Really did not enjoy cruising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That sounds hellish.

[Anonymous]

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

Same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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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?

This is why a cruise is going to be the cheapest vacation you can take. The staff is being paid very low wages and work days are very long. Entertainers are paid more, which makes sense -- you can train anyone to work in the kitchen or clean cabins or serve dinner, but you can't hire just anyone to perform (and those performers are doing many different shows in any given week which is not easy).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The servers take the used dishes, etc. behind the public area to the galley. It’s a space issue as much as anything else. Plus, they don’t want a spill followed by a slip and fall lawsuit.

You can google what ship workers make and how they are paid. But then realize the workers work a contract (varies by cruise line and position, but averages 3 or 4 months) and then fly home and don’t work for months (by choice because they’ve made enough money) before signing a new contract and working a stint. Bottom line: they make way more on the ship than they would in their home country.

Plus: ICYMI, there are tons of lgbtq workers on cruises. Why? It’s a safe haven for them as opposed to their home country. They make good money while surrounded by coworkers who accept them.

Re: pools - yes, they are obviously small and crowded, which is why most people avoid them. Heck, people pay a premium to have access to private areas to avoid the main pool area. Personally, I’ve never set foot in a pool on a cruise and I prefer to lay out in a quiet area. But I will head towards the music when they have certain live performances.

Op here. We were in the exclusive area of the ship with private pool access. It was better and quiet but still crowded. I definitely prefer a hotel with a real pool. My husband enjoys cruising but the whole experience was off putting

What cruise line/ship? Ports?

Are you a person who prefers hanging out by the pool at a resort (Baha Mar)? Do you prefer the pool to the beach? Do you prefer laying out or actually swimming?

Do educated people actually still "lay out"? Hello, sun damage and skin cancer...

Yes.

It's called "sunblock." Look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That sounds hellish.

It sounds made up.

[Anonymous]

My hot take — since vacations with toddlers are hellish, just minimize them. I was trying to remember what we did when my kids were that little and the answer is … not much. We went to grandparents house. We went to Hilton head once. We went to Pittsburgh once. We visited some college friends. In short we saved a bunch of money and we are now tearing through it with young teens. My 15 year old would travel the world and has a huge list of what she wants to do. And it’s fun to travel with her. So if you feel bad about not taking trips when they are little, imagine the money in an account growing and then you can blow it on a much nicer trip when you can all enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My hot take — since vacations with toddlers are hellish, just minimize them. I was trying to remember what we did when my kids were that little and the answer is … not much. We went to grandparents house. We went to Hilton head once. We went to Pittsburgh once. We visited some college friends. In short we saved a bunch of money and we are now tearing through it with young teens. My 15 year old would travel the world and has a huge list of what she wants to do. And it’s fun to travel with her. So if you feel bad about not taking trips when they are little, imagine the money in an account growing and then you can blow it on a much nicer trip when you can all enjoy it.

Disagree.

One of our favorite vacations was a week on Grand Cayman with our two year old. And it was relaxing. We napped when he napped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there cruises that spend more than 1 day in European ports?

Some do. You need to check the itinerary.

Regardless, most are in port from 8am to 8pm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The servers take the used dishes, etc. behind the public area to the galley. It’s a space issue as much as anything else. Plus, they don’t want a spill followed by a slip and fall lawsuit.

You can google what ship workers make and how they are paid. But then realize the workers work a contract (varies by cruise line and position, but averages 3 or 4 months) and then fly home and don’t work for months (by choice because they’ve made enough money) before signing a new contract and working a stint. Bottom line: they make way more on the ship than they would in their home country.

Plus: ICYMI, there are tons of lgbtq workers on cruises. Why? It’s a safe haven for them as opposed to their home country. They make good money while surrounded by coworkers who accept them.

