Are cruises really worth it?

I absolutely love cruises. They have shows all throughout the day and night! You can get a schedule each day and pick which events you want to go to. I love comedy shows, trivia games, etc. If you don't like to lay out, there is usually a shaded hot tub area, and this is a good place to meet other couples and make friends. Plus you get to port at really cool places that you would never want to fly to (like I wouldn't want to go through an airport with a different language than English. But a cruise drops you off in a good location and you don't have to really even take a cab or anything like that).

Cruises aren't for everyone though. My dad says he hates feeling trapped on a boat for a week, and my FH says he will never ever go on one because he is scared of it sinking. Lol. But I've been on 10 since I was 6 years old.

I enjoy cruises, but it is more of a relaxing trip, especially the days at sea. There are usually tons of stuff to do on the boat though, just not usually adventurous activities. But you can still do the adventure part when docked at different locations. I've actually found that cruises are pretty cheap for the unlimited food and included activities. I've only been on carnival and I've had a good time each time.

I love cruises, but I'm kind of the opposite of you. I like to lay around and do nothing while I'm on vacation, but I know there's always something to do on the boat.

There are night clubs and comedy clubs, trivia and all kinds of things.

Also, like PP said, you get to go to locations without all the hassle of flying.

There are excursions you can do as well that are tied to the cruise so you don't have to worry about missing the boat.

I'm going on a Carnival cruise to Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, and Cozumel for my honeymoon and can't wait!

Following! We're going on our first cruise for our honeymoon and I'm weirdly nervous about it.. Praying I don't hate it. Going with Royal Caribbean to Cozumel.

View Quoted Comment

I've heard nothing but good things about Royal Caribbean. Carnival is more for party people lol.

I love cruises. 🚢 Not a fan of flying so it’s a great way to travel between places. Because kinda like an all-inclusive vaca it’s fun to try to new foods, activities, see shows. It’s relaxing being on the water. Food, activities & ship can be super nice but the rooms do tend to be small & nice but are not 5-star luxury. If you’ve never done one, I think it would be fun to do for a honeymoon!

View Quoted Comment I agree with this. Loved Carnival in my 20’s (although my mom went on recently & said they’ve stepped up their game on food & ship to not just be a “party” ship. Last cruise was RC and it was one of the better cruise lines I’ve been on.

Can anyone suggest a smaller cruise line that maybe doesn't get quite as crowded? I see so many pictures where they crowd tons of people on the decks and it just looks scary!

View Quoted Comment

I'm not too familiar with a smaller cruise line, but every cruise I've been on wasn't very crowded. Plus, it depends on what time of year you go.

During the summer and holidays is going to be more crowded because kids are out of school.

View Quoted Comment I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Cozumel last year! It was a blast!! Cruises are great because there really is something for everyone. Some people like to relax on vacations, so they have the option of staying on the boat or going to beaches during ports. Some people love to adventure so the excursions in every port are perfect! I'm sure you'll love it!

Cruising is AMAZING hence my profile name. We are getting married while on a cruise. As far as price I personally think they are very inexpensive for everything you get compared to what you will pay at an all inclusive. I find it the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure because when you go to an island you can do an excursion that is adventurous (hiking, zip lining, ATVing, etc.) and the ships have activities throughout the day to keep you busy so you don't have to just lay out by the pool all day but once you are on the ship you can relax as much as you want to.

I have only sailed on Carnival so I can't give my opinion on other cruise lines but I haven't had a problem with Carnival. My first cruise was a 14 day and was by far one of the best experiences of my life. We went to the Southern Caribbean which I think was amazing and included 8 islands. I have been to the following islands: St Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Belize, Cozumel, Mahogonay Bay Honduras. I found my favorite locations were based on what we did there (example: Dominica was my favorite! we hiked in the rain forest and jumped into a water fall after climbing a very narrow wall which was SCARY!). St. Lucia has volcanos so we visited a volcano and did a sulphur bath. I would pick Southern Caribbean over the other islands if it was me. On cruises, you can eat as much as you want so for dinner you can get two entrees, apps, desserts etc - one of my favorite parts. Ughh I can't wait until January for my wedding cruise

I honestly wasn’t a fan of carnival & I’m actually still in my 20s (the latter ..27 but still lol) & I just think Royal Carribean is better. If you aren’t a drinker definitely forego the all inclusive drinks, it’ll just be cheaper to buy when you would like one bc it’s a per day per person package of more than $55. Also, they let you bring on a bottle in youe suitcase (per person) as long as it isn’t hard liquor. So, you can bring wine or champagne w/ you.

We went on a cruise from Barcelona to Venice for our honeymoon and we loved it. We only had one day at sea so that helped us from getting board. We actually enjoyed the day at sea a lot because we did so much on the other days (we booked lots of great excursions through the cruise line) and needed some rest! The cruise line we chose was Celebrity (kind of higher end), and everything was great, including the food and service.

I’ve only been on two, but I love them! I’m trying to talk my FH on going on one for our mini moon (he’s in the fence), but I’d rather go on a cruise where (almost) everything is included in the price, than have to worry about where we are gonna stay, how we’re gonna get there, what we’re gonna do each day, and how much each category is gonna cost us.

