Really did not enjoy cruising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people don’t like cruises. My husband is one of them, we’re in Montreal right now and he prefers it to our last cruise trip.

There’s a hilarious comic named Matteo Leone or something who says Montreal is Cleveland but with people who speak French ;0)

I love Montreal, but my family considers Canada and most city-based travel “trips” rather than vacations.

I like Cleveland (and Montreal!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You picked the wrong cruise line with kids. I swore I'd never go on a cruise and yet took my kids on a Disney cruise which was one of the best vacations I've had as a mom. Why? Because I didn't have to plan anything once we were on the ship. My kids liked the kids and tween clubs, they all liked the shows and characters, and it all felt very safe. Even dinners went well because they bring out the kids meals first. Try a Disney cruise (and I say this as someone who has never and will never take their kids to Disney, way too overwhelming for me).

Disney was nice in terms of rooms/service but was terrible. Kids running around with no supervision, entitled parents expecting the staff to care for their kids - we had to sit next to a table where the parents would not feed the kids and the staff cut up the food and fed the kids while the parents relaxed so we couldn't get our food and if they didn't the kids tantrumed. At the end they noticed we were annoyed and finally moved our table. Kids were terrible and rude. Kids club was boring and my kid had us paged after a few minutes to get them. Rooms were nice, room service was great, food good when not cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One reason cruising with a one year old is a pain is the car seat issue. It wasn’t a problem for us on Alaska cruise because there are so many great things right at port. But in Caribbean it was irritating because a lot of the better beaches or activities are a short drive from port. Once they can go into a booster, it opens up a lot more possibilities. Also the swim diaper thing, so you can’t even use the pools (although some cruise lines have fun splash pads). I would be reluctant to do a carribean cruise with a kid under 3 for these reasons.
I’m also down on renting houses because that inevitably means that not only are you charging a toddler around a house that is not baby proofed, but you are also cooking and cleaning for a group. At that point, I’d rather stay in my own house where I have the stuff I like.
The best thing for toddlers and kids that age is the two bedroom marriot vacation club rentals or similar. Hotel amenities but with a fridge for their milk and baby yogurt and stuff and separate bedrooms plus living room to hang out in when the little one is napping. I’m not a vacation club member so I just bought the weeks on redweek.

I think one challenging thing about parenting is that “what works” changes every few years so once you’ve figured something out, it’s already about to stop working. Tween and younger teens are often bored with a standard beach vacation and prefer cruises and active national park vacations. Older teens might be bored by that and want a more cultural experience with different restaurants and shows and a chance to see the places they’ve studied in school.

We brought our car seats on the cruise and put it in a closet so we could rent a car at the ports. Not a problem at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went on one and can't decide whether it was a good overall experience or not. The food was excessive. I was concerned what, if any, labor laws were being followed. There was an inability to clear one's own plates; it was all done by staff. Pools were crowded. I did like the ability to get off at a port.

I think I would have been really bored at a gated all-inclusive placee and am not a beach person.

What do you mean by excessive food? The buffet? You know you aren’t obligated to use the buffet, right? I don’t eat at the buffet. The only time I go in there is to grab fruit or coffee. Our preferred line has healthy food options in a certain area.

The inability to clear your own plates at the buffet is for liability reasons coupled with the practicality of staff knowing where to put things.

PS - Most people avoid the pools at all costs. Gross.

Food is just everywhere all the time, which a couple of my kids (teens) enjoyed, but the excessive, wasted food, combined with not knowing what, if any, labor laws are being followed and what wages are being paid did "eat away" at me. I suppose the buffet could be avoided, but it's just quicker to pop in there for breakfast or lunch. I will say that I'm not used to eating 3 full meals a day and do not have a big appetite or care much about food (or alcohol), so what seems excessive to me may not seem so excessive to others.

Why is it a liability to clear your own plates? It's done all the time at university cafeterias, for example.

While some may avoid the pools, they were pretty crowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds terrible. I don't know why people go on cruises, but the older generation probably liked it.

