Cruising - How did you start doing it?

Ronstar said:
I don’t like big cruise ships because they are too crowded. And I don’t want to have to eat dinner at a specified time.

I would recommend starting off on a small cruise ship with minimal passengers.
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Big ships have more room per passenger. The hot spots will certainly have more folks at the busy times, but in general the ship is less crowded.

All of the major cruise lines that I know of have offered flexible dining times for years now in the main dining rooms. For specialized dining, they must offer by reservations only because they are much smaller in size and can only accommodate so many folks at one time. Of course, there is always the buffet which you can go to and dine at whatever time you like. On a couple of cruises, the buffet was very good and most nights we'd go there for dinner because it was so informal, wasn't a big to-do, and had a great selection that wasn't always the same every night.

I would say just the opposite - go for a larger ship because there are going to be significantly more activities, significantly more dining options, and they are going to have venues that smaller ships simply cannot accommodate.
 
For a long time, I thought the idea of paying a fair bit to boat from one sandy island beach to another made no sense. Just drive to a beach and be there. DW had sisters that cruised regularly and for our silver anniversary said she wanted a cruise but I could pick where. I chose an Alaska cruisetour, with a week on land between Fairbanks and Anchorage, and then the inside passage to Vancouver. I did enjoy that and saw a good bit of Alaska.

Several years later, DW wanted to cruise with the sisters, and I got to pick again. We did an eastern Caribbean route from San Juan PR. I was good with that too, and the cruise thing began growing on me. From then, we have cruised with the sisters almost every year, and did a couple on our own again too. One Danube River cruise also. I recommend trying it out with one of the larger companies that offer lots of options for location choice. If you get into it, you can build up participation levels like a frequent flyer and get extra benefits. We just got to Diamond on Royal Caribbean with express check in, free drinks, discounts, etc. I have been on ships from 2000 to 6500 passengers, and while bigger ships of course have more people, they are bigger and so not necessarily more crowded. The bigger ones can have more and grander activities aboard ship.
 
njhowie said:
Big ships have more room per passenger. The hot spots will certainly have more folks at the busy times, but in general the ship is less crowded.
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I wouldn't be comfortable making a blanket statement about "big ships" and crowdedness. I've been on "big" ships (not megas) that felt absolutely "airy" and some claustrophobic. You can look at the public area to passenger ratio, but that doesn't elucidate the "traffic" problems (which are what gets me). Small ships in my experience don't have traffic issues. One moderately large ship I was on had a one-sided design (allocating more space to revenue producing crap that I don't need or want) and reducing the hallways. Then the shops would put tables of crap out in the hallways, narrowing the walking space and distracting and slowing down the traffic. Nothing like the old ships with a huge both sided promenade and wonderful open views and space on the lifeboat deck. Some of the modern big ships have a less crowded feel to them, but I've found there are annoying choke points even in the best designs.
 
I've never done anything but small ships.

DH and I wanted to visit Alaska and figured that was the best way to experience it. We found UnCruise via an Internet search and were hooked on small ships (under 100 passengers)- they can get in and out of places the big ones can't and although they cost more up front you don't get nickel-and-dimed for excursions and extras. We were also not interested in extravagant meals, casinos, rock-climbing walls, go-karts or art auctions.

Since DH's death I've taken UnCruise within Alaska again, as well as off of Hawaii (they're the only cruise line allowed to visit Molokai), the Sea of Cortes, and through the Panama Canal. Sadly, their Single Supplement got exorbitant and I went with Overseas Adventure Travel in the Galapagos last year- also a small ship. Baltic cruise with them coming up in September.

I may never take a mega-ship and that's OK.

CruiseCritic is a great resource no matter what your preferences.
 
Has anyone sailed on Virgin Cruises or know someone who has that could share the experience? Their adults-only rule greatly appeals to me, but adult is defined as 18 and over - so could still be one of those rowdy party boat type experiences. Read a bit about the cruiseline on cruise critic, but always good to get opinions here, as well.
 
I'm 72, wife is 71. We had never been on a cruise until some close friends urged us to go. We've now been on two cruises:
Early 2023 - Holland America, Caribbean. This was a 7 day cruise, 2500 passengers out of Fort Lauderdale. We enjoyed it - esp. the food, which was just fantastic.
Late 2023 - Windstar Barcelona to Athens. This was a small ship, ~ 250 people. We liked it MUCH less than Holland America. Food was not as good, and it just wasn't as much fun being on a smaller ship. I thought it would be, but it wasn't. It was kinda claustrophobic.

