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What’s an activity you are sure that most people only pretend they like?
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Cruises.
You spend how much money to be cooped on a boat with 3,000 strangers, for how long?
No bs compared to everything else life has to offer cruises are some of the most fun ive had.
honestly feel like all the haters here are just people who can't afford to go on one, or got stabbed on a Carnival boat in the 90s.
The irony in that statement is that cruises are the cheapest way to travel. You don’t get to see much, but you get to “go places”. IMO - the people who hate on cruises are people who can afford to travel more, and the people who stand by cruises are people who can afford to cruise but not to travel the world independent of cruises. Case in point: Take a week long trip to Costa Rica. Then imagine stopping there for one afternoon, evening, and morning. Sure, you’re there, but wtf can you do but essentially wait to get back on a boat.. if you like the boat idea (and can afford it) then just rent a boat while you’re in Costa Rica for the week.
I can afford to do both and have; I think they both have their place.
I've been on two and had an absolute blast on both. Going on another with my mom in June, I can't wait!
Yep, same. I thought I hated cruises until I went on one. I am notorious for being unable to relax while traveling. A cruise is one of the only vacations I've been on in my adult life where I actually felt refreshed afterwards.
I expected to hate the people, but they were fine. Everyone was in a good mood and just hanging out being friendly. They are imperfect, and there are downsides, but they can be way more fun than most people expect.
Buffet, entertainment and getting to see parts of the world in a comfortable way
Plus big ships are fucking cool! I'll grab a beer and just wander around checking out the infrastructure. Stuff like that has always intrigued me.
I personally don’t get the appeal of the buffet beyond it beyond a shocking amount of food you have access to, the entertainment seems marginal, and the rooms are the size of prison cells so I wouldn’t call them comfortable for me. I’d rather fly and stay in a hotel and eat at real restaurants
The entertainment is amazing. Royal Caribbean's aquatheater shows are breathtaking, Olympic divers jumping from 55 ft in the air into a tiny pool over the ocean. Beautifully choreographed. I highly recommend it.
I agree about the buffets though, I use the main dining room for a better experience, it's like a nice restaurant. You don't have to use the buffets.
buffet is fine for breakfast, but yeah, do dinner in the main dining room as much as possible.
Have you ever been on a cruise? They have real restaurants on them with full course meals every night. And for the size of the room, you wouldn't typically spend very much time in there.
Plenty of reasons to hate on a cruise but the food and the size of the room aren't it imo.
Seriously. Comments all written by people who've never been on a cruise lol.
I'm hanging at the pool during the day, piano bar at night, and maybe catch a show that I wouldn't have seen if I was sitting at home. Multiple food options for every meal and not just buffet style, I mean multiple restaurants on most good ones.
And after all that, half the time you wake up and you're in a different port city to explore. Pay for an excursion - see some mayan ruins, kayak down some rapids, or go scuba diving. A cruise ship is just a mobile resort, and I rarely see people dumping on all-inclusives (though you do pay for your booze on most cruises).
I think a lot of the people who hate on cruises are just home bodies and or too introverted. Like yes, Of course if you don't like being around people a cruise isn't for you.
Like I said, there's plenty of legitimate reasons like environmental impact. But that's an entirely different argument.
Buffets are great. You can eat a little bit of everything instead of having to decide, you can try bits of new food, you don't have to cook, there's a ton of variation and no limit. I absolutely love buffets.
No clue about entertainment but it looks pretty fun from the ads I've seen. And you can visit the harbor cities every second day or so.
Sure, rooms aren't really big, but there's lots of comfort outside and depending on your other holidays it might even be more comfortable. My idea of a fun vacation is sleeping on trains so it'd definitely be an upgrade for me.
You can also still very much eat at real restaurants, not only on the ship (the big ones often have 4 or 5 real restaurants to go to) but when you land in Port.
Also, 3000 dollars is extreme. Usually peak pricing (so summer time instead of off seasons or hurricane season) or a 10 day plus cruise price. I typically cruise 7 days minimum, often during hurricane season or in the winter in NA, and prices are between 1200-2000 after taxes and fees.
