I was no fan of cruises until I actually went on one -not a lover of crowds, thought we'd be with the over fed and nearly dead segment of the population.
There are cruises, and there are cruises, and it's possible to make a choice. If you don't want to be with other families with their screaming kids, there are more adult orientated cruises available, but if you do have kids, there are kids clubs and all kinds of activities to keep them occupied.
The first cruise we went on was a real 5 star humdinger with Holland America line for ten days round the Caribbean. It was the first proper holiday we'd had for years. It was Mrs T's idea. I had my doubts at first, as I didn't think it would be my sort of thing.
A flight to Miami from Heathrow, a couple of days in a hotel sightseeing in Florida, then to Port Everglades to board the ship. Half Moon Cay (where we managed a bike ride round the island), Aruba, Curacao, a transit of the Panama Canal as far as Gatun Lake, then the Panama Railway to the Pacific coast, a mini bus tour of Panama City, then back on the train and back to the ship. The teenagers had been scuba diving c/o the ship's team in the meantime. It was a pretty punishing schedule if you wanted to see the sights at all the destinations, and we were going to give the next stop at Costa Rica a miss, and just wander around the port on our own, then go back and relax on the ship.
However, we came across an accredited taxi whose driver was able to take us on a tour which combined several of the ship's tour destinations for a fraction of the ship's price, including some off road jungly stuff. The kids did some zip lining in the forest, and we got to see the things that local people got up to rather than the touristy sites. There had been recent volcanic activity, we could see that some roads had cracks from earth tremors, yet local housewives were blithely taking their kids to school on motor scooters without all the safety gear, helmets etc that we're used to in the West. One of the ship's trips was to a sloth sanctuary, but the driver said, you don't need to go somewhere special to see them, they're everywhere, and sure enough, he pointed one out in a tree as we drove past. It is a lush, prosperous and safe country. It was well worth visiting, and as much of a highlight as the Panama Canal. Most of the time, you are safest booking a ship's organised tour, but sometimes a bit of unexpected local knowledge can go a long way.
Apart from all that, you can be as formal or informal as you like. For some (such as Mrs T) getting one's glad rags on and playing a role is something she likes, and even I was surprised how good I looked in a dinner jacket, though it's not my usual thing. I enjoyed the days at sea as there were so many things to explore and there was always somewhere quiet on deck where you could read a book and enjoy the ever changing colours of the sea. There were small whales, dolphins and flying fish to see if you were observant. The promenade deck, according to a notice, was 1/3 of a mile if you walked round the ship so three times round made it a mile if you wanted to burn off that excessive food. I came across a number of people doing just that. So not everyone slobs around on sunloungers (though you can do that if you want).
A bonus was that many of the hotel services staff were Indonesians and as Mrs T speaks Malay (or Bahasa Malaysia as it is known these days) our group of stewards and hotel services staff took a shine to her.
The days went by so quickly, we were never bored, and we were sad to return to Florida to disembark. We had time for an air boat ride in the Everglades, and then all too soon, back on the flight to rainy Heathrow.
So from being a sceptic, I became a convert. We've done several cruises since, and are more aware of the environmentasl impact nowadays, but I would certainly go again if I got the chance. The ones I've liked the most have been the "no fly" ones, from Southampton to perhaps Norway or the Western Mediterranean, as you don't have the airline restrictions on what you can carry. Now that Liverpool is open to cruise ships again, you might not even have to drive that far. They might seem expensive, but there are deals to be had.
