Queen Victoria, leaving Southampton (taken from the Isle of Wight Ferry)
There is a famous sociological experiment you probably know. A group of 12 people are shown a number of cards. The interviewer then asks each of them in front of the others to say how many they saw. “Eight” says the first guy; the second says “eight”; so does the third, fourth and so on until we get to the last person. He was convinced that there were only seven cards, but now doubts his conviction in the light of the other responses. What he doesn’t know is that he is the only subject of the experiment, that everyone else was set up to say eight, and that the whole exercise revolves around whether he will go with his convictions or succumb to the common opinion. In most cases, the subject does say “eight” along with the others.
I feel a bit like this last guy when it comes to cruising. I’ve attended conventions where marketing and PR chiefs have boasted that there are now ‘cruises for everyone’; one cruise line claims to run cruises ‘for people who don’t do cruises’; I still wasn’t swayed. I have many friends who love the idea of cruising and indulge in this type of holiday regularly and tell of the lavish treats they’ve enjoyed on board; I listen without envy.
I can see how it appeals to so many people: seeing many places while never having to pack and unpack; all-inclusive dining and drinking meaning no overspending; excursions showing you the highlights of each place in the shortest time; having all the amenities you could ever want, 24/7.
But those selling points just don’t work for me. I don’t want to pre-pay my meals or be restricted to the restaurants on my ship; we might fancy something different, or maybe even miss dinner and just have a snack and an ice-cream one night while taking a long walk. I don’t want to go to see major attractions with the other thousand passengers; our favourite travel moments are invariably those where we have arrived at a special place before the crowds and enjoyed it in solitude. I don’t need the casinos, the clubs, the cinemas, the entertainment shows; we normally take a walk after dinner (further than the length of a ship) and enjoy wandering through the town or village where we’re staying the night. As for the hospitality, I figure the cruise ship is a perfect compliment to those who enjoy the luxury and pampering of high end hotels; I’m just not one of them.
Still the Queen Victoria
Like the man who wants to shout “it’s seven! I know it’s seven!!” I question my own conviction. Is it me who is abnormal, or are there others out there for whom ‘cruises for people who don’t do cruises’ doesn’t work as an idea? I can see why cruising is a great way to travel for millions of people; I’m just fairly sure I’m not one of them.
On the other hand a sea voyage that does hold some interest for me is where I would be a passenger on a cargo vessel; some vessels allow a handful of passengers aboard while they cross oceans and while you’re not ‘working your passage’ there’s little fuss made over the passengers by all accounts. That sounds more like an adventure that I would consider. As for cruising, even in its new form that’s aimed specifically at the likes of me? I’m afraid I’m still only seeing seven.
I think the key to it is don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! I too was a landlubber who didn’t ‘get’ the attractions of cruising until I went on my first ship about three years ago. Since then I’ve been on a fair few ship launches and a few cruises and have to say it’s completely challenged my perceptions of that kind of holiday. Cruise companies are making a huge effort to appeal to everyone and mostly getting it right. As a mostly independent traveller and one who loves pottering around towns/cities discovering their unique highlights for myself I understand your view that a ship could be a little limiting. But it’s just a different kind of holiday. Why not try a five day taster cruise to see what it’s like – bet you’ll love it!
I guess we all have our own bug-bears – I’ll go anywhere but have to say Australia has never excited me. Maybe I’ll go one day and you’ll go cruising and we’ll both report on a great trip.
I’m sure you’re right. One of these I will try a cruise, and it will surprise me in some way. Like you say, I shouldn’t knock it till I try; it’s just that up to now none of the hype I’ve heard has tempted me to give it a go.
Let’s face it though, it’s easier for me to try a cruise than it is for you to try Australia
Thanks for your comment Sarah – I’ll let you know if I ever step aboard!
Andy, I must say my feelings are with you on this one. A cruise does not appeal to me, I am not attracted to luxury, all inclusive food and drinks. Crowds are a real turn off for me. The last time I was in France, we went to Giverny to see Monet’s Garden. When we saw the number of cars and buses in the car park, we continued on our journey!
