Is going on a cruise like going to Wal Mart for 5 days?
Looking at family vacation ideas and I'm shamefully considering a cruise because the built in baby sitting activities for the little ones is the most affordable option where we're not limited in our own activities because of them. The other options is to go somewhere and bring along my Mother in Law which I am NOT prepared to do at this point in time.
I've never been on one because it seems to me you're basically trapped with a bunch of people. I know the ships are huge though. Booze isn't free either, right? I'd probably just sit in the casino the whole time except for when we get to leave the ship for the day.Also, I know several "cruise people" through work or otherwise and they're mostly nutcases.
I've been on one and that's enough for me. Glad I did it, but I won't ever do it again. Not only do you have to pay for booze, but most of them make you pay for coffee and if you are a soda junkie, you pay for that too. And the most egregious thing I noted was they include 15% gratuity on all charges. They don't tell you this or if they do, I didn't hear it. A bit of warning would be nice. Because right underneath the automatic 15% gratuity is a line for an additional tip. If you are absent minded and not paying attention, you'll be tipping on top of 15%. That crap pisses me right off and I won't cruise again because of it. That's not the only reason I won't do it again, but it's a big one. You will run into the same people over and over again. We had one enormous, obnoxious, loud east coast Jewish family on our massive cruise ship that complained about everything and made a gigantic scene everywhere they went. Their kids were unruly and the grownups were even worse. They made huge messes with food and yelled at servers...just a hideous group and I won't ever subject myself to that sort of torment again. I wanted to punt the 'man' of the family overboard. He whined incessantly and I just couldn't avoid them no matter how hard I tried.
If you don't have a balcony room, your interior room will be small and cramped. The bathroom is a joke. And be prepared to tip everybody. Their hands are out and you'll get cross looks if you don't fork it over.
By the end of the trip, I had to settle out my account. I owed about $600 in booze/excursions/services. This is on top of the huge price tag I paid to go on the cruise. Screw that.
Those are the negatives....there are some positives. Seeing Alaska in a different light was pretty cool. Seeing whales and dolphins and glaciars and eagles was very cool. Having access to a casino was pretty cool, though if you are going to do an Alaskan cruise, be prepared for the casino to open and close depending on where you are in the water. Sometimes it was open and other times it was closed.
Cruise entertainment is corny, cheesy and designed for the elderly. It's where 5th rate actors go to die.