We just Returned from a 9-day Cruise and were somewhat disappointed.

[Texas Proud]

We are going to Alaska soon... Princess which was good the last time we were on one, also Alaska... I think that what you get is good service for the price.. if you do not like the free food there are upgrades you can do and I hear they are really good...

One point about the small cruises is that they are MUCH more expensive than the big ships.... I just do not see me spending that much on a cruise..

 

[grasshopper]

Interesting information. Thanks. Country Walkers is new to me but looks like something we might consider. Just finished a week long walk through the Cotswolds. We used Macs Adventures for accommodations and luggage transfers. Also used them for our West Highland Way walk in May 2022. Very much enjoyed both trips. A Danube bike and boat trip with VBT seems pretty appealing and a nice alternative to traditional river cruises which I don't think appeal to DW and I. Lots of good info in some of these threads.

Country Walkers is a great company during 2020 COVID we had trips planned and they were very accommodating.
Trips with CW
6 day walk from San Francisco to Point Reyes. We were auditioning CW for an Italy trip.
Solo We only had day packs our luggage was always waiting ahead for us.
8 day Amalfi Coast, Italy 12 walkers
10 day African walking safari, Zambia 5 walkers
7 day Bryce - Zion National Parks 12 walkers
We stayed at and ate in very nice places,

 

[FindingForward]

Agreed, the scooters were a big source of inconvenience for us, although most of the folks on them fell into the other category.

Trust me, they're even more inconvenient for those folks forced to use them for reasons other than excess weight. Some would give anything to be walking.

 

[Pointby2]

We've done a couple of cruises, one to Alaska and one to Panama, both on Holland America. It's crowd skews older and similar to what you experienced. We thoroughly enjoyed both cruises, but it felt like we were in a hospital/nursing home during the time we spent onboard.
In the future we're going to book smaller lines. We're looking at an expedition cruise to Antarctica or a Mekong Delta cruise.
Something like this, 140 crew and 199 passengers.

Ultramarine

The 199-guest polar expedition ship Ultramarine has dual helicopter pads & an incredible 70-day cruising range. Book with AdventureSmith.

adventuresmithexplorations.com

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Are there any cruises that go to Cuba? We are Canadian Citizens but travel on US Passports. I have a UK passport but not a Canadian. My DW only has a US Passport. We both have Canadian citizenship cards.

 

[OldConch]

We are going to Alaska soon... Princess which was good the last time we were on one, also Alaska... I think that what you get is good service for the price.. if you do not like the free food there are upgrades you can do and I hear they are really good...

One point about the small cruises is that they are MUCH more expensive than the big ships.... I just do not see me spending that much on a cruise..

There's no doubt that with their massive economies of scale, the mainstream cruise lines can offer compelling value on cruises to a stunningly beautiful area. No wonder they are wildly popular.

UnCruise is a completely different product. Once you leave Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, etc. you leave the tourist trap behind and begin to experience southeast Alaska in a way that larger ships cannot. Instead of visiting shops or going on expensive excursions with a bunch of other people, you'll be kayaking, snorkeling, bushwacking, hiking, paddleboarding etc. often with nobody else around except the people that the join you on the zodiac. Each day has a morning and afternoon activity at no extra cost. You will see more wildlife than you can possibly imagine. We pulled into a small cove one evening, anchored, and they launched the kayaks and paddleboards and we paddled right next to a group of brown bears munching on grass under a waterfall. I feel like we experienced SE Alaska instead of just passing through. We went to bed tired every night and slept like babies. Expensive? Maybe. Bucket list worthy? It was for us.

Have to admit that I look at mainstream Alaska cruises frequently. We're about 45 minutes to Seattle wheels up to wheels down so it would be an easy vacation for us. If a great value comes along I'd certainly jump on it. That said, I'm still saving up for another UnCruise.

Safe travels!

 

[MissMolly]

Trust me, they're even more inconvenient for those folks forced to use them for reasons other than excess weight. Some would give anything to be walking.

Like my sister-in-law who has MS and has been forced to rely on a scooter to get around. Believe me, she would much rather be walking.

 

[cathy63]

Are there any cruises that go to Cuba? We are Canadian Citizens but travel on US Passports. I have a UK passport but not a Canadian. My DW only has a US Passport. We both have Canadian citizenship cards.

How's your German? This ship is the only one I see on the port schedules for Cuba: Kombikreuzfahrt: Kuba, Karibik, Kanaren, Kapverden MS HAMBURG | PLANTOURS Kreuzfahrten

 

[Rocky mtn high]

We did a Viking cruise and liked it, but I agree EVERY excursion there were people who were mobility challenged and absolutely should not have been on the excursions. We chose the active excursions and there were people we had to help on and off the buses and on the trails. Glad we could help but we didn’t pay 20k to be assisting others.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I remember you asking about cruises a while back - the recommendations you got here probably now make more sense having gone on your trip.

