7 Cruises To Steer Clear Of These Days. And Why!

I’ve spent a small fortune and two decades at sea to learn one thing: while most cruises are brilliant unfortunately some cruises are a waste of money. Today, I’m sharing the seven cruises to avoid that I’ll never book again—and why you shouldn’t either.

Welcome aboard. I’m Gary Bembridge, and as I pay for all my cruises at the going fares via my travel agent, you can always be confident my tips and recommendations are always unbiased and frank.

Cruises To Avoid: Taster Cruises

The first cruise that I regret doing, and have stopped doing, are short “taster” cruises. When I first started cruising over two decades ago, I thought that these short two-to-three-night cruises would be perfect for testing out a line to see if they were ideal before committing to a longer cruise.

But I found in the last few years, they no longer are. The low price and as they’re usually run over a weekend, have turned them into inexpensive party-focused getaways, attracting groups of people looking to drink and let their hair down.

They are no longer helpful for assessing a cruise line because their typical passenger doesn’t go on these, and the lines don’t run their usual activities program and full services.

For example, the last one I did and regret doing, was taking my Mum on a Cunard Queen Mary 2 short taster cruise to let her experience Cunard.

It wasn’t anything like Cunard. It was full of rowdy party people, younger and not atypical passenger mix. They didn’t run the full Cunard program of lectures, dancing, and so on. And it really was rather overwhelming for my Mum who was none the wiser what cruising Cunard was like.

If you do want to go on a reasonably priced weekend party cruise, then look at these as options. But if you want to go to find out if a cruise line is right for you then don’t.

Cruises To Avoid: World Cruise

The second cruise that I regret going on, was both my longest and most expensive cruise I’ve been on, and that was a World Cruise.

I did seven weeks of a World Cruise, that’s 50 nights at sea, on Queen Victoria sailing from Southampton to Sydney, Australia.

It looked fantastic when I looked at the itinerary because I was going to be transiting the Panama canal and visit places in the Azores, United States, South America, Hawaii, Fuji, New Zealand and Australia.

However, once I was on it, I realised that the problem with a World Cruise is there’s an enormous amount of sea days, and very few ports. In those 50 days, we only went to 12 ports.
So, on average we had three sea days for every one port. It was a costly and very time-consuming way of not seeing very much of the world.

It made me decide that I would never do a full World Cruise. Do I want to travel around the world? Absolutely. But if I was going to do that, I wouldn’t go on one ship all the way around the world. I would basically pick a series of connecting trips each of which offer a more intensive look at each region.

I would strongly encourage you to think very carefully about World Cruises and look at the number of ports versus the amount of sea days to see whether it’s really going to show you all the world that you want.

Cruises To Avoid: Maiden Voyages

I also definitely regret going on maiden ships and new cruise lines at or close to launch.

For example, I went on the completely new line Explora Journeys early on after launching. While the ship was beautiful, many things weren’t running nor working as it should be.

They were still working out how to get things to run smoothly, crew was inexperienced and had not gelled and were unfamiliar with the ship and systems. The program and entertainment weren’t bedded in or right for the passengers. The dining and food were erratic and inconsistent.

I should have waited until it was bedded in and sorted before spending my money.

I found the same with new ships, especially on maiden voyages, in even long-established lines.

First, because booking a maiden voyage is risky as they often get cancelled, or supplanted.

For example, I booked on Cunard’s Queen Anne Maiden Voyage, but it got cancelled as the ship was running late being completed.

While friends of mine had a different issue after booking on the maiden voyage of Icon of the Seas and then Star of the Seas but missed out as those ships were ready early and cruises were run before their supposed maiden voyages.

As well as avoiding maiden voyages, I also avoid going on ships close to entering service. I did eventually go on Queen Anne a few cruises after entering service. It was not great at all. The crew hadn’t bedded in, the systems weren’t operating properly, the food was erratic and slow and often cold. I now only go on new ships after they have had time to bed in.

Linked to this topic, other cruises I avoid are on ships coming out of refit or just before they go into refit.

For example, I went on Celebrity Solstice on a New England and Canada cruise before it went into refit. I found the ship wasn’t in great shape, with issues left and areas shabby, as the line and crew knew it was booked in for work and so not worth working on fixing problem areas.

However, I also found ships coming out of refit can also be an issue and so avoid the first few cruises after this.

For example, I went on MSC Divina when it came out of a refit heading across on a transatlantic to its season in Miami. As everything had not been completed, there were workmen on board, several areas were closed, there was the smell of paint all over, and some things weren’t working properly.

