I don't get it

We, too, were highly apprehensive before our first RCL cruise. We had done a Nile cruise the previous year (I suppose it could be compared to a "port intensive" sea cruise, with stops and land exploration every day).

TBH, we didn't research much - oh, OK, not at all. I saw a full page advert in the Sunday supplement for a 10 day cruise to the Canaries on board the (at that point) still under construction Independence of the Seas.

We debated and discussed - the size and number of passengers was a concern - but the offer seemed good value, so in the end we "bit the bullet" and booked.

We were, perhaps , lucky, in that one of our tablemates at dinner was a member of RCL activity staff, taking advantage of staff discounts to take her mother on a cruise.

However, we went onboard open-minded. We went to all the shows, the trivia, the silly games..... we ate in speciality restaurants and Johnny Rockets......we mingled and chatted with fellow cruisers......we made friends with some of the crew (some of whom, 8 years on, we still are in contact with)......and yes, we lazed in the sun with a book ( and a beer lol)

Maybe we were spoilt on a brand spanking new ship, with Ken Rush as CD......but, when, three weeks after returning I was emailed an offer for a B2B on the Freedom, I jumped at it.

Cruising isn't for everyone, I know that. We've offered it to MIL who declined, (hates the idea of all that water) and our youngest (had a free cruise on MSC won by his GF, and hated it).

Equally,our eldest and her DH came along and loved it.

For our first cruise, we booked a short cruise to be sure this was something we would enjoy. We loved it and booked a longer cruise and loved it. Somewhere along the way, we booked a cruise on Royal to Hawaii. We knew it included 5 days at sea. We were unconcerned. We had spent one day at sea, in between excursions and loved our day at sea. Everyone said, the more days at sea the better, but as it turns out, we were BORED out of our minds. That's the last cruise we've taken with 5 days in a row of sea days. We've avoided a TA cruise or a repositioning cruise. We took a Med cruise, which was very port intensive and it had sea days between some of the most intensive ports. THIS is our favorite. The sea days gave us a much needed day to do NOTHING but relax between some really tiring days. At the next port, we felt we the positioning of the sea days were perfect. We came home and immediately booked another Med cruise. We've discovered that we like getting off the ship, seeing something new each day and being transported there while we sleep. We now know we need an occasional sea day to recoup from the port days. We've found that we like the idea of deciding on having a rental car waiting on us at some ports, giving us the freedom to roam in a direction the cruise crowd might choose. We like the idea of a private excursion with someone else doing the driving, taking us directly to just the spots we want to see without the worry of driving ourselves in some ports. We like the idea of being able to make our own "sea day" by staying onboard at a port we've "been there, done that" too many times in the past. It gives us the freedom to walk off the ship, wander around for a bit and get back onboard and enjoy a ship that feels like it's just there for us. I think we too would have been very bored and disappointed with the cruise you ended up on. We've never been tempted to go on the QE2, even though one of our extended family that often cruises with us and been on the QE2 and loved it. Her photos and description of the ship are what convinced us that this ship would NOT be our cup of tea. That's why there are so many different cruise lines with so many different itineraries. We thought we were strictly Caribbean cruisers until we took that Med cruise. Now we know that we like the port intensive cruises too. We now want to re-do our past experience and go on a cruise to Hawaii but we are planning to use NCL because we don't want to have the five days at sea and we don't like the days at sea when it can be chilly outside on the pool deck. Cruising is not for everyone, but I can't think of a better formula for failure than what you enjoy and the cruise line and itinerary you ended up on. It will probably be years and maybe not ever that you decide to try cruising again. I'm also curious. Why are there people that have no interest in cruising in the future and have only cruised once years ago and had a negative experience reading and posting on a Board that is strictly about cruising. What a waste for them to spend their time reading post after post about people who enjoy cruising and posting their experiences on a cruise, showing photos of their cruise, the food, etc., and then feel compelled to post how they tried it once years ago and hated it. I don't knit. Tried it years ago and hated it....so why would I go to find a Board about knitting, different patterns and yarn being discussed by enthusiastic knitters and looking for a spot to comment that knitting is stupid and I hate knitting?????

Why are there people that have no interest in cruising in the future and have only cruised once years ago and had a negative experience reading and posting on a Board that is strictly about cruising. What a waste for them to spend their time reading post after post about people who enjoy cruising and posting their experiences on a cruise, showing photos of their cruise, the food, etc., and then feel compelled to post how they tried it once years ago and hated it. I don't knit. Tried it years ago and hated it....so why would I go to find a Board about knitting, different patterns and yarn being discussed by enthusiastic knitters and looking for a spot to comment that knitting is stupid and I hate knitting?????

I wondered the same thing......

OP, if I were you, I'd give it another try on a different cruise line and more port-intensive itinerary.

We love cruising, but would never choose an itinerary with mostly sea days! For us, the point of cruising is seeing as many ports as possible. After many cruises (stopped counting), we are taking our longest ever at 18 nights - 11 ports including an overnight , with nicely interspersed sea days for relaxation.

We also love road-tripping, because, let's face it, cruise ships can't go everywhere. But, while on a road trip, we get disappointed that we have to live out of suitcases and have to find restaurants when we don't really feel like going out in search...so then we miss cruising, as much as we enjoy those land adventures.

Agree that cruising isn't for everyone. You have to look at what you enjoy doing on vacation. We do cruise - but aren't the 'cruise addicts' that some people are. We don't enjoy the trivia, bingo, gambling, shopping/spa talks etc so there isn't much for us on sea days. But I know that so I don't expect the cruise to entertain me all day - a hotel on a land trip certainly wouldn't.

