Who's a cruise addict?

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evapilotaz

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Just got back from our family Caribbean cruise. Our third cruise and now we are cruise addicts. We love going on cruises.

Anyone else a frequent cruiser?
 
More of a fly in or road trip guy myself.
 
I actually got paid to take a cruise once, and while it was fun, it is certainly not my cup of tea. I'm more on the independent traveller spectrum of tourist.
 
Brad Z said:
I actually got paid to take a cruise once, and while it was fun, it is certainly not my cup of tea. I'm more on the independent traveller spectrum of tourist.
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I've been paid to take a few "cruises" also. Not really much fun at the end of the day.

The "cruises" were on drillships and workboats and such....
 
Clark1961 said:
I've been paid to take a few "cruises" also. Not really much fun at the end of the day.

The "cruises" were on drillships and workboats and such....
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I was doing a team building program for a company who leased the entire ship for its employees. It was a proper cruise ship, so I had one day of work and six days of play.
 
Brad Z said:
I was doing a team building program for a company who leased the entire ship for its employees. It was a proper cruise ship, so I had one day of work and six days of play.
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That was a much better deal than I ever got...
 
We've probably done 15 or so cruises in the last 25 years, ranging from three-day trips from L.A. to Catalina and Ensenada, to two-week Mediterranean cruises. Most we really enjoyed; others, especially on the newer mega-ships, not so much.

Most of the time on the Caribbean and Mexico cruises I've been content to stay on the ship while in port and relax while the crowds go ashore (St. Maarten and Maho Beach was an exception). We used the Mediterranean cruises as a "buffet" from which to sample destinations and decide which we might want to explore in more depth independently. That's what we're doing with our vacations now, so we haven't been on a cruise for several years.

One of our favorite trips was on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York in six days. There's quite a difference between travel on a cruise ship and on a true ocean liner.
 
Never been on one, no plans to ever go.
 
They're OK. Not for me. I rather explore and find thing on my own. Seems to me if you like to totally relax and be catered to a cruise is a good way to go. Nothing wrong with that, just not my style.
 
Pilawt said:
We've probably done 15 or so cruises in the last 25 years, ranging from three-day trips from L.A. to Catalina and Ensenada, to two-week Mediterranean cruises. Most we really enjoyed; others, especially on the newer mega-ships, not so much.

Most of the time on the Caribbean and Mexico cruises I've been content to stay on the ship while in port and relax while the crowds go ashore (St. Maarten and Maho Beach was an exception). We used the Mediterranean cruises as a "buffet" from which to sample destinations and decide which we might want to explore in more depth independently. That's what we're doing with our vacations now, so we haven't been on a cruise for several years.

One of our favorite trips was on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York in six days. There's quite a difference between travel on a cruise ship and on a true ocean liner.
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For 'buffet sampling' don't forget the river cruises in Northern Europe, those are the only ones I would bother with. Start in Amsterdam and go up River from there.
 
Cruising with three kids can't be beat for a family vacation. That's all we are doing now for vacations. No more finding food, hotels and entertainment. I pre pay for everything so no expected expenses. There are kid club on the ships for all age groups. At night the kids goes to their clubs for fun and games while parents have their own play time.
 
I've done eastern (Freedom of the Seas) and western caribbean (Disney Magic). It's nice, as long as you are on a good ship.
 
Let me add cruising with a family of 5 ain't cheap so we budget for it all year and have everything pay for as far as in advance as possibles. To date and 3 cruises my kids have been to 6 different countries. I think we are doing Alaska next year.
 
Tried it once. The food, while extremely plentiful, was totally lacking quality.
 
One of the best vacation options going. Prefer Royal Carribean or Norwegian. Disney is great with kids.
 
Cruises use to be fun, today they are underwhelming carnival rides with a 24/7 buffet.
 
I prefer to bareboat charter cruising sailboats and go where I want when I want with a few close friends.
 
Bill Jennings said:
I prefer to bareboat charter cruising sailboats and go where I want when I want with a few close friends.
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Yep, you can find a boat to charter nearly anywhere. You won't go as far nor be in a floating shopping mall with hotel and mini theme park, but you will have a lot more time to be in the places you go to, and pay half as much for the same onshore stuff than you pay on the cruise ship.

Never buy your shore excursions/dive trips/... from the ship, the markup is basically double and you end up with less than you can get when stepping off the ship and dealing direct with the same operators.
 
Kritchlow said:
Tried it once. The food, while extremely plentiful, was totally lacking quality.
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I've been on exactly 1 cruise in my life so take this with a grain of salt.

I think the buffets are low quality but the sit down dinners in the evening are good. Not GREAT but definitely good.

Cruising on a cruise ship is a very passive experience. I've done a bunch of cruising on small sailboats and a cruise ship is the complete opposite. You just kick back and let things happen on a cruise ship, on a small boat you work kind of hard at times to get to those magic everything-is-perfect moments.

I'm not sure if/when we'll go on another cruise but I can see the charm.
 
Atlanta ParrotHead Club does a cruise every year to benefit charity - the ex and I did about 5 years worth. Caribbean gets pretty repetitive after a while.
 
Personally I never saw any charm in being on a boat with a few thousand other people. :dunno: I do know if I ever get on one for a cruise, I will have a cabin with a balcony. With 5500+ passengers and 2300+ crew, that's just too many people in one hull for my taste.
 
Always had a balcony, after the second year always had a rear balcony
 
I think I've been on 15 cruises and the wife has been on 25. We actually met on a cruise (my first one).

I am tired of the Caribbean, but we took a cruise to SE Asia a couple years ago and that was neat. Just make your own arrangements for shore activities and it's a lot more interesting.
 