It would be interesting to see how a Titanic-era Atlantic crossing cruise differed, sans the sinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A cruise is a great option for the following types of people:

- elderly
- lazy
- non-curious
- Murica exceptionalism types
- faint hearted
- challenged in one way or many ways

Careful, Troll…your wild assumptions and sweeping generalizations underscore your ignorant biases.

Nonetheless, I’ll play.

My family is Dcumlandia affluent. Think: advanced degrees, big DC jobs, kids in private schools, etc.

We travel regularly throughout the year (including international travel). And we cruise at least once a year (sometimes more) in addition to land-based vacations. (Interestingly, we’ve never done an AI. Zero interest in staying put at a resort.)

Cruising has gained a lot of popularity post-covid, and we know plenty of similarly situated families who enjoy cruises.

If you’ve never cruised—or if you’ve only cruised (ahem) certain lines (and/or crummy itineraries)—then you really aren’t equipped to weigh in on cruising.

When we cruise, we never do group excursions; rather, we hire a driver or charter a boat for the day. We aren’t surrounded by tourists since we seek off the beaten path places. We always have fun.

People who enjoy cruising tend to be fun. They like to meet new people, so everyone seems very friendly and outgoing. They enjoy live music, dancing, and partying (each cruise line has a different vibe and varying levels of partying). Certain lines cater to retirees, but even that is changing a bit.

I’ve been a beach person my entire life as well as a person who thrives on researching and planning big, multi week vacations. I’ve never had a boring or bad vacation…ever. But I have to say that nothing beats being on the water. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing. And listening to the sea overnight is so soothing.

Since you are criticizing cruisers, I’ll share that I can’t understand people who prefer to sit by a pool (especially when the beach is a stone’s throw away). Talk about lazy and incurious…not to mention the ick factor.

Most people I know who cruise fall into the above categories. Of course there are exceptions. They are generally lame, not fun at all!

I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise to some pretty decent ports and it was ok, though wouldn't do it again. The food wasn't even that great and everything on the cruise just felt fake. Enjoy all the fat families and salad bar lol

We cruise. My husband and I have 5 degrees between us, including 4 ivies and one so-called “little ivy.” I don’t think we are incurious or lazy people. He’s a big ocean fan so really likes just sitting on the balcony with his work watching the ocean. I enjoy the down time to read a little while our teens meet people from around the country. I also like the piano bar on the NCL cruises and the shows on the disney cruises. (Royal also has a decent Broadway show usually too). I also like people able to do stuff like charter a boat to snorkel. Snorkeling is probably my favorite sport, if that’s a sport. We went to a nice beach last week and unfortunately the seas were high so we couldn’t snorkel or dive. With cruises, you’re in a different place every day so it mitigates the risk of bad weather impacting your activities. The food can be decent if you’re willing to pay upgrade for the higher level restaurants.
In sum, I think it’s probably not my favorite vacation. But lots of different types of people cruise for lots of different reasons. I think your stereotypes are inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

I would actually consider one of those cruises with lecturers and history guides. Chataqua on water, if you will.

[Anonymous]

You go on so many vacations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went on one and can't decide whether it was a good overall experience or not. The food was excessive. I was concerned what, if any, labor laws were being followed. There was an inability to clear one's own plates; it was all done by staff. Pools were crowded. I did like the ability to get off at a port.

I think I would have been really bored at a gated all-inclusive placee and am not a beach person.

What do you mean by excessive food? The buffet? You know you aren’t obligated to use the buffet, right? I don’t eat at the buffet. The only time I go in there is to grab fruit or coffee. Our preferred line has healthy food options in a certain area.

The inability to clear your own plates at the buffet is for liability reasons coupled with the practicality of staff knowing where to put things.

PS - Most people avoid the pools at all costs. Gross.

Food is just everywhere all the time, which a couple of my kids (teens) enjoyed, but the excessive, wasted food, combined with not knowing what, if any, labor laws are being followed and what wages are being paid did "eat away" at me. I suppose the buffet could be avoided, but it's just quicker to pop in there for breakfast or lunch. I will say that I'm not used to eating 3 full meals a day and do not have a big appetite or care much about food (or alcohol), so what seems excessive to me may not seem so excessive to others.

