Ever Been On A Cruise?

Sounds idyllic @Lon Tanner and @Nikoleta Scot. Always wanted to do something like this. Unlike a conventional cruise this type of sailing adds freedom and a sense of adventure. I had the chance to sail the Greek islands on a 50ft ketch back in the 80s but ran out of funds when we were robbed.

 

CORRECTION That should be 1953 not 1963

 

:O I love whales! once in my life I would like to swim with them! That would be the most amazing in the world!

 

That was our holiday! and for fun we managed the sails as the captain ordered, we learnt a lot about sailing.

 

I was in a Cruise across the Pacific in September, 1962, from Yokohama Japan through the Golden Gate. It was a 15 day crossing, with 5 days rolling in a Pacific Storm.

All expenses were paid by the US Government!

Hal

 

I would never go on a cruise, I would be bored out of my mind.
My kind of travel is fly to a country and spend a few weeks exploring. Often I have no definite travel plan, I decide as I go. I travel light, just a backpack and a couple changes of clothing. I can book accom as I go, budget hotels, self-contained apartments, hostels. I like to see a country at close quarters and as money is tight I want to see as much as possible. I’ll go alone or with my sister. Occasionally we’ve done trips with Intrepid Travel, they’re organised but they give you plenty of time to yourself and you don’t stay in big impersonal chain hotels. Last year I spent time in Greece, four days on Folegandros then backpacking around Crete, which is my all time favourite place.

 

I did this is my 20s @Audrey Claire. Lucky that you are in a position to do it at your time of life. I do have to say tho that when I travel today I want a modicum of luxury. Not so much impersonal hotel chains but a small inexpensive hotel with some mod cons and reasonable service.

 

I travel on a tight budget but I’ve had some surprising accom luck. Brilliant small boutique hotels and some hostels that were four star. I often find self contained apartments with everything you could want. I had an apartment in Crete, marble floors, two balconies, full kitchen, mezzanine bedroom..place would’ve slept six. Cost 45euros per night. A semi detached two bedroom house in Vieste, Italy - 50euros. I’m not exactly roughing it. I book everything on booking.com and I’ve reached their genius ranking, so I get some good offers. I like to self cater where possible so I can shop local. My biggest expense would be the airfare...

 

good morning to all-

I thought I would hate cruising on the big boats, but I went with my wife on a cruise some years ago, and it turns out in general, I like it very much. I do believe that I was meant by destiny to be waited on and served at all times as happens on cruise ships. Somehow, that sort of life passed me by- must have been a mistake somehow.
I do not attend any of the shows on board- boring. and the casinos? that's my idea of hell- dark, smoky, noisy rooms of people sitting staring at flashing screens and blasting, blinking lights- never go in one. And too many people by far. When we cruise on big ships, we get a room with a balcony and we sit and watch the world go by. We see whales, sea turtles, all sorts of birds, big schools of tuna and other ships. We get up early at our regular waking time- about dawn, and put in our walking on the deserted upper decks.We never set foot in the pools or cafeteria deck areas. We eat in the nice sit-down rooms, and we eat some very acceptable food- not as good as we make at home, but good. And the chocolate melting cake? Our server soon learns to bring me a double serving as a matter of course.
And since the cruise line has a departure port about 30 minutes from our home, it's easy to get to the loading/unloading area.
I find big boat cruising to be quite allowable- within limits.
good day to all- Ed

 

Does sound like it’s all about the food....do you actually get to see any foreign countries? To me that’s the idea of travel.

 

Good morning to all-

Audrey Claire-
Well, mostly no- you don't get to see much of foreign countries from most cruise ships- especially if you stay locked into the cruise line's on-shore excursions and planned activities.
However, we have seen some very nice places in other countries by arranging shore trips on our own. There are risks with this. If you're late getting back to departure, the ship will leave you. But it's usually not hard to get back in time, at least, we haven't found it to be. I've been on some excellent short fishing trips in Belize from cruise ships, and we took a private taxi-tour car driver in Yucatan Mexico who showed us a Maya village and we got to meet some real people, watch kids dancing in the church yard, and see their above ground cemetery- skulls staring at us from the vaults, with big iguanas running around on the walls.
And since most cruise ships are only in any particular port for a few hours, the chances for getting away from the tourist zones and actually meeting some real people is quite limited.
To my mind, it would be a great arrangement if a traveler could take one ship to a port, stay there for a week or more and then take another ship back home or to another port. But that's not possible unfortunately.

good day to all- Ed

 

I got my tattoo in San Diego when I was on ship in the Navy. I can not imagine getting one on a cruise ship.

 

I learned that the first thing to look at when choosing a cruise is how many passengers it will carry. We went on one mega-ship and when you went ashore the passengers outnumbered and overwhelmed the natives.
For our 50 anniversary we went to Alaska on a "mid-sized" Holland America ship with a party of 18 family and friends. Great trip.
In the Caribbean every day was a different port with a different heritage. Barbados was a former British colony, Martinique was French and the Dominican Republic was Spanish. The Mexican Riviera is different from the Caribbean.
None of the ships have skeet shooting anymore.