Observations - ship excursions are pretty lame. Windstar's marketing says theirs are "special" ("180 degrees from ordinary"); that they would go to smaller ports. Wrong - every port (Italy/Greece) was a large-ship port. The large ships were right alongside. We'll never cruise Windstar again. Disappointing. In general, excursions are not worthwhile (on either line). Wife likes 'em, I'd skip 'em.

We self-educated a bit. Friends told us what the "higher-end" lines were. That narrowed it down a bit.

p.s. - a friend asked me about cruising. I described it as "obese, elderly alcoholics". And, you need to reconcile the environmental damage you are undoubtedly doing. You might want to read "The Dreadful Cruise of David Foster Wallace" (just google that)


Cruise critic website is informative. There's a web page for every ship, with reviews. Some people write travelogues while on ship.

But - we learned the most by watching the seemingly endless Youtube videos on our TV. We must have watched dozens. Ship tours, commentary, tips. Some are very informative, some not. You learn who to watch by watching. It seems that people make a living producing these things - ? (And they get to do a lot of cruising). I don't know the extent to which the ships cooperate, but many of them seem objective.

Next cruise: NYC to Southampton England on Queen Mary 2. No excursions :)
 
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DW and I favor Holland America - medium size ships and tends toward a more elegant and less party atmosphere overall. The 7-day Alaska inside passage is one we like a lot.

I'd book an outside cabin, at least for the first cruise. Be aware that cruise ships want to fill as many cabins as possible - some revenue > no revenue, plus on-board spending/shore excursions, and so on - so you may get an offer(s) shortly before the cruise starts to upgrade for much less than the room would have cost if you booked it earlier. We did this once, and enjoyed it. Can't count on it happening, though.

DF and DM used to cruise extensively, until age got in the way. They had a list of places they wanted to go, hung loose, and when last-minute discount offers came up they took them, if it made sense. If you can do this, you can save a bunch of money on cruises.
 
DW & I used to live in New Orleans, which made it easy to cruise the Caribbean. We never really worried about missing out, as we've always loved to explore on our own. But when we moved to Hawaii, the Carib no longer made sense, & here's where we got lucky.

I was contacted by a company that was looking for an "edutainment speaker," who could give talks on computer security, while the ship was at sea. I've written two books on that topic. Payment was a free cruise for DW & me, including air fares, but not tours. We've done 31 of those cruises over the past 15 years, from Turkey/Greece to Australia/New Zealand, & everywhere in between.

If you have a specialty that would be interesting to a cruise audience, try dropping an unsolicited message to Sixth Star Entertainment. Not quite what the OP asked, so, sorry! :blush:
 
We have been on both river and ocean cruises since we retired 10 years ago. We have been Viking fans for the ocean as their ships are smaller than most (900) and offer no casinos, no kids, and all cabins have a balcony. We like their policy of no nickel and diming. Wifi is included and has been terrific most of the time. On rivers, we used AMA, Viking and Avalon--all were terrific. The luck of the draw is how good your host is and the quality of the guides on the excursions. Last year, Traveler's reader choice rated Viking top in industry for river, ocean and excursion travel. Viking gets top marks from us for their training and treatment of crews. On our trips, chatting with crew members give Viking management very high marks for their leadership and attention. On a recent voyage, the hotel manager and just joined Viking after 20+ years with Four Season and most recently Berlin.
When we first started cruising we ambivalent about using travel agents but learned that the good ones provide on board (OBC) for their bookings. On a recent trip NZ-Sydney we had nearly $1000. We use Affordable Tours and have enjoyed the services of a fantastic agent. She went to the mat for us on an air booking Viking screwed up and saved us $7k each. Viking also has one of the most reasonable drink packages @$25/day/person. Over $50/day/person is not uncommon with many lines.
PM me if you want contact info for our agent
 
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DF and DM are pro-Viking as well. DW and I have not tried them.
 
What really got us started was my spouse.

We could fly down to FLL or MIA mid winter after a hectic QE or YE close, get on a cruise, unpack once. No phone, no internet, no contact with work. My typical workday would be 10-11 hrs, often with calls in early morning at home because of time zone issues.

It was a way for me to get away, not concern myself with where to stay, etc. Just get on the ship w/10-14 days of complete chill out.

My spouse would ensure that we had several days of pre cruise so that I could wind me down. It worked.
 
