Why A Cruise?

I am sure this will have been asked before but reading the responses to the new bigger P&O ships has got me wondering why people chose to do cruises,is it because they like the thought of dressing up,just having the one hotel room for a whole trip,the food or just being at sea.

I am struggling with the concept a bit,just coming up to 65,my Wife nearly 63,we spent many years doing road trips to the USA,as much as we love the place we felt we had done enough flying,sick of check in desks,baggage carousels & sitting in a l tube for hours but still wanting to travel,loved travelling on ferries but in those cases it was load up the car,forget everything until you get there & the ferry delivers you to a final destination.

Some years ago my Wife starting asking to go on a cruise,reluctant at first but you can't knock what you don't try so I agreed,where to was the big question,we had spent years avoiding all the popular sun worshippers destinations,no interest in the Med,Canaries etc,Iceland & Norway ended up being the choice on Crown Princess,we enjoyed the ports but overall neither of us were impressed greatly,fast forward a few years & we gave it another go on Britannia,her first Summer,the school holiday cruise,hated the crowds(especially what seemed like a million kids!),found the ship too big,hated the dark colours inside,couldn't get a table in the Beach House as there seemed a permanent 2 hour wait,balcony too small,loads of teething problems in the cabin but somehow we came away feeling like we had enjoyed it,thinking back I think it was just a more relaxed atmosphere on board,now is that due to what people say about the new cruisers that P&O are aiming for with the new ships.

People must cruise for a reason other than the destinations surely so what is it that makes people take so many cruises,they surely must visit the same places a number of times,we will be on Britannia's cruise back to the UK in March,the destinations don't matter too much to us,it will be just a 2 week relaxation away from the daily grind & this winter which seems to be dragging on somewhat(don't mind the cold too much but the rain is definately overstaying it's welcome!),I will (reluctantly) make the effort for the formal nights but would be very happy in t shirt & shorts for the entire 2 weeks!

I would be very interested in people comments & ideas of why the chose to cruise.

Personally I do a lot of fairly active holidays - I walked the GR20 in Corsica a couple of years ago, spend long weekends hiking in the Lake District a few times a year, later this year I'll be walking in the Tatras. Most of these trips I'll be camping, or sleeping in huts for at least part of the holiday.

I don't do cruises very often, and in fact am relatively new to cruising seeing as I am going on only my fourth in May. However I see them as an opportunity to have a holiday where I don't need to *do* too much. I get to see a few new places, have as much food and drink as I need and if I want to get some exercise I can do, but its not a requirement of the trip. I don't think the dressing up is particularly flamboyant (certainly I don't think we're peacocks). The on-ship entertainment isn't always for me (we're probably a little younger than the target demographic for a lot of it).

The size of the ship doesn't really concern me too much. If anything I wouldn't want the ships to be much smaller - Azura and Ventura are my preferences for this reason. P&O is what I know, and thats kind of why I use them. Living near Southampton is another factor.

We tried our first in 2014, and we have the "bug" after being quite cautious. All so far with Celebrity, but trying Cunard this year and P&O in 2019.

Quick reasons:

Superb customer service which you'd pay huge amounts for in the UK,

Good to very good to superb food, with huge variety,

Lots of places to see, but no packing and unpacking every time,

If from UK, for us no flying, which has become the most unappealing form of transport known to humanity.

Relaxing or active, according to taste,

Good value if you "shop" wisely, and, if you do, cheaper than comparable holidays of a similar standard.

(incidentally, I was reluctant about "dressing up" but found I enjoyed it, and subsequently bought a DJ and also a white tuxedo (all very cheap in sales or on eBay.)

Stuart

I dislike waiting around in the airport and I'm not too keen on flying, especially on budget airlines. I like the fact that I can drive straight into the port and find that I relax as soon as I hand over the car keys.

Aside from being looked after for a couple of weeks (no cooking, washing up, cleaning etc.) cruising has taken us to something like 30 countries I'd never dreamed of seeing.

