Anyone ever been on a cruise?

mnn2501 · #1 10/19/13, 11:19 AM

OK, so my wife and I just got back from a Princess Cruises cruise out of L.A. to Mexico and back.

The room was very small but I expected that. What I didn't expect was the horrible food in the Dining Room and the Buffet and even the snack shops (Hot Dogs, Hamburger, Pizza and Ice Cream). It was institutional food at its worst - seriously, the school lunches of my youth were better.

In my younger days I managed restaurants including one of the busiest buffets in Florida (regularly doing 3000 - 4500 guests a day) - so I know good food is possible even in very very high volume situations. Yes they have enormous amounts of food available, but all of it is horrible. I mean why bother? I was dying for a McDonald's or Taco Bell by the time the cruise was over (and I'm not a fan of fast food by any means). After the second day I lived on fruit, salads, and sandwiches I made myself on the buffet line from dinner rolls, sliced meats and cheeses.

Breakfast was horrible; pre-toasted toast/bagels/english muffins sitting under a heat lamp (un-buttered), some kind of runny egg product with the consistency of cottage cheese that they passed off as scrambled eggs, over cooked bacon and under done poor quality sausage links. Oatmeal!! How can you ruin oatmeal??? Its easy, Oats and water maybe a pinch of salt, that's it, I don't know how they could ruin it but they managed to make it something I took one bite of and then moved it off my plate.

If a restaurant opened on land that served this poor quality of food, they'd be closed as soon as the start-up cash ran out.

The one exception was the last night on board when we went to their Steak house and paid extra for it - frankly it was worth the $50 to have one good meal on board, but even then the waiter spoiled the experience by being snobbish.

Anyway, if you've ever been on a cruise what was your experience?

And if you've been on a cruise with good food (I mean good food you would be willing to take a date to if you were trying to impress them by the foods quality and not just the amount of food available) what cruise line was it? I do want to go on a cruise again but I want to be able to enjoy the food when we do (which means it won't be Princess Cruise lines)

**Tiempo** · #2 10/19/13, 12:58 PM

I've been on two cruises and the food was outrageously good...just incredible.

However, your window has closed to retread my gastronomical steps, the cruises were in the late 70's on a Soviet ship/Soviet cruise line.

ETA: Welcome back and I'm sorry to hear about the awful food, I hope you still had some fun and relaxation.

7thswan · #3 10/19/13, 02:26 PM

My Parents have many times and I've always heard the food was great.

simi-steading · #4 10/19/13, 02:44 PM

My wife and I went on a Princess cruise two years ago this coming December... NEVER again for me.. .

She worked to talk me into it.. .I'm not one that likes to be a captive audience, and when I'm on vacation I don't want to be watching my watch all day so I don't miss something... like the boat.

We had gotten a suite with a balcony, so at least we had a fair sized room.. but man did we have all kinds of issues.. the service all over the boat was unreal bad...

We ended up having a meeting with the ships someone or another who had the pull that mattered.. we got comped all kinds of things.. I was drinking Johnny Walker Blue ($$$$) free for the last three days of the cruise.. we got several bottles of REALLY nice wine, an a steak dinner in their steak house.. but it still didn't make up for an over all bad experience..

The food as a whole was ok for the most part.. we only did the buffet once or twice maybe.. the rest the time was in their restaurants or the big sit down dinners.. Couldn't stand the food on the buffet... had better at western sizzlin' or Ryans..

I'll never do a cruise again.. if I want to go to Aruba, I'm going to get on a plane and do what I want when I want, and not be stuck trying to be constantly sold photos of me, art at auctions, or jewelry at their "approved" kickback shops on shore stops

GreenMother · #5 10/19/13, 04:07 PM

I've been on two cruises - the first, and far and away the best, was Celebrity cruise lines. Really great dinners - we had a rule, no using the elevators ever, just so we could splurge on dinner. The other was Royal Caribbean - not bad, but couldn't touch Celebrity. We ditched all the cruise arranged shore excursions and just explored on our own. Had a good time, but won't do it again. I'd rather spend the money on farm equipment.

NickieL · #6 10/19/13, 04:33 PM

Yes. Was on one in April. Not really my cup of tea but it was free for me. I prefer to really travel and see a place. Not 2-3 hours per country.