The idea of taking a cargo ship does appeal for the sense of adventure but also to keep my carbon footprint down. However the calculations I have seen on being a passenger on a cargo ship seem a little fudged. They go along the lines of a “1 tonne of cargo being shipped from London to Cape Town is responsible for x kg of CO2, I weigh 70 kg so my footprint will be 70/1000 *x”. This is a little flawed as you have to include the weight of your cabin and furnishings and the energy used in air conditioning it and for cooking, washing etc. You might say that the cabin is there anyway but if it these ships didn’t have the passenger cabins they could carry extra cargo for a much smaller footprint. However, I still haven’t got all the answers to this question and would welcome a deeper insight. My understanding is that cruise line passengers have the largest carbon footprint of any type of traveller, with the exception of space tourism (not Virgin Galactic) and taking private jets / helicopters. Again someone may have research to disprove this.
Hi Andy,
I like how you compared yourself & cruising with the experiment of “seven”. I`ve spent some time with you in Valencia and I know you`re a different type of traveler than myself. But I agree with Sarah on this one. There is still a lot of misperception on cruising. These days they offer them in all lengths, chapes and regions. I`m a convinced cruiser…sorry
and I recommend it to everyone. But I do understand your point of vue on the mass visiting of sights, the food & freedom on a ship. Cause you`re still on a ship! I would love for you to try it and let me know what you think about it. Maybe you`ll still say “seven” but maybe you won`t 
Keep me posted!
And to Sarah I would like to say: GO to Australia! You won`t regret it.
Hallelujah. I’m exactly the same. I suppose I can’t knock it until I’ve tried it, but I haven’t tried it because I see no evidence that suggests I wouldn’t knock it.
Many of the things you mentioned are the problems I’d have too, but for me it boils down to the following:
1. I don’t like most people, and thus I don’t want to be stuck in a big group for so long. Especially a big group of people who think going on cruises is a good idea.
2. Being incarcerated on a ship every night would send me stir crazy.
And as a PS on the Australia point, I’m exceptionally biased but there’s so much more to it than the reef, rock and opera house. It’s a case of following the stories rather than the herd.
Hi Andy, I know exactly what you mean. I have been invited on to the most super luxury ships, think that it would be amazing for a while, then realise it’s probably not for me, and most definitely not for my boyfriend.
We’re like you, we like to explore towns and speak to people who you would never see on cruise ships. I don’t like the whole pretence of the passengers on board, some of whom didn’t even know Barcelona was in Spain last time I visited one!
Maybe one day when all I want to do is eat and drink for 10 days…
Looks like I’m not alone, judging by the comments from David, John and Sam. Maybe they should lump all the people who are convinced that cruising isn’t for them on one cruise ship and see if they can convert us. I would pity the crew on that one…
Isabelle, you’ll be the first to know when I take a cruise. I’ll write you a guest post about it
David’s point about not liking most people gets nearer to the heart of it maybe. While I wouldn’t say the same for myself, I do find that spending too much time in any sort of group has me craving to break away and have some space.
As for the Oz side theme, I recommend Tasmania if you make it out there. A beautiful island, mountains, beaches, history, wildlife, wilderness trails: it’s got everything and it’s empty
HI!
You’re describing an adventure / voyage / travelling – cruising is a holiday – so, until you want a holiday (as in rest, everything done for you, hassle of thinking too much removed) don’t waste your money!
When you do want a holiday, now I’ve tried cruising, everything else is coming up a pretty dismal 2nd place…
So in essence I think the reason you are finding it “not for you” is this “holiday” isn’t what you seek from your travels… yet!
TTFN
Hi Andy
I read this post and the comments with interest. Several years ago I was lucky enough to be taken on a free 3 week cruise (a Caribbean cruise which started in Italy) by a widowed Aunt – she wanted some company and it was nearly as much to pay for the solo upgrade as it was to take me. It was quite an experience, with many positives and many negatives and I can never make up my mind whether or not it’s one I want to repeat.
I had many issues with it. The extravagance and wastage was a major problem for me. Meals consisted of several courses and most of the diners didn’t have an issue with ordering something to try and then leaving the entire plateful if they weren’t keen. I can’t abide food wastage and consequently left the ship in the only pair of trousers I could squeeze into – apparently seasoned cruisers take larger clothes for the homeward journey. There were also fantastic food sculptures laid out on long tables that we weren’t allowed to eat afterwards. How much food must have been dumped in the sea, I can only imagine.