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We did the big ship thing a couple of times when we were younger. It was okay. We’re doing a Rhine River cruise in April for the first time. A lot of my recently retired friends love it. Well find out.
 
I first started cursing when I was about 5 years old. My brother ate the last Sunday donut when he had already had two and I was still on my first one.

Oh! You said cruising... Cruising came much later in life thanks to a couple of company trips without my donut hogging brother. :LOL:

One in the Mediterranean with two or three calls each in Spain & Italy and one in Southeast Asia (Malacca strait) with calls in Singapore, Thailand, & Malaysia. At about 5-6 days each, I'd say that was as long as I'd suggest for a beginner. My first recommendation would be to book private tours for your shore excursions. It costs a bit more but way more fun to be whisked off in a private car with a guide who can ad lib the itinerary than to be on a bus with 30-50 people you don't know and moved around like cattle. And you blow your dough faster this way too! Be sure to save a few dollars for tipping your primary and local guide(s) and driver. They will appreciate it. The Cruise ship tour concierge service can arrange the private tours.

Second recommendation would be to book a few extra days both before and after the cruise at the city of your start/end. In my case this was Barcelona and Singapore respectively. Then you can have a leisurely tour of that locale (again leveraging private tours).

I've not cruised around Mexico or the Carribean but have been to several resort destinations in these areas that also had Cruise ship ports. Those locations did not strike me to be worth cruising to nor would I consider them candidates for private tour excursions since everything seemed laid out to cater to the ships already. You can just wander around on your own.

My $0.02 HTH
 
I recommend Viking Cruises!!

I have cruised a few times over the years...Holland American, Disney, Norwegian. They were fine, but big.

A friend and I did Viking River Cruise in Bordeaux last spring. Don't think I'll ever do another cruise line. The River Cruise ships are considerably smaller (under 200 I believe). Food, service and excursions were fantastic.
 
WorkIsOverrated said:
I recommend Viking Cruises!!

I have cruised a few times over the years...Holland American, Disney, Norwegian. They were fine, but big.

A friend and I did Viking River Cruise in Bordeaux last spring. Don't think I'll ever do another cruise line. The River Cruise ships are considerably smaller (under 200 I believe). Food, service and excursions were fantastic.
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We did a Viking Danube cruise that was great. Also did an ocean cruise to Alaska. Not great. Better food but less to do on board than Royal Caribbean, port locations were inconvenient, sometimes not walking distance to the town or had to tender, and excursions were disappointing. We'll stick to rivers for Viking, and ocean with Royal.
 
We did or first cruise (to Alaska) back in 2018. It was at the behest of my aging parents who "wanted to do a cruise with the whole family". I was on the hook to organize the whole thing. Prior to that point I was only very slightly interested in cruising, after all, why would I want to be locked on a floating petri dish with thousands of other folks on an itinerary I couldn't control!? Once I began researching it I started to get excited about it, and the trip itself was awesome - I loved it! A few random tidbits:

