Fact is 40 Million Americans get Noro every year and about 4 to 5 thousand get it on cruise ships. Add that to the people who have fallen off of cruise ships and the sensational coverage they get. Again, facts get in the way, if you check the below link which lists man overboard incidents you will find that the large majority are drunks and suicides and not something of malicious intent. One idiot like Nancy Grace can almost ruin a whole industry with sensational and misleading reporting....

 

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

Edited January 16, 2009 by dkjretired

[fleckle]

A person's vacation of choice can vary at different stages of life, or even depending upon one's mood.

 

When we were younger and more energetic, we enjoyed camping and independent travel. We wanted the freedom to set our own itinerary and stay wherever we wanted for as long as we wanted.

 

We tried taking cruises a couple of times, but did not care for them because we found them much too regimented and confining.

 

Now that we are older, we greatly enjoy cruising and no longer have any desire to go camping.

But there are still some occasions when we prefer the freedom of independent travel to the regimentation of cruising.

[karenem]

I never thought I'd be one of "those" people--people who take cruises. The idea of being stuck on a floating resort with 3000 strangers, the decadence and conspicuous consumption and pretentiousness and expense and the joke of "seeing" 6 countries in 7 days while being given the hard sell and waiting in lines for everything and buying overpriced junk and chair hogs and pigging out and drinking... not my idea of a fun time.

 

So, I didn't do that. I don't pig out, don't go to anything that promises to sell me something, don't go on crowded bus excursions or go anywhere during rush times. I realize you can't "see" everything in one day, but it's still a nice glimpse. And after pricing out vacations, found out cruising is a great deal and not just for rich people. Fellow passengers turned out to be mostly happy, friendly, and courteous. So, I'm SOLD! Still would like to do some serious "travel" (as in, at least a week in each area to get a feel for a place) but with little kids, being able to get away with them and not have to spend 80% of my vacation time and energy taking care of logistics (care, feeding, cleaning up--in short--WORK) is heavenly.

[mluirette]

The mystery for me as a travel industry digital marketing professional (and why I found this thread in research) is why so many people that have never been on a cruise feel so urgently compelled to post how much cruises suck on every single article you see in the news. Just saw two stories on USA today about Carnival and the first posts were "new floating petri dish!" and "Walmart vacation!" from admitted non-cruisers. Really, did we ask you? The cruise trolls are unreal!

You never see articles about skiing with comments like "Yeah, go freeze your *ss off losers!" Or new articles about new hotels with comments like "Oh cool, more bed bugs!"

 

Weird. Is it a jealous response at something they feel is elitist? I don't get it.

[raven82]

For 12 years I would take American and Canadian Soccer Teams and parents to Europe for Soccer (Football) Tournaments and no matter how great the Tour was (London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Brussels, Copenhagen) I would have 70-80% Love it and 10% that were just miserable no matter what. While on a Cruise one of the Waiters told me that frequently he would see 4 Couples at a Table 7 people having the time of their life and 1 totally depressed. These Cruises are Pretty Nice! across the board and I would have to search for something that would depress me, I just think that some are naturally depressed or they are carrying other problems on their trip. This same 10% always seemed to have all the bad luck on trips too.

[Hlitner]

Why do some people like Blue and others Green? It is a similar kind of question. DW and I love to travel and will spend 6-7 months a year away from home. Many of our friends cannot stand to be away from home for more then a week. My point is that "different strokes for different folks" actually is correct. No sense trying to analyze motives because it is what it is :).

 

Hank

[Shorex]

I hate camping (yes, I have experienced camping), therefore I do not go camping. I do not disparage or debate with the people who love camping. I will enjoy and appreciate their happiness and camping stories. If someone disparages my enjoyment of cruises, I can ignore them, either online or in person.

 

Each to their own, and each to respect the choices of others.

[lenquixote66]

It seems like when it comes to cruises, people love them or hate them. I've read on the board why people are head over heels over cruises, but why do you think that some people hate cruises and refuse to go?

 

 

I've yet to meet anyone who hated cruising .Some prefer other forms of traveling but for me cruising is #1.

I have not been on another type of vacation since 2002.

[donaldsc]

Lots of reasons. I do cruise and am about to go one soon but I am almost ready to give up or severely minimize cruising in favor of more land trips -

 

Same boring itineraries - how many times can you go to the same places. I see people who are on the 30th Caribbean cruise. I can't imagine anyone doing more than 1 ore 2 Caribbean cruises. I have done 3 or so where where we stopped in Caribbean ports and that was plenty for me.

 

Too little time in port and port times are getting shorter as ships go more slowly. Too many sea days with absolutely nothing to do on sea days.

 

The only interesting cruises are way too expensive - $10,000 to $20,000. Less expensive cruises are more of the same. Interesting small ships are too expensive while affordable big ships are awful. Cruise companies charter the ships out from under you or they change the itinerary after the final payment date. You can't visit any place that is more than a few miles from a port which eliminates many interesting places.

 

I have become extremely picky with regard to cruises. For example, I want to do a cruise on the Prinsendam as I have heard that it is an interesting ship. I went through the entire list of cruises on the HAL site and could not find one that I wanted to go on.

 

You should know that my attitude is colored by the fact that I so not cruise for the sake of crusing but I basically regard a cruise ship as a large bus that gets me to places that I want to visit. If you cruise for the sake of cruising, you might have a different attitude than I have.

 

DON

Edited January 13, 2017 by donaldsc

[cooncat_mom]

So many people, so many reasons! I like to cruise. I find as my mobility got more challenged (new hip coming in a few months), I liked that I had one place to settle in. I'd sleep and Voila! New place! I could go on land for as long as I could tolerate walking, and then return to rest. They fed me, entertained me and tidied my room. And I could just sit, drink coffee, and read or crochet while staring at the water going past wondering idly where all those birds come from in the middle of the ocean...!

 

My son will only do a rare Bermuda cruise on NCL because they stay docked for several days. He feels trapped by the ship since he can't hike around. My husband swears he loves cruising but after 3 or 4 days he gets antsy and bored and wants his own things and routine.

 

My son and my DD (who is my cruising companion), on the other hand, have happily flown to Scotland...Cambodia...Thailand, while I don't even want to fly to a cruise. I feel trapped in an airplane and don't want to be 35,000 feet in the air in a tin can for even a few hours! If I ever get to Scotland it will be via a TA crossing. Both ways! :D

[SPacificbound]

It really doesn't matter to me if someone doesn't want to cruise, and I would never attempt to convince anyone to go on a cruise.

[SPacificbound]

If I ever get to Scotland it will be via a TA crossing. Both ways! :D

 

 

Easy to do. Queen Mary 2 makes crossings, Southampton-New York City, both ways quite frequently. Then train to Scotland.

Edited January 13, 2017 by SPacificbound

[BruceMuzz]

God, I hope Speed 2 wasn't one of them ;)

 

My girlfriend refuses to step foot on a cruise ship as she's scared to death of rouge waves :eek:

 

What a strange phobia - fear of a red-colored wave.

Please let her know that they are quite rare.

[AussieOmni]

I wish more people did. Would be cheaper for me!

 

 

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