I get the people arguments, if you don't like people, it's not a good vacation because they are unavoidable on a ship. But, at the same time, if you don't like a port of call, you can hang out on the ship with virtually no people as most disembarked, and then you get that solitary fix.
Also, the foods change every couple of days. Because ships pick up food in different ports, you get different tastes as your cruise goes on.
I'm convinced, most people on reddit that hate cruises, have either: never been on one or they are the classic anti social "I hate any activity that makes me leave my neckbeard nest" kind of person. They are a great way to see a lot of different places on a budget.
Just don't do the excursion packages with the actual ship, they are way way way expensive and usually much shittier experiences than if you just buckled down a couple weeks or months before the cruise, did your own thorough research and booked excursions on the island/port of call itself. Best one I ever did was spontaneously talking to a guy in Constantinople. All these assholes got off the cruise ship ahead of me, and basically shoved this guy out of the way and refused to talk to him, probably afraid of being scammed. Except a quick goole showed the company the guy was working for was legit, and he just wanted to show people around his city. So my brother and I talked to him and apologized for them, and he took us to all of the spots I wanted to see in the city and then some, he knew the people who worked at the ticket booths, so we skipped literally every line and got discounts on every ticket price, and he was super super aware of my scatterbrained mom and made sure she never got lost in the crowd. It was awesome.
Haha okay "neckbeard nest" got a chuckle out of me.
I went on a cruise when I was 18 and HATED it. You have very limited options of things to do and are limited to being on a boat for large amounts of time and have very scheduled and short port stops. The restaurants were very meh and the buffet was fine but I don't like buffets for trying new things. If I want to try cheap cultural foods I'd rather go and get cheap cultural food at actual restaurants in their respective countries. It all comes down to travel preference. I would hate to waste my money on a cruise so I save money and rack up credit card points so I can actually visit the countries I want on the timeline I want and do all the things I want to do without having to be stuck on a boat waiting to get to the next place. I don't really understand this argument about being a homebody or anti social, I have been to 14 countries and have met tons of interesting people along the way. I just hate cruises.
Buffets are great.
Except the part where everyone is breathing on your food.
Should try out a buffet with a shield.
I'm good. I don't need to be using the same serving spoons as a bunch of strangers who don't wash their hands..
For sure, but they aren’t breathing on your food any more than your waiter or waitress.
Ehhh but they kind of are. Put a bunch of people in one room, lining up for food. There's a lot of mouth breathing going on germs are bound to end up on the food. Plus, one person gets the sniffles on a cruise and then everyone gets sick.
You could change out the word cruise for any other place where large number of people gather like a city, restaurant, coffee shop, show or whatever. You had a whole kitchen of sweaty stoners back there cooking your food for dinner. Then some dude brought all 6 plates to your table on one arm and your plate is literally right next to his face. I’d wager my life savings you are more likely to get sick from visiting Times Square or Willis Tower than you are to get sick on a cruise.
Bold of you to assume I care
Idk about other cruises but in carnival entertainment is literally non stop. They have cirque de solei, comedy shows, plays, bingo, night clubs for adults, night clubs for kids, basketball, dodgeball, mini golf, pools, hot tubs, amazing dinner every night if you don’t want the buffet, and all kinds of other stuff. Millions of people don’t cruise because it’s boring. Then you usually land at 2 or 3 places along your route where you can check out the local area and get plenty of real restaraunt food. If you’re in your room on a cruise, you ain’t cruisin right.
I’m live in NYC. I have all that entertainment at my fingertips here. That’s why I’m saying for me personally those aren’t appeals.
Sure, but you're not doing that while spending your day next to a pool with someone bringing you drinks, and you don't get to wake up and walk out the door to a carribean island where you get to go scuba diving the next morning. It can not be your thing, but I have a hard time with saying you can't understand the appeal just because you do have access to 90% of it near your home.
