Why Do Some People Hate Cruises?

Some People Really Do Hate Cruising

Cruising is not for everyone. Some travelers love unpacking once, visiting several destinations, eating without having to search for a restaurant, and having entertainment a short walk from their cabin. Other travelers look at the same vacation and see crowds, schedules, lines, small rooms, extra charges, and not nearly enough time ashore.

Neither group is necessarily wrong.

There are really two very different reasons people say they hate cruises. Some people genuinely dislike the basic structure of a cruise vacation. Others dislike cruising because the ship, cruise line, itinerary, cabin, or overall experience they chose was a poor match for the way they like to travel.

If you are trying to decide whether a cruise is worth trying, our Are Cruises Worth the Money? guide looks at the value question. If you are already leaning toward cruising, the First-Time Cruiser Guide and Best Cruises for First-Time Cruisers can help you avoid some of the mismatches discussed below.

Why Do People Hate Cruises?

The reasons vary, but most complaints about cruising fall into a fairly predictable set of categories:

• Cruise ships can feel crowded.
• You do not control the schedule.
• Port visits can feel too short.
• The ship may constantly try to sell you extras.
• The advertised fare is not always the total vacation cost.
• You may dislike organized entertainment.
• You may get seasick.
• Lines and waiting can be unavoidable.
• Your experience is affected by thousands of other passengers.
• Weather or operations can change the itinerary.
• Cruise cabins may feel small.
• You may simply prefer land-based travel.

Some of those problems can be reduced by choosing a different cruise. Others are built into cruising itself.

12 Reasons Cruising Is Not for Everyone

1. Cruise Ships Can Feel Crowded

This criticism is legitimate. Elevators after a show, buffet rushes, embarkation, disembarkation, pool decks on sea days, popular venues, and getting ashore in port can all feel crowded. A ship can carry thousands of passengers, and there are moments when many of those passengers want to be in the same place at the same time.

Not every ship feels equally crowded. Ship size, layout, passenger capacity, sailing date, itinerary, and how passengers move through public spaces all matter. Someone who strongly dislikes busy environments should pay close attention to the ship itself rather than assuming every cruise experience is interchangeable. Our Cruise Ship Deck Plans and Cruise Ship vs. Itinerary guides can help with that decision.

Travelers especially concerned about the social atmosphere onboard may also want to read our Rowdy Cruises Guide.

2. You Do Not Control the Schedule

Cruising is structured travel. The ship decides when it arrives, when passengers can go ashore, and when everyone must return. If you want to stay in a destination because you found a restaurant you love, decided to explore another neighborhood, or simply do not feel ready to leave, the ship's schedule still wins.

For travelers who prize spontaneity and complete control over their day, this can be one of the biggest disadvantages of cruising. A cruise itinerary provides convenience, but that convenience comes with boundaries.

3. You May Not Get Enough Time in a Destination

Visiting a port for several hours is not the same as spending several days there. Cruising can be an excellent way to sample multiple destinations, but it is usually a poor substitute for a land trip when the real goal is to experience one place deeply.

If your favorite part of travel is wandering without a schedule, eating dinner locally, seeing a city after dark, or changing plans from one day to the next, a port-intensive cruise may still feel rushed. Our Shore Excursions Guide can help travelers make better use of limited port time, but it cannot turn an eight-hour port call into a three-day stay.

4. Cruises Can Feel Like They Are Constantly Selling You Something

Cruise ships are vacation environments, but they are also businesses. Depending on the cruise line and ship, passengers may encounter offers for drink packages, specialty dining, shore excursions, Wi-Fi, spa treatments, photographs, shopping, casino play, upgraded experiences, and other purchases.

Some travelers barely notice this. Others find it irritating. The important point is to understand before boarding which experiences are included and which are optional purchases. Our Cruise Pricing Explained guide and Cruise Drink Package Guide can help set more realistic expectations.

5. The Advertised Cruise Fare Is Not the Total Vacation Cost

A cruise fare can look inexpensive until taxes, port fees, gratuities, transportation, hotels, drinks, excursions, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, and other optional expenses are added. That does not automatically make cruising a bad value, but travelers who expect the headline fare to represent the complete cost can feel misled or frustrated.

