What is the Appeal of these mega cruises?

[Newell Steamer]

Yea well if you go for the bear bones cheapest option on Carnival's cheapest ship, that's what you are going to get. Just like with everything else, you get what you pay for. Try an actual decently rated company and pay a bit more and get a lot more.

Guarantee you didn't have that experience on Royal Caribbean or one of the better cruise lines

Ship choice matters a lot. If you book one of the $399 week long cruise specials, expect a budget experience. Kinda like booking a $29/night hotel and being surprised that its shitty and in a scary area.

What ship?

Yes,... very true & agreed.

It was Disney's Boat To No Where, out of NYC.

I should take a Caribbean cruise.

 

[OCGuy]

All I know is I was coming back from Cabo when the Japanese quake hit...we had to circle in San Diego harbor for hours because nobody knew if a Tsunami was going to wipe away Shamu.

I felt really bad later when I realized just how petty it sounded that I couldn't get off of a cruise ship for 3 hours, while thousands of lives were being destroyed on the other side of the ocean. :/

 

[IndyColtsFan]

never seen the appeal either

Me either. They seem really awful to me, as does a place like Las Vegas.

 

[Jimzz]

A cruise ticket is like 2 grand. How is that cheap?

I paid $2093 for 3 people in a balcony room for 7days. That includes room, food, travel, daycare, etc...

It is cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel and paying for food. You do lose the option of where you want to go and when but it also includes all the basic stuff.

Its a trade off. As I said before I am not a big cruise person but they can be fun and relaxing.

 

[Fayd]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/royal-caribbean-cruise-passenger-recalls-awful-experience-1.2515106

Huge floating malls, super crowded (You should see the pictures of how crowded those ships get) Parents let their kids run amok and go crazy since (its a ship they cant get lost)

Your land destination are tourist traps with the hard sell the moment you get off by hundreds of all kinds of vendors from Timeshares to trinkets, same generic malls/stores/restaurants.

Then you get the chance of winning the Diarrhea cruise, just imagine the prize, stuck in a ship with hundreds of people shitting in their pants and vomiting all over the place, I can just imagine the sounds and smells involved.


Anyhow whats the deal, am I missing something? I have never been on a Cruise.

it's really not that crowded once you're on the ship and settled. There's things to do at all hours. (mini golf at 2:00 am? yes!)

honestly, it's the most comfortable vacation i've ever had.

 

[SlickSnake]

The biggest reason to cruise? It's cheaper than a retirement home.

http://www.silverplanet.com/lifesty...ships-different-way-retire/46559#.Uuv6ILTImdM

http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/2013-2-2-cruise-ship-retirement-assisted-living/

 

[BurnItDwn]

I like cruising, but, I have decided that I prefer smaller boats, less crowded, shorter lines. But most of the cruise lines have retired the smaller boats in favor of huge megaships so they can cram more people in.

I guess Ijust like being out at sea, I love watching the water, watching as you approach the islands. I agree with most of the ports being terrible these days. Some are better than others (Cayman Islands for example, not so much pushy sales people.)

Also, it's fun to go some place warm for a week in the winter. Just like how it's nice to go some place cold in the summer.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Not sure

I don't like crowds of people, so I have 0 appeal for a cruise. Just doesn't sounds like fun to me.

 

[mmntech]

I've been on three cruises. Two British boats and one American one. The Europeans definitely do a better overall job where the American ones are more like the ship from Wall-e.

I also know a few people who have worked on ships. Learned a few things. Like the norovirus stuff. A lot of that is caused by passengers not washing their hands after using the toilet, then handling food at the buffet. If an outbreak pops up, sick passengers are isolated quickly and self-service at buffets stops, then the whole ship is scrubbed down. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't get caught quickly enough.

 

[ponyo]

Surprise, surprise. People who have never been on cruises don't like cruises. 🙄

 

[Red Storm]

Never been on one, may one day try it just so I can say I have done it. To me I don't see the appeal in being on a giant boat for so long. I can definitely say part of it has to do with only seeing what looks like cheap cruises in commercials.

What's a really nice cruise line?

 

[Wreckem]

A cruise ticket is like 2 grand. How is that cheap?

Umm for what cruise?

You can do 15 day cruises from San Fran(or LA) to Hawaii for like $1200/per person. Flights from most of the US to Hawaii start at $1000 per ticket.

Generally cruises are start out between $75-100 a day per person for the fare. More for better rooms. Double the price on Xmas and New Year cruises.

If you live close to a cruise port and have a flexible schedule you can snag even cheaper last minute cruises.

