Why I DO NOT LIKE cruising!!

[Aquahound]

This is probably our 5th cruise.

 

Well then no offense but after 5 cruises, I don't know how much advice you could be given here. You say you want more active activities, but the more active activities, like the rock wall and ice skating, are too active. Listen, I have relatives in the Villages and unless they add golf carts to cruise ships, I'm not sure how happy you would be. Again, no offense meant. It just sounds like you are all over the place with expectations. 5 cruises. If you haven't found a match for you yet, you likely never will.

[Izzblizz]

We are doing land stuff before and after .. but would NEVER go with the cruise ship (unless one was totally afraid of traveling around Europe by themselves!). I wouldn't even do a land excursion with the ship. So much less expensive and more pleasant on your own. (and we have been to Europe a lot on our own, so no biggie.)

 

But I am interested in your land experience via the ship booking. What happened?

[Izzblizz]

we picked this one because of the western med only. wanted to see Italy, Greece and Turkey and happy we did but nothing like the good old U.S.A. Makes you appreciate HOME!!

 

 

err. that is the Eastern Med (not western) itinerary on the Navigator ... Just making sure we are all on the same page :) Now I am confused about what ship you were on?

[reallyitsmema]

ONE NOTE to help all cruisers We took the land/sea pkg and I would NEVER RECOMMEND IT. You get NOTHING for your money on land!! One dinner, walking tours, but it was a ton of money to add to sea. Stick with sea only. You'll be happy.

 

ps we also had awful experience with airline. Everything went wrong. Luggage is lost, and we almost missed connecting flights as hubby had to drag four suitcases through airport. It was terrible and flying from Rome back to NY and then Fla is a nightmare. No sleep. Just exhausting.

 

would be happy to tell you about land portion of trip if interested.

You lost your luggage but almost missed connection because your husband had to drag the luggage through the airport???? If he had 4 suitcases, how many were you dragging?

 

As far as the tours and flights, didn't you look into the details before you booked? If the land portion didn't include what you wanted, why didn't you just do it on your own? If the flights weren't the times you wanted, why didn't you request the ones you wanted? It sounds like you really didn't do your homework.

[Izzblizz]

You will have a great time in the med. It is port intensive but if you plan ahead of what you want to see and do, even do half days when in port and rest and relax on your sea days you will be fine. I am certain you won't regret it, you are in for a treat. ENJOY.

 

I think we will :) Definitely in planning mode. I think we will definitely enjoy a couple sea days just staring off at the ocean. (and will probably need it).

[beachnative]

You have assessed yourselves nicely. You are candidate for life in a place like the Villages or touring the US in a mobile home. Neither travel in the exciting places abroad nor cruising is for you. Knowing ones likes and dislikes is important and you have done an excellent job of giving cruising and Europe a try and now you know it is not for you. Before you set out to tour the US you might want to do some research.

 

You were doomed before you even began your land travel and cruise according to an earlier post that you made (see below)...you also need a better TA. We are your age and also active. We did all that you described below BUT researched and planned it ourselves and had a wonderful time.

 

"I'm about fit to be tied. My husband and I booked a very expensive vacation for our 30th anniv. royal Carribean land/sea pkg. we fly into venice, do venice, then to florence and rome and get on ship in rome. When we broke down prices we see the land portion is over 5,000 for 5 days so what do we get for that??? not much - expensive hotel we probably won't be in much because we'll be touring. breakfast, few walking tours (sounds like we could do on our own) and ONE dinner!! We still want to do cruise but do NOT want to pay for land pkg this outrageous. So now we're on our own. we have flight into venice in sept, no hotel booked, know nothing about where to stay. We want to stay in Venice for 3 nights and seems like we'll have to take a train to Rome for 3 nights. Don't kow where to stay in rome, want to be near everything but also need to get to cruise port after three days. I'm in tears and almost ready to cance. Travel agent has been NO help and royal carribean said they can't even send us the land itinerary and we owe over 7,000 this week. am ready to cancel everything unless we can figure this all out maybe with some help from others who have done this before?? where do we stay in venice? how do we get there from airport? how far and easy to train to rome? where do we stay in rome and have access to sights and ability to get to cruise port?? appreciate all the help i can get. thanks"

[wolfganghowell]

Uhhhhh. You want a MORE active cruiseline? Royal is known for being the MOST active. And no - I've been on Celebrity and trust me - they have LESS activities. As for wanting lounges to sit - good grief. Viking Crown Lounge is huge with plenty of seating, nice and quiet during the day. Schooner Bar has a few trivias throughout the day but plenty of seating. Sorry - but finding nice places to sit is NEVER a problem.

