Things that I did not know about cruises

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 I've taken 3 UnCruise trips (2 Alaska, one Panama and Costa Rica) and have one more booked (Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortes next March). Likely to book Hawaii in late 2018. Less formal, far more focused on nature and activities such as kayaking, hiking, swimming, etc. Love them.

I was hoping to do the Costa Rica and Panama one in the last couple of years, but things keep getting in the way. I have never traveled with them.

A Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez trip in March: it was the most incredible whale watching of our lives!! Just amazing!!! 12 species of Cetaceans, but also ocean birds, sharks, turtles, other fish. Even bioluminescence - nature's underwater light show!!! It wasn't an Uncruise trip.

We were on a long-range fishing vessel. Only 80 foot long. Very small group. The blue whales were as long as our boat! Kind of roughing it. But the captain watched the whales on sonar and would turn the boat just right to catch a whale breaching. Unbelievable!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I was hoping to do the Costa Rica and Panama one in the last couple of years, but things keep getting in the way. I have never traveled with them. A Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez trip in March: it was the most incredible whale watching of our lives!! Just amazing!!! 12 species of Cetaceans, but also ocean birds, sharks, turtles, other fish. Even bioluminescence - nature's underwater light show!!! It wasn't an Uncruise trip. We were on a long-range fishing vessel. Only 80 foot long. Very small group. The blue whales were as long as our boat! Kind of roughing it. But the captain watched the whales on sonar and would turn the boat just right to catch a whale breaching. Unbelievable!

OK - I found some details. Took a while to remember - the trip we took was in 2002.

The very small "ship" was the Spirit of Adventure out of San Diego. They sail from H&M Landing. Most of the year it's a long range fishing vessel. But in the spring they to whale watching/natural history trips. They are still doing our trip. Natural History/Whale Watching Trips | news

The organization we went through was the Oceanic Society. They contributed two outstanding naturalists to our group. This was a major deal - there was lots to see and identify from aboard ship! We also stopped at lot of outdoor islands and they led hikes. Natural history presentations some evenings. One of the naturalists did shark research off the Farallon Islands and was famous for his National Geographic documentary on the Great White Shark. The Oceanic Society does naturalist led small group marine mammal expeditions all over the world: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/expeditions

It was truly an incredible adventure. The cabin was ridiculous - just room for a double bunk and enough floor space to stand in with luggage upright. I had to get over a bit of claustrophobia. But the galley and decks had tons of space. It was the most memorable nature/wildlife trip we have ever experienced. And we have done a great deal of nature travel!

Hmm - it looks like the Oceanic Society is not doing that particular trip with the Spirit of Adventure anymore. They are offering this option for whale watching in Baja California: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/exped...-of-cortez--69

[cathy63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 OK - I found some details. Took a while to remember - the trip we took was in 2002. The very small "ship" was the Spirit of Adventure out of San Diego. They sail from H&M Landing. Most of the year it's a long range fishing vessel. But in the spring they to whale watching/natural history trips. They are still doing our trip. Natural History/Whale Watching Trips | news The organization we went through was the Oceanic Society. They contributed two outstanding naturalists to our group. This was a major deal - there was lots to see and identify from aboard ship! We also stopped at lot of outdoor islands and they led hikes. Natural history presentations some evenings. One of the naturalists did shark research off the Farallon Islands and was famous for his National Geographic documentary on the Great White Shark. The Oceanic Society does naturalist led small group marine mammal expeditions all over the world: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/expeditions It was truly an incredible adventure. The cabin was ridiculous - just room for a double bunk and enough floor space to stand in with luggage upright. I had to get over a bit of claustrophobia. But the galley and decks had tons of space. It was the most memory nature/wildlife trip we have ever experienced. And we have done a great deal of nature travel! Hmm - it looks like the Oceanic Society is not doing that particular trip with the Spirit of Adventure anymore. They are offering this option for whale watching in Baja California: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/exped...-of-cortez--69

Wow, that Spirit of Adventure trip sounds amazing. I've been wanting to do a Sea of Cortez trip, but this sounds like a great alternative, and the departure port is certainly convenient. I'll have to see who they are working with now and consider it for next year.