Why is it a liability to clear your own plates? It's done all the time at university cafeterias, for example.

While some may avoid the pools, they were pretty crowded.

I’m also not a buffet eater and the waste irritated me too. If you’re worried about the labor conditions, why not talk to the workers? I regularly talk to the workers and they mostly are pretty happy. They have free room and board and are compensated really well compared to what they could earn back home with a lot more freedom from what can sometimes be oppressive cultural norms or political situations. They generally work their way up to more preferred shifts and ships.
I’ve also talked to the performers who tend to be American. Most of them appreciate the ability to make money performing instead of having to do something like a paralegal gig, and also like the option of seeing different ports. Most of them will only do it for a few years though, or some of the more skilled ones like the pianists do a few months on then a few months off.

If you’re worried about labor conditions—-people who work in American hotels are treated pretty much like crap. And it’s maybe worse in places like the DR—I don’t know. One way you can try to make sure you stay places with better treated staff is to look for unionized work forces — usually though UNITE-HERE. But it’s really hard to find that outside major cities like NY, Atlanta, Vegas, most of California, Portland, New Orleans, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philly. DC, Boston and some hotels in Florida. And it’s typically only the larger chains, so if you’re staying in boutiques the workers probably aren’t union and are probably paid like crap and fired at will. One thing about cruise workers is they have pretty decent job security — no one wants to fire them mid-term. But land hotel workers get fired at th drop of a hat if some guest says they looked at them funny or accused them of theft or they are late getting to work.

[Anonymous]

I’m also a one-and-done cruiser. I’m really prone to motion sickness, so the constant sensation of being on a ship just isn’t that great for me. I also didn’t like being herded on and off with such limited time in each port. It felt like I was going to all these places without really seeing much other than a lot of open water.

I can see how it could be fun if you’re traveling with a big group and aren’t too concerned about where you go or how long you stay there. Saying that, I might consider a European river cruise at some point. It seems like a better fit for me with smaller boats and crowds, calmer waters, and you often dock right in the middle of a city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went on one and can't decide whether it was a good overall experience or not. The food was excessive. I was concerned what, if any, labor laws were being followed. There was an inability to clear one's own plates; it was all done by staff. Pools were crowded. I did like the ability to get off at a port.

I think I would have been really bored at a gated all-inclusive placee and am not a beach person.

What do you mean by excessive food? The buffet? You know you aren’t obligated to use the buffet, right? I don’t eat at the buffet. The only time I go in there is to grab fruit or coffee. Our preferred line has healthy food options in a certain area.

The inability to clear your own plates at the buffet is for liability reasons coupled with the practicality of staff knowing where to put things.

PS - Most people avoid the pools at all costs. Gross.

Food is just everywhere all the time, which a couple of my kids (teens) enjoyed, but the excessive, wasted food, combined with not knowing what, if any, labor laws are being followed and what wages are being paid did "eat away" at me. I suppose the buffet could be avoided, but it's just quicker to pop in there for breakfast or lunch. I will say that I'm not used to eating 3 full meals a day and do not have a big appetite or care much about food (or alcohol), so what seems excessive to me may not seem so excessive to others.

Why is it a liability to clear your own plates? It's done all the time at university cafeterias, for example.

While some may avoid the pools, they were pretty crowded.

I’m also not a buffet eater and the waste irritated me too. If you’re worried about the labor conditions, why not talk to the workers? I regularly talk to the workers and they mostly are pretty happy. They have free room and board and are compensated really well compared to what they could earn back home with a lot more freedom from what can sometimes be oppressive cultural norms or political situations. They generally work their way up to more preferred shifts and ships.
I’ve also talked to the performers who tend to be American. Most of them appreciate the ability to make money performing instead of having to do something like a paralegal gig, and also like the option of seeing different ports. Most of them will only do it for a few years though, or some of the more skilled ones like the pianists do a few months on then a few months off.