 

Yes international travel is exhausting.

 

This is sounding more and more like a glass half empty way of looking at life.

[Hula Hips]

ok I will answer to those who are not being rude and nasty. Just because we didn't find any activities we enjoyed does NOT mean we are bad people. Bingo, napking folding again is NOT for us. Rock climbing is not nor is ice skating as we are 62. However , like I mentioned MANY MANY CLASSES I would enjoy IF offered but are NOT. EATING AND EATING AGAIN is not for us. I have listed many activities , classes, etc. . we WOULD have enjoyed if available. Maybe it's because we live in a community with over 900 clubs we are used to being active.

 

We took the RC to Western Med (Turkey, Greece, Sicily) It was a GREAT trip to see the other countries!! However, a warning that is accurate. It is extremely active, with tons of walking to do Venice, Rome, Florence, Sicily, then Greece and Turkey. That is good solid advise which I am trying to offer here. But some seem so sensitive if you don't like to eat and sit around on a ship they get offended. I am not trying to offend anyone but offering an alternative opinion. I would appreciate your answering my questions on crusing and telling me where I am off on this one.

 

No chairs were available near pool. People put towels , books, etc.. on them and therefore you can't get near pool????

 

Dancing at night?? What music OTHER than the listening type or slow dance is available?? Is there country, blues, disco (before 10-11 pm?_) 70's , 80's, ??? Where and when?? I did not find any??

 

How do you gamble IF you don't SMOKE???

 

What classes are available during day that are very interesting????

 

If the shows are NOT good, is that ok?? Two were very good!! Majority were NOT good.

 

Why so many classes on health in the spa that sell products??

 

I will address the LAND portion of the trip for those who are interested in awhile as I'm still trying to get our luggage back from our trip since it's lost and am still tired from trip.

[Hula Hips]

Wow I'm glad someone just told me Royal is active. Now I see that crusing will NOT suit us. If trivia quiz in bar, napkin folding, eating, drinking, is active we're missing something. We thought we'd try another line as we had tried Holland and were bored. Now with RC we see it's pretty much the same itinerary during sea days.

 

Again I can see how some find crusing fun, relaxing, etc... but living in such an active community with so many classes offered it's hard to beat. We plan on planning our money carefully in the future.

 

Oh I forgot , it was our 30th anniv so we wanted something special and again we loved visiting the different countries. But RC gave us a small piece of cheesecake at dinner AFTER we ate our dessert. Is that normal??

just curious?? I will post a separate post on LAND/SEA EXCURSIONS in awhile. still working on trying to find luggage they lost.

[gourmet guide]

You just picked the wrong cruise line tha's all. Cunard has great lectures all day and ballroom dancing every night as well as lots of stuff that will fit in with your style. Tons of info on here if you spend enough time looking for it. I do find it a touch strange that you come onto a forum and use the title "why I do not like cruising" You might not be great at picking cruise lines but you are awesome at fishing. Try Cunard. You will love it.

[leaveitallbehind]

ok I will answer to those who are not being rude and nasty. Just because we didn't find any activities we enjoyed does NOT mean we are bad people. Bingo, napking folding again is NOT for us. Rock climbing is not nor is ice skating as we are 62. However , like I mentioned MANY MANY CLASSES I would enjoy IF offered but are NOT. EATING AND EATING AGAIN is not for us. I have listed many activities , classes, etc. . we WOULD have enjoyed if available. Maybe it's because we live in a community with over 900 clubs we are used to being active.

 

We took the RC to Western Med (Turkey, Greece, Sicily) It was a GREAT trip to see the other countries!! However, a warning that is accurate. It is extremely active, with tons of walking to do Venice, Rome, Florence, Sicily, then Greece and Turkey. That is good solid advise which I am trying to offer here. But some seem so sensitive if you don't like to eat and sit around on a ship they get offended. I am not trying to offend anyone but offering an alternative opinion. I would appreciate your answering my questions on crusing and telling me where I am off on this one.

 

No chairs were available near pool. People put towels , books, etc.. on them and therefore you can't get near pool????