  • As you are in the U.S.A. I might recommend a trip from a U.S. port (preferably a round trip from/to that same port for your first cruise)
  • 7 nights is a great first cruise timeframe (and the most common) - you won't feel as rushed as the quick 3 night jaunts and you will likely get a mix of port days and sea days
  • Look at the cruise sites (like the aforementioned cruise critic) and figure out where you might want to go. Here in the U.S. the biggies are the Caribbean/Mexico (i.e. most of them), followed by Alaska, and New England/Canada. There are others like the Panama Canal or up and down the Pacific Coast, to Hawaii, etc, but those aren't as popular.
  • The Caribbean is obviously a warm weather / beach destination vs. Alaska and New England/Canada (although the latter can be pretty mild depending on when you go - we aren't really beach people so we gravitate to milder/cooler temps...you may be the opposite.
  • The Cruise Critic website allows you to look up and even book cruises (which I use for reference), but the real gold is the forums/message boards there for when you want to research a cruise line or destination.
  • There are so many cruise lines and ships it can be overwhelming but there are some universal truths it seems. Pay attention to the SIZE of the boat (i.e. # of passengers) and WHEN it was constructed. In general, the newer the boat in a line, the larger it likely is, BUT it is probably also in a bit nicer shape. Basically, the same as a hotel, you can get a "lower line" hotel that was built last year, that could be nicer than a more upscale hotel built 20 years earlier that is 5 years overdue for a refurb.
  • A "small" boat these days is probably in the 1300 passenger range. In the mainstream lines, these tend to be much older. For the "luxury" lines, they are pretty common (although even they are getting bigger). A medium ship is probably in the 2k-3k passenger range a large ship is in the 4k-5k passenger range and the gigantic ships are 5k-9k now! Big is relative!
  • If you like warm weather, a 7 night Caribbean cruise out of Florida on a mid to large boat might be a great start. Pick a somewhat newer boat (built in last 10 years at least). Do not go when kids are out of school (i.e. not spring break, etc.) to minimize crowds. If you like to party or drink and have fun, Carnival might be right up your alley. If you are more family oriented and would bring kids, Royal Caribbean is a great choice (really a good all arounder for families or adults). If you want a more laid back, nice atmosphere, Princess, Celebrity and Holland America might be a good choice (the latter probably less so in the Caribbean) - these are all a bit pricier. If you have big bucks, feel free to step up to the Luxury lines (Oceana, Silver Seas, etc.). I MIGHT amend the destination if you live in Texas or California as both of those states have cruise ports in them and you could potentially just drive to the departure port (i.e. Galveston or San Diego/San Francisco). I mean technically, you could drive to any of the ports, but those might make a bit more sense if air travel was involved...if you do fly, then fly in the day BEFORE the cruise...no sense adding the stress of "trying to make it to the boat on time!" if a flight gets delayed, etc.
  • The biggest ships do try to make the ship itself the "destination" - sort of like a "resort". Some lines, like Holland America, tend to focus more on the destination itself, so the ships, while nice enough, don't have go carts, water slides, rock walls, or 50 restaurants. I do think it is worth having a ship with some "stuff" on it if it isn't a destination focused cruise - especially as your first cruise.
  • Cabins on ships are all small by hotel standards (most very small). In general though, you have inside cabins (no windows on the inside of the ship), ocean view cabins (cabins with a "window" facing the outside), balcony cabins,(cabins with an outside balcony - traditionally facing the ocean, but on some of the newest ships, they can overlook an inside promenade area), suites (basically, these are usually balcony cabins that are larger...with varying different sizes for more $$$). Frequent cruisers often get inside cabins as they are cruising so often. For a first time cruiser, I recommend a balcony - it's fun and you can see if a balcony is a "must have" for you or a "no big deal". You won't know until you get one.
  • In each port, you can take any number of excursions. The ship will offer some (all are extra cost) or you can book your own independently. If you are interested, then the first time out I recommend booking through the ship. You will get a feel for what you do/don't like and your comfort level for booking stuff on your own. Some cruises, like Alaska are there "own thing". The excursions can be VERY pricey ($200-$600/person for each one) and you can easily double the cost of your cruise, BUT not doing excursions in Alaska is a MISTAKE in my opinion as w/o them...you really don't get the experience. Having done Alaska cruises twice (and lived there as a child for 3 years), I could say a lot more on that one, but will refrain for now.
  • In short, figure out where the lines go, where you might want to go from that list, and then start looking at the specific cruises, itineraries, etc.

Good luck!
 
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We have cruised on Carnival, Crystal, NCL, HAL, RCI, Princess, and Celebrity. We enjoyed each and every one of them.

One thing we have come to believe is never to make assumptions based on the cruise line itself. Especially those cruise lines that have a mix of smaller and larger ships, older and newer ships.

We tend to look for reviews of the ship. For us it is all about the ship, the itinerary, and the per diem cost for a balcony cabin. In the past there are some HAL ships that we would never select. Ditto for some NCL, Princess, etc ships.

We are not particularly demanding. We want a cabin with functioning AC, plumging etc, and reasonable food. We do not even consider entertainment since it is so variable. We consider size, too small/too large, age, or recent reports on the condition of the ship. We never want a ship that is on it's way to drydock for refurb or a ship that has just come out of drydock for a refurb.
 
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Below is a list of the Ocean and River cruises we have been on. We have a story to go with each one. If you are interested, I can send you a copy.