If you’re worried about labor conditions—-people who work in American hotels are treated pretty much like crap. And it’s maybe worse in places like the DR—I don’t know. One way you can try to make sure you stay places with better treated staff is to look for unionized work forces — usually though UNITE-HERE. But it’s really hard to find that outside major cities like NY, Atlanta, Vegas, most of California, Portland, New Orleans, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philly. DC, Boston and some hotels in Florida. And it’s typically only the larger chains, so if you’re staying in boutiques the workers probably aren’t union and are probably paid like crap and fired at will. One thing about cruise workers is they have pretty decent job security — no one wants to fire them mid-term. But land hotel workers get fired at th drop of a hat if some guest says they looked at them funny or accused them of theft or they are late getting to work.

But U.S. hotels are [supposed to be] following U.S. wage and hour laws, while cruise ships are not obligated to (they're not considered a U.S. employer). How many hours are they working a day on a ship? Do they get days off? Is there a minimum wage? I doubt they're being paid time-and-a-half for overtime. Why are the only American employees entertainers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went on one and can't decide whether it was a good overall experience or not. The food was excessive. I was concerned what, if any, labor laws were being followed. There was an inability to clear one's own plates; it was all done by staff. Pools were crowded. I did like the ability to get off at a port.

I think I would have been really bored at a gated all-inclusive placee and am not a beach person.

What do you mean by excessive food? The buffet? You know you aren’t obligated to use the buffet, right? I don’t eat at the buffet. The only time I go in there is to grab fruit or coffee. Our preferred line has healthy food options in a certain area.

The inability to clear your own plates at the buffet is for liability reasons coupled with the practicality of staff knowing where to put things.

PS - Most people avoid the pools at all costs. Gross.

Food is just everywhere all the time, which a couple of my kids (teens) enjoyed, but the excessive, wasted food, combined with not knowing what, if any, labor laws are being followed and what wages are being paid did "eat away" at me. I suppose the buffet could be avoided, but it's just quicker to pop in there for breakfast or lunch. I will say that I'm not used to eating 3 full meals a day and do not have a big appetite or care much about food (or alcohol), so what seems excessive to me may not seem so excessive to others.

Why is it a liability to clear your own plates? It's done all the time at university cafeterias, for example.

While some may avoid the pools, they were pretty crowded.

I’m also not a buffet eater and the waste irritated me too. If you’re worried about the labor conditions, why not talk to the workers? I regularly talk to the workers and they mostly are pretty happy. They have free room and board and are compensated really well compared to what they could earn back home with a lot more freedom from what can sometimes be oppressive cultural norms or political situations. They generally work their way up to more preferred shifts and ships.
I’ve also talked to the performers who tend to be American. Most of them appreciate the ability to make money performing instead of having to do something like a paralegal gig, and also like the option of seeing different ports. Most of them will only do it for a few years though, or some of the more skilled ones like the pianists do a few months on then a few months off.

If you’re worried about labor conditions—-people who work in American hotels are treated pretty much like crap. And it’s maybe worse in places like the DR—I don’t know. One way you can try to make sure you stay places with better treated staff is to look for unionized work forces — usually though UNITE-HERE. But it’s really hard to find that outside major cities like NY, Atlanta, Vegas, most of California, Portland, New Orleans, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philly. DC, Boston and some hotels in Florida. And it’s typically only the larger chains, so if you’re staying in boutiques the workers probably aren’t union and are probably paid like crap and fired at will. One thing about cruise workers is they have pretty decent job security — no one wants to fire them mid-term. But land hotel workers get fired at th drop of a hat if some guest says they looked at them funny or accused them of theft or they are late getting to work.

But U.S. hotels are [supposed to be] following U.S. wage and hour laws, while cruise ships are not obligated to (they're not considered a U.S. employer). How many hours are they working a day on a ship? Do they get days off? Is there a minimum wage? I doubt they're being paid time-and-a-half for overtime. Why are the only American employees entertainers?