All Inclusive Cruises with NO Surprises - Agencies?

We are considering a Mediterranean and round the world cruise. We like all-inclusive resorts and would like the same stress extras free cruise. We literally want everything included, Tips, Drink, Food, etc. with the exception of Excursions maybe as we would like to choose them, although we...

www.early-retirement.org

You want a cruise that Basil Fawlty might like: "no riff raff!"

We took a pretty upscale cruise a few years ago on the Silverseas line, a repositioning trip from Seward to Tokyo. The amenities were nice but the other passengers seemed stuffy and even a little unfriendly. Maybe we were the riff raff on that trip.

 

[audreyh1]

One point about the small cruises is that they are MUCH more expensive than the big ships.... I just do not see me spending that much on a cruise..

Sure they are way more expensive, we get it, but many of us absolutely will not take a large ship cruise.

 

[Sunset]

Are there any cruises that go to Cuba? We are Canadian Citizens but travel on US Passports. I have a UK passport but not a Canadian. My DW only has a US Passport. We both have Canadian citizenship cards.

The law does not concern itself with the Country on the passport.
If you are US citizen, then it's illegal for you to go to Cuba unless you meet one of the 12 reasons for going.

Still plenty of American's fly to Cuba on tours from Canada, Mexico and other places and either use another passport, or pay $5 to the customs agent in Cuba to NOT stamp the passport.
I don't know if Cuba allows people to enter without a passport.

Good news for you, is you won't find many fat people in Cuba, but your food choices will be pretty limited.. The mystery meat was always a big unknown.

 

[Sunset]

OP - the cleanliness of the ship can help prevent you and others from getting norovirus, but Covid is an airborne spread thing, so you got it from being on the same bus/room as others.

(My Opinion):
For a future cruise, I suggest a Viking river cruise, it was the best I ever took. Tons of history and sites just a walk away from the ship, and no worries about missing the ship as you could always take a taxi to the next stop.
Viking in the Caribbean is lousy as the Caribbean is lousy after you have seen a few Mayan ruins.
A cruise around the Mediterranean is pretty sweet.

Celebrity has better food than NCL or Carnival.

 

[DrRoy]

We have cruised multiple times on Royal Caribbean and like it, and are now at Diamond level with nice perks. Larger ships are fine and handle the numbers proportionally, with better entertainment. We also much liked a Viking Danube cruise, but not so much a Viking Alaska cruise, as the port locations were inconvenient and the excursions poor.

 

[mystang52]

Everyone's taste is different. Last November we took a Celebrity cruise. I found the dinners to be so bland that after the 3rd straight night I genuinely-politely complained. After that, I was treated like a king and made my dinner virtually customized to my taste. A great feature in our ship, and a few other Celebrity ships, was the adult-only Solarium pool. That was glorious; soothing music, no raucous pool games/activities, very relaxing. We may do Celebrity again, but only in a ship with that pool.

 

[Flieger]

Same here but it's certainly relevant to discuss the impact of a large % of passengers having limited mobility on the traffic in the gangways and elevators

There are many reasons people may have limited mobility. The comment was not necessary.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My conclusion after being home for a few days, is one puts up with all the potential negatives in order to cram as many locations as possible into a relatively short period of time. The problem with a cruise over normal daily life is one cannot really avoid the inconveniences because of the somewhat crammed quarters.

The good news is it forced us rarely to take the elevators, give certain things a wide birth and as a result we got quite a good daily workout. Selecting a location Equi spaced between amenities that we would use daily was helpful (Thanks Travel Agent), and now we know.

It is a shame how folks here are sensitive about what other folks like to avoid. Nothing against anyone is intended, but we are all different and are allowed to choose. It is only natural to try to mitigate anything we are not keen on.

The moral is one accepts the inconveniences for a relatively short duration to achieve the intended goals. Kind of like shopping at Walmart, one does not have to, but I like their eggs, shredded cheese, equate diet juices and a few other items, so I do, and I accept the relatively small inconvenience, but one does not have to like it.

 

[CaptTom]

I hesitate to mention it here, but I've found I can enjoy the mass-market cruises simply by being a contrarian.

When it's sunny, everyone is crammed into the lounge chairs and pool area. I don't enjoy sunbathing and have most of the cool, interior spaces to myself. At night when everyone is in the bars and casinos, I'm out on deck, away from the crowds, stargazing. I always find adequate food at the buffet line. I don't enjoy dressing up, or spending hours sitting in one place, waiting for servers to bring me stuff.

Obviously I'm in the minority in this forum. That's OK. You do you.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I hesitate to mention it here, but I've found I can enjoy the mass-market cruises simply by being a contrarian.

When it's sunny, everyone is crammed into the lounge chairs and pool area. I don't enjoy sunbathing and have most of the cool, interior spaces to myself. At night when everyone is in the bars and casinos, I'm out on deck, away from the crowds, stargazing. I always find adequate food at the buffet line. I don't enjoy dressing up, or spending hours sitting in one place, waiting for servers to bring me stuff.