 

Dancing at night?? What music OTHER than the listening type or slow dance is available?? Is there country, blues, disco (before 10-11 pm?_) 70's , 80's, ??? Where and when?? I did not find any??

 

How do you gamble IF you don't SMOKE???

 

What classes are available during day that are very interesting????

 

If the shows are NOT good, is that ok?? Two were very good!! Majority were NOT good.

 

Why so many classes on health in the spa that sell products??

 

I will address the LAND portion of the trip for those who are interested in awhile as I'm still trying to get our luggage back from our trip since it's lost and am still tired from trip.

 

It's obvious you don't need - or want - our feedback or advice as clearly you don't enjoy cruising, so cruising is not for you. I don't think there would be much any of us could say that would change your view. So not a problem and to each his / her own - but no need to continue to explain what was not to your liking. And your opinion of the shows, food, activities, or anything else you didn't like is just that - your opinion. But after your long discourse, I at least get it - you don't don't like cruising so my recommendation is to not go again.

 

BTW - hope you get your luggage back. Certainly the cruise line didn't misplace it as if it was on the ship with you it would be on the pier as you disembark - or you shouldn't have left until you got it back.

[bajathree]

Uhhhhh. You want a MORE active cruiseline? Royal is known for being the MOST active. And no - I've been on Celebrity and trust me - they have LESS activities. As for wanting lounges to sit - good grief. Viking Crown Lounge is huge with plenty of seating, nice and quiet during the day. Schooner Bar has a few trivias throughout the day but plenty of seating. Sorry - but finding nice places to sit is NEVER a problem.

 

Yes international travel is exhausting.

 

This is sounding more and more like a glass half empty way of looking at life.

 

Yea but Celebrity actually offers more daytime type classes ....and more interesting type of classes that would probably interest the OP more. Also Celebrity tends to "retire" earlier than Royal....so things like dancing and such are usually found earlier in the evening. Celebrity also caters to a bit older crowd.....the problem here is that the OP lives in a retirement area and is in her 60's.....the type of activities she is looking for aren't going to be found on most Royal ships that are catering to "family".

[Hula Hips]

funny how those who LIKE crusing won't answer the questions?? Now why would that be? Possibly I have a few good points that could IMPROVE the crusing industry??

 

of course the ship didn't lose my luggage. I never said they did. The airline is responsible for that one. I don't blame the ship.

 

The couple who decided NOT to do the land portion of the trip you made the right decision. The price was outrageous for what you got and bravo to you for choosing wisely.

 

I dont' say we'll never cruise again but we have learned quite a bit to make an informed decision in the future and maybe every 5 yrs we'll take a cruise and every yr travel the USA and see all our beautiful parks etc.. in our country!! We do have so much to see in the US alone it would take a lifetime. Happy cruising!!

[sleepless]

DH and I are in our 60's I find plenty of things to do to keep me busy during the day. So much, that I have to schedule in time to go into the whirlpool. DH, well, he prefers to find a lounge chair in the shade, but with a view of the ocean. He enjoys people and ocean watching, or just doing nothing.

 

In the early morning hours, DH sleeps in, I search out coffee and a quiet walk around the ship (about 7:00 am). We meet for breakfast about 8:30 am, then I am off to an activity, class, etc. DH, his shady lounge. We meet for lunch. After lunch we find a shady spot on the pool deck. I visit the whirlpool a couple of time, and read for a bit; DH is right beside me in his shady lounge. I then explore the ship, DH, well, he is pasted into is shady lounge.

 

We check out any pre-dinner activities (together), then head to dinner. After dinner, we take a quiet stroll outside, pool deck, jogging track, etc.; enjoying the water and if it dark enough, the stars. We head back in for our nightly entertainment/show. After that, we might visit the casino, or a bar. If we like the music, we stay, if not, we find another bar. We then search out an evening snack. Then another walk outside. We never miss Love and Marriage or the Quest.

 

We usually head up to our rooms about midnight. Spend sometime on our balcony, before DH retires for the night. I keep the balcony door open for a bit, while I read in bed enjoying the ocean sounds. Sometime around 1:001:30 am I decide to sleep. Six-forty five am comes very early.

