Reasons Why People Don’t Give Cruising a Chance

In our experiences, the people who hate cruising the most are the same people who have never even been on one. Usually their preconceived notions hold a small amount of truth but sometimes they’re completely unfounded and based off of things they’ve heard or news stories they’ve read that are entirely blown out of proportion.

While cruising definitely has a few disadvantages, we love it as a form of travel as it allows you to sample many different destinations in a short amount of time and with reasonable cost. Our goal with each cruise is to return to our favorite destinations for a longer length of time in the future.

Why people hate cruising

Excessive rocking
We’re sure you’ve seen it. You know, the video of the entire ship rocking back and forth so much so that the piano slides from side to side, chairs are launched across the room and people are fighting to stay grounded. It made such an impression on us that we laugh every time we think of it.

Contrary to what cruise haters might have you believe, cruise lines do take precautionary measures to avoid choppy seas and bad weather. They will go so far as to reroute and completely change the itinerary if a storm is brewing on an island. However, if a ship is caught in a storm, there will be movement and there’s no way to prevent it.

People who are sensitive to motion will get seasick and the overall atmosphere will not be quite as charming as a calm, sunny day. However, calm days are the most common types of days so it’s not something we typically worry about. If you’re still concerned, here are some tips for avoiding seasickness on a cruise.

Too many people
Yes, there are a lot of people. Popular cruise lines take anywhere from 2500-3500 passengers. In essence, that’s a small town crammed into one ship. But what many people don’t realize is that the people are crammed into a small town. Literally. The magnitude of ships is unimaginable until you’re standing on the pier in front of one. And then it dawns on you. You’re not entering a quaint boat or a fancy yacht. You’re entering a city with multiple elevators, dining rooms, buffets, rooms, climbing walls or bowling alleys, the list goes on. You will run into familiar faces every so often but you’ll also be amazed at how easy it is to find a quiet place to read in common areas and how many unfamiliar faces you’ll spot on a daily basis.

Long lines
Let’s be honest. The lines are long. But they go fast and you find ways to work around them. If you hit breakfast at 8 and the buffet is overflowing with people and you can’t deal with it, you learn to go at 7:30 or 8:30 when the number of people is cut in half and the dining area resembles your favorite restaurant on Friday night instead of a barnyard at dinner time. It’s amazing what a difference a half hour can make.

Remember that you can also opt for the dining room if buffets aren’t your thing. If you really can’t deal with lines for food at all, make reservations for dinner. The longest wait will maybe be 10 minutes.

Terrible service
It’s all about expectations. If you book a cruise expecting 5 star hotel service, you will probably be disappointed. This isn’t the Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton tending to your every whim. That being said, we found the service commendable. Every staff we had the pleasure of dealing with was attentive, kind and ready to answer any questions we had. There may have been two that could have improved their service but we just avoided contact with them the remainder of the trip. 

We got to know some pretty special people and their hard work was evident throughout the entire week. They went out of their way to chat with us and provide us with the best service they could.

No healthy food
We find this one humorous. Some people would have you believe that the ships only carry unhealthy food. And while the average cruiser does gain weight after a cruise, it is completely the fault of the passenger and not the cruise line.

It’s important to remember that while the cruise lines do offer very unhealthy choices like you would see in your favorite pizza shop, they have a great line up of healthy options as well: a huge salad bar, fruit available all the time, and gluten-free options if you ask. They don’t push their unhealthy food on you nor do they push you to grab seconds. That’s totally up to you! And remember, there’s a fitness center to keep you accountable.

It’s dangerous
Someone just gave me this reason recently and it made me think a bit as I’d never thought cruises were dangerous. A cruise can be dangerous if you aren’t smart. But so can a town. Or a college. Or a train. Similar to real life, you have to exercise caution and just use common sense.

Take the same precautions you would anywhere else and you’ll be fine. Don’t walk around alone after midnight (you’d be amazed just how free of people common areas are after 11pm), don’t be overly trusting, don’t just give out your room number to anyone etc. Just because it’s a cruise doesn’t mean everyone has the best intentions.

Rigid Schedule
It’s true. When you’re cruising, you have to adhere to a strict arrival and departure schedule. Sometimes this makes your travels a little less laidback as you constantly have to watch the clock to make sure you leave on time. However, after a day or two, you get used to it and you learn to keep track of the time and plan ahead. Remember that this same rigid schedule allows you to cover so much more than you typically could on a trip.

Too much sickness
While it’s true that thousands of people all together on a ship and breathing the same air is a cess pool for germs, the chances of coming down with the flu or any virus is slim if you follow precautions. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere on the ship. EVERYWHERE. Every food area has 2-3 hand sanitizing units while the elevators have 1-2. There are also staff members standing in the dining areas with bottles ready to give you some if you try to bypass the sanitizer stations.

In other words, you are strongly encouraged to sanitize throughout your cruise. We recommend always using the stations. It cuts down on the germs you are passing to other people and it disinfects your own hands for meal time. And as a consideration of others, if you start feeling ill, please make sure you head to the infirmary and minimize your own contact with others.

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