Something else that bothered me was that all the passengers were white Europeans, and all the staff were from East Asia or Central America. When I asked the staff about it they said they could earn a lot more on the cruise ships than they could at home and were able to send regular payments back to their families. I can see where they’re coming from – and would quite possibly do the same thing in their situation – but it felt horribly colonial to me. We were the rich white people and they were our slaves and believe me that’s how a lot of the passengers acted too.
The last item on my list of gripes is that the passengers were so ungracious and dissatisfied! They were on a luxurious ship, eating as much fine food as they wanted, visiting amazing places, being entertained and waited on hand and foot. But how they complained! The biggest issue for the English passengers was that the ship was Italian and had five different nationalities on board. Most announcements, particularly important ones such as what to do if the ship starts sinking, were given in five languages, and guess what? Shock horror English wasn’t first on the list! So the small percentage of English passengers huffed and puffed and said this is the last time I’m coming on a multi-nationality cruise! If I remember rightly the order of translation may have altered once we picked up American passengers on the other side of the Atlantic, probably to suit the new arrivals who had even worse attitudes than the English. I don’t know, maybe if I’d paid a couple of thousand pounds I’d have found more to grumble about.
But if you can get past this (it is difficult) there are a lot of good things about cruising. Number one of course is that you get to see a heck of a lot of places in a very short space of time – waking up in a new port is pretty cool (although being awake to enter the port is even better). Yes, there are some places you want to spend much longer exploring, but then you’ve at least had a taste and can add it to your list for a longer stay. Some places are very small, or you’re not so keen on them, and the day you spend there is enough. Maybe if I’d spent longer in those places I’d have liked them better and perhaps my impressions are skewed. On the other hand, chances are I’d never have seen most of these places at all if I hadn’t been on the cruise (Marseilles, Tortola, Nassau for example) and I’m sure we’ve all spent a few days or even weeks in places we wouldn’t go back to. Just getting a tiny flavour of the countries we visited was so much better, in my mind, than reading about them or watching TV programmes about them, or worse still not even thinking about them at all.
There are other great things – you meet some lovely people. Yes a lot of them complain, my Aunt being one of the most vocal as it happens, but there are those that don’t, and you quickly form friendships whilst travelling the seas with a bunch of people you don’t know. Some of them are real characters – Olga the octogenarian Swiss Texan springs to mind. I kept in touch with some of them after the trip, and I know my Aunt has quite a network of cruise friends and sometimes meets up with them again on other ships. I also got on well with some of the staff, and spent a bit of time with some of them, finding out about life in their countries and life on the ship.
Just a few other good points before I finish (I realise this is now longer than your original post). The food was fantastic – Italian chefs, local produce picked up in different ports, and new things to try every single day, something I rarely do on holiday/travelling/at home. I went to art classes! On some of the bigger cruises you can learn all sorts of things at classes and lectures. You can do those things at home of course, but it takes a bit more organising. It’s actually a pretty nice way of a life for a short time and I can completely understand why so many people catch the cruising bug.
I have many issues with cruises, but I also have so many memories, I met so many great people, I saw so many places! And at the end of this long ramble, that’s why I’m not sure about cruising either…
Clare, I think you’ve hit on a good point (and maybe given me an idea for a new blog post!) – what is a holiday? You describe it as rest, everything done for you, hassle of thinking too much removed. For me a holiday would contain none of those factors, and I expect it never will. I imagine that when I’m in my 70s I’ll be bumbling around a bus station somewhere in Nicaragua trying to get a cheap ticket to climb a volcano … time may prove me wrong, but I don’t see it happening… and I expect with my preferences a cruise is unlikely to tick my boxes for a relaxing holiday. I know, I’m not normal…
Anne, very interesting to read your account. The food wastage is a massive issue, as it is in top hotels Using food as decorative carvings and then throwing it away is inexcusable. The whole colonial staff/passenger thing is uncomfortable in the big hotels too… what can you do apart from treat people with the respect they deserve. It goes on, and like you say it is paying people a salary – I have a bigger issue with the appalling way so many staff are treated by guests than about the situation itself.
One of the big draws of cruising is the chance to see so many places in such a short time. I can see that attraction, but that said we have also changed the way we travel in the last few years. Rather than skim through a lot of places and say that we’ll be back to see them properly in future, we now make far more modest itineraries and try to do a place justice first time around. It’s a definite adjustment at first, going to a new part of the world and deciding to visit two countries instead of five. But that extra day in a place often reveals the unsung attractions that we would have missed on a one-day stop.
