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I'm not so sure I'd go on a cruise ship even if they paid me. I might make an exception for an around the world cruise in first class. Otherwise, I'm just not interested. If I want to go someplace, I get on a plane and fly there.
We just cruised on a mid sized ship from Tampa to Boston. I wasn't excited about the cruise as we were visiting ports we had seen before, though not for a few years. I also do not like a lot of days and sea and this itinerary had a lot. That being said, it turned out to be one of the best cruises we have had in years, we had a wonderful time.
We enjoy cruising and have taken about six cruises since retiring 6-years ago (Mediterranean, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc). Some were more enjoyable than others. We are no longer interested in Carnival or the Caribbean, but, will likely cruise again on Holland America, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean cruise lines. We like consistently good food with diversity and plenty of onboard shows/entertainment -- Gambling or noisy, smokey night clubs with DJ's are not our idea of entertainment.
It all depends on what you are looking for! Trying to figure-out whether you will like cruising, based on someone else's preferences, will only tell you if THEY enjoy cruising. Whether or not you are taking kids also makes a big difference, since some cruise lines do a better job there.
If you don't want to be around a lot of kids, avoid the larger ships and mass market lines, cruise during school terms, and choose ships that have a minimum booking age.
We enjoy cruising and have taken about six cruises since retiring 6-years ago (Mediterranean, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc). Some were more enjoyable than others. We are no longer interested in Carnival or the Caribbean, but, will likely cruise again on Holland America, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean cruise lines. We like consistently good food with diversity and plenty of onboard shows/entertainment -- Gambling or noisy, smokey night clubs with DJ's are not our idea of entertainment.
It all depends on what you are looking for! Trying to figure-out whether you will like cruising, based on someone else's preferences, will only tell you if THEY enjoy cruising. Whether or not you are taking kids also makes a big difference, since some cruise lines do a better job there.
I don't have the exact % but it is something like this: 60to 70% of people who cruise will cruise over and over: 20% will love it, but is won't be their only vacation choice and 10% will never cruise again. It just isn't their thing.
Our first cruise was the Caribbean on a ship with 800 passengers, nice itinerary but lousy shipmates. Second one was on a beat up ship with Sun Cruises (1200 passengers), also the Caribbean, we changed 1/2 the passengers in Barbados so we had 2 different sets of people. It was a riot, never had so much fun on a cruise before or since. As I mentioned, the ship was beat up, it had big welded patches on the hull, the rooms were old fashion but TWICE the size of what you get today. I can't explain all the diversity that was on that cruise , people from all over the world. It was great. Third cruise was in Hawaii, went to 5 different islands plus the island of Kariboti, very interesting. There were about 1800 on this cruise, to many in my estimation. It was interesting but not our favorite. The last cruise was a River Cruise from Germany to Hungary on the Danube . Small boat, only 135 passengers, good food, very small room and the entertainment wasn't very good. But the nice thing about river cruises is that you're docked right in the town so it's easy to get around. We really enjoyed this one also. But I think we're done cruising, been there, done that. I know I wouldn't like those mega ships, to many people around and the food and service suffer. As mentioned above, some folks can't get enough cruising but we're done.
Our first cruise was the Caribbean on a ship with 800 passengers, nice itinerary but lousy shipmates. Second one was on a beat up ship with Sun Cruises (1200 passengers), also the Caribbean, we changed 1/2 the passengers in Barbados so we had 2 different sets of people. It was a riot, never had so much fun on a cruise before or since. As I mentioned, the ship was beat up, it had big welded patches on the hull, the rooms were old fashion but TWICE the size of what you get today. I can't explain all the diversity that was on that cruise , people from all over the world. It was great. Third cruise was in Hawaii, went to 5 different islands plus the island of Kariboti, very interesting. There were about 1800 on this cruise, to many in my estimation. It was interesting but not our favorite. The last cruise was a River Cruise from Germany to Hungary on the Danube . Small boat, only 135 passengers, good food, very small room and the entertainment wasn't very good. But the nice thing about river cruises is that you're docked right in the town so it's easy to get around. We really enjoyed this one also. But I think we're done cruising, been there, done that. I know I wouldn't like those mega ships, to many people around and the food and service suffer. As mentioned above, some folks can't get enough cruising but we're done.
River cruising is becoming more popular all the time. The biggest disadvantage is, like you said is the lack of decent entertainment plus the added cost. Many cruisers just can not afford the high prices of River Cruise lines. I think it totally depends on why one chooses to cruise and what they expect to get out of the experience. If they want a complete vacation rolled up into one neat package, with night life, decent to outstanding food, a chance to see a lot of places in a short time and do it all on a reasonable budget, cruising the mass marketed lines, regardless of where, is the answer. For those who want the itinerary experience, the chance to see places close up they could not see on a regular land vacation, river cruising is the answer.
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Next year I will be again on a cruise.