One thing I particularly like is sailing into port and I have some happy memories of getting up very early for the sail-ins to Stockholm through the archipelago and Venice (around 7am before it became crowded). Come to think of it the sailaway from Venice was spectacular too, sat at the back of Oriana on the tiered decks with classical music playing. I'm not necessarily a classical music fan but it was just right for the setting. Some of the smaller ports in Norway that we sailed into on Artemis were amazing as was being out on deck viewing the midnight sun.

We've sailed in to Oslo and Hamburg when it's been snowing, and somehow the captain got us into fogbound Lisbon on a Christmas cruise. That was on Oriana, I doubt that it would have been possible on a bigger ship.

We were on the first ever Christmas markets cruise in 2005 and every port put on some kind of welcome or goodbye. That may be a thing of the past now but we have the memories....

We usually find something interesting to do in each port and like to have lunch or at least a drink whilst ashore. Dashing back to have lunch on board is not for us. We generally DIY each port and only go on excursions if it seems a must do or as a last resort.

I hope that you enjoy your next cruise on Britannia. We've been on her twice and it is our least favourite ship. If I may I'd suggest Oriana as an alternative for you. Older and smaller but big enough in our eyes and we've always found it to be friendlier and more relaxing than the other ships.

All the best

Damian

Relaxing, good service, nice people and plenty of things to do. Our holiday is being onboard and not particularly the destinations. Put simply we enjoy it.

For us, one of the biggest attractions is the opportunity to relax as soon as you arrive at the departure port. We both have fairly intense jobs and just not having to think about things too much is a joy, you turn up, the car is taken away as is the luggage and that’s it; on holiday. No wait at the airport, no stress at the journey to the onward destination at the other side. Also, the chance to see more than one place (often country) in one trip is a huge pull. We do of course enjoy being at sea, there’s nothing quite like it for us and I particularly enjoy the arrivals in port. I can understand that it’s not for everyone, but it works for us.

For us, one of the biggest attractions is the opportunity to relax as soon as you arrive at the departure port. We both have fairly intense jobs and just not having to think about things too much is a joy, you turn up, the car is taken away as is the luggage and that’s it; on holiday. No wait at the airport, no stress at the journey to the onward destination at the other side. Also, the chance to see more than one place (often country) in one trip is a huge pull. We do of course enjoy being at sea, there’s nothing quite like it for us and I particularly enjoy the arrivals in port. I can understand that it’s not for everyone, but it works for us.

This sums it up for me exactly

We started cruising relatively young (late 20s/early 30s) and started simply because we couldn't decide what to do for a holiday one year and I'd always fancied the idea of a cruise in a vague kind of way. Hubby wasn't too keen, but we agreed if I could do a cruise, he could choose the next holiday. So off we went on Canberra to the Canaries and loved it, in fact it's probably fair to say hubby took to it even more than me! We managed one more cruise before children and other things took priority, but we often talked about the cruises and promised the kids we would take them one day. After a long break we returned to cruising in 2011 and the children enjoy it as much as us. We're not frequent cruisers (one every year or so), but that makes it all the more enjoyable. Life is very busy and demanding, so for me a cruise is an opportunity to do as little or as much as I want. Once on board it doesn't require much effort, I love waking up in a new place every day, seeing new destinations, eating different food and I like dressing up because it's something I rarely get to do at home. Sailing from Southampton is so easy, although I guess we're going to have to do some fly cruises if we want to see different destinations. Our "other" holidays tend to be UK self-catering, so I still have to cook/tidy/shop/make beds/wash up, etc. On a cruise, apart from packing/unpacking, all I have to worry about is whether I'm going to sunbathe or do an activity, wear a dress or trousers, have wine or a cocktail, visit a museum or market... Destressing, relaxing and exploring is what it's about for me.

Just about all of the reasons given by posters above but anyone who fancied a first time cruise I would say research ,

read up on sites like this one and plenty of films on You Tube and then choose a cruise that would suit you.

