Are Cruises Becoming Too Popular Now? | From Southampton to Bruges

As many of you may have guessed, I've got a thing for cruising. And yes I'm talking about the kind where you get on a ship and drink like you're on Paul Gascoigne's Stag Do. Not Cruising the 1980 William Friedkin film where Al Pacino goes undercover to find a serial killer preying on the gay community. I've never seen it, and I'll confess, it's largely because I don't want to see how DEEP undercover Al Pacino's character goes.

I'll admit this Princess Cruise that left from Southampton, stopped off at Rotterdam and Bruges, before returning to Southampton, was the most packed and raucous cruise of the lot. Is it because cruising is becoming too popular? Too accessible? Or is it because Brits can't afford the Caribbean? Probably all the above though I expect mainly the latter.

Back when I penned my first article on cruising in January 2022, 'Is it Finally safe to Cruise Again?' the world was just opening up after COVID, and the ship was only half capacity. It was probably one of the best holidays I've ever had. One year on, and it feels like the word is out. This particular cruise was packed, and the inclement weather didn't help. You still got the odd couple that would sit in the hot tubs all day on deck drinking martinis and eating hot dogs (really people, as the Americans would say, pick a lane! Either be James Bond and stick to the martini, or just have the hot dog and admit you'll never see the inside of a gym again) but mostly they're below deck filling up the bars and buffets.

Firstly let me tell you about the stops, and then I'll discuss some of the obscenities I witnessed on karaoke night.

ROTTERDAM

We did an excursion to see some tulips. It was incredibly cold and grey. Some plucky Brits would say the cold didn't mar the enjoyment of the excursion, but I got the sense they were lying. Aside from the cold weather the The Keukenhof Garden and Flower Fields Day Tour is really something quite spectacular. It's astonishing to see the fields on the drive in, all striped with fanciful coloured tulips. I imagine an aerial shot would show they've been designed in some kind of LGBTQ flag, but thankfully you can't determine that from the ground.

The gardens were busy but not packed. And we got a few tulips to take home. Overall, I had a ruddy good walk and enjoyed a multi-sensory experience, the like I haven't had since I visited the showroom at Sofas by Saxon in Chiswick High Street.

BRUGES

Finally a place to sit down and have a Belgian Beer. Although admittedly I do that at home every night with a bottle of Leffe. Interestingly though, Leffe out here is to Belgians as to what Fosters is to Brits. Absolute piss. (Their words).

We frequented a pub just off the river but I didn't get the name sadly. The walls were covered in beermats that patrons had signed, kind of like a guest book for alcoholics. There were bras hanging from the ceiling too, which told me that things could get a bit racy in here after hours. Sadly we never found out and after telling my Mum to her bra back on, we left to have a wander of Bruges. And that's the great thing about this city, it's very walkable. We did the cathedral which was free, so that was good. We lit a candle and said a prayer, although I burnt my hand on the match and shouted an expletive which was regrettable. It really has an echo in that cathedral, so anything loud carries all around.

There are numerous souvenir shops on the main high street, plus places to get your chocolates. There are day boat trips around the rivers that looked appealing, but we were cold and we were already on a cruise and these river boats weren't serving beer so we left.

You should know you simply can't walk into Bruges from the cruise ship. The trams will take an hour there and an hour back, and the ticket machine was broke. Although we didn't have an excursion booked, we took a shuttle bus to the city from the port which was £25 a head.

THINGS TO WATCH WITH PRINCESS CRUISES

This has happened on the past two trips with Princess Cruises, they charge your account even if you have the drinks package. Make sure you check your bank statement on a daily basis because we were getting charged for drinks even though we had the package. If you go to customer services they remove the charge without contest, and claim it's a glitch. My argument is, why is it always a glitch in their favour? Why are we never getting money deposited into our account, only charged for drinks we'd already paid for?

SERVICE

The service this time round was left a bit wanting. It sounds a bit ungracious to complain about waiting ten minutes at the bar for a drink, but the bars were quite undermanned at times. We ordered drinks also on the APP to be delivered. They would sometimes take an age to arrive or not arrive at all. Come on Princess Cruises, we're a thirsty bunch you should know by now we're not here for the Peter Max art.

That said, the staff were as polite as ever, and attentive. The karaoke nights were the most entertaining, and for the first time ever I played some Blackjack at the casino.

Oddly the casino closed at 12pm (I think). Much to the bemusement of one gentleman who said, 'have you ever heard of a casino closing early when I've got money to burn?' I agreed with him, but was equally quite happy to take my winnings of £10 and call it a night.

Photo by Peter Hansen on Unsplash