We booked our cruise about a month ago and we are so excited! I love cruising - this will be my 3rd cruise, and his 2nd (also where he proposed). The first crusie I went on was Carnival, I was 14, and had a horrible teenage attitude about going on a cruise with my grandpa, mom, dad, and 6 year old brother - once we got on the cruise, I had a blast, as did the whole family. Our 2nd cruise (last year) was a huge let down - definitely never sailing with Carnival again! I disagree with the party thing, it was just really lame. The ship was much smaller than the 1st cruise (not their fault of course, but that was disappointing), shows were terrible, the activities were terrible, we couldn’t get off at one port because of weather (again out of their control, but they had nothing prepared for that day as far as food places being closed, no extra activities, etc. so there was nothing to do for fun, and then there was no refunds for anything), the food was awful (it was so good on the first one but it had been 7 years). All in all, for the amount of money spent, it sucked - however my fiance had a blast as it was his first, but for the rest of my family, we were pretty disappointed.

For our honeymoon we booked a 7 days with Royal Carribean. It is on the largest ship they have, so I am
sure our experience is going to be much better! We are both so excited. Economically speaking, cruising is nice - you don’t have to drive anywhere, worry about finding a place to eat - its also nice that you can pick different food if you are fighting about what to eat for dinner lol. There is so much to do on the ship (if you get a good one) and there is a lot to do outside of it when you get to the ports.

There really isn’t one answer for this since it depends on the cruise line, destinations, and how long you’re going for. I’ve been on 6 Caribbean cruises, 2 Bermuda cruises, one tranatltic cruise and one Alaskan cruise. Almost all have been on Royal Caribbean, with one Bermuda cruise on Celebrity (owned by Royal Caribbean) and the transatlantic cruise was in the QEII. Most of the cruises I went on I enjoyed very much. I almost always traveled with a big group of friends which made it fun. I will say that the more I went, the more I felt it was the same old same old. Some things activities are really fun, some a little cheesy. I find that cruise entertainment hasn’t really caught up with the times. The food was mostly pretty good, not great. What I do really like is they are very lively and you meet lots of nice people. Most cruise ships have an indoor pool in addition to the outdoor pool with lots of shaded areas if you don’t want to lay in the sun.

I would say say that a cruise is great for the Caribbean. You get to go to several islands and you have the ship for activities and entertainment. I didn’t really care for the Bermuda cruise. Way too many days st sea and the ship got monotonous. When I went to Alaska, it was too cold for swimming snd no music on board like the Caribbean so it was a little boring on board. Alaska is incredible and so epuld have rather stayed on land, so much to see! I think one of the best things about cruising it’s its a very economical way to travel. By the way, alcohol is not included, unless you purchase a package.

For me, I think I’ve done enough cruising in my lifetime that I don’t feel the need for it. I think it can be greet for first timers. My husband and I went to Sandsls St. Lucia for our honeymoon and stayed in s butler suite. Now that I’ve had that experience I don’t think I’d go back to cruising. But of course, our Sandsls vacation was about $5,000 more than what it would cost to go on s cruise, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

I love cruising, it takes the planning and stress out of vacation. Been on four Royal Caribbean cruises (3 Caribbean and 1 Australia/New Zealand) taking another in the fall with stops in Venice, Greece and Croatia. Cruises are actually pretty reasonable to most other vacation methods averaging $100 per person per day with food, entertainment and lodging included. The rooms are small, but the goal is to be out and about doing stuff in port or on the ship. I'd say at least go on one cruise to see how you like it as they may not be for everyone.

There are a TON of activities on a cruise. Entertainers and performers, live music everywhere. Certain ships have things like skydiving simulators, surfing simulators, and waterslides. Now, the drinking is a huge thing on cruises because of all the bars. But there's also shopping and a spa and tons of activities. The food is amazing and never-ending. On port days, you can book all-day active excursions like snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, ziplining, or more historical, walking tour-style excursions. There's plenty to do!

Minus my all-inclusive alcohol package (since you said you don't drink), I'm paying about 4K for our balcony room and four shore excursions.

ETA: To see what kind of activities are on board on cruise ship days, here's a link to the "cruise compass" for a past cruise on the same boat and similar itinerary as the cruise we're doing for our honeymoon: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/anthem-of-the-seas/sat-2017-12-02-0000. When you cruise, you get one every day. We like to highlight the activities we're interested or shows we're going to see.

We went on our first cruise this year and we weren’t big fans. We felt like on the boat the only thing to really do was drink and sit in or by the pool unless we wanted to spend money. There are plenty of activities on board but they were really our style (things like musicals and trivia). Our favorite thing about it were the excursions but to our surprise all were a distance away from the ports (we were in the Bahamas). Ultimately at the end of the trip we decided we’d both prefer to fly and just get extra time at the location. The “fun day at sea” was incredible boring for us and it seemed like the boat cruises slower that day then the other days just to create this day at sea.

Everyone has has their own opinion but for us (who like to fill every vacation with as many activities as possible) a cruise was just a waste of time.