We just booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on Princess for next month after they finally enticed me with some ridiculously low fares. It'll be by far the biggest ship we've ever been on, but as long as I can find a shady lounge chair with an ocean view I'll be happy.

[Chuckanut]

I am not sure this is the kind of information the OP intended, but I had no idea that a cruise ship could be cut into two pieces in order to put in an expansion section.

Quote:

Fascinating new pictures have emerged of an enormous cruise ship being cut in half so a 49ft extension can be inserted to increase passenger capacity by 12 per cent. The Silver Spirit, launched at the end of 2009 by Silversea, was photographed at a dry dock in Palermo, Sicily, with her giant body split in two and her innards exposed. Engineers are seen working throughout the night to move the cruise liner's new section into place, with 'precision' key to the mind-boggling elongation project.

Stunning new photos show cruise ship Silver Spirit being cut in two | Daily Mail Online

[lwp2017]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I am not sure this is the kind of information the OP intended, but I had no idea that a cruise ship could be cut into two pieces

Ships are now built using prefabricated modules. The modules are constructed with all the piping, wiring, ventilation, etc and then are welded together.

The modules are typically assembled in a climate controlled enclosed facility. Workers are out of the elements resulting in higher quality of work and lower cost.

Not like in the old days where they laid a keel, assembled the hull, set the decks, and bulkheads then fitted out the ship interior.

[Nemo2]

Coming soon, Lego pontoon ships, moored at both ends, that one can drive on from the stern and off at the bow.......previously known as 'bridges'.

[Bamaman]

Getting back to the original posting. Viking River cruises are very expensive, and so are their new ocean cruiseships. For the one week cruise on Viking, I could make 3 trips to Europe including flights.

We are into more trips instead of extra luxurious trips.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman We are into more trips instead of extra luxurious trips.

Now you're playing our tune.

[Teacher Terry]

I agree BM and Nemo. Not only that but I don't think I would like the smaller ones. I love a big variety of nightlife. I also don't want to feel like I am in school with experts on the area droning on about it and I want to choose my own excursions. I know some people love them.

[FireFool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Getting back to the original posting. Viking River cruises are very expensive, and so are their new ocean cruiseships. For the one week cruise on Viking, I could make 3 trips to Europe including flights. We are into more trips instead of extra luxurious trips.

I agree that there are cheaper ways to do Europe, and we more typically do those types of trips ourselves, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the Rhine cruise we did this past fall. We traveled with four other couples, where we were the only ones being retired. For this large of a group it was VERY beneficial on a number of fronts to use Viking:
1) Having a predetermined itinerary minimized pre-trip planning to mainly be just agreeing on the cruise itself. No one person had to do the work of researching/selecting sites, lodging and other logistics.
2) Having bus transportation for the daily off-boat tours was nice for a larger group. Otherwise we'd be in three cars to get anywhere and three people would have the stress/responsibility of driving in a foreign country.
3) The cruise line controlled the tour departure times - no group discussions regarding sleeping in vs getting an early start.
4) With a group this large a lot of time could be lost just packing up and checking in and out of hotels each day. It was very nice to have our floating hotel eliminate that.
5) Excellent dinners with varied selections on board eliminated the back and forth of a restaurant selection each night.

In short it was just easier in terms of not having to negotiate agreement on day to day travel decisions, and nobody felt like someone within their friend group was forcing their personal choices upon anyone else's vacation. Viking staff were very attentive, the food was excellent, and I'd definitely consider doing another cruise with them - "easy" costs, but sometimes it's worth it.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Not only that but I don't think I would like the smaller ones. I love a big variety of nightlife. I also don't want to feel like I am in school with experts on the area droning on about it and I want to choose my own excursions. I know some people love them.