Oh I can definitely see how it’s not for some people. To each their own. I fucking hate NYC. The cruise ship crowd is nothing compared to the NYC crowd. It’s not for me tbh. I’ve been on 2 cruises in my life. One when I was 8 (Disney) and one at 17 (carnival) cause my parents wanted to go. It’s been 13 years because it’s not really my thing, but I’m about to go on another because my girlfriend has never been on one and wants to try it out. I can have much more fun in my own boat or in the mountains, but cruises are still a great time and entertainment is endless. It’s literally a 5+ day party where you can be whoever you want because you don’t know anyone.
I get what you are saying. I like different types of vacations. Some are lazy and relaxing. But most are super booked with sightseeing or local culture or museums or outdoor activities and I only have so many weeks of it per year. Sitting on a cruise waiting for it to get to the next port is just not my bag. Mostly because if I fly I can start doing those things immediately instead of waiting 2 days then I get to go on an excursion. I understand many that want to just relax on their trip and get drunk all week. But hey, to each their own.
For sure. I’m in the same boat as you, no pun intended. I prefer the mountains. I grew up at the beach so that doesn’t really appeal to me, and I don’t drink at all. See username. Honestly I prefer chill vacations I just don’t really want it to be in a cruise. I’d much rather smoke a bowl on the back porch of a cabin in the appalachians or Rockies, get a good ass latte, go for an easy hike and just eat good local food. Hell half my “vacations” are just hanging out at home doing what I’d do if I didn’t have to work every day. If I go on a cruise I’m going to make the best of it tho(when in Rome), and even though it isn’t my preferred vacation, it’s still a hell of a good time. Beats working any day.
I've done a few cruises and noticed for me that the buffett loses its appeal about day 5. Fortunately, the two cruise lines I used also offered fine dining. The rooms are just for sleeping and showering, because as another commenter noted there is a long list of activities especially when traveling between ports.
Getting to drink coffee watching the sunrise over the ocean makes it all worth it.
Cruises are cheaper than flights thats why they're popular. You can get a 7 day cruise and visit 3 countries for like $500.
Without any snark intended, this is a “how many people are you responsible for” thing. Buffets are great when you’re responsible for planning food for multiple people with multiple tastes, and cruises are the buffet of vacations. They work really well as a way to vacation with extended family. One of my friends plans a family reunion cruise every 5 years or so, with babies, active kids, adventurous teens and young adults, active adults, and seniors. Everyone does what works for them during the day, and they get together every evening for dinner.
Also, most people are drunk or at least drinking throughout. Tends to make it more bearable for them.
getting to see parts of the world in a comfortable way
I don't know...I spent a week in Curacao with friends - rented a car and a beautiful little house in the countryside with a pool near the ocean. Hung out at amazing beaches every day, wandered around Willemstad and generally followed our whims and we didn't have anywhere urgent we absolutely needed to be at a certain time. It was so chill. Woke up to the distant sound of roosters and goats every lazy, slow morning.
I'm pretty certain that I was more comfortable than the bus loads and groups of cruise-goers that occasionally flocked past me, on their way to try to cram in an excursion before needing to be back on their boat.
I mean I've done island vacations and cruises. The appeal of the latter is that you get to see bite size chunks of multiple islands for the price of a vacation you would normally spend in one place. You're basically riding a mobile resort.
I understand the "bite size chunks of everything" argument. I was specifically responding to the assertion that it's a comfortable thing to do. I've traveled plenty, to various levels of personal comfort and from where I'm standing....rushing on and off a floating Vegas resort to try to cram a shore excursion in does not look like my idea of "comfortable". When I was in Curacao, I wasn't wishing I was actually running on and off an excursion bus. That's all I meant.
The cool thing about a cruise is all the people are kinda in it together. So you make a lot of friends . I fell in love once on a cruise. Then we both had to leave each other 😢like the titanic
I think people are taking this the wrong way. I'm not disputing that there are benefits to cruises that some people can enjoy. I really was only responding to the person who asserted that it was a way to see places "in a comfortable way."
Different strokes for different folks, but I would NOT be as comfortable going to a place on a cruise ship as I am when I just rent a house in that same place. Maybe it depends what comfort means. 😆
At any rate, I wasn't trying to be this serious about the argument. You're allowed to like cruises.