You should ask all these question! I always talk to the workers on ships. They tend to have a lot more down time to chit chat that on land hotel workers. People only “check in” once a week so the check out/check in day is INSANE for the cabin staff. The other days are not bad as they tend to have a reasonable number of rooms, and they often get offf at ports for some down time. I had a nice chit chat with an Indonesian guy who “swabbed the decks” — he said on ship he worked a lot for 6 months straight but then would go home and take 6 months to a year off and just spend it with his kids. He made as much on 6 months as he would make in a year at home—and that was a non-tipped position.

Im not saying it’s all roses for cruise workers but American hotel workers are pretty badly treated, and most Americans don’t even try to stay at Union hotels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently went on one and can't decide whether it was a good overall experience or not. The food was excessive. I was concerned what, if any, labor laws were being followed. There was an inability to clear one's own plates; it was all done by staff. Pools were crowded. I did like the ability to get off at a port.

I think I would have been really bored at a gated all-inclusive placee and am not a beach person.

What do you mean by excessive food? The buffet? You know you aren’t obligated to use the buffet, right? I don’t eat at the buffet. The only time I go in there is to grab fruit or coffee. Our preferred line has healthy food options in a certain area.

The inability to clear your own plates at the buffet is for liability reasons coupled with the practicality of staff knowing where to put things.

PS - Most people avoid the pools at all costs. Gross.

Food is just everywhere all the time, which a couple of my kids (teens) enjoyed, but the excessive, wasted food, combined with not knowing what, if any, labor laws are being followed and what wages are being paid did "eat away" at me. I suppose the buffet could be avoided, but it's just quicker to pop in there for breakfast or lunch. I will say that I'm not used to eating 3 full meals a day and do not have a big appetite or care much about food (or alcohol), so what seems excessive to me may not seem so excessive to others.

Why is it a liability to clear your own plates? It's done all the time at university cafeterias, for example.

While some may avoid the pools, they were pretty crowded.

You are paying for the vacation and service. I don't want to deal with much on vacation. This isn't a cafeteria or college kids.

We rarely go to the buffet as we don't want everyone touching the food. Its not excessive having enough food given the numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A cruise is a great option for the following types of people:

- elderly
- lazy
- non-curious
- Murica exceptionalism types
- faint hearted
- challenged in one way or many ways

Careful, Troll…your wild assumptions and sweeping generalizations underscore your ignorant biases.

Nonetheless, I’ll play.

My family is Dcumlandia affluent. Think: advanced degrees, big DC jobs, kids in private schools, etc.

We travel regularly throughout the year (including international travel). And we cruise at least once a year (sometimes more) in addition to land-based vacations. (Interestingly, we’ve never done an AI. Zero interest in staying put at a resort.)

Cruising has gained a lot of popularity post-covid, and we know plenty of similarly situated families who enjoy cruises.

If you’ve never cruised—or if you’ve only cruised (ahem) certain lines (and/or crummy itineraries)—then you really aren’t equipped to weigh in on cruising.

When we cruise, we never do group excursions; rather, we hire a driver or charter a boat for the day. We aren’t surrounded by tourists since we seek off the beaten path places. We always have fun.

People who enjoy cruising tend to be fun. They like to meet new people, so everyone seems very friendly and outgoing. They enjoy live music, dancing, and partying (each cruise line has a different vibe and varying levels of partying). Certain lines cater to retirees, but even that is changing a bit.

I’ve been a beach person my entire life as well as a person who thrives on researching and planning big, multi week vacations. I’ve never had a boring or bad vacation…ever. But I have to say that nothing beats being on the water. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing. And listening to the sea overnight is so soothing.

Since you are criticizing cruisers, I’ll share that I can’t understand people who prefer to sit by a pool (especially when the beach is a stone’s throw away). Talk about lazy and incurious…not to mention the ick factor.

+1 to all above.

We also do private tours, charter a boat, etc….

We do at least 4 big trips a year (international, skiing, etc.) and cruise is usually one of them.

It’s fantastic not to have to plan anything and just get on the ship which takes you to the different places. It is definately the vacation that I spend minimal time planning. Our favorite is cruising to the Carribean in winter for beaches and snorkeling.

[Anonymous]

Because toddlers suuuuuuck. Cute sometimes, yes. But it was not my favorite phase of parenting, that's for sure