And it seemed like every activity on ship was all about buying gems and spending big bucks on stuff that interests me none at all. One giant commercial for stuff. I was pretty bored.

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willow_girl · #7 10/19/13, 10:34 PM

I was bored, too. Luckily for me, it was a work-related excursion -- if I'd had to pay, I'd have been really disappointed. The bar-and-casino scene leaves me cold, so there wasn't much to do. The food was abysmal -- the 24-hour buffet was Ponderosa food, cheap fried stuff and frozen pizza. Formal dinners weren't much better, but then I'm a vegetarian, so the standard fare seems to be noodles in a creamy sauce, or a mound of steamed vegetables on a bed of rice. Bleah.

JV_FL · #8 10/19/13, 10:41 PM

I've been on a few. I did a Princess one out of Ft Lauderdale...the food was great. Also been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and had great experiences, but those were all week long cruises out of Ft Lauderdale and Tampa. From what I know, the shorter the cruise, the smaller the ship and the worse quality of food.

I won't go on any that are less than a week just for that reason. They put the newer ships with more amenities on the longer cruises. I've always had a great time onboard and never had any issues with the crew. In a couple of instances, we bypassed getting off the ship in port because we had so much fun on the ship.

NickieL · #9 10/19/13, 10:43 PM

Mine was 2 weeks, princess. The food was good. But the activities all in volved "shopping" and that is so not my thing!! Never again.

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JV_FL · #10 10/19/13, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickieL

Mine was 2 weeks, princess. The food was good. But the activities all in volved "shopping" and that is so not my thing!! Never again.

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I never did much shopping. I found a good deal on a watch once and bought that...oh, and liquor. I buy dirt cheap liquor on cruises and just hang onto it. Other than that, we normally just sleep in and hang out by the pools all day. The only excursions we do are inexpensive beach trips. It has been a few years but I like it because you have limited internet/tv/phone access so we just get to spend time together as a family, without all the technology distracting us.

NickieL · #11 10/19/13, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JV_FL

I never did much shopping. I found a good deal on a watch once and bought that...oh, and liquor. I buy dirt cheap liquor on cruises and just hang onto it. Other than that, we normally just sleep in and hang out by the pools all day. The only excursions we do are inexpensive beach trips. It has been a few years but I like it because you have limited internet/tv/phone access so we just get to spend time together as a family, without all the technology distracting us.

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NickieL · #12 10/19/13, 11:15 PM

That's my problem. Not a sit by the pool type. I'm more the adventuring see the countries type. Just something not suited to me lol

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davel745 · #13 10/20/13, 12:00 AM

How about trips (tours) I always wanted to go to the Mayan ruins or Israel, something like that. but given what is happening in the world today I am very concerned about safety. I also wanted to go on the National Geographic boat expeditions to the Galapagos Islands. Has any one done anything like that?

**Tiempo** · #14 10/20/13, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davel745

How about trips (tours) I always wanted to go to the Mayan ruins or Israel, something like that. but given what is happening in the world today I am very concerned about safety. I also wanted to go on the National Geographic boat expeditions to the Galapagos Islands. Has any one done anything like that?

A couple of years ago my parents went on a 35 day cruise from England to the Azores then across to Brazil and up the Amazon, then Caribbean and home, I think with a stop on Cape Verde Island.They has a wonderful time.

Earlier this year they went on a cruise up the Norwegian coast, in and out of fjords and into the arctic circle. More good times, though dad did get a tummy bug.

The first cruise I went on on the Soviet ship we left the UK and stopped in Lisbon, Malta, Athens, Istanbul..then up through the Black Sea to Odessa, then flew from Odessa to Moscow for 3 days, then flew home.

The second one was on the same ship and we went to Sweden, Denmark, Finland..then to Leningrad then the same deal.. flying to Moscow for 3 days and flying home. Wonderful experience. The food on the Soviet ship was amazing, but the food actually in the Soviet Union was awful.