Before deciding whether a cruise is affordable, use the Cruise Total Cost Calculator and review Cruise Taxes and Port Fees Explained and Cruise Gratuities Explained.

6. Some People Hate Organized Entertainment

Cruise ships can offer shows, live music, trivia, games, casinos, pools, parties, lectures, demonstrations, sports, and scheduled activities. For many passengers, that variety is one of cruising's biggest advantages.

But not everyone wants their vacation built around programmed entertainment. Someone who prefers quiet independent exploration may look at a full daily activity schedule and see very little that interests them. Our Cruise Entertainment Guide, Cruise Activities Guide, and Cruise Sea Day Guide provide a better idea of what life onboard can actually be like.

7. You Might Get Seasick

Motion sickness can make an otherwise good cruise miserable. Modern cruise ships are designed for stability, but they still move. Sea conditions vary, and people vary enormously in how strongly they react to that movement.

If you already know that motion affects you easily, do not dismiss the concern just because someone else says they never feel the ship move. Our Cruise Motion Sickness Guide covers cabin location, itinerary considerations, and common ways travelers prepare for motion at sea.

8. Lines and Waiting Are Sometimes Unavoidable

Cruising can be remarkably efficient considering how many people are moving through the same transportation system, but it still involves waiting. Embarkation, elevators, popular dining venues, tenders, shore excursions, theater entry, and disembarkation can all create lines.

Travelers who become frustrated quickly when waiting may find certain parts of a cruise irritating even when the rest of the vacation runs smoothly.

9. Your Vacation Is Affected by Thousands of Other Passengers

This is about more than crowds. A cruise is fundamentally a shared vacation environment. Other passengers can affect noise levels, elevator availability, pool space, dining atmosphere, entertainment, and even how relaxing a public area feels.

A traveler seeking privacy should think carefully about cabin selection and how much time they expect to spend in public spaces. Our Best Cabin Location on a Cruise Ship, Cruise Cabin Noise Guide, and Cruise Balcony Cabin Guide can help reduce some of those friction points.

10. Weather Can Completely Change Your Plans

Cruise itineraries can change. Ports can be skipped, arrival times can shift, and sea conditions can affect the schedule. A traveler who booked a cruise almost entirely because of one specific port may be extremely disappointed if that port disappears from the itinerary.

That uncertainty is part of cruise travel. If a particular destination matters more than the ship and the rest of the itinerary combined, a land vacation may sometimes be the better choice.

11. Cruise Cabins Can Feel Small

Many cruise cabins are smaller than the hotel rooms travelers are accustomed to on land. Storage can be clever and the space may be perfectly comfortable for many passengers, but couples or families who spend a lot of time in their room can feel confined.

Cabin category also changes the experience substantially. Before booking, compare the tradeoffs in our Inside vs. Oceanview vs. Balcony vs. Suite guide and Cruise Ship Cabins Guide.

12. You May Simply Prefer Land Travel

Sometimes there is no cruise-selection problem to solve. A traveler may simply prefer renting a car, staying in local hotels, changing cities whenever they want, eating primarily off-property, and controlling every part of the itinerary.

That traveler may never become a cruise fan, and there is nothing wrong with that. A cruise should be chosen because its structure fits the trip you want, not because someone else insists that cruising is the best way to travel.

Maybe You Do Not Hate Cruising. Maybe You Took the Wrong Cruise.

This is where cruise criticism becomes more complicated. Two people can take very different cruises and come home with completely different ideas about what cruising is.

“There Were Too Many People.”

You may genuinely dislike crowds. But you may also have chosen a very large ship during a busy sailing period when a smaller ship or different onboard environment would have suited you better.

“There Was Nothing to Do.”

That can happen when a traveler who wants nightlife, shows, activities, and late-night energy chooses a ship or cruise line that emphasizes a quieter experience. The reverse happens too: someone seeking peace can choose a highly active ship and spend the week feeling overstimulated.

“We Barely Saw the Destinations.”

A different itinerary might solve the problem if the original cruise had too many sea days or short port calls. But if you want several days in every destination, the problem may not be the itinerary at all. You may simply prefer land travel.

“Everything Cost Extra.”

Some of that frustration comes from misunderstanding the fare structure before booking. Different cruise lines, promotions, and packages can bundle different things into the price. Understanding those differences before paying a deposit can dramatically change the experience.

