Would you go on a cruise?

I know a lot of people love cruises, but I have never had the desire to go on one. Even though the ships are huge, the thought of being "stuck" on one makes me claustrophobic. Plus I can't swim. :lol3:

The latest problems with some cruises has pretty much cemented my feelings:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/travel/cruise-ship-fire/index.html?hpt=hp_c1


Would you go on a cruise?

Nope. Aside from suffering from motion sickness, I don't like the idea of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with the same old faces. I'd much rather be in the wilderness or seeing some really interesting architecture.

Reading articles like this doesn't help, either: What cruise lines don't want you to know

The cruise industry says cruise ship fires are rare, but they are not rare. They happen with alarming frequency. In the two years between the Splendor and the Triumph fires, more than 10 cruise ship fires were reported in the media. Several cruise ships were completely disabled, including the Costa Allegra, the Bahamas Celebration and the Ocean Star.
...
You can't find a cheaper vacation than spending a week on one of these "fun ships." But the vacation comes with a hidden price. The cruise lines are working their crew members excessively long hours and paying them extremely low wages.
The Cruise Lines International Association says its "crew members are provided wages that are competitive with international pay scales." But a cleaner aboard a Royal Caribbean ship, for example, will work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for as little as $156.25 a week with no tips. U.S. labor laws are not applicable to provide protection to crew members at sea, nor is there any real oversight of the cruise lines' operations.

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I can't wait to go on another cruise :lol3: I loved the 2 I've been on. It would stink to be on one with issues for sure, but it doesn't happen on every cruise.

I've been trying to talk the BF into one, he's never been. But right now isn't the best time to be trying to make progress with the most recent breakdown!

Heck No, lately there have been a couple of bad things happening on cruises.  The latest one is on a Carnival Cruise where people were stuck without food and other essentials for quite a long time.  I also have no desire to be on a big ship surrounded by water.  Plus, knowing me I'd get seasick.  No thanks, I'll stay on steady ground please
 

AbbysMom said:

The latest problems with some cruises has pretty much cemented my feelings:




Would you go on a cruise?

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Yes this is the ship I was referring to in my post above.  I know bad things can happen anywhere but why give it a bigger chance on a ship so no, I wouldn't go on a cruise. 

Not me, and this was long before all the mess with cruise lines. I am afraid of water unless it is conntrolled in something no larger than a bathtub and just LOOKING at waves makes me seasick. I'll stick to dry land, thanks

Absolutely not. I met my best friend about 8 or 9 years ago. She and her husband love cruises. She came over one day with an arm full of literature about different cruises. I nipped it in the bud by telling her, I love you, but I am not going on a cruse, even if you buy my ticket. They just came back from a Carnival Cruise. I would never go. I have a phobia right now about bedbugs. It seems like cruise ships would be prime territory for them.

No!  I have absolutely no desire to be stuck on a floating house boat with 4000 strangers out in the middle of the ocean.  This idea has never really appealed to me at all.  I'd much rather spend time in a remote cabin in the mountains somewhere.
 

I don't think I would go on a cruise. I get motion sickness. and I am afraid it would sink

I don't have any particular worries about sinking or bedbugs or fires or anything. I'm sure it's statistically safer than driving to work every morning or staying in a hotel. And I don't mind crowds too much, having grown up in the Tokyo area :lol3:. I'm good at ignoring strangers, but if I went with a group of friends I think I'd get sick of them after a while, not being able to get away from them :tongue2:. But I AM claustrophobic, definitely no belowdecks room for me, no walking through narrow dark windowless hallways to a small windowless room with no escape route. . .just no. I could probably handle a balcony room. The part about doing nothing and eating a lot sounds good, though!

Well I think I would like to go on a cruise at least once.  Like she said, it's probably statistically safer than driving somewhere but I too get claustrophobic so not sure how I would do with that.

My other issue is my husband, he spent 20 years on a Navy ship so he said his cruise days are over.      Still, I would like to go at least once, just to say I got to experience it.

I've been on a couple, and yes, l would do them again. So much so l wouldn't do another package holiday again

Our first cruise was on a ship owned by our travel company, Thomsons. They had just bought one of the ships from COSTA,  but a few weeks before they were due to hand it over to Thomsons it crashed into the docks ln Egypt due to bad weather killing 3 crew members.  Thomsons wouldn't touch it until it had been repaired and fit to sail, but it was worth it!