I'm not saying you can't have fun outside of a cruise. I'm just listening reasons why cruises are fun.
Also not everyone is interested in spending a week in a random house somewhere in the middle of nowhere
The buffet food is terrible, the entertainment is corny, and you are stuck on the ship for 90% of your vacation. I got talked into doing a cruise once and it was a huge waste of time and money. Never again.
I've been on a few. It's not my favorite bit they weren't bad. The buffet wasn't a big draw but the sit down meals were great. The entertainment was 50% stuff I hated and 50% fun. We did a number of port stops so I'd say only 2 of 5 or 6 days were exclusively on the boat.
If you're into gorging or casinos or that you're is entertainment I definitely see the appeal. Personally I enjoyed getting the see a few different places for excursions, but overall I'd rather do an all inclusive or something.
Cruises are incredible if you want it to be. Tons of entertainment, food, people to meet, endless parties, and you'll go to a few tropical locations to explore or hit the beach or both. Or you can chill in a quiet spot. Cruises are what you make it. The opportunity for fun is there, it's up to you to make it exactly what you enjoy.
It’s like being trapped in a Vegas hotel and only being able to leave for short periods…and only with everyone else trapped in the same hotel. Plus limited supplies and extra cooties. No thank you. I think the only cruise I could enjoy would be one of those small luxury ones that I could never afford.
I mean no disrespect, but this is a horrible comparison. Most hotels on the strip in Vegas are top tier hotels. Amazing rooms, restaurants with renowned chefs, shopping, 24 hour room service, top tier gyms and spas, big casinos, shows, nightclubs, some even have amusement rides.
Cruises are usually “all you can eat” or bad restaurants. Small room with a shit bed. You don’t have the ability to walk down the street and enter another hotel with its own unique shops or hotels. Cruises absolutely suck, where if you’re into good food and hospitality, Vegas is one of the best destinations in America.
Idk man I'd rather be on a nice cruise than a hotel in vegas, but I prefer being on the water & the beach over shows, gyms, shopping, restaurants, casinos, nightclubs, and amusement rides that I can do any day of the week where I already live anyway. Was on one in January. Wasn't a shit bed. Wasn't a small room (but who cares, wtf are you spending time in your room for during a vacation?). Food wasn't bad - Chipotle to Applebee's quality. Had a balcony over the back of the boat with lounge chairs and a private hot tub to listen to and watch the water & had all-inclusive drinks to get hammered if I felt like it. Got off early at a couple ports and had a nearly private, beautiful beach. Rented a couple jetskis & snorkel boat tours from locals for a cheap price. Was great really, especially for the price. And I'm inherently disgusted by the idea of a cruise. Depends on what you're looking for & what you make out of it I guess. A tight budget on a cruise goes much further than a tight budget in Vegas though.
That's fair - I misrepresented Vegas with my generalization. I love to go there myself. I guess I meant more the feel of the crowds, lights, noise, etc and less of the caliber of hotels. Maybe an off-strip older hotel? 😜
I've never found a bad bed on a cruise ship. Beats a Hilton or Marriott bed any day.
If you're paying extra why go on a cruise though? Isn't the whole point of a cruise so you can go on a vacation you can't normally afford and the tradeoff is only getting to spent 10% of the time in your destination?
Felt this. There is only one cruise I want to do and that is the one to Antarctica.
My buddy worked an Alaskan cruise and it seemed lovely :) small boat, cool destination. Short too like 3 days
Except the hotel is on its side in the middle of the ocean and everyone is on its roof. Not like a Vegas hotel at all.
I did a short 4 day cruise from Florida down to Nassau and back with a bunch of friends a few years back. It was loads of fun. Good food, good drinks, great weather and a bunch of stuff to do.
What I don't want to do is those 2 week ones that cross the Atlantic. They're fairly cheap since the ship is only doing the trip to get from Europe to the US or back and there's basically no stops between Portugal and the Caribbean. My parents did it once and never again.
Nothing cheap about a crossing on the Queen Mary (and I guess Anne now)...
I did my first cruise a few years and I wasn't optimistic about it at all because I like to travel and explore the places I visit. But the cruise was so relaxing. It was literally devoid of any worries or responsibility and now I do a cruise once a year.
