Please: tell us about your cruises, the good, bad and fabulous?

I’ve never been on one either and would like to, though I worry about mal de mer and cost. Several friends have told me about their cruise (one to Alaska) and raved about them. I look forward to hearing what folks say here.

Oh, I was hoping you’d be able to answer…

My wife and I have been on several cruises, mainly in the Caribbean but also a couple up the west coast to and from Alaska. We enjoy the laid back atmosphere that cruises entail. We do not take part in very many of the “onboard activities” they offer. Many of them are just sales pitches others just a little, I don’t know, childish maybe. We just sit back and enjoy the decklife both poolside and in the quiet out of the way places.
Cruise ships come in many different sizes from small 100 passenger ones to the newer 5000+ passenger ones. The bigger ones come with more amenities but how many times can you (and the other 4999 people) surf onboard or climb the climbing wall without getting bored. Most are in the 1500 to 2000 range and even this is a little too much for my taste.
Ask around, find a good cruise line you think you would enjoy. We have used Royal Caribbean exclusively but would like to try some of the other, smaller lines.
Everybody has horror tales but take them with a grain of salt.
Lines like Carnival are, for the most part, for the younger party crowd. If you enjoy that, go for it.
Seasickness; We have never had a bout yet onboard ship. My wife got a little queezy on the ferry to the mainland in Cancun/Cozumel but the water was pretty choppy.
The food on RCL is pretty good. It has gone down in quality over the past few years but they are catering to the masses now like everyone else.
Excursions, if you order through the ship you will pay about 30% more than if you set them up yourself on the internet BUT the ship will not leave you if one of their tours is late getting back. If it is a private tour, you are on your own. In cruising the past 10 years I have only heard of one person missing the boat and they had to get a plane from Cancun to Belize to get back on the boat.
The cruise docks in port are mainly set up to drain your wallet, and not surprisingly, most of what you find is the same no matter what country and all will have a little tag that says “China” on it. You need to get away from the dock to find those items that are handmade by the locals. Most places are like what you are used to in your own town. There are places to go and places to stay away from. Finding a reputable guide is advisable and contrary to the wild tales you hear, almost all are legitimate and depend on word of mouth and repeat business so they try to keep you safe and happy.
I would recommend you take one of the shorter excursions first to see if it is something you are going to enjoy, 3–4 days. You can get these for $300–400. If you like it you can look to the longer ones. Right now my wife are considering a 14 day Transatlantic. On a repositioning cruise (where they move from one continent to another) these are very reasonable $700–800.00 and I enjoy the sea days as much as the shore days.
Good luck with it! You can PM me if I can be of any further assistance or if you have specific questions.

Thank, @rojo. I wasn’t thinking of going on any. I just wanted to hear what goes on and how people liked or didn’t like them. lol