Cruise ships are like choosing a pair of slippers that you can relax and feel comfortable in .

Do you want a small ship or large ? Do you want fair grounds at sea or just peace and quiet ?

Those are just a couple of examples of what some cruise lines have to offer, nothing up with any of them if they are what you are looking for .

Make the right choice and cruising as a holiday takes some beating .

Relaxing, good service, nice people and plenty of things to do. Our holiday is being onboard and not particularly the destinations. Put simply we enjoy it.

Couldn't agree more. To us a cruise is about being on a ship and going to sea - although we like to go ashore for a wander the ports of call really don't matter and we don't mind returning to places we've been to before. Plus living close to Southampton if we time it right we can leave home and be relaxing in our 'hotel' in little more than an hour.

Many thanks to those who have replied,very interesting,they have prompted me to recall other things from our 2 cruises,one being the entertainment,on Crown Princess my wife had to keep waking me up,on Britannia,in the big room,very colourful,I'm sure they were all trying very hard but we both found it awful(just not our type of thing really),in Brodies we both thought that they have a superb bar but there always seemed to be either bingo or a quiz going on during which you daren't speak or you would get looks that killed,either that or a truly awful boy & girl band,for us, such a waste of a potentially great room.

Others have mentioned the ease of the departure procedure,now thinking back our Crown Princess cruise got off to a very bad start as the departure lounge at Southampton was too like an airport,it was mad,the Britannia cruise quite the opposite,much calmer & better organised,but Southampton is another part of our problem as living up north the journey to & from there seems to take forever,pretty much given up on Liverpool ever fulfilling their promise in providing a decent Cruise Terminal!

As for dressing up we had a picture taken on first formal night on Crown Princess with me complete with bow tie which my late Mother was absolutely thrilled by,her 'baby boy' looking so handsome,to me I look at it & see one word,UNCOMFY,which I was on the night but I make the effort,glad to hear some others really enjoy it!

As for destinations we too have gone the DIY route,using HOHO buses where available,the excursions on offer on board IMO all seem so expensive & having seen them being 'herded' on & off the buses really makes us avoid them,glad to hear that others are quite happy not to feel the need to do a 'runaround' at every port of call!

Thanks again folks & enjoy your holidays whatever form they may be!

My favourite holiday is walking on glorious hillsides with my German Shepherd Dog, quite happy in a caravan or hotel.

Both my husband and I cruised as kids, me at the low end on the SS Uganda and him at the high-end travelling the world on lots of ships.

My husband won’t fly so we started cruising together in 2003 ish, this is what I like - it will be interesting when I get to the end of my list to reflect on what’s still there on P&O in the basic package:

-Ease of embarkation & relax after drill

-Waking up in new destinations

-Being at sea

-Excellent quality food at all mealtimes

-Excellent customer service

-Exciting excursions

-Breakfast in cabin

-Excellent on-board speakers and entertainment

-Great coffee/people watching

-Thorough catering for food intolerances

-In-cabin TV with great choice

-Friendly passengers

-Peaceful areas on deck for quiet time

-Value for money thermal suites, properly maintained and serviced

-Choice about dressing up

-Freedom dining with club dining standards

-Good choice of wine at reasonable prices

-Competitive loyalty scheme

-Fresh innovations to keep things new and exciting in terms of life onboard

I honestly can’t say I get this from P&O anymore but it’s what I like about cruising.

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I was cabin crew and really don't want to fly any more. We have also done a lot of far away holidays, so a cruise is great. I love the way you just arrive, your car gets taken, your bags get taken and you get on board with very little hassle and your holiday begins. We only sail on the smaller ships, Adonia (now gone), Oriana, Aurora, Arcadia. Tried Azura and hated it for all the reasons you gave above. We also sail sometimes with Fred O, again smaller ships. Friendly, no kids. We also like our ports and try to do new ones and also always DIY ashore. Hate organized tours. The smaller ships go to more unusual ports.