- For us with ships.....'small' rules!

- Nightlife - doesn't interest us.

- Lectures - on a westbound TA aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam there was a historian giving oversights into the backgrounds of each port we visited, and on our recent RC TA a lady professor gave talks on plants/herbs and marine life.....we attended every session of both of them.

- Excursions - maybe when we're older.

As with everything - À chacun son goût

[Teacher Terry]

It's funny because at home I am in bed early and there is no nightlife for me. But on a cruise we love all the nightlife. I wouldn't even go if I didn't do an excursion in each port. Also on a cruise we can sleep in or take a nap which are things I don't do at home mostly due to the dogs.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry It's funny because at home I am in bed early and there is no nightlife for me. But on a cruise we love all the nightlife. I wouldn't even go if I didn't do an excursion in each port. Also on a cruise we can sleep in or take a nap which are things I don't do at home mostly due to the dogs.

Things would be dull if we were all the same.

[Teacher Terry]

Some friends of ours want to do a cruise with us. My suggestion was that everyone do their own thing during the day and we hang out together for dinner and later. Often my DH and I don't want to take the same excursions so take different ones. Things would be too crowded if we all liked the same stuff)

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Some friends of ours want to do a cruise with us. My suggestion was that everyone do their own thing during the day and we hang out together for dinner and later. Often my DH and I don't want to take the same excursions so take different ones. Things would be too crowded if we all liked the same stuff)

Couple years back we, (deliberately), met up with a couple we'd first encountered in Civitavecchia prior to a cruise......all four of us agreed that a strong point was that we/they could (but not necessarily) take off in different pursuits without recriminations.

When we did hang out together it was because we all wanted to, not out of self inflicted guilt.

[Teacher Terry]

Nemo, that's the only way I will travel with others. A few people have commented that it is odd when we take different excursions but he likes to scuba dive and I don't so no way am I just going to tag along on the boat. Also sometimes he does more active tours like ziplining and I have a bad neck/back so can't do that. I prefer the island tours. WE did do the pyramid tours together because we both wanted to do that.

[CardsFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Some friends of ours want to do a cruise with us. My suggestion was that everyone do their own thing during the day and we hang out together for dinner and later. Often my DH and I don't want to take the same excursions so take different ones. Things would be too crowded if we all liked the same stuff)

We have only done 2 cruises, but this was the way we handled it, as well. With 4 couples on one, and 8 couples on the other, trying to do everything together would have been a nightmare. As it played out, several times we were with some friends, but only because we wanted to do the same thing.

At night we would meet for happy hour, and had several dinners planned together. But the evening activities were also " do what you want".

Worked well, and no hard feelings.

[Rosie]

I took an Alaska small ship cruise early last summer, the same one braumeister took a couple of years earlier. I had an absolutely wonderful time. For me, it was worth every penny.

I took this photo when we disembarked in Juneau. The small ship I was on is in the lower left of the photo, the 62-passenger NG Sea Lion. Compare it to the Silversea looming over it, which was one of the "smaller" of the cruise ships berthed in Juneau that day.

It's too bad we weren't berthed next to one of the 3000-plus passenger ships stopping off in Juneau, the difference would have been even more striking.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie I took an Alaska small ship cruise early last summer, the same one braumeister took a couple of years earlier. I had an absolutely wonderful time. For me, it was worth every penny. I took this photo when we disembarked in Juneau. The ship I was on is in the lower left of the photo, the 62-passenger NG Sea Lion. Compare it to the ship next to it, which was one of the "smaller" cruise ships berthed in Juneau that day.

Sea Lion looks like a beaut!

[grasshopper]

This is the only cruise for me. Ms G and I in Baja California in December. We have sailed with UnCruise to Alaska, Hawaii, Galapagos, Costa Rica/Panama, and Sea of Cortez twice.

Sea of Cortez.jpg