Re: pools - yes, they are obviously small and crowded, which is why most people avoid them. Heck, people pay a premium to have access to private areas to avoid the main pool area. Personally, I’ve never set foot in a pool on a cruise and I prefer to lay out in a quiet area. But I will head towards the music when they have certain live performances.

Op here. We were in the exclusive area of the ship with private pool access. It was better and quiet but still crowded. I definitely prefer a hotel with a real pool. My husband enjoys cruising but the whole experience was off putting

What cruise line/ship? Ports?

Are you a person who prefers hanging out by the pool at a resort (Baha Mar)? Do you prefer the pool to the beach? Do you prefer laying out or actually swimming?

Do educated people actually still "lay out"? Hello, sun damage and skin cancer...

Yes.

It's called "sunblock." Look it up.

Quite possibly more hazardous than the sun...

[Anonymous]

Cruises aren't my thing but I can understand why it appeals to people. However a non kid centric cruise line with a toddler? It was going to be rough even if you love cruises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should try doing a cruise in first class. They all offer some form of it. On Royal it is called star class and on big ships it worth it.

We never ate in the dining hall for anything. You get unlimited access to specialty dining and they deliver anything from any restaurant to your room.

You also never wait in a line, they escort you on and off the ship personally. We were off ship in literally 10 Minutes with our luggage last day.

They won’t watch your kids for you, but will save seats at shows and stuff like that.

Op here - we did this on celebrity. I just couldn’t enjoy it because of the toddler

Though in general I really don’t love cruises, or at least not this experience on celebrity’s ever growing ships. The suite and speciality restaurant were nice but even in the retreat dining room it felt packed and so many people were sick. Two mornings ago at breakfast in the exclusive dining room there was a woman at the next table hacking up a lung talking about how sick she’d been the first few days of the cruise. And sure enough, my oldest woke up with a cold this morning as we prepared to return home. Constant close proximity to so many people was just too gross for me. Everyone is packed in like sardines, even in “first class.” We got on and off the ship first as part of this class and even that is just irritating to me. I think if you’re older, childless or your kids are older it’s easier. But it doesn’t change a lot of the factors I did not enjoy.

I enjoyed celebrity in the past - but obviously it was impacted by being with a toddler, and I also think the ships are getting bigger and more jammed. Lastly, like I previously said, too much access to food.

I’m happy to be home!

[Anonymous]

We generally go on 1 cruise a year with both sets of grandparents. It is the easiest vacation for multigenerational travel.
When DC were younger, we always did a Disney cruise. I had no complaints about rooms, food, crowds, etc. We have since switched to other cruise lines. We did a carnival cruise with older cousins once and I will never do another. I will also never do another Caribbean cruise.
My tips:
- Generally, we choose ship by the itinerary and think of the cruise as a moving hotel room.
- When kids were younger, my parents and in-laws would have kids sleep with them 1 or 2 nights.
- We sometimes do breakfast in the buffet if we are getting off the ship, but otherwise stay out of that area.
- Our kids are very outgoing. They go to the kids clubs on day one and meet a bunch of other kids. They still keep in touch with some kids that they met on a cruise 5-7 years ago. (Youngest is now 18.)
-In 15 years, we have never signed up for excursions through the cruise ship. Ever. We rent a car or boat or sign up for a personal excursion.
- I don’t love sea days, but the rest of the family enjoy them. DH finds a place in the shade to read most of the day. The rest of us sign up for activities, go to the gym workouts, etc.
Agree that cruising is not for everyone, but thinking about it as a moving hotel makes it a little easier. We rent a beach house with friends every year and also vacation with ILs and DH sibs and their families, at a family lake house nearly every year. Cruising is easier than these two vacations.

[Anonymous]

We cruise Disney and also stay out of the buffet and rarely do canned excursions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should try doing a cruise in first class. They all offer some form of it. On Royal it is called star class and on big ships it worth it.

We never ate in the dining hall for anything. You get unlimited access to specialty dining and they deliver anything from any restaurant to your room.

