Good God, how far can some folk get up their own backsides 
For me it is relaxing dress code can go out the window. I want to dress how I please
Thank you realist 
Sounds fab
Good god all-bloody mighty !
Realist takes the time and trouble to post a fascinating and informative view about cruise ships.
His opinion to which he is perfectly entitled.
I, and Iām sure others, found it interesting.
The Dukeās been back for 5 minutes and posts this nasty crap !?
I found in interesting as you can get a well informed view
Good of Realist to post about his findings on the cruise he has done. Everyone has their own opinion and what may not suit some is ideal for others.
I would say donāt go on a cruise based on anything but what you expect to get from it. Then make up your own mind
I have only done 2 med cruises and a trip up the river Nile, so no great authority about most cruise lines, only been on Royal Caribbean ships the Navigator of the seas and the Splender of the seas.
What was an eye opener to me was how the crew remembers you. order a drink from one of the many bars and go back a few days later and they remember what you ordered before.
We tend to sit down after we booked the main costs of the cruise and study what day escorted trips are on offer. you can do the same cruise several times and still book different ones. Looking through the day out choices and costs really is the start of the experience. This does take a time but worth doing a you can see from my previous posts
Pompeii was amazing seeing it was originally all covered in ash from the volcano
One of the 27 craters on Mt Vesuvius
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/bazza104/DSC_1265Copy.jpg
The flute player took 5 years to master the art in Sicily
Navigator of the seas centre street
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/bazza104/DSC_1151a.jpg
In the evening the entertainment staff dressed as The Village People on the bridge over and threw down soft glowing balls for the kids
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/bazza104/DSC_1154Copy.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u217/bazza104/DSC_1153Copy.jpg
We have also been to China on a package holiday. What a different culture it is and well worth going. That however would be another holiday story as would going to the USA let along Tunisia -Egypt -or Brazil
Just keep away from the casino area but worth a visit to see all the gamblers at the slot machines.
In your opinion. My idea of total hell, being trapped with complete and utter snobs who consider their ambience is ruined by the āworking classā, while they try and act out scenarios of being āUpper Classā, while in fact being nothing more than working class and stuck up.
My worst hell on holiday is being stuck with School Teachers , their often appalling lack of manners and their air of superiority towards all . Then loud folk from the USA and and anybody with a accent that grates from north of Watford.
Sorry mate that is my opinion , I assume we are all allowed to have a opinion or is it only you.
Mauritius, been there, done that .
Thanks we have done several trips to India, Bali, Malyasia, Penang, Hawaii including Las Vegas. China I would definately like to see. Itās all been long haul and thought cruising would be a more relaxing option.
dukeofear
Can I ask if you have ever been on a cruise? You of course are entitled to your opinion. I was wondering how you came to that conclusion. Maybe a bad experience on one or just an idea of what a cruise is about.
I often find that someone gets very anti something without actually having done it but reads only bad reports.
Also what is your idea of the perfect holiday
I was the same as you, very much anti cruise, must have been the biggest anti cruise person in history until I tried it for myself.
Not the cruising Realspeed , just the general tenor of the post and the snobbery that radiated from it.
Heavens next it will be, we have ordered our new car for 2017. We thought perhaps a new Ā£250K Bentley but all the Chavās seem to be driving them which will spoil our driving experience , so we have settled for a Ā£30 million pound McClaren to separate us from the common riff-raff.
Yes my first cruise was to Mauritius in fact, stopping off as one does. Very exciting in fact, 1942 and I was three. Took weeks as we had to sail a zig-zag course to avoid the German Uboats. Much enjoyed however as we had many servants and were top of the pile while we lived there.
My idea of a holiday on water was self sail down from the Greek Mainland around the islands. These days I have a job to get into the bath and having done so have a job to get out, so any holiday is now history. Plus I would add that I would pay 6 grand not to have to go on a cruise.
If I could do it, active holidays would be the choice and have been the preference.
