Cruising

[audreyh1]

Yes we did that in Naples. Got together with another couple through cruisecritic and arranged a private van tour. The guy said to take to hydrofoil to Sorrento to get the maximum time for sightseeing. We did the Amalfi coast and still had time for Pompeii. It was half the price of the cruise tour and we did twice as much. Avoided the compulsory shopping stops plus the loading and unloading time of 40 passengers on and off the bus.

Yeah - you could see the minivan tours were very organized for the cruise ships docking near Nice. I'm sure they are super cognizant of getting people back in time. The ships seemed to dock for a long day, so didn't seem like timing would be an issue.

 

[Bamaman]

Well said! On the Note: The perks we get; free laundry, free internet, OBC, etc. is worth any small savings later. Booking early guarantees better cabin availability,

As a ER, we can often cruise on a moment's notice. And the seriously best deals often are a.few days prior to embarkation.

We have also been going.on Spring repositioning cruises which are also superior values to Europe. The budget European air carriers' competition keep one way airfares especially cheap. We flew Dublin to New York in May for $158. We are through cruising to the.Caribbean banana republics.

 

[Nemo2]

We booked our (interior cabin) with RC through VTG for our October Westbound, @ $493 p.p. base price, with a $100 (total) OBC.

Today VTG is advertising @ $1,100 base price for an interior (no idea as to cabin comparability, but that doesn't concern us anyway), with $125 (total) OBC.

Our Eastbound next Spring has, at this time, risen considerably higher.

 

[mystang52]

Fewer activities meet the "YMMV" category than cruising. Big ship, small ship. mega ship etc makes for many choices. DW and I cruise every year, and when she retires we might go up to a second cruise per year if one of those last minute bargains crop up.
Cruising has always been our 2nd vacation, just as a means to go to some place warm in December. DW is a teacher so we can only go Christmas week. We have a lot of cruises under our belt, and we learned a long time ago what we enjoy doing and what to avoid. As a result, we always come back from our cruise having had an enjoyable time.

 

[MisterBill]

One of the down sides of taking a non ship tour is that the ship doesn’t wait if you are late getting back.

That is true but if you book with a reputable company, they will guarantee that you'll get back before the ship leaves. Think about it. If word got out on Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor that they did not get people back in time, their future business would be severely impacted.

What you say is a big selling point for the cruise line tours, but from what I read on Cruise Critic, the vast majority of people who miss the boat are people who go off on their own and lose track of time. I don't think I've ever heard of an organized tour getting back late, although I'm sure it has happened.

i'm currently organizing a tour in Guatemala for my upcoming Panama Canal cruise and have been concerned about getting back in time because I understand that traffic is an issue. The tour providers I'm talking to are highly rated on Trip Advisor and have told me not to worry.

The big advantage of doing a tour not thru the ship are a) they're cheaper, b) better tour, c) less people (often not a huge bus).

After retiring last year (and doing 2 cruises), we're up to doing 4 cruises this year. We did MSC Seaside in January (hated it), Holland America Koningsdam to Norway for 2 weeks (loved it), Oceania Insignia from NY (drive to port) next month to Newport, Boston, Portland, Halifax and Bermuda, and the Panama Canal cruise on Celebrity Infinity. That will total 46 days, which I'm OK with . Next year we have two weddings so our 2 weeks planned in January may be it for the year.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We enjoy cruising once in a while--DH thinks we will probably do more as we get older, and you do get a lot of bang for your buck. We used to do zero ship-organized activities, but in Hawaii we signed up for an active tour through the ship at every stop--biking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. The groups weren't very big, it was easy to schedule, and we had a lot of fun; the guides were all amazing. Maybe we could have saved a few dollars with an off-ship outfit but we really didn't investigate it.

Cruises to the Caribbean are a very nice thing to look forward to in Chicago winters.

 

[brett]

Out of 20 plus cruises I can only recall taking one ship excursion. We typically do private excursions or DIY. We have had very good experience with private excursions.

 

[MisterBill]

We enjoy cruising once in a while--DH thinks we will probably do more as we get older, and you do get a lot of bang for your buck. We used to do zero ship-organized activities, but in Hawaii we signed up for an active tour through the ship at every stop--biking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. The groups weren't very big, it was easy to schedule, and we had a lot of fun; the guides were all amazing. Maybe we could have saved a few dollars with an off-ship outfit but we really didn't investigate it.

