Learn me: cruise ships

I'm excited. We are doing a sort-of bucket list cruise in October- Leaving Boston and going north to Bar Harbor, Nova Scotia, PEI, and through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec City and Montreal. Since Boston is local to us, we'll just Greyhound the return trip from Montreal. I've always wanted to see that part of the country, but it's such a pain to get to see everything to see what you love, that I felt a cruise was perfect for this instance. You get a little sampling of a large area, and can revisit the highlighted places in later vacations.

In reply to golfduke:

We are scheduled to do the reverse of that itinerary next year. Very excited.

Cruises are not for everyone, I know that without question. but they are for us, so we do them.

Sometimes we want to cruise to enjoy the ship, so we choose a big and new ship. Sometime we really want to see new and unusual places- so we find a small ship that gets into small things. Last year's trip to see Greece and Turkey was really amazing, as was the trip the year prior to Alaska- in terms of seeing things that one normally does not do.

Everyone has their different kind of vacation they want to do. And we all have the option to choose what fits us the best. No one way is better than another, as I see it.

Chris_V wrote: Got to see a lot more places than a single trip to one place would get you, sorry.

But there's the problem. You saw the places, but you haven't really been there. You've been in a small area that's dedicated to providing 2-4 hours of programmed activities to tens of thousands of you and your closest friends, all at the same time. And selling you diamonds. You may not even come in contact with someone who lives there year-round. It's one step beyond watching the Travel Channel, but not much. This is particularly true for very popular destinations. If you want a survey on a choice of destinations for later, it's a good option. Sounds like that's what golfduke is doing - although that's great country for a road trip

Apparently the run from Skagway back to Victoria/Seattle is a top speed blast, our captain commented on that. It's a long way down the coast. I had us clocked at about 25.5 mph on my GPS speedo - Norwegian says the ship has a v-max of 22.5 knots. And 46' above sea level, which looked about right for deck 7

In reply to Keith Tanner:

The experience depends on how you approach the stops. As you found out, there's no requirement to use the "programmed activities" at a given port. Nor is there a requirement to visit Diamonds International or other shops like it. You can get off the beaten path pretty easy if you plan ahead.

Our stop in Skagway was a run out of town, which meant we found some spots few find easily- and managed to spend a few hours there. Then we hiked a trail out of town in another direction- seeing very few other people.

For our upcoming cruise- we will bike Acadia, visit more of Boston, see some museums in Canada that we've not seen, all of which without a watch or diamond store.

Crap, even a very popular destination like Cozumel- just a few blocks off the main drag, and everything is different, which is really cool. Go to the mercado for lunch instead of Senior Frogs.

Honestly, some of the places we visited, I would not want to spend more than a few hours there anyway- one beach is just like another.

It all comes down to how you approach the vacation.

I usually go to Cozumel for a week and dive two different reefs every day - and I still don't get to see them all. Walking a couple of blocks away from Senor Frog's isn't quite the same. I keep mentioning Cozumel because it's a place where I've seen the cruise port from the outside. Oh, and one of those reefs is no longer there because they built a cruise dock on top of it.

A hike is a good plan, though. Much better than ziplining. I wanted to spend days kayaking in Ketchikan, and hike above the treeline for the whole day in Skagway. I really love the north, and miss my time there. The former isn't possible due to the time pressures of the stop - we got almost two hours on the water before having to bolt back to the ship with just enough time for a take-out lunch - and the latter can't be done without a lift out of town somehow. So I've seen those places, but I haven't really BEEN there.

I once had a bus pass in Australia that let me get on and off the bus between Brisbane and Cannes as much as I wanted, as long as I didn't backtrack. Do any of the cruise lines do that sort of thing, allow you to stay a few days in a port and catch the next ship?

In reply to Keith Tanner:

I don't know if they still offer it but Amtrak and VIA Canada used to offer a pass that was unlimited trips for 2 months anywhere in the US and Canada.

Keith Tanner wrote: I once had a bus pass in Australia that let me get on and off the bus between Brisbane and Cannes as much as I wanted, as long as I didn't backtrack. Do any of the cruise lines do that sort of thing, allow you to stay a few days in a port and catch the next ship?

Not that I'm aware of. But your version of vacations is very different than what the cruise lines are trying to sell, anyway- you want the ship to be a bus, or an airplane. Ship are floating resorts, instead. If you can find ferries to move you, well, there's that option.

alfadriver wrote: Honestly, some of the places we visited, I would not want to spend more than a few hours there anyway- one beach is just like another.

True. By visiting a bunch of places and taking some non-standard excursions, you can find places you want to spend more time in, spend no more time in, or even want to MOVE to.

alfadriver wrote: But your version of vacations is very different than what the cruise lines are trying to sell, anyway- you want the ship to be a bus, or an airplane. Ship are floating resorts, instead.