 

Again, DH and I are in our 60's. We are each content with the amount of activity we choose to partake in. Our last cruise was on the Oasis. We (read I) did not get to do everything on the ship that was intended. We are going on the Allure in July of 2013 for our first B2B. Maybe with two weeks, I might find time to glue myself to a lounger for an afternoon doing, well, nothing at all.

 

Note: Neither of us do the wall climbing or ice skating; we do not participate in any of the arranged physical sporting activities. However, we hope to find time for mini golf on the Allure. I have, however proudly state, that I did ride the ZIP LINE on the Oasis, and plan to do it on the Allure.

[caribbean sailor]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I too am in my 60's and there's not enough time in a day for me to fit in all the activities on offer.... horses for courses I suppose.... I can't wait to get back on board!

 

We are in our 60's also,We are on the go all day.SHOWS, BINGO, GOLF,POOL,A walk together on deck four.And also plenty of time to relax in a lounge chair and watch the Ocean.:) :D

[Aquahound]

funny how those who LIKE crusing won't answer the questions?? Now why would that be?

 

Ok, I've been pretty nice with objective views, but now your "Villages" attitude is really starting to show.

 

You started this by saying cruising is not for you. Folks agreed. Now, you just want to argue with everyone for some reason. You obviously cannot be told anything other than excatly what you want to hear. :rolleyes:

[Onessa]

Hubby and I just returned from RC cruise to Sicily, Turkey and Greece. We did enjoy the countries but wonder if cruising is for us. Seems all there is to do is EAT, EAT AND EAT!! Not enough activities to keep us busy. We tried to get to pool, all seats taken. No lounges with quiet space on deck 4, only chairs. They had ice skating and rock climbing but we're 60. We don't do either. What I would like to have seen is MORE activities on sea days, not just a quiz in a bar. Casino's too smoky !! Can't breathe. Not enough dancing at night. Disco doesn't open till 10-11 (too late) and no country, blues, variety of music. Only listening type in lounge. My husband likes softball and golf. Would have been nice to have batting cage and golf range. I love dancing. One belly dance class one day for 15 minutes. Nothing else?? Don't want to play bingo, don't want to learn how to napkin fold. Would have enjoyed art classes, dance classes, cooking classes, educational classes etc. (not spa selling classes) Everything geared to get you to bar to drink. 10 min quiz what's that tune in bar? Disappointed in lack of activities. Don't know how people find EATING all day and sitting around fun?? Shows were disappointing at night. Only two good ones at end of cruise. Not enough. Every night should be great!! Glad we're home and can return to our normal activities. Now we have to lose the 5 lbs we gained even though we walked much more than we normally do.

On a standard Caribbean-type cruise I would tend to agree with you. That is why I do not cruise the Caribbean. I'm right there with you that I don't do bingo. I also don't gamble, drink only a very very little, am a dedicated "shade worshipper", and most of the "shows" really don't interest me. On our last cruise our family of 3 had NO on-board charges.

 

Me, I love to cruise but I cruise for the ports. Mediterranean, Baltic, Alaskan -- tend to be port intenstive. We did the NCLA Hawaii cruise (all HI islands, no "at sea" days). Board, unpack once, and let the ship take you from port to port. And yes we walk and walk and walk and walk. We love the sightseeing.

 

We have also taken to the Celebrity Solstice (three cruises) -- I like the "hot glass show", lecture series, and their small musical groups. (plus no smoking in the casino or on the cabin balconeys) So we've kind of moved away from RCCI.

 

PS - I've also found the portion sizes and the availability of healthier foods (without me needing to prepare them) is good for my waistline. I tend to lose 5 to 7 pounds on a week long cruise.

 

PPS - DH is 62 and on our last RCCI cruise, he did ice skate.

[Wallyworld3370]

Why would you go to a fanatic cruising web forum and post this? Why would you expect many people to not be nasty? 99.999999% of the people on here are going to disagree with you and tell you how ridiculous you sound, which you do. Sounds like you need to get a rise out of people. Normal people that didn't like a vacation would move on and forget, not keep pushing the issue. I'm suprised your blasting hasn't been more forceful, you're quite lucky to this point. You should delete your account and enjoy your activity filled life in your retirement community in FL. bye

[bajathree]

funny how those who LIKE crusing won't answer the questions?? Now why would that be? Possibly I have a few good points that could IMPROVE the crusing industry??

 

of course the ship didn't lose my luggage. I never said they did. The airline is responsible for that one. I don't blame the ship.

