What Misconceptions About Cruising Do Your Non-cruising Friends/Family Have?

[alangford03]

My father refuses to go on one. We go on two a year. He says, "the only difference between prison and a cruise ship is that there is a real risk of drowning on a cruise ship."

 

He kills me!

 

 

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[Nola26]

Cruising is expensive. Rooms and especially bathrooms are too small. I don't want to look at water all of the time.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

My late husband, before he'd tried cruises, use to say he thought they were just floating, feeding frenzies.

 

I get the 'how do you afford to cruise so often' comments which means they think cruising is really expensive.

 

Nervous to be surrounded by nothing but water with no land in sight.

 

Fear of nothing to do, especially on sea days.

 

Not wanting to travel where Zika virus is.

[esm54687]

Biggest misconception I find is that "a passport is required for Caribbean cruises" ...

 

After I explain to them what a closed loop cruise is AND point them to the US State Dept & US Customs and Border Protection websites that clearly say a passport is NOT required...... the "experts" who have never cruised or even been out of the country continue to argue a passport is required......

 

 

 

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[Rustybuttons123]

Biggest misconception I find is that "a passport is required for Caribbean cruises"

 

You're correct, it's not required for closed loop cruises but it's a good idea to have one anyway. If you had a family emergency and had to fly home you wouldn't be able to or if you missed the ship at a port and needed to fly to rejoin or home.

[no port @ dfw]

Nervous to be surrounded by nothing but water with no land in sight.

 

My grandfather loved cruising and used to always say "You are never more than a few miles from land . . . straight down."

[Rustybuttons123]

Haven't heard most of these misconceptions except norovirus but that isn't a misconception, cruises are prone to norovirus outbreaks, it's why they push hand washing and have hand sanitizer dispensers all over the ships.

 

How about misconceptions that people who cruise have? The one I hear most often is that cruising is a great way to sample different places to know where to go back to for land based vacations. That's actually not true because cruise ships generally call at busy, high volume, mass tourism places, many times with pushy vendors and rude people that leave a bad impression. A prime example of this is Martinique, the only time I ever hear bad reports about Martinique almost always come from people who visited briefly off a cruise ship but people who have gone and spent time there love it and have a completely different take on it. And there's places cruise ships never go so you'd never see them to know the difference to compare.

[SquishTheWhale]

Haven't heard most of these misconceptions except norovirus but that isn't a misconception, cruises are prone to norovirus outbreaks, it's why they push hand washing and have hand sanitizer dispensers all over the ships.

 

How about misconceptions that people who cruise have? The one I hear most often is that cruising is a great way to sample different places to know where to go back to for land based vacations. That's actually not true because cruise ships generally call at busy, high volume, mass tourism places, many times with pushy vendors and rude people that leave a bad impression. A prime example of this is Martinique, the only time I ever hear bad reports about Martinique almost always come from people who visited briefly off a cruise ship but people who have gone and spent time there love it and have a completely different take on it. And there's places cruise ships never go so you'd never see them to know the difference to compare.

 

I partly disagree. Yes, there's lots of places cruise ships don't go which would make nice land based vacations. And it isn't really fair to make a snap judgement about hating a whole country after spending 6 hours there. But I think it's an amazing way to discover lots of destinations you would never have seen otherwise. I'd never have gone to Madeira or Malaga (and in fact had barely heard of either) but since stopping at them on a cruise I would happily plan a land based trip to either. In fact sampling new places is now my #1 reason to cruise.

[Rustybuttons123]

I partly disagree. Yes, there's lots of places cruise ships don't go which would make nice land based vacations. And it isn't really fair to make a snap judgement about hating a whole country after spending 6 hours there. But I think it's an amazing way to discover lots of destinations you would never have seen otherwise. I'd never have gone to Madeira or Malaga (and in fact had barely heard of either) but since stopping at them on a cruise I would happily plan a land based trip to either. In fact sampling new places is now my #1 reason to cruise.

