re: Are cruises overrated?

Properly rated. Akin to going to Chili’s or your local Mexican restaurant for dinner and drinks with friends. The key is to chose a departure port, itinerary and ship that offers what you’re looking for.

A western Caribbean sailing out of Galveston in June on one of of Royal Caribbeans Oasis class ships is different from a western Caribbean sailing on one of Royal Caribbean’s vision class ships out of Tampa.

Both can be fun but offer different things so consider whether or not you want to fly or drive, do you want to explore the departure port before or after you’re sailing (Orlando, San Juan, Tampa, La, Boston, New York, etc), consider if you want relaxation and beach or active and scenery, etc.

The place people go wrong is thinking that all cruises are even remotely the same. They can vary like a Chevrolet, not every car is a corvette, a Tahoe or a Malibu.