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I've heard that being on a cruise ship is like being held prisoner at a Golden Corral with a bunch of drunk people. Not exactly how I want to spend my retirement!
I enjoy cruising, though I have never taken one longer than 12 days. I find being on the water incredibly relaxing and soothing. I don't at all feel as though I am being held prisoner.
Originally Posted by BLS2753
Being retired Navy, this has no appeal to me whatsoever.
MY DW and I are both retired Navy, cruises are VERY different from a Navy ship. We did about 1 a year after left Navy but before retired completely. Now that we are retired, probably do a couple a year. Cruises are a great way to visit a few places without having to pack every day but I am not sure I would live aboard even semi-permanently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weaubleau
I've heard that being on a cruise ship is like being held prisoner at a Golden Corral with a bunch of drunk people. Not exactly how I want to spend my retirement!
On a cruise, your best bet is the main dining room for most meals, the buffet is mainly for kids, first time cruisers and the occasional lunch or snack. In the dining room on most cruises, you can order as many items as you want. You want 3 shrimp cocktails & 2 entrees no problem. Also for breakfast, they often have steak and eggs, eggs benedict, etc.
Unless on a cheap party cruise, very few drunks and food is way better than Golden Corral, even at the buffet - most ships have higher end clientele.
I enjoy cruising, though I have never taken one longer than 12 days. I find being on the water incredibly relaxing and soothing. I don't at all feel as though I am being held prisoner.
If money were no object, I've love to take a month long cruise every winter. There is something about being out on the water, away from the land, walking all around the ship, sitting and looking out to sea wherever you feel like it.
Then there's breakfast in bed, lunch at the buffet, and dinner. So that means no cooking and no clean up. I'm not a big eater so the buffet food is fine for lunch. The one cruise I went on had very little drinking but there was always something to do if you wanted something to do. Mostly I never even got off the ship because we were not on the cruise to see some cruise company owned beach in the Caribbean. I just enjoyed getting away, being on the sea, clean warm air in the middle of winter. I don't feel like a prisoner at all--I felt really free.
I haven’t been on a cruise ship yet. Not sure I want to live there in retirement.
I went on two one time....first and last. Everyone working on the boat has their hand out for tips. I suspect they get paid nothing but tips in fact.....might even have to pay the cruise line to 'work'.
We paid extra, got a cabin right at the top with only a sun deck above. 5am, they were dragging lounge chairs across the deck. One day I stepped out in the hall and noticed water pouring out of the ceiling...stepped back in our cabin, told the wife "we may be sinking, but it's sorta odd coming from the top down ". Hot tub above had sprung a leak, water sloshed up down the hall and side to side with the movement of the boat...then under the doors and into rooms.
Dinner was an 'experience'. Dining room at the rear of the boat, right over the engine room apparently. You could talk to the person on either side of you, the rest of the table, forget it....RMMMM...RMMMM...RMMMM of big diesels below your feet made for a great dining experience.
Non-alcoholic beverages were supposed to be included. Apparently sodas fall in another category, for which they charged $2.50 + tip (and this was 20-25yrs ago). Explains WHY I saw folks in line to board with a 'cube' of 24 Pepsi products strapped to their luggage.
I could go on and on....but bottom line is I find it more enjoyable to simply stay home and fling money in the creek.
? There are cruises posted on the Crystal website that are fares starting from <$2200 for a weeklong cruise on the serenity. I don’t know where you are getting $1500 PER DAY unless she was in a suite.
Mama Lee's (Mrs. Lee Wachtstetter, now 90, and a former Registered Nurse) stateroom on the Crystal Serenity is not a suite. It is on the Promenade Deck (Deck 7). There are no suites on that deck. However, there are many facilities on the Promenade Deck, as you can see from the following diagram:
We have cruised before, including on Crystal, but I have no interest in full-time cruising or even semi-frequent cruising, which we did in our 30's.
If I were interested in full-time cruising, even for part of the year, I would never choose a residential ship like The World. I have read stories about how there is very little social interaction onboard, and that most of the inhabitants choose to stay in their own residences and the rest of the ship can be like a ghost town.
It's becoming clear to me why cruises are fun places.
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". Hot tub above had sprung a leak, water sloshed up down the hall and side to side with the movement of the boat...then under the doors and into rooms.