In Hawaii, I rented a car from Hertz in every port and drove around and did stuff on our own. We also visited Costco on every island .

BTW what I forgot to mention is that the important thing to do is to join Cruise Critic and find the Roll Call thread for your cruise. Most of the cruise lines sponsor a "Meet and Mingle" where fellow CC members can get together to meet each other which you can also sign up for thru the CC site. Even if there isn't an official one (as is the case on my upcoming Oceania sailing and recent HAL cruise), an unofficial one can be organized.

Two benefits to joining the Roll Call thread are a) you can share private excursions with other people, and b) it's nice to know other people on the cruise, unless you're the sort who just wants to spend the time with your SO (which I don't think makes a lot of sense, especially in retirement when you're already spending a lot of time together).

 

[Moemg]

I enjoy cruising .Living in Florida I can grab some real bargains . We just returned from Cuba and will be returning in October .

 

[Souschef]

In Hawaii, I rented a car from Hertz in every port and drove around and did stuff on our own.

BTW what I forgot to mention is that the important thing to do is to join Cruise Critic and find the Roll Call thread for your cruise. Most of the cruise lines sponsor a "Meet and Mingle" where fellow CC members can get together to meet each other which you can also sign up for thru the CC site. Even if there isn't an official one (as is the case on my upcoming Oceania sailing and recent HAL cruise), an unofficial one can be organized.

Two benefits to joining the Roll Call thread are a) you can share private excursions with other people, and b) it's nice to know other people on the cruise, unless you're the sort who just wants to spend the time with your SO.

Very good advice.We are going to Hawaii this fall, and have our own thing on 3 of the islands
:Kauai-Rent a convertible and drive around the island. We have been there before
Maui-Rent a plane and FLY to Hana instead of the 10 hour drive
Oahu- Ride the Hawaiian Railroad and take a private tour of the facility
Big Island-Pele permitting, take a helicopter tour

 

[MisterBill]

Very good advice.We are going to Hawaii this fall, and have our own thing on 3 of the islands
:Kauai-Rent a convertible and drive around the island. We have been there before
Maui-Rent a plane and FLY to Hana instead of the 10 hour drive
Oahu- Ride the Hawaiian Railroad and take a private tour of the facility
Big Island-Pele permitting, take a helicopter tour

On our first port I had a Corolla reserved but when I got to Hertz they didn't have any. They asked if I would take a Mustang Convertible for an extra $3. My kids were with us and there wasn't a lot of legroom for them, but they put up with it. In the next port I was proactive and asked for a convertible upgrade. They said OK but had to charge me $10, which was fine with me since I was using my corporate rate and paying like $35 for the rental.

In Oahu, if you have the time, have dinner at Alan Wong's. Possibly the best meal I've ever had.

 

[Souschef]

On our first port I had a Corolla reserved but when I got to Hertz they didn't have any. They asked if I would take a Mustang Convertible for an extra $3. My kids were with us and there wasn't a lot of legroom for them, but they put up with it. In the next port I was proactive and asked for a convertible upgrade. They said OK but had to charge me $10, which was fine with me since I was using my corporate rate and paying like $35 for the rental.

In Oahu, if you have the time, have dinner at Alan Wong's. Possibly the best meal I've ever had.

+1-We have been to Kauai 3 times and had a convertible on each trip-Love it!

 

[kcowan]

+1-We have been to Kauai 3 times and had a convertible on each trip-Love it!

Once in LA they offered us a Mustang Convertible for the price of the 4-door sedan we had booked. It did not take us long to realize that top up with AC on was preferred on the LA freeways! Would have been great for cruising to Hearst Castle but we were on a tight schedule.

 

[Kelor]

We have done 5 cruises, the first three on Celebrity, Princess and HAL. Then we decided to defer future large ship cruising until we are somewhat infirm (old).

The next was an Adriatic cruise through the Croatian Islands on a yacht. The last was a bike/barge cruise on the Moselle River. We are now small ship cruisers!

I have never heard of a bike/barge tour until now. That seems spectacular!