I did a 2 week cruise with my wife and 4 kids. Had 2 adjoining rooms for the 6 of us. It was tight, but the only time everyone was there at the same time was for sleeping.
It was fantastic. Kids went to kids club every day, didn't finish some nights until 10pm. It was a great chance to unwind and relax. We had balcony rooms. Definitely worth the extra cost. Sitting on the balcony, reading a book while cruising through the ocean with nothing to see but water all around was amazing. Food and drinks always available and only unpack once for the trip.
I will be cruising again.
Nah those are actually nice. You get nice food and get to visit neat places. Plus u can hit up the arcade drunk at 2am and have some pizza afterwards
I love cruising. It's relatively cheap for the amenities.
It isn’t 3000 bucks unless you are getting the nicest everything. That’s like saying I don’t like staying in hotels because who wants to pay 1000 bucks a night to sleep? Obviously you can get rooms much cheaper than 1000 bucks a night.
you can't read
You have nothing better to do with your life.
ironic
I’d argue being a douche for no reason to someone you don’t know is a bit different than misreading a post, but that’s just my opinion and I recognize that.
Plus those people throw down on the cruises. It’s a giant party bus but out in the ocean.
Yeah, all the 70 plus people and parents that brought their kids were really raging on the cruise that I did.
My uncle and his wife go on two cruises every year and always get the package where they get unlimited drinks
I will say this in defence of cruises, they are the cheapest option a lot of the time.
I went on my first cruise a year ago on my honeymoon, we were both poor but we did end up deciding to have a real honeymoon. Outside of driving to the closest tourist spot and spending a few days there, cruises consistently came out as the cheapest. Me and my wife, spent less than $2k for both of us to visit the Bahamas. There's no way we could have managed to get flights, food, hotel, entertainment, drinks, etc. to be under $2k. I didn't mind being 'trapped' when there a lot to do on the boat, but there were times I was bored. That's a price I can pay to travel, because I couldn't afford to pay any more really money.
For some it's cheap, for some it's laziness you don't have to plan anything besides one thing to do half the days, for some it's habit, if you grew up in a family that cruised you probably liked it as an adult. Not all kinds of vacations are for everyone.
I love small cruises!! I love being comfee on a boat and just relaxing!!!
No, I'd love to be on a cruise.
So I went on my first cruise on a much smaller cruise liner with a wheelchair bound friend for the first time last year around the Norwegian Fjords - and it suited is hugely.
There was absolutely 0 access issues anywhere, it meant my friend retained her dignity (i.e. wasn't carted in an awful trolly down a plane aisle to have her chair broken by feckless baggage handlers)
Because she get's tired frequently and easily, alternating between sea days and port days helped her keep her energy consistent and rested. Because we were able to take a lot of stress out of our door with shore excursions specifically designed to be accessible to her, we survived pretty well on that front too.
From my perspective as well, the food was excellent, with a wide choice, the booze flowed, and there was never a panic to be anywhere at a specific time. We threw ourselves into the activities and games on board, and found relatively little nothing we couldn't do specifically. The staff were amazing and treated us with real kindness and care.
We could of course get some of this with a package holiday, but the variety and the accessibility are what worked for us, and not something to be sniffed at.
lol you all must be miserable travelers because cruises are lit af. dancing, meeting people, drinks, etc.
It's telling how much emotion there is behind the anti cruise comments. It's like it's personal or something.
They're a lot of fun. And my first was an Alaskan cruise which is ~75% winding through the inside passage. So every 30 seconds you look up and see a brand new breathtaking view. It was hands down the best vacation of my life.
that sounds incredible!!! The thing is there really is an art or just know how to traveling. you have some friends that you NEVER should travel with.
For me it’s the being away from it all experience. I cant work so my mind just flips a switch and doesn’t worry about work. I cant be reached by my mother over dumb shit so i dont have to worry about it. Its just peaceful being out there on the ocean away from the real world.
Plus the endless booze food and parties.