**Tiempo** · #15 10/20/13, 09:59 AM

This was "my" ship..happy memories

http://web.itu.edu.tr/~bilgili/Ships...arustaveli.htm

Ship number 4 here..The last picture is so sad to me, her being broken up at the Alang ship graveyard in India in 2003

http://www.ssmaritime.com/Ivan-Franc...s-Page-Two.htm

mountainlaurel · #16 10/20/13, 01:01 PM

Just got off a Carnival Pride cruise to the Bahamas three weeks ago. The main dinning room food was very good. The buffet stuff was good, some items were better than others, but we ate every night in the main dinning room and had a blast.
The waiters danced, some on tables, we laughed and clapped. Loved eating with different folks at each meal. Met some really nice people that way. We went to the shows in the evening after we ate. Some were very entertaining, some were so so.

We walked to decks during the day, played a round of bingo, never went to the casino, nor bought any drinks, but we still had plenty to eat and do if we wanted to.
I like seeing the islands that way since this was the first time either one of us had had the chance to. Another time, we might would go by ourselves but I really liked the cruise.
And, we didn't pay for neither it nor the excursions. We had plenty of points saved up on our credit card, so it was free.

plowjockey · #17 10/20/13, 01:57 PM

We have never been one one, but I saw on the news today, that cruise prices have become ridiculously cheap, for various reasons.

7 Day Caribbean cruises, for like $400, on some of the newest ships, on top lines.

If only we had time and money.

TheMartianChick · #18 10/20/13, 05:39 PM

We've never taken the type of cruises where you stay on the ship. Instead, we did a day cruise to the Bahamas and then got off the boat and stay at a hotel or resort. I've never felt that the activities on board would hold my interest and I want enough time to immerse myself in the culture of the island destination.

The food on the only cruise line that we've ever used (Discovery Cruise in Fort Lauderdale) was great. I just didn't care for the Love Boat-style seating in the dining room. We either met up with people who were very friendly or the types that seemed creepy and awkward.

TnAndy · #19 10/20/13, 06:06 PM

Went on two once.....my first and last.

Food was "OK"....nothing special. Cokes were $2.50 + 15% "gratuity" even if you went up and got it yourself. I saw people boarding with those "cube" packs of Pepsi strapped to their luggage and thought "Huh?"....later I realized these folks were veteran cruisers !

They don't pay the staff, apparently. They all work for tips and you're expected to support them at the end of the cruise. Everybody you had even a slight contact with has their hand out.

Dining room on our SUCKED. Our table was right at the back of the boat, and right OVER the engine room. You could carry on a conversation with the person to your left or right, but past that, it was yell ( 10 person round table ). The meals were accompanied by VROOOOMMMM....VROOOOOMMM....VROOOOOMMM drumming of huge diesels right below us.

We paid extra for an upper deck cabin. It was right below the sundeck....every morning we awakened to deck chairs being DRAGGED out for the day. Fortunately, we are early risers....but if you weren't....you were gonna be.

And those big beautiful swimming pools ? Salt water. Yep....they were empty when we boarded, then a few miles out, they pump water right out of the ocean into them. Who knew ?

One morning I stepped out into the hall, and water was pouring out of the ceiling ! Stepped back in and mention to the wife "we might be sinking, but it's sorta odd, since the water is coming from the top downward...ahahahaa".....seems a hot tub on the sundeck above us sprang a leak and sent a few hundred gallons of water down. Water ran up and down the hall and into rooms about 3-4" deep.

To their credit, that was a day we stopped at a port, and by the time we got back on that evening, they had replaced ALL the carpet in the wet rooms. They must have a Home Depot in the bottom of the ship !

"Extra Charges". They issue you a "ship's credit card" at the start, backed up by your real credit card for any "extras" you buy....like soft drinks, hard drinks, shore excursions, etc. The night before we docked, they came around and put your bill in a hanger on the outside door knob. Ours came to about 150 bucks, with some soft drinks and one shore excursion. But I glanced at those up and down the hall, and a LOT of them were in the 750-1000 buck range ! That's on top of the 3grand we paid for a week on the boat.

It was ok, glad we did it, but it's one of those things I'd never do again. I WOULD like to try a Wind Jammer cruise some time.....smaller sailing vessel that only carries 12-20 passengers and you get to work the boat at the same time. Be interested in somebody's opinion on them if you've done it.