Obviously I'm in the minority in this forum. That's OK. You do you.

With the exception of the Buffet Line (that I highlighted) we do agree with your preferences. Although I do not mind sitting and getting served in a reasonable time. All the dining areas on our cruise did this well, in addition the scenery was a lot better.

One complaint I had with our cruise was that there was no other option for lunch other than the Main Buffet, Pool and one other outside serve yourself style eateries. All the dining rooms did not offer lunch. One other is that all the main entertainment options were not remotely geared towards our tastes. It does not help we are not really turned on by mediocre or run of the mill performances.

 

[Sunset]

I hesitate to mention it here, but I've found I can enjoy the mass-market cruises simply by being a contrarian.

When it's sunny, everyone is crammed into the lounge chairs and pool area. I don't enjoy sunbathing and have most of the cool, interior spaces to myself. At night when everyone is in the bars and casinos, I'm out on deck, away from the crowds, stargazing. I always find adequate food at the buffet line. I don't enjoy dressing up, or spending hours sitting in one place, waiting for servers to bring me stuff.

Obviously I'm in the minority in this forum. That's OK. You do you.

There are advantages to not following the crowd, on some ships we have sat outside on a side deck enjoying the view, while everyone is up top getting sun, we are sitting in the shade enjoying the breeze.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Royal Caribbean always had the dining room open for all 3 meals. The singer and piano player in the piano bar on each cruise were so good that you would have to arrive a hour early if you didn’t want to stand for the show. Word got around quickly how fabulous it was. We went every night.

 

[Sunset]

With the exception of the Buffet Line (that I highlighted) we do agree with your preferences. Although I do not mind sitting and getting served in a reasonable time. All the dining areas on our cruise did this well, in addition the scenery was a lot better.

One complaint I had with our cruise was that there was no other option for lunch other than the Main Buffet, Pool and one other outside serve yourself style eateries. All the dining rooms did not offer lunch. One other is that all the main entertainment options were not remotely geared towards our tastes. It does not help we are not really turned on by mediocre or run of the mill performances.

We have noticed on the giant ships, the shows are better, with more performers and better equipment/stages/etc... However to see a really great show is a rare event, most are just OK.

We consider Viking Ocean shows pretty poor and drab.
Viking River cruise doesn't have shows , but will have a talk most nights, which was for me, was enjoyed, but probably depends a long on the ship's cruise director ability.

 

[Dtail]

Royal Caribbean always had the dining room open for all 3 meals. The singer and piano player in the piano bar on each cruise were so good that you would have to arrive a hour early if you didn’t want to stand for the show. Word got around quickly how fabulous it was. We went every night.

Same here. NCL is just not the same quality.

 

[cathy63]

With the exception of the Buffet Line (that I highlighted) we do agree with your preferences. Although I do not mind sitting and getting served in a reasonable time. All the dining areas on our cruise did this well, in addition the scenery was a lot better.

One complaint I had with our cruise was that there was no other option for lunch other than the Main Buffet, Pool and one other outside serve yourself style eateries. All the dining rooms did not offer lunch. One other is that all the main entertainment options were not remotely geared towards our tastes. It does not help we are not really turned on by mediocre or run of the mill performances.

For entertainment, can you elaborate on what you expected? On large ships, the choices are either audience participation events or performers from the lower end of professional theater. For the most part if the entertainers are good enough to fill a theater on land, they aren't going to be on a cruise ship getting paid a lot less. Musicians are somewhat of an exception and we've heard excellent pianists and a string trio that we really enjoyed. (Our current next-door neighbor is a pianist who works on cruise ships and aside from opening the windows so we can hear him practicing, it's been interesting to talk with him about how their contracts work.)

On small ships, you get some cultural lectures, local performers and demonstrations, but you won't have the musical theater or comedians.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

For entertainment, can you elaborate on what you expected? On large ships, the choices are either audience participation events or performers from the lower end of professional theater. For the most part if the entertainers are good enough to fill a theater on land, they aren't going to be on a cruise ship getting paid a lot less. Musicians are somewhat of an exception and we've heard excellent pianists and a string trio that we really enjoyed. (Our current next-door neighbor is a pianist who works on cruise ships and aside from opening the windows so we can hear him practicing, it's been interesting to talk with him about how their contracts work.)

On small ships, you get some cultural lectures, local performers and demonstrations, but you won't have the musical theater or comedians.

I guess for the price we expected it to be better. For what we paid we have had far superior service for about the same duration (including Airfare) at top tier "All Inclusive" Resorts, all but in one locale. We did not have to fly to the port which was the main reason for selecting this particular cruise. If we had not taken the last 3 seasons of Blacklist with us on a USB stick (2 of which we watched on the Cabin TV) there are quite a few times that we would have got rather bored.