I play piano and was really excited about landing my first cruise gig. I was imagining a two week orgy with the guests! Then I saw thousands of geriatrics loading their massive rolling suitcases and thought, "right, thirty something's don't go on cruises, duh". Still ended up being an orgy, but just with staff, dancers and other musicians. 😉
What? Have you even been on a proper cruise like Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, or better yet, a luxury cruise? It’s fun as hell.
It's like vacationing at Walmart
Aside from the fact that I get motion sick incredibly easily, I just don't see the appeal of being stuck in a floating hotel for several days. I suck at relaxing and doing nothing. I don't like crowed indoor spaces. I want to go do and see real stuff.
Totally disagree. Cruises can be really fun, my girlfriend and I went on one of the Caribbean last year and it was a great time. It's not for everyone obviously, but for many it's a cost effective way of going to a lot of different places at once. There are "cruises to nowhere" where you're literally just on the boat while it sails around for a few days, which I don't really see the appeal in though. I think it mostly comes down to which cruise line and route you pick. A Carnival cruise to Mexico sounds like a nightmare. The Virgin cruise we're taking later this year to Greece and Croatia on the other hand, I have very high hopes for!
You visit fewer cities this way but I prefer resorts over cruises. I feel like I can leave and hit the town any time I want, and still get the buffets, alcohol, pools, and entertainment cruises have. The best for me though is walking around a new city for a few days exploring all the little things about it and trying all the local foods. 15-20k steps a day on these vacations
Now this is just wrong.
These days I work in the maritime/naval industry. I get paid to tromp around on steel decks of ships. You want me to pay to do that? No thanks.
Of course, I’m a recreational sailor, so going somewhere on my own boat is totally different. Honest!
So much this
Yeah, I'd hate to be controlled all the time , having to go back at a certain hour. And spending hours trapped with people who love conga dancing, instead of actually getting to know the beaches, small towns, the local traditions and attractions. No, thank you.
Went with a group of friends and had an amazing time, but I definitely see how it wouldn't appeal to everyone.
I went on a 5 day cruise in the Caribbean with my family a few years ago and it was actually fun. Though I guess just cuz I was a kid. We stopped in Jamaica and saw these huge turtles, there was a waterslide on the top deck and unlimited soft serve. Normal hotel vacation way better but a cruise is still a fun thing to try once
My uncle spent 47 days on a cruise ship going from uk to Australia. 3k people you don't know for over a month I could never lol. Maybe a 7 day cruise
What crime did he commit?
By "cruise" does he actually mean a prison barge?
Not to mention Orcas are attacking ships now.
Alcoholics like cruises the same way men used to subscribe to Playboy for the articles.
Fun? Sounds like my personal idea of HELL.
Yeah. Same. I'm not sure how paying through the nose to hang out with a ton of strangers is supposed to be relaxing.
20€, two hours each way, because there's cheap booze on the other side of the gulf.
100%. Trapped on a moldy boat eating buffet food with thousands of drunk sweaty strangers sounds like an absolute nightmare.
And they're all 60somethings from the Midwest! Ken and Marge.
It's like, go scoop everybody up out of all the area mall food courts and stick them on a boat. There's your shipmates.
Congrats, it's an ugly hotel that floats.
You couldn’t pay me to go on a cruise
You couldn't pay me to go on a cruise. One person gets the sniffles and next think you know the whole ship is being quarantined. Like you said, I can't imagine a worse experience than being trapped in the middle of the ocean with 3,000 people I have no desire to be around.
I’m with you on this. Stuck on a floating toilet? No freakin thanks!
You said it, CoffeeAndBrass. My wife and I were peer-pressured into going on a cruise with her college's executive team and donors (mostly to continue to woo the donors). We are not really cruise people... but this crazy ship holds something like 6,800 people. I am not looking forward to the ship part. But excursions into other countries will be nice. And dang it's expensive!!!
It depends where the cruise it. Anywhere around the US, Caribbean etc..yes horrific. European or transatlantic cruises are fantastic. Much more sophisticated and interesting clientele and ports.
I agree. Some people love cruises and take them by the dozen but it’s not for me.
Right. A true waste of time and money.