“I Hated My Cabin.”

A poorly located cabin can affect sleep, motion sensitivity, convenience, and how comfortable the ship feels. Cabin selection does not fix every objection to cruising, but it can make a much larger difference than first-time cruisers sometimes expect.

Before my first cruise, I honestly did not know whether I was going to enjoy cruising at all. I deliberately started with a short 3-day cruise out of Galveston because my thinking was simple: if I hated cruising, I would only be on the ship for a few days. If I loved it, I could always book a longer cruise later. Hint: I love it!

That experience is also why I think first-time cruisers should pay attention to more than price or which ship happens to be popular. Your first cruise can shape your opinion of cruising as a whole, even when the real problem is that you chose the wrong ship, itinerary, cabin, or cruise line for the way you like to travel.

If you are comparing different cruise styles, start with our Cruise Line Comparison Guide and Cruise Ship vs. Itinerary. If you have not sailed yet, our First-Time Cruiser Mistakes guide covers several avoidable booking decisions that can turn a potentially good first cruise into a disappointing experience.

Will I Hate a Cruise? A Quick Reality Check

The more strongly the preferences in the left column describe you, the more seriously you should consider the reaction in the right column.

Who Probably Should Not Take a Cruise?

You probably should not book a cruise simply because someone else loves cruising. A cruise may be a poor fit if several of the following describe you:

• You strongly dislike being around large groups of people.
• You want complete freedom to change your schedule every day.
• You care more about deeply exploring one destination than visiting several places.
• You become frustrated by lines, schedules, and boarding procedures.
• You dislike organized entertainment and shared resort-style spaces.
• You want a large private room without paying for a higher cabin category.
• You dislike optional upsells and prefer a more all-inclusive pricing structure.
• You are extremely sensitive to motion and do not want to manage that risk.
• You would be very upset if weather caused a planned port to be changed or skipped.

None of those preferences makes someone a difficult traveler. They simply may not match the structure of a cruise vacation.

Who May Love Cruising?

Cruising tends to work especially well for travelers who value convenience and variety. You may be a strong fit if you like the idea of:

• Unpacking once while visiting multiple destinations.
• Having meals, entertainment, and activities close by.
• Traveling with people who have different interests but want to vacation together.
• Choosing from a planned schedule without having to organize every hour yourself.
• Having sea days built into the vacation.
• Using the ship as part of the destination rather than only as transportation.

For first-time travelers who like those ideas but are unsure where to start, see Best Cruises for First-Time Cruisers and First-Time Cruiser Mistakes.

A Travel Advisor's Perspective: I Would Rather Tell You Not to Cruise

As a travel advisor, I would rather tell someone that cruising probably is not right for them than put them on a ship they are going to hate for seven days.

I have also seen how easily travelers can judge the entire idea of cruising based on one experience that was poorly matched to what they actually wanted. A family looking for nonstop activities, a couple looking for quiet relaxation, a traveler primarily interested in destinations, and someone looking for nightlife should not automatically be considering the same ship or itinerary.

Before deciding that you hate cruising, figure out which parts of cruising you actually hate. Sometimes the answer really is most of it. Other times, the problem is surprisingly specific: the wrong ship, wrong itinerary, wrong cabin, wrong cruise line, wrong travel companions, or simply the wrong expectations.

That is why choosing a cruise should start with how you like to travel rather than with whichever sailing happens to have the lowest advertised price.

Do Not Let Cruise Fans or Cruise Critics Make the Decision for You

Cruising tends to produce strong opinions. People who love it sometimes assume everyone else will love it too. People who had a bad experience sometimes assume every cruise is essentially the same.

Neither assumption is very useful.

Our Cruise Line Myths guide looks at other common assumptions about cruising. The better approach is to identify what matters most to you, understand the tradeoffs, and compare the type of trip you want with what a cruise can realistically provide.

Not Sure Whether Cruising Is Right for You?

Tell us what you like — and dislike — about vacations. We can help identify whether a cruise makes sense for the way you travel and, if it does, what kind of ship, cruise line, itinerary, and cabin may be a better fit.

Get Cruise Info is designed to help travelers make better cruise decisions before they spend money, not simply convince everyone to book a cruise.

The right answer may be a cruise. It may also be that cruising is not for you.