It’s a matter of taste for each of us, and I’ll be interested to know if you choose to go again.
Thanks both for your thoughtful comments.
I have gone on two really crappy, commercial cruises filled with clueless tourists and bad food, but I went on a Greek cruise that was fantastic. It was a smaller cruise line based in Greece (Louis Hellenic) so the boat was much smaller. It was my first time to Greece, and my sister and I wanted to island hop, but had a horrible time trying to coordinate the ferry schedules. We ended up going with the cruise–it would take us to all the islands we wanted to visit and then come. Sure, we only got a day in each place, but it was fun to get a taste of many places, and now we know which places we really want to go back to and spend more time. Many times, the boat didn’t leave until late evening, so you had time to eat both lunch and dinner and get drinks on land. While it’s cliche, not all cruises are the same.
Agree totally with this post, and I have been on a cruise. Once. Quite a while ago, admittedly, but as a solo traveler and bona fide introvert I have zero interest in confining myself in a floating town of eaters/drinkers/gamblers/partiers. Plus, I’ve seen what happens to places like Dubrovnik or Rhodes when a cruise ship hits port, and I want no part of it. The experience without the cruise ship is quite different, even in popular places.
I do get the point about resting up on a vacation, but even before I retired I could do that quite well, and more cheaply, at home.
I have thought about taking the Cunard Trans-Atlantic “cruise”, but that’s because flying has become such a pain. If they weren’t so pricey (especially for singles) I would consider a barge trip in France, and when I get rather more decrepit I might take a river cruise in Europe, but I’d have to be LOT more decrepit. Of course, the extra cost for traveling solo is very off-putting, too.
I can understand why cruises are a total turn-off to many solo travelers. There are quite a few downsides to cruises, especially if you are the type of traveler who dislikes crowds, tourist attractions, and operating on a set schedule.
However, I can see things from the other angle, too. I’ve been on a few cruises. And while I definitely prefer other modes of travel, I can’t totally discount cruising as a vacation option, especially when it comes to traveling with the whole family.
I recently went on an Alaskan cruise with my family, and realized that it was the perfect vacation for us — something for everyone, and not 24 hours of forced togetherness each day. Read about it here if you’re curious: http://dangerousbusiness.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/making-a-case-for-cruises-why-they-make-good-family-vacations/
I can understand your reticence over the idea of cruising, I am also of an independent turn of mind and don’t generally enjoy following someone else’s itinerary. Having said that, the idea of travelling without the packing and unpacking (my least favourite part of the process) is very appealing! I have never done a ‘cruise’ cruise but did do a sailing trip in Croatia which was on a smaller boat and a little less formal than I would imagine a cruise would be. That was actually really good fun! I wrote a post about it here if you are interested http://www.headingthere.co.uk/Blog/?p=72
When my son’s all growed up I’m going to do the post/cargo ship to St Helena!
Thanks again for the many illuminating comments (Helena, I’m also interested in the St Helena boat – it sounds like a great adventure!)
I should declare that I did take two river boat trips in Laos last year – one for two days and one for three. The three day one was accommodated, with nice (if not plush) cabins. I enjoyed the company, enjoyed the visits to villages, the good food, waking up to see the life on the river, etc etc etc. But by the third day I was very pleased to wave goodbye and get back on the open road again with my backpack happily on my back.
The only cruise I’ve ever been on was an Antarctica cruise so there were no casinos, less frills in general, 350 passengers… So it wasn’t exactly typical but still not my thing. I totally agree with you on this. I feel like cruises are too much of being on someone else’s schedule, too many thing you miss by running through a city in an afternoon & not spending at least one night there, not enough options. Great post, I loved your comparison with the experiment. I’m saying seven too.
I’m totally with you, the idea of cruising doesn’t appeal to me at all.
Might I propose a third category, the Reluctant Cruiser. Specifically, “doesn’t really want to go but promised a friend for her 40th”.
I’d do a cargo ship run from Calais to Tauranga in a heartbeat yet I find the idea of 29 days aboard the Sapphire Princess quite terrifying. I expect it’ll be like a Riu hotel: tropical, full of inappropriately-dressed Germans, and a huge but monotonous buffet.
