7 Cruise Myths Busted

Many people who haven’t cruised before have an incorrect idea of what it’s like, and that keeps them from what may be one of the most enjoyable experiences they might ever have. I’m sorry to say that I was one of those people, but those beliefs exploded after the first couple of hours of being aboard my first cruise. So what are the typical cruise myths?

1. I’ll feel trapped on a ship. The thought of going on a giant metal can for a week along with as many as 5,000 or more passengers and another 2,000 or so crew brings about visions of those submarine movies with crew members sharing bunks that are in between missile tubes and having to put their backs against the wall to squeeze past another person in the hallway. When it comes to a modern cruise ship however, nothing could be further from the truth.

Even on the largest ships with a small city of people onboard, you’ll find more space, personal and otherwise, than if you lived in a small rural community. You never feel squeezed, crowded or squashed, so you can forget about those pictures of Black Friday at the local mall. It’s more like 9AM at the mall in July. In other words, you’re not going to feel cramped.

Even on the largest cruise ships, there’s enough room to where you can always (and I mean always!) find some quiet space by yourself if you want to be alone. Many times you’ll wander around the ship feeling virtually by yourself and think, “I guess they didn’t fill the ship up,” only to find that it’s full to capacity. For the most part, you don’t have to worry about long lines to eat, get a drink, buy something, or just about anything else on board.

2. I won’t have fun. That may be true if you stay in your room for the entire time and watch television, but there are so many things going on all day long that’s its difficult to not find some activity that that doesn’t pique your interest. Plus, you go to an exciting new location almost every day that has new things to see and do. If you just want to relax, there’s something so tranquil about watching the ocean that its fun just by itself. And you can’t beat lying in the sun by the pool or just people watching in the dozens of public places of the ship.

3. I’ll get seasick. There aren’t any definitive statistics of the number of people that get seasick on a typical cruise is, but its believed to be minimal. Not once on any any cruise that I’ve gone on (15 and counting) have I seen a single person sick, and that includes going through some storm doozies. I remember eating in the dinning room one night and no one at the table for eight realized that we were sailing through a storm with 70 mph winds. About an hour into dinner, someone noticed that there was rain against the windows. Likewise, another time we sailed through a storm one night only to find out about it at breakfast the next morning. I was dead asleep through the whole thing and never felt so much as a shake.

Modern cruse ships are unbelievably stable. There’s so little pitching and rolling that you’ll think you never left land. When the seas do get high, most cruise ships have horizontal stabilizers that are deployed to make sure that the ship doesn’t roll. These are like wings that come out from the ship under the waterline to widen the center of gravity and smooth out any wrinkles the sea may be throwing the ship’s way.

But the need to use them is rare, as most ships, just like modern aircraft, do their best to steer around a weather system so you won’t sail into it in the first place.

4. It’ll cost too much. Cruises are the most economical vacations that you can spend your money on. Where else can you get accommodations plus meals for as little as $100 a night (sometimes less – I’ve paid as little as $99 for an entire three night cruise!). Of course, this all depends upon the itinerary, the time of year, the vessel (newer ones generally cost more), and the type of cabin that you’re interested in (some suites can get really expensive). Generally speaking though, it’s going to cost you far less than a comparable traditional land vacation.

5. Ships aren’t safe. Cruise ships are very much like taking a trip on an airplane. You never hear about the millions of safe voyages, but you always hear about the one big mishap that happens on that rare occasion. While traveling by aircraft may be the safest way to travel percentage-wise, cruising comes in a very close second.

6. I could get sick and need a doctor. There’s a complete medical staff on each cruise ship not so much for the passengers, but for the crew, since they get free medical care. That said, you’ll find that in the rare case that you do need medical attention, the on-board hospital is readily available.

If anything serious occurs that they can’t handle, cruise ships readily make unscheduled stops or return to port to offload a passenger in need of urgent medical attention. Plus, if you’re not close to a port, most cruise ships are outfitted to accommodate a helicopter evacuation. I’ve never been on a cruise where that happened, but I have been on one where a passenger had a heart attack about an hour after the ship left port. The ship turned around and rushed back to evacuate the passenger to a waiting medical team, then turned right around and high-tailed it to the next port and made it exactly on time.

7. I won’t like the other passengers. You’ll be surprised at some of the nice people that you’ll meet on a cruise ship. Sure, every trip has their share of jerks or incompatible personalities (that can be said for any group of people), but many long and enduring friendships have come from cruises.

The bottom line is that any of the negative things you’ve heard have probably come from someone who’s never been on a cruise before. It doesn’t take too long into the experience before you’ll change your mind and completely abandon these popular, but incorrect cruise myths.