People are sheep; they gather in herds. I found it very easy to find a quiet spot to read a book and watch the waves go by. Those boats are BIG.

Henning said:
Personally I never saw any charm in being on a boat with a few thousand other people. :dunno: I do know if I ever get on one for a cruise, I will have a cabin with a balcony. With 5500+ passengers and 2300+ crew, that's just too many people in one hull for my taste.
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Last one mt ex and I went on left from Norfolk instead of Ft Liquordale. Different in a couple of aspects - It was a lot colder the first day, and it takes a while at cruise ship speeds to nav the Chesapeake
 
noobJohn said:
People are sheep; they gather in herds. I found it very easy to find a quiet spot to read a book and watch the waves go by. Those boats are BIG.
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I can do the same thing on a 27' sailboat. I'm not disparaging cruises, they're just not my cup of tea. There are smaller cruise ships that I think are fine, Cunard's Flagship was (still is?) Diosa Del Mar at 330' IIRC and took 100or so pax. It was expensive as all get out, but 1st class all the way; still not yacht caliber though.

The cruises I like are the inland ones.
 
I understand completely. I'm being a bit of devil's advocate in favor of the cruise ship. I thought before I went that I'd hate it. I kind of liked it.

I have an Alberg 30 project boat sitting in my back yard. I hope to get that back in the water one of these days. Right after I finish the IFR training, or something? Too many projects, not enough time. :D

Henning said:
I can do the same thing on a 27' sailboat. I'm not disparaging cruises, they're just not my cup of tea. There are smaller cruise ships that I think are fine, Cunard's Flagship was (still is?) Diosa Del Mar at 330' IIRC and took 100or so pax. It was expensive as all get out, but 1st class all the way; still not yacht caliber though.

The cruises I like are the inland ones.
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noobJohn said:
I understand completely. I'm being a bit of devil's advocate in favor of the cruise ship. I thought before I went that I'd hate it. I kind of liked it.

I have an Alberg 30 project boat sitting in my back yard. I hope to get that back in the water one of these days. Right after I finish the IFR training, or something? Too many projects, not enough time. :D
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You'll enjoy the Alberg 30, very nice sailing and sea kindly boat for the size. My buddy was Chief Mate on Viking Serenade and I copped a ride a couple times from LA to Catalina on it. The crowds of drunks by the time it pulled out...uggg.
 
Henning said:
I can do the same thing on a 27' sailboat. I'm not disparaging cruises, they're just not my cup of tea. There are smaller cruise ships that I think are fine, Cunard's Flagship was (still is?) Diosa Del Mar at 330' IIRC and took 100or so pax. It was expensive as all get out, but 1st class all the way; still not yacht caliber though.

The cruises I like are the inland ones.
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Freedom is 155k GT. Don't think I want to go any bigger
 
I both Cruise and Bareboat...35 or so cruises and 300+ days on bareboat's and totally different experiences...normally twice a year for both. Cruising although still enjoyable on the right boat or itinerary, has changed drastically over the years and become much more casual. Then again bare boats anywhere have gotten bigger more expensive and lots of work for the skipper (me) and sometimes I feel I need a vacation from my vacation....My Next Cruise is end of August and next bareboat is the BVI the end of October.

And its funny my wife and I consider our self's very independent traveler and do so regular basis...

I was at an all inclusive in Cabo last week for a few days and that's never again...
 
ktup-flyer said:
Freedom is 155k GT. Don't think I want to go any bigger
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115'-147' is the perfect size IMO. It can be run by a minimal crew and have comfortable cabins for 10 in the principle's party and the 6-8 crew. Once I need more than 8 crew, the chances of putting together a fun and cohesive crew goes down, and my quality of life as captain goes down with it; as does the quality of the experience for the guests. Even the really big yachts up to the 260' range typically still only have berths for 12 non crew as when you put on the 13th, you start dealing with SOLAS compliance for cruise ships, and that increases vessel costs and limits how extraordinary and exotic the interior can be. Once you pass 3000 tons though, the point is a bit moot as you have to abide anyway for Class.
 
Warlock said:
next bareboat is the BVI the end of October.
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We just got back from the BVIs, I tried a cat this time, a Leopard 44. Very spacious, my non-sailing friends loved it, but it is not as much fun to sail as a monohull.
 
Actually have the similar cat from Sunsail with some owners time...although I think they call it a Sunsail 444 which is a Robinson/Cain. I much prefer the south African Cats to the French. My life loves the front cockpit on both of these boats.
 
Warlock said:
Actually have the similar cat from Sunsail with some owners time...although I think they call it a Sunsail 444 which is a Robinson/Cain. I much prefer the south African Cats to the French. My life loves the front cockpit on both of these boats.
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For reaching or going down wind in fine seas, cats are great. I delivered one from Freemantle to Adelaide, and in the Southern Ocean seas, they are not so delightful, especially when you start surfing and the bow wave starts pounding the bottom between the hulls, it's ungodly noisy and sleep is nearly impossible. Trying to go to weather, even under power, is an exercise in futility when the seas get above the bottom of the span because you come to a complete stop on every wave.
 
Warlock said:
Sunsail 444 which is a Robinson/Cain.
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Yep, we had a 444 from Sunsail, ours was the Liberty Dream IV. Yes, an awesome breeze blows thru the boat with the front and rear doors open. That said, at night we still ran the genset and AC for cool comfy sleeping. The cat is an awesome boat in most respects, the galley is huge, lots of lounging space, easy to snorkel off the back, easier to catch the ball, etc., but I still prefer sailing a monohull.

My wife is now spoiled, though, so it looks like a cat from now on. Hrd to argue with the luxury of space.
 
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