 

You kind of proved my point with Malaga, while it's nice it's not one of the better places to visit in that part of Spain, there's Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez and the breathtaking white villages like Ronda.

[esm54687]

You're correct, it's not required for closed loop cruises but it's a good idea to have one anyway. If you had a family emergency and had to fly home you wouldn't be able to or if you missed the ship at a port and needed to fly to rejoin or home.

You reminded me of another misconception....... travelling without a passport and "not being able to get home" .... you certainly can and will with the aid of the local US Consulate...... it may cost some $$$ and a little bit of time but as a US Citizen you are not locked out of the country for life without a passport. How do victims of crimes or lost identification get home??

 

You will not be able to fly to the next international port of call to get to your ship but you will get home....

 

Is it best to have a passport.... absolutely yes but the misconceptions are: 1) required 2) you don't have one and need to return home you can't

 

 

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[Rustybuttons123]

You reminded me of another misconception....... travelling without a passport and "not being able to get home" .... you certainly can and will with the aid of the local US Consulate...... it may cost some $$$ and a little bit of time but as a US Citizen you are not locked out of the country for life without a passport. How do victims of crimes or lost identification get home??

 

You will not be able to fly to the next international port of call to get to your ship but you will get home....

 

Is it best to have a passport.... absolutely yes but the misconceptions are: 1) required 2) you don't have one and need to return home you can't

 

 

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I didn't mean to imply that you would be stuck somewhere indefinitely, that's absurd. The point was you couldn't QUICKLY fly home if you had an emergency situation. That's not a misconception, it's a very real situation.

[SquishTheWhale]

You kind of proved my point with Malaga, while it's nice it's not one of the better places to visit in that part of Spain, there's Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez and the breathtaking white villages like Ronda.

 

Not really proving your point as that's subjective- one person can't definitivley say that Seville is 'better' than Malaga as we all enjoy different things.

 

My point is that I would never have visited Malaga without going on a cruise and discovered how lovely it is- and I wouldn't visit any of those other places you listed either as my 'want to travel to' list is long enough as it is and mainland Spain isn't anywhere on it.

 

There's far too many places to visit in the world to make a land based vacation to every single one and then decide which I like best! Whereas on a cruise I get to make a slightly involuntary trip (seeing as the itinerary is not decided by myself) to destinations that were previously totally off my radar.

[esm54687]

I didn't mean to imply that you would be stuck somewhere indefinitely, that's absurd. The point was you couldn't QUICKLY fly home if you had an emergency situation. That's not a misconception, it's a very real situation.

The logic and reasoning behind why having a passport is recommended not the misconception....... it's that people think that one is required.

 

But in the end you and I agree

 

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[Rustybuttons123]

Not really proving your point as that's subjective- one person can't definitivley say that Seville is 'better' than Malaga as we all enjoy different things.

 

My point is that I would never have visited Malaga without going on a cruise and discovered how lovely it is- and I wouldn't visit any of those other places you listed either as my 'want to travel to' list is long enough as it is and mainland Spain isn't anywhere on it.

 

There's far too many places to visit in the world to make a land based vacation to every single one and then decide which I like best! Whereas on a cruise I get to make a slightly involuntary trip (seeing as the itinerary is not decided by myself) to destinations that were previously totally off my radar.

 

It would be unlikely you'd find Malaga more rewarding than the other places I mentioned, but you are correct it's entirely subjective...however, back to my original point that your cruise didn't go there and didn't give you the opportunity to compare. Although you could have done an excursion to Granada or Ronda but no time for both or any others and you would have had to trade off seeing Malaga.

 

You're also correct that there's many places in the world to visit, but all the inland areas too far from port areas you would miss entirely. You'd be surprised how much you can see land based, I've been to 110 countries in the past 35 years, some by cruise ship but more than 90% by land based travels. It takes time yes! I know many people who do both cruises and land based traveling.

 

It's really best to do your research on where to go, then decide how best to do it. Some areas are best by ship or only accessible by ship like Antarctica. But there's places best by land based travel.

