After my navy days, I would NEVER go on a cruise. BUT when I finally did, where else can you go for about $100/DAY to get pretty incredible meals, incredible scenery......
But you have to be smart. You have to get the right meal staff, you have to go to the EARLY shows, you have to get the right shore excursions...
I am giving tours as a volunteer this summer. A European woman was NOT watching her child and it was HANGING from a place too high for survival. We had to scold her to watch her child. It to me was unbelievable that a mother would be so irresponsible. That happened today to me in a state park out west.
I made a similar vow after I left the Navy. But I broke that vow when I met my wife, and we've been on several cruises.
The first cruise was on a Celebrity cruise ship. This was probably in 1999 or 2000. Southern Caribbean. I was very impressed--it was a far cry from being on a guided-missile cruiser in the Navy, and I stood zero watches!
For this cruise line, on this particular ship, they did things the old way: formal dinners, assigned seating, same wait staff at our table all week. They knew our names, and we knew theirs. We gave appropriate tips, but didn't feel like they were "nickel and diming us."
We did another Celebrity cruise, followed by a family cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship in 2007-ish. Each one went progressively downhill. I guess we got what we paid for with the Royal Caribbean--it felt like a floating Walmart.
Completely casual. Show up whenever you want to dinner. We saw diners in shorts, tank tops, flip flops. For diners that didn't want to sit in a "stuffy" dining room, they had a buffet, and you could take your food out on the pool deck. Depending on your wrist band, you could get bar-brand drinks (all pre-made with generic alcohol), otherwise, you had to pay for drinks, even soft drinks. Boarding and de-boarding was like a zoo.
I love the ocean, and love being on or around it, but I'm in no hurry to get back on a cruise line anytime soon.
...We had to scold her to watch her child. It to me was unbelievable that a mother would be so irresponsible. ...
That child is only the ticket to govt $$$. Thousands only drag kids along for that sole purpose.