When we take vacations I don't enjoy living out of a suitcase, I don't enjoy road trips, I do enjoy seeing multiple places, eating out (so condo rental for a week isn't for me) and going to nightly shows. That's what I get out of cruising - a vacation method where I can drive/fly once, unpack once, see multiple destinations, and have food/drinks provided (I seek out cruises with a drink plan included) and nightly shows.

I do enjoy reading and sunbathing for a bit on vacation so I like having a couple sea days. But def seek out cruises to destinations I want to go to - not simply choosing a cruise to cruise. The port days are the highlight for me.

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I don't get it either. I just looked at the QE and there's sports, gym, fitness classes and spa services. There's guest speakers, there's classic movies and current movies, there's supper clubs with dinner and dancing or more contemporary dancing. There's theater performances. The pubs have games like quizzes and karaoke and televised sports shows. There are options for more upscale music venues. Not to mention the 2000+ people to mingle and talk to. It is too bad you did not enjoy the cruise. I agree with others, it would have perhaps been better if there were more ports and less sea days.

At this point in your life, cruising is not for you. Maybe in the future, it will be, maybe not. Simple as that. There is no right or wrong about it, just the way it is.

Well put!

Australia to Japan? Of course you only saw water.

Cruising is great-as long as you pick a cruise that works for you.

If you wanted to see land, you should've picked one with a lot of port days. The Mediterranean would've been a good option.

Why would you want to pay to sit around and do nothing?

Apparenly you did, because you booked a 15 day cruise on Cunard.

This theme is too much like regretting having booked a concert series because all there was to do was listen to music.

Wolfgang, what you have not mentioned was if you enjoyed the days you were in port?

It seems to me that you booked a cruise with a lot of sea days and a few port days. I would hate that too. The cruises I like best are either:

Port intensive - where we are in a new port every single day - this is typical of Alaska and Mediterranean cruises. On those cruises you hardly ever see the ship as you get off by 8:30am and don't get by on until 5:30pm every day except perhaps 1 day of your cruise - where I'm usually so tired from all the walking, I sleep in for once! Another type of port intensive cruise where you are off the ship all day everyday (almost) is a river cruise - such as the Rhine river. I find that I like these very busy cruises where we spend tons of time on land best of all.

All about the ship - this is where the ship has an amazing spa and/or great shows. Typically, you find this on one of the mega ships - such as RCCL Oasis class ships.

But I know which kind of cruise I'm getting myself into and I'm not going on an "All about the ship" cruise for more than 7 days as I would be bored. There are only so many days in a row that I want to go to the spa, eat at a specialty restaurant and see a show.

So anyway, sorry your first cruise experience was lousy. If you ever decide to try again I'd recommend a Med cruise as I think you would be so incredibly busy it would fit with what you like much better. Just be aware that you have to plan ahead and research to figure out what you want to do and how to do it inexpensively (it can be done.)

I like sailings that have a port every other day and a sea day in between to enjoy the ship and sleep in :)

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I agree with all the folks who have said the cruise you booked for a "first cruise" was totally wrong.....there are many,

many, MANY "Port Intensive" cruises out there........which means you are stopping in a different place almost every day

and you can go explore (if that is something that appeals to you).....I didn't read every reply but as for a good TA, they

would have asked you what you enjoy doing......if you are a Type A personality? I would think you would know yourself

best......you want to be "going and doing something" all the time......a cruise with so many sea days, (especially a first time

cruise) would not be recommended.

Sorry you wasted so much money (and time).

I can understand where you are coming from. My first cruise was 7 days by day 5 I was bored. Now my first cruise I went with my mom and she couldn't do the excursions. While my mom! Is a good time how much fun can you at 21 years old with your mom. Since then I haven't been on a 7 days cruise. I don't like sea days so I usually go on 5 day cruises with 1 or less cruise days. I have been with my best friend on two other cruises and we had a great time. Now I am about to go on one with my husband and I am so much more excited. I think for your first cruise 15 days is a lot. Not sure if you went with anyone else but that could make a difference. I love going to ports and exploring. Choosing a cruise line that is right for you is another thing, along with destinations.

I've been wanting to go on a cruise for as long as I can remember. I finally got the opportunity and booked a 15 night cruise. I booked 8 months in advance and was super excited and couldn't wait to go. Everyone around me told me how great my holiday would be. Embarkation went smoothly and I had a great cabin with balcony, but that's where my excitement ended.

I can't understand what people find so great about cruising. I know people will tell me that I'm boring, but, it was BORING. What is so exciting about lying around in the sun and reading books. I don't drink and gamble, and even if I did, I couldn't afford to drink on board, and the activities during the day were pathetic. I ended up watching TV in my cabin most days. If I could have afforded it, I would have left the ship at the first port and taken a plane to the final destination.

This was my first cruise, and I would say, will be my last.

Sorry to tell you this now but cruising isn't everyone's cup of tea. I suppose now you know.

Would be curious to know if all the hype to which the OP refers was from friends or the source. Did he know about Cruise Critic at the time? As I am sure he now knows, one can get a wealth of information on CC, which might have been of immense help in deciding if cruising was for him, and determining the best cruise fit for his expectations.

IMO, CC and TripAdvisor are absolute 'go to's' when we are planning any trip or cruise. Have avoided a lot of mistakes and saved a lot of money.

 

IMO, CC and TripAdvisor are absolute 'go to's' when we are planning any trip or cruise. Have avoided a lot of mistakes and saved a lot of money.

I agree, also just checking other sources as well. Especially if someone says 'I love ??? cruises' ask what it is that they love about it and why.