[srlafleur]

My late stepfather wouldn't step foot on a cruise ship for fear of getting seasick. He would not/could not be convinced otherwise.

 

He was in the Coast Guard off the coast of Maine in WWII and had siblings who were lobstermen. :confused:

 

Then again, he was a cranky old cuss who would have found plenty to b*tch about, anyway, so it's probably just as well.

[Cruiser Who Knows Nothing]

A woman I know said she would never go on a cruise because she's "read and sees a lot on TV about the Bermuda Triangle"

 

 

What ever happened to the Bermuda Triangle? Lol. In the 70's it was always talked about, now you don't hear a peep about it.

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

Biggest misconception about cruising that my friends and family have is that cruising is for rich people. They think we must have a lot of money since we can afford to cruise.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Biggest misconception about cruising that my friends and family have is that cruising is for rich people. They think we must have a lot of money since we can afford to cruise.

 

Yes, I get that, too. Non-cruisers don't realize that if cruising was important to them, like it is to me, they could do it too simply by making different choices with their money.

 

I don't get manicures or pedicures, buy expensive make-up or skin-care products, go on weekend getaways (a few of those each year easily equal a cruise), buy the latest and greatest electronics, have expensive cable packages, etc.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

What ever happened to the Bermuda Triangle? Lol. In the 70's it was always talked about, now you don't hear a peep about it.

 

 

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My DS (12) was shocked to learn, recently, that we'd been through the Bermuda Triangle many, many times on cruises with no story to tell, lol!

[DMH15]

My sister and I were talikng THIS MORNING about our impending Epic Cruise.

 

A woman we had just met said "I'd never go on one of them cruises". I asked her why.

 

She said, "you are always hearing about people falling overboard". I told her that it is rare but I suspected in most cases alcohol was involved. She said, "I don't drink"... i said, "well, shouldn't be a problem then"... to which she just sighed.

 

 

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[DMH15]

Yes, I get that, too. Non-cruisers don't realize that if cruising was important to them, like it is to me, they could do it too simply by making different choices with their money.

 

 

 

I don't get manicures or pedicures, buy expensive make-up or skin-care products, go on weekend getaways (a few of those each year easily equal a cruise), buy the latest and greatest electronics, have expensive cable packages, etc.

 

 

Oh oh. You just described me. I do all those things and cruise. But I drive a 10 year old car and had a small home I bought and sold after 30 years. If I had to cut back cruises would not be the first to go. Neither would cable. Since most baseball games are not on free tv.

 

 

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[srlafleur]

Whenever people say to us, "Must be nice to be rich!", we just reply, "Yes, it is." ;)

 

We are not rich, by any means, but we prioritize our spending, and vacations are a priority.

[dna529]

Yes, I get that, too. Non-cruisers don't realize that if cruising was important to them, like it is to me, they could do it too simply by making different choices with their money.

 

I don't get manicures or pedicures, buy expensive make-up or skin-care products, go on weekend getaways (a few of those each year easily equal a cruise), buy the latest and greatest electronics, have expensive cable packages, etc.

This is me! I get so tired of hearing " you're going on another cruise?" Well, yes I am because I didn't go to the beach every weekend all summer and I wear the same clothes to work that I wore last year!

 

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[Sea Hag]

People that I've talked to who have never cruised think everybody just toggles back and forth between laying out on deck in lounge chairs and going to the various eateries and eating. They honestly think that's all people do for the whole cruise.

[DirtyDawg]

I hope you all realize the those so called "misconceptions" that non-cruisers have;

 

I will net Noro;

I will get seasick;

I might fall off the boat;

It is boring!;

It's only for old people;

The boat will hit an iceberg;

Or get lost in the Triangle; etc.

 

Are all 100% True! :eek:

 

Well, that's what I say to my DW's family anyways. :)

 

"We're off to brave another Borrrring, Super Dangerous cruise..... See ya!"

Edited November 18, 2016 by DirtyDawg