Four Reasons I’m not a fan of Cruises
Some people love cruises. I am not not one of them. I’ve never had the desire to take a “traditional” cruise- it’s just not my style. I have, however, considered adventure cruises or trips to places like Antarctica or locations that a boat might be required to get to.
While stuck at home during quarantine, I began to research trips that might interest me and the companies that offer them. I decided to try out a cruise from Adventure Canada as a trial run for one of their more involved or remote trips. They had a good reputation, appealing itineraries, and options for solo travelers. And while I’m not ruling out another adventure on a boat, I am ruling out Adventure Canada as the company I’d use. (I’ll share more about that later…)
The cruise I chose for my adventure started off in Quebec City, traveled up the St. Lawrence River, and stopped at destinations such as the Gaspé Peninsula, Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands. It was the perfect option to see several places in Canada I’ve always wanted to go to, and give the company a test run. The scenery on the trip was absolutely breathtaking, and I never would have witnessed most of it had I not been on a boat.
This trip, however, confirmed the following reasons why I’m not a fan of cruises, no matter the size or destination…
Schedules
I solo travel often, and one of reasons I enjoy it is that I can make my own schedule. I will research things I’d like to visit at a destination, but I do tend to enjoy a mix of “must-see” tourist spots, recommendations from locals, and of course, great restaurants. I usually have a rough itinerary in mind, but I never really make set plans, unless there’s a location or exhibit that requires advanced tickets.
Cruises tend to be on a set schedule, popping in and out of ports, sending cruise goers to designated spots on their itinerary. Stops on a cruise often feel rushed and targeted to particular tourist trap type destinations, without many options to explore further.
Meal times are also often set on cruise ships. On my recent trip, not only were meal times set, but they weren’t very efficient. We often wound up at the dinner table until late in the evening, which isn’t exactly how I wanted to wind down after a long day of site-seeing. To me, I’d rather eat according to my own schedule and not feel like I have to eat just because it’s meal time.
Waiting
Hurry up and wait felt like the theme of my recent trip. Hurry up and get on the ship, and then wait for hours to leave the dock. Hurry up and wait for meals. Hurry up and wait to get off the boat. As someone who is naturally efficient, this was a big frustration for me.
Again, I prefer to keep my own schedule, and that’s partially because I hate wasting time- which waiting in line essentially is. And while I know it’s the nature of the beast, it’s just not my style.
People
I love to travel solo. At some point in life, I got tired of waiting for people to decide if they wanted to go on a trip, or bailing at the last minute. I realized that it’s better to just go- alone- than to wait for someone else. But I’m also not afraid to travel solo- I enjoy my own company, and I know that solo travel doesn’t mean that you’re alone. It’s not for everyone- but I’m not everyone, I’m me.
It became apparent on my trip that when you’re stuck on a boat with the same people for an extended period of time, there are going to be people who rub you the wrong way. Sometimes you just want to escape a bit, and be alone, but when you’re on a boat, there’s a limited amount of places one can go for some solitude.
Culture
One of the best things about exploring a new city or town is experiencing the culture. I love to meet new people. I love to experience local cuisine. I love to learn about local traditions and customs.
As I mentioned above, most of the “destinations” you end up in on a cruise are pre-planned, and you don’t really get to experience the culture of the place. In fact, on my recent trip we spent so much time being transported to destinations, we really didn’t get to enjoy them at all.
So there you have it- four reasons I’m most definitely not a cruise fan. You may feel differently- we’re all entitled to our opinions. But for me, it’s just not my jam.
I don’t want to sound like it was the worst 10 days of my life. There were things I loved about this trip. There were places we went that I couldn’t get to easily by land, I made some wonderful friends I still keep in touch with, and I definitely enjoyed the downtime with limited internet and cell service.
Now for the skinny on my actual cruise. As I mentioned earlier, I would not choose Adventure Canada again. Here are a few of the reasons:
I heard great things about Adventure Canada. And I love that they have a variety of pricing and cabin options for solo travelers. Being that many of the destinations I’d want to take such a cruise are rather pricey, this sure is a benefit. This trip was no different, and considering the quality of the trip we experienced, I really wish they would have postponed it. Our trip was the company’s first following the Covid-19 shut down, and I understand that there may be challenges in getting the boat, staff and trip itinerary up and running, it became clear rather quickly that they were far from ready. To me, it feels like many companies who built their reputations on customer service and hospitality have severely let things slide, and rush to blame Covid-19 for every problem they run into. It’s disappointing at best- as many other businesses have learned to evolve and still produce quality products. I’m not sure why so many in the travel industry have failed to think outside the box and move forward.
Everyone knows that one of the best parts of a cruise, or any vacation for that matter, is the food. Sadly, the meals on our trip were less than spectacular, despite staff trying their best The kitchen was not entirely in working order when we left, which became a problem immediately. Food supplies were limited, even for some of the most basic requests from travellers. I also had expected much more in the way of regional food options, as this was one of the selling points of the trip- but mostly we had a few options that rotated throughout the 10 days, little seafood despite traveling through places with some of the best around, and the overall quality was just average.
Covid-19 restrictions also required us to eat at the same table for each meal, and while they claimed to seat you with travelers of similar age & interest, I think they just drew names out of a hat. As for the reasoning behind these Covid-19 protocols- I know several people that were at a table with someone who tested positive, and yet they were never actually informed by the staff (or given follow-up testing as the others at the table were).
The trip itinerary changed a few times due to weather. This was a bit of a disappointment because the one location I really wanted to go to most was eliminated. I understand this in out of anyone’s control, but it really seemed as though the company was not at all prepared for this possibility, and often we were stuck on a school bus being transported to locations we barely had time to experience.
There were other issues on the boat as well- issues that I can’t for the life of me figure out why they were not addressed prior to the trip. Several guests complained of sewage back-up in their cabins, the boat was being painted during the trip, and many of the amenities advertised as part of the trip were not available. I do understand that some of it could have been due to Covid restrictions, however, none of this was relayed to guests before the trip, nor were we provided with any explanation or compensation.
I truly hope Adventure Canada is able to rectify the issues with this first trip post-Covid, as I’m definitely not the only one who felt disappointed. I just don’t think I can spend the kind of money involved for these types of trips with a company that didn’t even really acknowledge the issues we experienced.
As for my future endeavors on a boat, I’ve learned enough to plan accordingly if and when I decide to embark on another.
Cheers, and safe travels!