As a person with well over 50 cruises on mass market lines I would also not recommend it s a way to visit places and see them at their best.
For us though who both travel on a budget and enjoy land travel at a more leisurely pace Royal Caribbean in particular offer us great value.
Just like many on AFF the perks and friendships we have made in board make it a an easy decision for us to book a lot of cruises when the price is right.
We get lounge access, alternative dining, free internet, 6 drinks each per day, priority boarding and tenders, free laundry and are looked after superbly by staff.
At this very moment I am sitting in an almost empty lounge chatting with some Singapore cruise friends.
We are on a ship that has missed the Sounds and Dunedin due to a medical emergency then Wellington due to high winds today. Six sea days in a row. Luckily I like sea days.
So it's easy to see after reading most replies on here that cruising on a large ship wouldn't be a great choice.
It also can be a great for others who have different preferences.
Woody-ren,
Agree, because we are individuals at at different age, different health conditions and different preferences.
Therefore, nobody should say never-never, because with ageing are preferences are changing.
I decided to contribute to this thread because some strong opinions, from tourist that maybe never took any cruises.
When I was young my preferences were completely different, engaging in taking all chances to travel, by bike, kayak, hitch-hiking, hiking and even sailing on river, lakes and seas.
My father once said that probably I will not die of any natural causes.
However, as a young male I liked various challenges and even finished my tertiary study.
Occasionally I also was taking an additional work from some travel agencies as a tour director or a travel guide.
And in 1982 migrated from Europe to Australia because I didn't like the European political Cold War tension.
Seeing other cultures, tasting foreign foods, seeing historical afterfacts was and still is my passion.
The climate change activism pushed me to travel to see places like Athabasca Glacier, Greenland, or even second time the Norwegian fjords to verify some facts (ie melting of glaciers or slowing of the Golfstrom current) that I had some doubts about.
We have been (with my wife) very independent travelers but with aging our travelling ways were changing and also preferences.
Although my 3 cancer encounters and the Covid-19 restrictions, that both significantly sabotaged my retirement's traveling plans, we are re-adjusting our preferences and also way to travel.
Individual traveling requires a lot of headwork planning, but cruising is very easy. Therefore, I am a great supporter for the aged demographic taking cruises because these might be the last and the only way to travel for them.
I also would like the younger generations to understand that their choices and preferences are different, and that they may dislike cruising, but with maturing their preferences may change like mine.
Thanks for all who reached the end of this my opinion on preferences for cruising.