 

The couple who decided NOT to do the land portion of the trip you made the right decision. The price was outrageous for what you got and bravo to you for choosing wisely.

 

I dont' say we'll never cruise again but we have learned quite a bit to make an informed decision in the future and maybe every 5 yrs we'll take a cruise and every yr travel the USA and see all our beautiful parks etc.. in our country!! We do have so much to see in the US alone it would take a lifetime. Happy cruising!!

 

There isn't much to answer other than like it's been said already....you picked the wrong cruise-line/ship. I do have a question you didn't answer....did you use a TA or do all the planning yourself:confused:

[Hula Hips]

Active is different for everyone. Ships are NOT active enough for us. We want more classes to be offered for the money. Eating is not for us. I gained 2 lbs and am upset. ha The food was great though. I do give them that. The entertainment leaves alot to be desired. I just don't want to vacation with "eating" as my main event!! Dam , they do cook good!! That's a positive!! You see this is CRUISE CRITIC not just raving about cruising but throwing out different opinions.

 

will post more later on land portion!! It will be helpful advice for those who are interested!!

[Jolimont]

Fair points Hula, I could argue with you on some things but why? If you don't like it, don't do it.

[wolfganghowell]

I don't think anyone is being rude or nasty. But it's hard to offer help to someone who ONLY says what they didn't like. You said you wanted active. Royal has ice skating, basketball, mini golf, rock climbing, a full gym, a running track, shuffleboard, ping pong, pools.

 

ALL the music you mentioned is more available on Caribbean cruises. Med cruises are a different breed. There are not many music options before 10 because of dinner seatings.

 

Every casino in the world is smoky - not just on ships. Nature of the beast. Celebrity IS non smoking so you can gamble on their ships with no smoke.

 

Shows are subjective. What you find bad, someone else may like. I got dragged to the Murder Mystery onboard a few years back and found it excruciating, embarassing and worse than a 3rd grade talent show. Other people love them. Who's wrong?

 

You keep mentioning classes during the day but apparently you only want classes that YOU are interested in. As another poster said, Celebrity does have things like that but I feel certain you will be unhappy with them as well because I don't really think cruising is for you.

 

No one is saying you are a bad person. But you don't like cruising and nothing anyone says here is going to change that. Coming on a cruise board to tell a bunch of cruiseaholics how much you hate their preferred vacation is a bit disingenious, to say the least. Did you expect everyone to agree with you? :D

[Wallyworld3370]

its sad you have nothing better to do. look at your title to your last post. i see its CRUISE CRITIC and 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the people here are cruise crazy. yes that number just increased. enjoy your retirement community.

[bajathree]

Ok, I've been pretty nice with objective views, but now your "Villages" attitude is really starting to show.

 

You started this by saying cruising is not for you. Folks agreed. Now, you just want to argue with everyone for some reason. You obviously cannot be told anything other than excatly what you want to hear. :rolleyes:

 

LOLOL....come on Paul.....we know you want to retire to the Villages....tell us the truth:p

[temple1]

Well then no offense but after 5 cruises, I don't know how much advice you could be given here. You say you want more active activities, but the more active activities, like the rock wall and ice skating, are too active. Listen, I have relatives in the Villages and unless they add golf carts to cruise ships, I'm not sure how happy you would be. Again, no offense meant. It just sounds like you are all over the place with expectations. 5 cruises. If you haven't found a match for you yet, you likely never will.

 

Hey, I enjoy riding my golf cart to the beach and never once thought about taking it on a cruise. :eek:

 

You lost your luggage but almost missed connection because your husband had to drag the luggage through the airport???? If he had 4 suitcases, how many were you dragging?

 

 

I was thinking the same thing!

 

To the OP, sorry you didn't enjoy your 5th cruise. Sounds like everything that could go wrong for you, did. I would love to take a vacation like yours and leave everything to someone else to handle. Being the family vacation planner I've never had the luxury. Unfortunately, I would probably find it as stressful as you did.

 

On the cruises I've been on there are usually several different dance classes. I wonder if it has something to do with the Cruise Director? Not mentioned, there is a full gym for working off some of the meals. I also enjoy my morning walks around the ship and other quiet times. I would enjoy more classes - but find those are more on Hal and Celebrity, a little staid for our tastes.

 

I'm another one of the asleep by midnight group and still only did half the things I planned to do that day.