You also never wait in a line, they escort you on and off the ship personally. We were off ship in literally 10 Minutes with our luggage last day.

They won’t watch your kids for you, but will save seats at shows and stuff like that.

Op here - we did this on celebrity. I just couldn’t enjoy it because of the toddler

Though in general I really don’t love cruises, or at least not this experience on celebrity’s ever growing ships. The suite and speciality restaurant were nice but even in the retreat dining room it felt packed and so many people were sick. Two mornings ago at breakfast in the exclusive dining room there was a woman at the next table hacking up a lung talking about how sick she’d been the first few days of the cruise. And sure enough, my oldest woke up with a cold this morning as we prepared to return home. Constant close proximity to so many people was just too gross for me. Everyone is packed in like sardines, even in “first class.” We got on and off the ship first as part of this class and even that is just irritating to me. I think if you’re older, childless or your kids are older it’s easier. But it doesn’t change a lot of the factors I did not enjoy.

I enjoyed celebrity in the past - but obviously it was impacted by being with a toddler in, and I also think the ships are getting bigger and more jammed. Lastly, like I previously said, too much access to food.

I’m happy to be home!

That sounds terrible. On Royal we had our own deck only accessible with star class cards. There were 7 restaurants plus one for suite guests. Sun deck for suite guests only where it was 20 chairs to 1 guest.

We had reservations at a different restaurant every night and breakfast/lunch delivered to suite.
Room ranges from 30k a week to 90k, but there were only 9 of them on the ship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should try doing a cruise in first class. They all offer some form of it. On Royal it is called star class and on big ships it worth it.

We never ate in the dining hall for anything. You get unlimited access to specialty dining and they deliver anything from any restaurant to your room.

You also never wait in a line, they escort you on and off the ship personally. We were off ship in literally 10 Minutes with our luggage last day.

They won’t watch your kids for you, but will save seats at shows and stuff like that.

Op here - we did this on celebrity. I just couldn’t enjoy it because of the toddler

Though in general I really don’t love cruises, or at least not this experience on celebrity’s ever growing ships. The suite and speciality restaurant were nice but even in the retreat dining room it felt packed and so many people were sick. Two mornings ago at breakfast in the exclusive dining room there was a woman at the next table hacking up a lung talking about how sick she’d been the first few days of the cruise. And sure enough, my oldest woke up with a cold this morning as we prepared to return home. Constant close proximity to so many people was just too gross for me. Everyone is packed in like sardines, even in “first class.” We got on and off the ship first as part of this class and even that is just irritating to me. I think if you’re older, childless or your kids are older it’s easier. But it doesn’t change a lot of the factors I did not enjoy.

I enjoyed celebrity in the past - but obviously it was impacted by being with a toddler in, and I also think the ships are getting bigger and more jammed. Lastly, like I previously said, too much access to food.

I’m happy to be home!

That sounds terrible. On Royal we had our own deck only accessible with star class cards. There were 7 restaurants plus one for suite guests. Sun deck for suite guests only where it was 20 chairs to 1 guest.

We had reservations at a different restaurant every night and breakfast/lunch delivered to suite.
Room ranges from 30k a week to 90k, but there were only 9 of them on the ship.

Wowza! Sounds like a colossal waste of money.

We’ve cruised a dozen times on Disney, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, etc.

We book two cabins with balconies for our family.

I’ve never had trouble finding a quiet spot where I’m usually the only person. I usually wander over to more lively areas when there’s live music (I enjoy a good steel drum band or guitar soloist).

I never eat in the buffet. We do early dining in the main dining room where we have the same table each night with the same servers at the same time. No waiting for a table. Excellent service.

On sea days we do a proper sit down breakfast and lunch or have room service for breakfast (or my husband brings me coffee, etc. from the coffee bar).

My balcony is the only private area I need.

We paid less than $2k for our recent cruise over spring break (for 4 ppl).