So, I don’t book on a ship when it comes out of refit. I wait for a while to ensure everything is sorted.

Cruises To Avoid: Charters

Another cruise that I avoid booking is when there’s a charter on board the ship. Again, a learning from a poor cruise experience.

I am not talking about when there is an entire charter of a whole ship, things like a Star Trek, Hallmark Movie, or other themed charter as I would be going fully understanding what I was signed up for.

But I am talking about when the cruise has a major charter on board. This is not always obvious ahead of time, so I have a tip on how to check that shortly.

As an example, a cruise I regret going on was on Regent Seven Seas Navigator in the Caribbean. Once on board, I found that over half of the ship was being chartered by a corporate client. Many venues were closed off during the trip because they had meetings or events. The ship and cruise lacked the usual buzz and vibe, was not the usual Regent passenger mix, and usual cruise highlights like the Captain’s Welcome party was sparsely attended.

Of course, it could have been an even more disruptive charter, like people I know who found themselves on a rowdy motorcycle club part ship charter.

Nowadays, for all my cruises before booking I put the name of the ship and the dates into a simple Google search as that usually will throw up if there is a charter on board that ship. I also check a site called ThemeCruiseFinder.com.

Cruises To Avoid: Time In Port

Another cruise I regret going on is those with too little time in port, as I’m not getting to see the sights and the towns. I have learnt to always check the arrival and departure time by port in the itinerary before booking.

For example, I went on a Panama Canal cruise on Holland America from Miami to San Diego. And of course, while I was excited to go through the Panama Canal, I was also excited about the new and exotic places it was also going to.

However, once on the trip, as I had not checked before booking, I realised that we were spending almost no time in all those new and interesting ports.

For example, in Cabo San Lucas, Huatulco, and Puerto Vallarta, we only spent a morning there. So, I didn’t get time to really explore and experience the sights.

In Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, we were only there until early afternoon, which made getting to and from the historic and main attraction of the city of Antigua tight and stressful, as it’s a two-hour ride away. So, like most people I just ended up just spending it at the small cruise port area with market stalls.

So that was a big learning. Look very carefully at not only the ports you’re going to, but how long you’re spending in the ports.

In another example, friends of mine booked a bucket list Alaska cruise but made a poor choice booking a Norwegian Bliss cruise from Seattle. They were so disappointed as they had almost no time at all in the ports to see the sights.

In Juneau, they were only there from 2pm to 10pm which was too late for most tours and exploring, missing going up onto the glaciers and going dog sledding like I had.

They were only at Icy Strait Point from 6am to 3pm, and Ketchikan from 6am to 1pm, those early arrivals and departures severely limiting what they could see and do, unlike my time in those places.

So, I avoid any cruise that isn’t giving me a substantial amount of time in a port.

Cruises To Avoid: Peak Times

Although this may be more limiting for you based on your job or if you have children, I avoid and regret going on cruises in the major cruising regions of Caribbean, Mediterranean and Alaska at peak times like school and major holidays.

Not only are they the most expensive time to cruise there, but ships these days are now sailing over capacity at these times, with many cabins holding 3 or 4 people, usually families. Making the venues and ship more crowded and frantic than at other times.

After going on a Princess Cruises, which is known for being a couples and more adult focused cruise line, to Alaska in late June, and having a rather un-Princess experience, full of families, and venues overrun, I realised as I do not need to go in peak times I will not. Or if I do, I go adult-only, so on a return trip at the same time I went on Viking as was 18+.

But certainly, for me, I avoid going in the peak season and try and use shoulder periods because it tends to be cheaper and less crowded on the ships and in the ports.

For example, having gone to Japan once in March/ April time, which is the peak blossom period, it was expensive and very busy, so instead I returned next time in October, which is not peak season and was way cheaper and less busy.

Cruises To Avoid: Weather Susceptible

Another cruise I wish I had avoided, and make sure I do so now, is those in regions at the times it is susceptible to dramatic weather issues. This may sound obvious but, as I discovered is easy to get wrong. For assuming because a cruise is running there means it is a good time to go is a bad assumption.

For example, I went on an Oceania Riviera trip from Sydney to Papeete Tahiti, visiting Fiji, Tonga, and the French Polynesian Islands. But I hadn’t thought through the weather.

It was in December, which is the rainy season there, and we were chased by a storm the whole way. For us it was a little bit hit-and-miss. We did have some good days; we only missed one port and had some rough sea stretches. However, the trip after me returning, missed four ports, and it rained almost all the time.

Hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Typhoon Season in Asia are very disruptive, so I never go on cruises in those seasons because they can be unpredictable and subject to cancellations and missed ports.