There was a barge concept that almost got off the ground on the Mississippi where you owned a barge condo. Though they’ve tried to recessitate the idea a few times, there just wasn’t enough interest. I thought it would be so cool to bike from port to port and stay in your own home. (Though the website is still up, I’m pretty sure they finally gave up on the idea). River Cities - A floating Mississippi condominium community

Kcowan, I’m a pretty healthy guy, but what did you have to do to prepare for such a trip?

 

[Souschef]

I have never heard of a bike/barge tour until now. That seems spectacular!

Go to the European Waterways website. They offer barges all over Europe. They range from 6 to 20 passengers. BUT, as you can imagine, they are pricey

Attached is our story of a barge cruise through Scotland.

 

[kcowan]

Kcowan, I’m a pretty healthy guy, but what did you have to do to prepare for such a trip?

We had booked ii in advance with VBT because we were going with two other couples. Then I ruptured my achilles tendon. So we were concerned, so when we got to Europe, we rented bikes in Cologne to try it out. Fortunately no problem. Biking turned out to be easier than walking!

Go to the European Waterways website. They offer barges all over Europe. They range from 6 to 20 passengers. BUT, as you can imagine, they are pricey

Attached is our story of a barge cruise through Scotland.

Yes they are pricey but we are in that Blow That Dough phase. Plus I was posted to Metz with the air force so The Moselle was going home. Because of high water, all Viking cruise were restricted to the Rhein. In fact, we used their docks in a few locations. Nice document Souschef. Very similar to our barge.

 

[cathy63]

I have never heard of a bike/barge tour until now. That seems spectacular!

A similar concept that's on our bucket list is a bike/cruise through the Greek islands. A friend of ours did this and it sounds amazing. Their small ship would cruise into a harbor and then the passengers would spend a few hours on a bike tour around or across the island with the ship sometimes meeting them at a different harbor.

 

[nwsteve]

We only have done a couple cruises. One of our few "frustrations" is the logistical scheduling necessary when you arrive in a new port and get ready to disembark. It is my impression that if you are DIY touring, most (all) cruise lines limit you to their last departure group. Is this accurate? Is there a way to avoid the last off statusif diy the onshore visit?

 

[gayl]

I'm Elite Princess so I get off / on whenever I want even with tenders. But there's never an issue with walking off before the tour groups for those who aren't. Tours usually get off an hour after docking giving DIY a break

 

[cathy63]

We only have done a couple cruises. One of our few "frustrations" is the logistical scheduling necessary when you arrive in a new port and get ready to disembark. It is my impression that if you are DIY touring, most (all) cruise lines limit you to their last departure group. Is this accurate? Is there a way to avoid the last off statusif diy the onshore visit?

In ports where the ship is at a dock, we've always just strolled off whenever they announce that they've completed the immigration/customs clearance and the gangway is open. In tender ports you will be last off unless you are in an elite loyalty group, have paid for a suite, or bought a ship's tour. However, if you have booked a tour on your own with a provider in the area, they are usually used to the ship's timing and will arrange a meeting time that works for those that can't get on the early tenders.

 

[audreyh1]

What is a tender port?

 

[Nemo2]

What is a tender port?

Where the ship doesn't tie up at the dock.

 

[omni550]

Where the ship doesn't tie up at the dock.

And you board 'tenders' (smaller ships) to haul you onto port and back to the 'mother ship'.

'Too large for the port' cruise ships are the reason for using tenders.

omni

 

[Nemo2]

And you board 'tenders' (smaller ships) to haul you onto port and back to the 'mother ship'.

'Too large for the port' cruise ships are the reason for using tenders.

omni

Wow..I would never have guessed that.

 

[kcowan]

We only have done a couple cruises. One of our few "frustrations" is the logistical scheduling necessary when you arrive in a new port and get ready to disembark. It is my impression that if you are DIY touring, most (all) cruise lines limit you to their last departure group. Is this accurate? Is there a way to avoid the last off statusif diy the onshore visit?

In our case, since there were only 6 of us, we went down and said we had a meeting that we had to get to (not a lie) and they let us off before the ships busloads. We did have to walk once on the pier. The bus was right at the gangway