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I know a lot of people have written about great cruise
experiences, but having recently come off one,
I'd like to add that they are not for everyone. Especially
since some folks save up for a long time for this
experience. The cruise line I went on was Celebrity:
I don't know how the others work.

1. First, the server and cooks did not know a great
deal about celiac, tho they did try.

They did in fact bring me my own
GF bread, covered in a napkin, but of course the napkin
was covered with crumbs from the OTHER bread that
was being carried on these huge platters. But bread was
such a big part of the group meal, and the table so crowded,
that there were crumbs all over anyway. I had a wine bottle,
but the lip of the bottle (in a sideways carrier, which is how they
serve it) was always over someone's bread plate.

The GF bread they had was the sort of stuff that gives GF bread a
bad name.

The "served" meal had 4 or 5 choices in each category. Usually
I could find one that was GF, probably. The waiter usually knew
if the sauce, say, had wheat in it. So if I didn't want the sauce,
I could avoid it. But after a meal arrived with noodles which
the waiter had been told were "OK" (which they were not,
after some more asking the cook), I lost faith in the process
and ended up eating off the buffet, mostly salads. I did lose
4 lbs on the cruise!

The desserts were pretty elaborate, but all had crusts. The
sorbet was ok.

The food in general was ok if you like French food with lots
of butter sauces etc. Kind of bland.

Upstairs though, I was pleased to find a sushi bar, so
I ate lots of that. Some had fake crab in it, but it was
fairly obvious. They also had pad thai noodles. They way
they were prepared, reusing the same pan, they probably
had soy sauce in them, but at that point I figured I'd risk
it.

2. Security issues are such that it's hard to bring your own food.

Normally I'm pretty self-sufficient, so I figured I'd just bring
some GF crackers aboard, and reload in Hawaii. However,
security was very tight. They inspected everything when you
came back to the ship. Now, I'd just as soon no one brought
bombs aboard either, but they seem to have hired local
airport screeners, and the screeners each had their own
interpretation of the rules.

One of the rules was: no food to be brought aboard. So
there goes that option!

They also won't allow liquor, which isn't a lot of problem
since there is plenty on board (it just costs more). They
were also confiscating things like sharp scissors and
folding knives. One old grandma had some professional
hair scissors which were, admittedly, very sharp, because
she cuts her own hair. The thing is, there are a LOT
of sharp knives on board, at dinner ... and this isn't posted,
so once you get there, you are stuck. Unlike with the
airlines, there isn't a clear list of what is or is not allowed,
or if it's ok if it's in your luggage (which is also searched).
It's also not clear what they are trying to avoid, since I
have a hard time imagining someone hijacking a ship
with 3,000 people on it (Some armed guards) with
a pair of scissors.

But I would not have minded that if they were ok with
bringing food, or if in fact a clear rule list of any
kind had been posted.


3. There are a lot of hidden costs

You have to be very careful about the hidden costs. For
instance, you can have breakfast delivered to your room
each morning, free. But the bottle of water they leave in
your room costs $3.50 per bottle, if you drink it. There is supposed
to be a little sign to that effect, but it was missing (as was the
price list on the little mini-bar, similarly overpriced).

You have to pay to have your laundry done, and there is
no onboard washing machine.

The shore excursions are nice, but you have to pay in
advance, non-refundable after a day beforehand. So
if you find a better excursion, or hurt your ankle, or whatever,
you are out the money.

There are also a zillion "profit centers" staring you
in the face constantly: pictures they take that you can buy,
the casino, bars, coffee. You can spend hundreds of dollars
without really realizing it. And of course since the help isn't
paid all that much, you really do need to tip, and that adds
up.

Internet time, in particular, is very expensive, 50 to 80 cents
a minute. And the connection is slow, so those minutes
add up.


4. There is zero privacy.

If you are an extrovert and love lots of people around you
all the time, a cruise is a great thing! If you want to say,
lounge in a tub and read a book, it's difficult. There is a big
pool area, but there is music blaring most of the time and
tons of people. Most people end up sharing a cabin, hopefully
with someone you like, but if you need alone time, you'll
have to schedule it.

5. What do you like to do with your time?

Personally I just like being out on the ocean, so any boat
is a good thing. Most of the time though, you are sealed up
in what is basically a floating building. You can play cards,
go to the bar, lounge by the pool, kinda like you would at
a Vegas resort. If you like to explore or hike or whatever, there
is nowhere to go. You can use your computer locally, but
you have to pay if you want Internet.

=================
Anyway, to those of you who just love cruising, these will
seem like trivial issues. For those of you who have never
been on one, this is just the other side of the experience.

Myself, for the kind of money this sort of thing costs, next
time I'll rent a nice condo on the beach, with a kitchen
and that doesn't come with airport screeners at the door,
and has a good wifi connection.

-- 
Heidi

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