Anonymous wrote:HHI $300k

White collar professionals with fancy degrees living in the dc metro area

We thought we weren’t (gasp) “cruise people” until we took a Disney cruise and realized how relaxing cruising is. No stress. No planning. Just show up and have fun. You have a picky eater? No problem! The waiters will literally bring you whatever you ask for, or you can just order room service for the kid before or after your dinner (and it’s included).

Go price out a Disney cruise for a family and you’ll realize it’s not a trashy lower-class trip. It’s $$$$$. We’ve done Europe for less than a cruise.

I chuckle at the quips about cruising not being “real” travel or less “authentic.” No clue how your weeklong stay on an island is more authentic than my day trips to 5 islands during a cruise. I mean, we hire a driver or charter a boat for the day, hit local spots for food, and spend the day on off the beaten path beaches or outer islands that you probably never saw because you didn’t leave your resort unless you were herded onto a catamaran for an excursion.

I wonder if the cruise haters simply hate the Caribbean.

Anonymous wrote:A Lindblad cruise is trashy? LOL!
Don’t be ignorant, OP.

I’m not familiar at all with the different brands of cruises which is why I was asking what peoples experiences have been. I think we are all raised with some beliefs/assumptions, I was just interested in seeing if this one is based in any truth. Seems like a mixed bag of opinions so far.

PP again:

We don’t eat at the buffet. You can eat all meals in the main dining room or specialty restaurant.

We have never gotten sick on a cruise.

ICYMI: norovirus ripped through Yosemite last year.

HHI $300k

White collar professionals with fancy degrees living in the dc metro area

We thought we weren’t (gasp) “cruise people” until we took a Disney cruise and realized how relaxing cruising is. No stress. No planning. Just show up and have fun. You have a picky eater? No problem! The waiters will literally bring you whatever you ask for, or you can just order room service for the kid before or after your dinner (and it’s included).

Go price out a Disney cruise for a family and you’ll realize it’s not a trashy lower-class trip. It’s $$$$$. We’ve done Europe for less than a cruise.

I chuckle at the quips about cruising not being “real” travel or less “authentic.” No clue how your weeklong stay on an island is more authentic than my day trips to 5 islands during a cruise. I mean, we hire a driver or charter a boat for the day, hit local spots for food, and spend the day on off the beaten path beaches or outer islands that you probably never saw because you didn’t leave your resort unless you were herded onto a catamaran for an excursion.

I wonder if the cruise haters simply hate the Caribbean.

It's the buffet, people and illness that get me. That said, I would go on an Alaskan cruise and I've been on a Nile Cruise which is substantially smaller.

Anonymous wrote:WASPs enjoy not eating, quiet, reading books, vigorous activity, expensive wine or gin, and traveling away from the riffraff. Cruises aren’t good for this.

who the f**k cares what "WASPs" enjoy? are there really people who think like this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A travel vlogger couple I watch just went on an Arctic cruise with Ponant. I looked it up out of curiosity. It’s crazy expensive — like starting at $40k! A girl can dream.

Kara and Nate?

They are professional travel influencers. No way they paid for it; they were comped to promote it.

If you watch cruise vlogs, my favorite one is La Lido Loca.

I also follow Chris Wong who works for Royal Caribbean.

Yes, and of course they don’t pay. That’s the price for the rest of us.

Anonymous wrote:A travel vlogger couple I watch just went on an Arctic cruise with Ponant. I looked it up out of curiosity. It’s crazy expensive — like starting at $40k! A girl can dream.

Kara and Nate?

They are professional travel influencers. No way they paid for it; they were comped to promote it.

If you watch cruise vlogs, my favorite one is La Lido Loca.

I also follow Chris Wong who works for Royal Caribbean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get a shit ton of ads for cruise vacations from my Yale alumni account. And, based on my time at Yale, I’d say they consider themselves the opposite of trashy. But maybe all those whiffenpoofs are secretly trashy. They probably love a fried Twinkie washed down with a miller hi life too.

Anyway, my view is—-go on the vacations that work for you and your family, not the vacations that you think your parents think you should want.

Way to work in the fact that you attended Yale, which is apropos of nothing.

It wasn’t a casual name drop—I specifically mentioned it as a reference point of which rich snotty highly-educated people do. I thought that was considered the opposite of “trashy” but maybe I misunderstood the question. I use Yale as my primary reference long for snootiness, which is based on my time there. Maybe there’s a better reference point, but I do think it’s a valid one. So I’m not sure why you say it’s apropos of nothing.

On the worker question….I’ve had a few long chats with workers on cruises—the ones that clean the deck floors, not the childcare or entertainment staff.
They sign up for 6 month contracts and make as much time in that contract as they could make in a couple years at home. One guy was telling me he missed his kids but face times them every day on his breaks, and then when he finishes his contract he is able to be a stay at home dad for them for a full six months. By doing this, he makes double what he would otherwise make in his country and 50% of the time he is totally free to hang out with his kids. It did not sound like a bad trade off to me. I had a couple similar conversations with cruise cleaning and dining hall staff.

I agree the environmental stuff is problematic. The cruise lines are constantly saying that the newer ship is cleaner, etc…..I never know whether to give that any weight or not.

A Lindblad cruise is trashy? LOL!
Don’t be ignorant, OP.

A travel vlogger couple I watch just went on an Arctic cruise with Ponant. I looked it up out of curiosity. It’s crazy expensive — like starting at $40k! A girl can dream.

I grew up thinking cruises were the ultimate luxury, dream vacation. Went on a few and I would say they are trashy. Nothing classy about being treated like cattle.

WASPs enjoy not eating, quiet, reading books, vigorous activity, expensive wine or gin, and traveling away from the riffraff. Cruises aren’t good for this.

I’m dying to go on a music cruise and see bands like the Hollies and Jefferson starship. I don’t drink or like buffets but love live music. Am I crazy to go on one, and go solo?