LA to LA Hawaii (Star Princess)

LA to LA Mexican Riviera (Ruby Princess)
Buenos Aires to LA (Golden Princess)
Eastern Canada & New England (Crown Princess)
Riviera & Western Europe (Ocean Princess)
Panama Canal (Coral Princess)
Baltic Cruise (Star Princess)
Wonder Down Under –Australia & New Zealand (Diamond Princess)
Back to Tahiti (Paul Gauguin)

Venice to Istanbul & Our Wedding in Santorini (Oceania Insignia)

North to Alaska (Regent Mariner)
Tahiti-Our First Trip Together (Paul Gauguin)
Russian Waterways-Moscow to St. Petersburg (Lev Tolstoy)

French Waterways (Vantage Rembrandt)
Budapest to Amsterdam (Vantage River Odyssey)
Columbia River (Queen of the West)
Christmas and New Years on the Danube (Vantage River Explorer)
 
JJ just sent me a PM asking me to post my experiences on the Paul Gauguin. We were on the ship in 2007 and 2009, However, anther member here was just on the ship for a 20 day cruise, and enjoyed it. Apparently, the service, etc has been as good as when we were on it.
 

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  • TAHITI 2009.pdf
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I just returned from two back-to-back cruises on Paul Gauguin in Polynesia(Cook Islands and Society Islands, Tuamotus & Society Islands). The service, food, and entertainment were great. Also, the local crew members called Gauguins offered a nice exposure to Polynesian culture. One thing that would have made the cruise better is to have a designated singles table in the restaurants for solo travelers like I have experienced on other cruise lines.
 
Souschef said:
I have been on 47 cruises, the last 2 were to Hawaii and Alaska. We avoid the mega ships because there are just too many people.
Our longest cruise was 31 days, and while we enjoyed it, we felt it was too long.
I have attached a couple of stories to give you a feeling for the activities at the destinations.
We are happy to answer any questions
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Sourchef, I am intrigued of your South American cruise. Great pictures. what is name of the trip for easy search? Ex. 14 days South American?
 
We began cruising 20 yrs ago & fell in love.

Chuckanut said:
I have long put off cruising but as the years roll by I am beginning to think that a cruise would be a nice way to blow some dough as I age.

Clark Howard recommends start-up cruisers should team up with experienced cruisers. But, like me, few of my friends cruise very much. And the ones who do cruise like Huge ships with tons of play things and lots of food and drink. I don’t think I would enjoy that. I want smaller boats (say several hundred people) and longer stops at ports and other places of interest.

The other suggestion was to use a travel agent who specializes in cruising for the first few cruises while I learn the ins and outs of cruising.

So, if you are a cruiser, How did you start cruising and become a wise consumer of the cruising business?
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Have done about 40 since.
We loved cruising because you can do EVERYTHING...or NOTHING.
The beauty of cruising is that you get a taste of an area & then you can focus a future land trip to the places that you really want to dig deeper into.

For the first 18 years we mostly cruised Caribbean due to time, work & children.
Since retiring we have begun to sail to all the places we wanted to but didn't have the time or $.

I am noticing our cruising tastes beginning to evolve as well.
We have not tried anything outside of mainstream lines as of yet. For so many years worked to squeeze every penny out of every dollar we made...I can struggle to pay more for a cruise that I can get for less.

A port intensive cruise is very different from one with many sea days.
We love both for different reasons.
A ship can be a destination--we have found some we love (Celebrity Eclass).
Those are particularly lovely for cruises with many sea days.
A ship--and a room--are less important for port intensive cruises, imo.

MANY people cruise solo--I have several times the last few years when DH could not come (ahem...golf league...)

I have extensive knowledge with mainstream lines but those arent what you want. My knowledge with what you desire is much less.
When you say smaller ships, Viking, Avalon & Windstar come to mind.
Perhaps Oceania or Silverseas.

I recommend contacting a local travel agent--tho they may not have much experience with these lines as well. BUT maybe they can connect you with someone who does.

You can do some online research...search "small ship luxury cruising" & it can get you started with some basic info.
 
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Our most recent cruise was an interesting one, on the Silversea line from Seward to Tokyo. It was a repositioning cruise the line booked to move their summer Inside Passage ships to Southeast Asia for the winter. Stops were Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Kamchatka, Russia, Kushiro (Hokkaido) Japan and Tokyo. We had to skip a couple ports of call in Japan because of a typhoon.

We started the trip with five days exploring the Kenai peninsula by car, and finished with two weeks on our own in Tokyo. Silversea is awesome, it's definitely worth stepping up from the mainstream cruise lines.

We also flanked a couple of European river cruises with our own travel itineraries. After the Rhone (Avalon), we toured the Camargue and Haute Provence by car. We spent a week in Prague before embarking on a Uniworld cruise on the Main. You cannot explore a great European city in a day or two! Even a week in Prague made me wish for a day or two longer.
 
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