I think that sums it up pretty well.

My biggest complaint about the Pearl was the real lack of places to just sit and hang out inside - probably less of a problem in sunny climes than in Alaska in the fall! Apparently its sister ship is better in this regard. Based on the fact that the library (the only option) was packed all the time, I'm not the only one who felt that way. We ended up spending a lot of time in our windowless cabin because of it.

I've actually circumnavigated the globe at least once by ship thanks to my father's love of the sea. Some of those ships were Soviet ones, as they were the only option. The goal was transport, but at a more stately pace than going by air. A number of those liners are now refitted as cruise ships and are doing laps of the Baltic or the Caribbean.

We just got back from a week spent on Holland America in the Canadian Maritimes. We love cruising, and have yet to have a bad trip, knock on wood. I'll explain why I personally love cruising as below in no apparent order. It's okay if people disagree. Everyone is different, and everyone's idea of vacations are different as well.

• I see cruises exactly as Keith put it earlier- Wading into the shallow section of future destinations, and picking which sections of the pool that you want to dive into later in time. Cruises are perfect for that. We saw 5 wholly unique destinations on a 7 day trip, and traveling to/from them was done while I was either eating, sleeping, or drinking... I see it as a highbrow DD. You can enjoy new places, and when you leave, someone else brings you to the next one.

• I have a VERY VERY VERY hard time relaxing or sitting still. If I'm at home, I'm doing things. working on the house, doing something in the yard, fixing something, or some form throughout. I rarely sleep past 6am. On a cruise, I am almost forced to say 'hey, what's the damn rush? Where do you need to be?' If I want to lay in bed til 10, I can. If I want to wake up early and watch the sun rise, I can. If I want waffles at 3am after 18 beers, I can. Land-based vacations tend to put me in 'planning mode'- we need to do this, see that, be here for x, and tomorrow we're.... I enjoy that too, don't get me wrong... but sometimes I come home from those vacations more exhausted than when I left. Never said that about a cruise.

• The level of friendliness and service is excellent for the money. Even if you don't drink, you get essentially a week off from dishes, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and general honeydos. Eat whatever you want in any volume... Want your bed turned down 18x daily? No problem. Want breakfast delivered to your bed every morning and cooked specifically to your liking? Again, no issue.

• You meet people from all walks of life and get a completely unique point of view. Between the other guests and the bartenders/service workers, you hear so many stories and anecdotes that it's enriching just because of that. We went on this cruise and asked specifically to be seated with others simply for the conversation, and we now have people that we'd consider friends and are planning another adventure with them in the future. I feel that that experience is something unique to cruising in a lot of cases.

• The views... holy E36 M3, the views. Sailing through the St. Lawrence seaway and around the Gaspe peninsula at sunrise/sunset in peak foliage season will go to my grave as one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen. Not to mention the stars... No light pollution and the sounds of the sea = a humbling existential experience. Not to mention, the gentle rocking of the boat is like instant, natural nyquil for me. Holy crap do I sleep like the dead on a boat.

Again, I'm not trying to convince anyone from a hard-stanced opinion. But there are a lot of benefits to cruising and it makes them my favorite non-track related vacation out there. I'd encourage anyone to try a short duration cruise out just to see for yourself.

In reply to golfduke:

Wife and I agree with all of that. IT allows us a taste of different things without having to plan everything out and travel ourselves.

golfduke wrote: - I see cruises exactly as Keith put it earlier- Wading into the shallow section of future destinations, and picking which sections of the pool that you want to dive into later in time. Cruises are perfect for that. We saw 5 wholly unique destinations on a 7 day trip, and traveling to/from them was done while I was either eating, sleeping, or drinking... I see it as a highbrow DD. You can enjoy new places, and when you leave, someone else brings you to the next one.

Out of curiosity since I've never been on a cruise, are you really "seeing" different places, or just the tourist district of different cities?

I've found those to be all about the same, at least in the Bahamas and Jamaica when going to a resort.

java230 wrote: I have done a cruise and a bareboat charter. With motion sickness it sounds horrible! I never noticed any real movement on the cruise ship, but if your sensitive to it you might... It might be worth a room with a balcony even. I enjoyed it, lots of food, its decent, but always the same. We stopped at a different port almost every day IIRC, get off the boat, see the town beach whatever. Wifi was ungodly stupid $$ when I did it (quite a few years ago now). The theater shows and the stand up they had on the boat was actually really good, like worth going to see every day since it changes. Bareboat is a whole nother ball game. Not for you with motion sickness as its a smaller boat and will rock. But SO awesome, I did the British Virgin Islands for 3 weeks with my wife for our honeymoon on a 40' boat. Go wherever you want, on your schedule etc. Its our 10 year anniversary this summer and we are going back to do it again!! Bringing the kid sadly but it will still be fun.