As for the destinations, that’s where I can exert a little control. Rather than being herded like cattle around faux tribal ceremonies, we’re studying Princess’ tours and cherry-picking the things we think look interesting and doing them ourselves. Or just finding a good quiet restaurant with a view. Some might view the brief time in port as restrictive: I view it as a challenge. How many cool/interesting/novel/different things can I cram into 8 hours?
Andy, have you ever read the David Foster Wallace essay ‘A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again’? [Or Shipping Out, as its title was in Harpers magazine.] An amazing piece of writing which I’m pretty sure will cement your position if you were wavering! You can read it online here… it’s pretty long but worth every second.
http://harpers.org/media/pdf/dfw/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf
Wow, thanks Maxine. Very dramatic article. Like you say, a great piece of writing. I’d need to go on a cruise to have the experiences that this writer endured that stimulated such strong emotions. I don’t suppose he’ll be cruising again anytime soon
Thanks for sharing this.
I share your opinion of cruises (never appealed to me) but decided to have an open mind, cruising not just once but 3 times (all Caribbean), and on this final one I should have just burned the money with a match and stayed home. My husband and I did them because we had friends going and we figured we’d try it, maybe our opinion was wrong. It wasn’t.
Primarily, I love the beach, so we have traveled the Caribbean almost exclusively. The cruises I did take were on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and trust me, there was NOTHING luxurious about them, although I had a higher opinion of Celebrity. When cruising, getting to the beach when in port is tedious at best and aggravating at worst. Heaven help you if you have mobility issues, because none of the flat-out lazy passengers are going to take 2 flights of stairs so you can get your wheelchair (or in my case, your husband with a cane) in an elevator. You are bound by the clock constantly the entire trip because if you don’t keep track of time you will be left in port. I do not want to eat decent but homogenized food and I want to experience local cultures. You don’t get any culture but your own on cruise ships. And honestly I have never experienced such an overall rude group of people — rude to other passengers and supremely rude to the staff. I have no interest in watching “best legs” contests at the pool or getting up at 7:30am to secure a pool chair near the pool but in the shade, packed like sardines on a small pool deck with 500 of my new friends. The final straw for me on this last cruise were the people who blatantly ignored the rule of no kids in diapers in the main pools (that’s what kids’ pools are for), but naturally the staff won’t say a word to them… and since the pool is saltwater I had my doubts now about waterborne bacteria and was really just grossed out overall, so I wouldn’t go in once I saw that.
We take 2-3 land vacations a year and I find great deals on upscale hotels for one reason – I like good service. Many (not all, naturally) of the people I met onboard these very average cruise ships were pompous jerks whose limited opinion of the world was from the deck of a cruise ship, trying to impress me by telling me “all islands are the same.” I can tell you they are far from it. The most beautiful locations we’ve been to (like Great Exuma in the Bahamas Out Islands) don’t accomodate cruise ships – I think it’s more than coincidence.
I told my husband I don’t care who’s going, no more cruises. I might try a higher end cruise line in future to hopefully get a better experience, and the smaller ships obviously can get into less traveled ports.
Hey, I tried!
Calico–I think you would have a different opinion if you tried a different and smaller line. I cruised Carnival once and will never again. Most of the travelers were trashy and had bad behavior, the food was awful, the ports were extremely touristy, they had those terrible cheesy games (like the best legs one you mentioned), etc. This is because it’s the most affordable cruise line, so anyone who is on a major budget will use it. I hated it. I also went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and wasn’t impressed.
What changed my mind was going on a cruise with Regent Seven Seas, a very high-end line. The experience was completely different. Extremely classy patrons. No stupid games by the pool or loud annoying entertainment people. Absolutely fantastic food (they had several on-board restaurants, like an Asian one and a steakhouse–the specialty ones cost a little extra, but were worth it). The boat was much nicer. It was a smaller boat, so we went to some small ports in less touristy areas of Alaska.
My parents cruise on Princess frequently, and they say it is just like Regent–amazing food, classy people, and a sophisticated experience. They usually do cruises in Europe and the Baltics. I’m very interested in river cruises, where the boats are very small and go to tiny cities that aren’t touristy.
Anyway, I think anyone who judges cruises just on Carnival is missing out on all kinds of good stuff…Carnival gives cruising a bad name. Like I said, I will NEVER do Carnival again.