Little point in booking holidays for next year as I may not be here, even if I was able to go which I cannot.
So time again, many fishing holidays around the world.
I did ask politely and your reply is for others to judge. I have my own opinion but will keep to myself
Sorry but Dukeofearl reply did make me laughā¦as so did his rebuttle to you:lol:
Do Vegas 3 times a year never boring.
Oi Dukey-boy!
Stop "dis"ing the teachers!
Bazza, rise above it, and just enjoy your holiday.
I thought D of Eās original unpleasant comment (post 21) was aimed at Realist, not you? It seems it has since been extended to both of you.
Oh not you xx. I would be quite happy on a slow boat to China with you:-D
Then again the thought of getting all the snob value togs on evenings to go down for a meal, while being bored to tears by the like minded snobs telling each other about the many cruises they had been on.
Last month on TV , the Cruise Lovers, my god what snobs. Old girls who look liked they had put their make-up on with putty knives, made worse only by the vulgarity of their jewelry and pathetic efforts to speak with a āplum in their mouthā, which comes natural to me:-D
Then cruises aint me, if I visited a city etc I want to get a feel for the place and people, not fed a tourist trail for the mugs and walking around a pile of old stones in the sweating hot does not do a lot for me after a while.
Well just had the top down on the Merc, the beaches are packed so went inland and had lunch on the river bank, smashing. Fields of yellow rape and multi coloured greens, even a couple of diners had turned up in their own boat.
So end of, horses for courses.
FWIW I have never been on a cruise that has āutter snobsā. As I said to Goldielocks, when choosing a cruise it is vital to pick one that suits your style and has, in the majority, the kind of people you would be happy spending time with.
This issue with a cruise, or with any holiday where lots of people are together in a confined environment, is that it only works if people respect each other and generally conform to a set of reasonable and decent behaviours. To take a cruise you have to go with that mindset, with the understanding that itās effectively a ājointā holiday and we must all play our part to make it work.
The issues I highlighted about Ventura are not āclassā issues as such. It is not āsnobsā vs āchavsā it is rather decent respectful people vs selfish uncaring people. Parents who let their kids run riot, no matter what their class, ruin it for everyone else.
The reason class appears to come into the equation is because people who select cheap, party animal, type holidays have certain expectations of what they can do. For example, people who go to say Ibiza for a week to āAve it largeā expect to be able to drink themselves paralytic, shout and scream to their hearts content and stay up into the small hours or right through the night to do so. That is perfectly fine for that type of holiday. Itās their choice to do that.
The problem arises when cruise lines suddenly reduce their ticket prices to get ābums in cabinsā and then suddenly the same people who like to āave it largeā realise that they could instead take a cruise. So they book one, and then just expect that the same set of behaviours will be ok on the ship, which of course they are not. This creates all manner of problems and really is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cruising is a community pastime. It is a collective of hopefully likeminded people who above all else, respect and care for their fellow passengers. In doing so, they create a wonderful holiday experience.
Cruising is a fantastic, even majestic way to travel. To look out over the oceans and visit different countries each day is quite an experience and being able to come home every day to your 4-5 star floating hotel with air conditioning and fantastic service is, for me, a million times better than hiring some crappy apartment with white-washed walls in sweltering heat, stuck in one place for 1-2 weeks.
There are many different cruise lines with varying levels of formality and service. This allows individuals to select one that suits them. I tend to like P&O Cruises because they fundamentally cater for the Brit market and have a reasonable blend of formality and smart casual dress codes.
Itās not in any way āstuck upā or snobbish, nor is it a Club 18 party style cruise. Iāve met a lot of lovely people whilst cruising and made some long term friends. It is the best way to travel imo.
I booked a 2017 river/canal cruise at the end of February as soon as the catalogue appeared, otherwise itās impossible to get single cabins.
Thanks for all the comments guys. Very informative all of them 
I am probably veering more to an adults only cruise with stays at particular locations maybe two centre stays.