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Having been on many exotic cruises to Europe, Asia and the Caribbean I am totally qualified to say..."What are you waiting for!" Just make sure the cruise line is upscale and the ports are dreamy. I am doing the Adriatic Sea run...Dubrovnik, Montenegro, Venice, etc. for 21 days this fall. My husband and I can't wait. It is costing about $20,000 but you only live once. Do it!
There is nothing structured or ridgid about cruising. Everyone can do their own thing and I see everyone is doing so. I do not understand that argument. It is not boring and the musical and entertainment acts are as good as Las Vegas.
There is nothing structured or ridgid about cruising. Everyone can do their own thing and I see everyone is doing so. I do not understand that argument. It is not boring and the musical and entertainment acts are as good as Las Vegas.
Yeah everyone can do their own thing - but they are still on a boat, and even in port you are limited to the organized tours or at least limited to the port vicinity, and you see the same old tired and worn out tourist sites that everyone else sees.
Let me explain - for me, and many others, the wonder and fun of independent travel is that you just don't know what will happen. You don't particularly know where you will eat, what you will see, where you will sleep that night. You can go somewhere, and then change your mind. You can deviate your plans and end up 500 miles away from where you planned to be. You can just go places and see things and meet people (not fellow tourists, but people that live there) you can never go, see, or meet on a cruise, and I also include those bus tours that stop at all the typical tourists sites like cattle calls. Unspoiled places that haven't been jaded by the waves of tourists. You can experience the culture and get more of a feel for a foreign country. You learn more.
There is an element of discomfort and tension and danger to this type of travel, as opposed to a cruise or bus tour. It's definetly not for everyone. But you see and experience so much more than a typical tourist on an organized travel tour and it is so much more rewarding.
There is nothing structured or ridgid about cruising. Everyone can do their own thing and I see everyone is doing so. I do not understand that argument. It is not boring and the musical and entertainment acts are as good as Las Vegas.
Absolutely. By day we get off the ship and travel around whatever port where in. Eat lunch there, meet the people. At night you go to formal dining, dancing, excellent Broadway type entertainment, Vegas like gambling, etc. It is very stimulating. They also have movie theaters, libraries...spas. If you are bored...your a boring person!
Absolutely. By day we get off the ship and travel around whatever port where in. Eat lunch there, meet the people. At night you go to formal dining, dancing, excellent Broadway type entertainment, Vegas like gambling, etc. It is very stimulating. They also have movie theaters, libraries...spas. If you are bored...your a boring person!
I think you are getting two opposing thoughts here...vacation as travel/cultural experience vs. vacation as chance to unwind and relax. When people say they are bored it just means they have different expectations. If we wanted Broadway entertainment we would go to New York, if we wanted casinos we would go to Las Vegas. For us, our way to unwind and relax is to experience the new and novel.
It would be an absolute insult to experience these things on a travel experience as we would something totally seperate and alien from home as possible. It's the same dissapoitment we see when we see a McDonald's in an otherwise quant European city.
But it's all good. Cruises work for some and you get a little bit of cultural experience by visiting various (albiet sanitized and a bit worn) ports of call.
Cruising is the best bang for your buck. With cruising, yes you are limited at ports, but most people cruising and the few sights they see are more than they ever dreamed they would ever be able to do.
If you're traveling for specific culture and long time sightseeing over a period of days or weeks, then cruising is not for you. 98% of cruisers would do it again. And cruising is not just for old folks, Carnival is one specifically is geared to children and young folks.
I've done 2.....Greece/Turkey and the Caribbean and probably won't do another one - at least not for a long time. I HATE the 1-2 day stop overs at the destinations. We spent 1 day in Istanbul. That's like spending 1 day in NYC. Lame. We went to Greek Island that I could have easily spent 3 days in. You don't get to experience much of the destinations. You barely skim the surface. Also for a place like Greece for instance, it's so much cheaper to island hop, eat and find lodging than it is to take a cruise there. I may do a short cruise to a destination that I'm not that interested in but that's it.
I have been on one 3 days cruise to Ensenada (from Long Beach, Ca) and it is called the secretary's special as it leaves Fri night and gets back early Mon morning. That was a fun weekend! My Dad did a two week cruise in the Carribean that went through the Panama Canal and he said he would never go again. The whole one day stop in all the nice places while you spend most of your time on the boat traveling from place to place with people who only want to eat, eat, eat (he said most people were really overweight and just laying around the pool and eating) was not his style. When we were cruising our sailboat in Mexico we dreaded the big cruise ships coming into port. All the prices on merchandise and groceries (and cold beer!) were instantly raised by at least double and it was super crowded with rude Americans... LOL. So, to wrap that whole thing up... I don't think I am the cruise ship type, I love to explore the whole cultural aspect of the places I am visiting and you cannot get that in one day. A quick weekend trip with the girls to Ensenada is a blast and I would do that cruise again as there really is nothing cultural anymore in Ensenada except for Senor Frogs. LOL However, if this is the only way you will ever be able to see exotic places, then it is better than nothing... My 2 cents in a long and rambling post
Cruising is a good option for people who want a vacation; traveling independently is for people who want a trip. Different people choose different options, although I personally can't see the big deal in spending $800 to sit on a boat that's advertised as a "small city" when I can see real cities with actual culture and get more of a feel for the place.
And it's unreasonable to suggest that you can get a feel of the culture of a place from port excursions; in most cities the square mile area around the port is filled to the brim with tacky gift shops and overpriced "authentic" restaurants.
cannt. too much compulsive posting on CD
cannt leave the terminal to cruise.
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