The only negative issue I have ever had cruising were not related to cruising but the weather. Galveston is notoriously foggy in Jan/Feb. My honeymoon cruise was delayed by 6 hours because of dense fog.

 

[blackdogdeek]

What's a really nice cruise line?

Of the mega cruise lines we like Royal Caribbean.

 

[Mxylplyx]

I've been on one as an adult, a carnival cruise. We knew we had made a mistake when we arrived at the cruise terminal, and it looked like a small town walmart had vomited it's fat redneck contents all over the cruise terminal. A large percentage of these people came on this cruise to do nothing more than sit in the lido deck cafeteria and stuff their fat faces with mediocre soft serve and pizza the whole time. This isn't an indictment of cruising in general. I'll probably do it again, but step up to celebrity cruises or something more expensive that prices these people out.

 

[Mixolydian]

Cruise? No thanks.

 

[Exterous]

Its a different type of vacation. I wasn't sure I'd like it the first time we took one but sometimes its nice to avoid hassles like driving, flight connections, public transportation etc once you're on the ship and on vacation. We find them very relaxing and a great counter point to our hyper active different day different city\country vacations. Its easy to get off the boat, wander around for a few hours and then get back on. There's food and pools close by, free room service, entertainment around the corner etc. We also didn't find it as crowded as we thought it would be as they, typically, seem to do a good job spreading people out. One night I was the only one standing on one of the decks looking at the full moon in a cloudless sky. It was very peaceful and beautiful

I'm looking forward to our 7 day cruise coming up in April leaving form Puerto Rico

Most of them should be renamed "Wal-Mart of the Seas".

Thats Carnival. If you go on Royal Caribbean its more like Target 😛

A cruise ticket is like 2 grand. How is that cheap?

For some really long ones sure but some of them are going to be a lot cheaper than getting to the location any other way. For example you can get a three night cruise to the Bahamas for $160 a person. Good luck getting to the Bahamas, getting a hotel and paying for food for less than that

 

[mizzou]

flat rate cost for unlimited booze, food, and shitty music.

 

[Midwayman]

A cruise ticket is like 2 grand. How is that cheap?

You can get on a descent line, good ship for around $1000 a person a week. That's inclusive of meals. A good resort tends to be at least $300 a night $1800 for 7 days. Then you have food and typically a more expensive flight than the one to a cruise port.

For a comparable experience, cruises are cheaper.

 

[Midwayman]

Of the mega cruise lines we like Royal Caribbean.

Each line has a little different personality. I like Celebrity of the big lines. Less announcements and generally better food. The specific ship you get on has a much bigger impact though. Carnival in particular runs some really old ships, but they also have brand new mega ships that I hear very positive reviews about. (RC and Celebrity are the same company btw). Went on Oceania once and it was freaking amazing.

 

[Fayd]

I've been on three cruises. Two British boats and one American one. The Europeans definitely do a better overall job where the American ones are more like the ship from Wall-e.

your sample size is insufficient to make any sort of inference.

 

[KMFJD]

I could see doing an Alaska cruise but that's about it, i'd go broke from the bar tab though...

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

booze and girls who can't run away lol. what's not to like?

 

[blackdogdeek]

I could see doing an Alaska cruise but that's about it, i'd go broke from the bar tab though...

Make it all back at the Black Jack tables. That's what I did.

 

[Wreckem]

Each line has a little different personality. I like Celebrity of the big lines. Less announcements and generally better food. The specific ship you get on has a much bigger impact though. Carnival in particular runs some really old ships, but they also have brand new mega ships that I hear very positive reviews about. (RC and Celebrity are the same company btw). Went on Oceania once and it was freaking amazing.

Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean are all comparable mass market lines. That said Royal Caribbean does lead this group by a fairly large margin.

Princess, HAL, and Celebrity are upscale mass market. Celebrity narrowly edges out Princess. HAL is far to geriatric.

Disney, well its Disney which means the most expensive out of the six I've mentioned. They are upscale and kid friendly. The best line for families with children. Sadly no casinos.

Then you have the luxury lines like Almazara, Cunard, Reagent, Silversea and Seabourne. These tend to be all inclusive of everything including alcohol and some excursions built into the fare price.

 

[Wreckem]

I could see doing an Alaska cruise but that's about it, i'd go broke from the bar tab though...

Most mass market cruise lines are offering "unlimited" alcohol packages starting at $280(domesticbeer and wine) and going up to $455(premium beers, premium spirits, and premium wines) + gratuity.

"Unlimited" = up to 15 alcoholic beverages a day. One must consume at least 8 drinks every day to make any of these package worthwhile. Everything above that is basically "free".