The good thing about a cruise is that you get to see several countries in a short space of time.

There's so much to do on the ships that you never get bored.

We just had one full day at sea, the rest you always wake up in a new country and spend the day there, then it sailed  around 6.30.p.m. By then you were getting ready for dinner and the entertainment.

We only experienced one night where the seas were rough, and that was between France and Italy, but l loved it and it rocked me to sleep.

My theory ls, "Don't knock it until you've tried it!" 

I'd rather not. It's the idea of being out in the ocean with no land in sight.....frankly, it scares the heck out of me.

That being said, I have a feeling I'll be going on a cruise at some point. It's something Rick really wants to do.

Winchester said:

I'd rather not. It's the idea of being out in the ocean with no land in sight.....frankly, it scares the heck out of me.

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My friend Lynn who l went with. She can't swim and she said the same thing about not seeing land, but lt never crossed her mind once we were sailing.

Can you believe her late husband was a swimming instructor as well 

Since 9/11 flying scares me now, and l feel much safer on a ship than what l do on a plane. When we booked our cruises l said l want the shortest flight to pick the ship up  

Rosiemac said:

My friend Lynn who l went with. She can't swim and she said the same thing about not seeing land, but lt never crossed her mind once we were sailing.

Can you believe her late husband was a swimming instructor as well 

Since 9/11 flying scares me now, and l feel much safer on a ship than what l do on a plane. When we booked our cruises l said l want the shortest flight to pick the ship up  

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We'd probably have to cruise out of Florida. Rick has said he'd fly down and meet me when I drove in. There is no way he's driving and there is no way I'm getting on a plane. Stalemate.

My dad was in the Marines and he couldn't swim!

Winchester said:

We'd probably have to cruise out of Florida. Rick has said he'd fly down and meet me when I drove in. There is no way he's driving and there is no way I'm getting on a plane. Stalemate.

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My first taste of cruise ships was in Florida. My late husband and l went on a ship from Miami to the Bahamas, and it was then l knew l would love one because you could hardly feel it move.

We've been on something like 30 cruises.  For a long time, we did 2 a year.

I'm no fan of Carnival ships (although I must admit I own stock in Carnival).  I far prefer Princess.  If cruises were cars, Carnival would be the Chevy of the industry.  Princess would be at least a Buick, maybe a Volvo.  Princess, which used to be owned by P&O (our Brit friends will know those initials!), is actually owned by Carnival.  But much better service, etc.

Anything mechanical can break.  The Carnival ship had a bad engine room fire.  The bad news is that on most modern ships, the engines don't turn the propellers.  The engines just generate electricity, which powers the Azipod propulsion system as well as all the rest of the ship's needs.  My guess is that that system of all-in-one power generation may be rethought in the near future.

But compare it to an airplane.  The same sort of failure in a plane would result in a crash.  Here, it just resulted in a few days of hardship.  The passengers likely hit the lottery on this one; my bet is each passenger will end up with several thousand dollars of compensation.  What kind of work would you be willing to do to make $1,000 per day?  Would you put up with short rations and some disgusting conditions for a little while?  I would!

I know people who love the all-inclusive resorts in places like Mexico and Jamaica.  Ask them about the tall fences and armed guards around those places.  I guess everything has its disadvantages.
 

mrblanche said:

  owned by P&O (our Brit friends will know those initials!)  

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Oh yes, very popular ships

The compensation being offered is $500 plus:

As previously announced, all 3,143 guests on board will receive a full refund of the cruise along with transportation expenses and reimbursement of all shipboard purchases during the voyage, with the exception of gift shop, art purchases and casino charges. All passengers will also receive a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage.

Not worth it to me.

7irishkitties said:

Well I think I would like to go on a cruise at least once.  Like she said, it's probably statistically safer than driving somewhere but I too get claustrophobic so not sure how I would do with that.

My other issue is my husband, he spent 20 years on a Navy ship so he said his cruise days are over.

     Still, I would like to go at least once, just to say I got to experience it.

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I mentioned this to dh once.  He told me that after 2 Med deployments in the Navy he had no interest in going on a cruise either   Lately though, his attitude has changed and he said he'd consider one. 

Though he wants to do Disney without the kids   That would be his ideal vacation.

Cheryl