What qualifications did you have to show before they let you loose with a 40 foot boat? I've sailed pretty much everything from a windsurfing to a 65 foot square rig, but have no paper to show that I am certified to do anything. Always dreamed of doing the bareboat.

Believe it or not, I have asked the charter companies this exact same question about ten times, and have never got a clear answer.

To the OP...Cruises are a lot like the old fashioned cattle roundups. The cattle is just being shuttled from one port to the next where the cruise-lines have arrangements with the local vendors. Not that there is really anything wrong with this, just not my thing.

I could survive a week by chilling at the pool with a good book or ten and watching the ambulant bikini-clad fauna (assuming not all old like me!) and maintaining a blood alcohol level of about .08 for the duration.No different than an all-inclusive.

In reply to golfduke: We finally are going to do a Quebec-St.Lawerence trip next September. So very excited about that.

z31maniac wrote:

golfduke wrote: - I see cruises exactly as Keith put it earlier- Wading into the shallow section of future destinations, and picking which sections of the pool that you want to dive into later in time. Cruises are perfect for that. We saw 5 wholly unique destinations on a 7 day trip, and traveling to/from them was done while I was either eating, sleeping, or drinking... I see it as a highbrow DD. You can enjoy new places, and when you leave, someone else brings you to the next one.

Out of curiosity since I've never been on a cruise, are you really "seeing" different places, or just the tourist district of different cities? I've found those to be all about the same, at least in the Bahamas and Jamaica when going to a resort.

That's entirely up to you. Some places we really like to get out into the local areas and see stuff- one or two block off the main drag in St Muigel in Cozumel is really cool, or going to the market in Cuasao is an option.

Some places, the "nice stuff" is more developed- there is a big fenced in area in Falmouth Jamaica, but you can always leave that and wander around town, too.

In reply to z31maniac:

When we stepped off the boat in Cozumel, all I could think was Myrtle Beach. It was a joke.

We dodged all that crap and ended up at a small government park that wasn't bad. From there it was a hole in the wall for lunch, also not bad. Then a stop at Carlos and Charlies, miserable.

Then back to the boat.

Key West wasn't bad. A lot like walking in downtown Charleston. Houses and touristy things.

We stopped one other place that I don't even remember.

It wasn't a bad cruise, but it was my last and that was 15 years ago. Just not my thing.

z31maniac wrote: Out of curiosity since I've never been on a cruise, are you really "seeing" different places, or just the tourist district of different cities? I've found those to be all about the same, at least in the Bahamas and Jamaica when going to a resort.

Yeah, for the most part we do a little research before we get on the boat. As a rule, I find cruise-line booked excursions to be a rip-off, and they really only focus on money generation rather than experience, so we avoid those. We do different things in different ports, but we absolutely get out of the dock areas and truly get to explore a good bit. You figure you have 9-12 hours at a port, which isn't a small chunk of time if you're smart with it.

E.g.- On this Canadian cruise, we did the following all on our own-

• Bar Harbor, ME- Took a taxi to a local bike shop, rented 2 bikes and rode to Acadia National Park. We rode the carriage roads around the lakes and saw maybe 20 people all day out there. Went back to the town, found the dive-iest bar we could get a seat at and had a lobster roll and local beer (okay 2), and walked around for a couple hours before getting back on the boat.

• Halifax- We walked up to the citadel and hung out there for quite a while, just reading plaques and hanging out. It was pissing rain and windy though, so that's about all we did. Grabbed a coffee, hopped back on board, took a nap, watched a movie, and had a lazy day mostly.

• Sydney- I'm fascinated with war history, so we visited the fortress of Louisbourg (which is breathtakingly gorgeous and full of pre-revolutionary war history). There were lots of tours going on with this, but it never felt overcrowded, and we could have left any time. We finished by eating mussels and lobster in downtown sydney and walked the beaches/harborwalks for a few hours while sipping good, local coffee.

• Charlottetown- WE rented a car from a local rental office. They picked us up at the boat and brought us to the office, and we drove all over the island exploring on our own. We had a few bulletpoints that we wanted to hit, and we got to all of them and then some, in the comfort of a pretty nice Grand Cherokee. We walked Brackley beach, Cavendish, fished off the North Rustico docks, which might be the most beautiful place on earth, and ate at a harborside restaurant that had 4 tables and smelled of the sea. I proposed to my then-girlfriend at Cavendish beach, and there wasn't a soul to be seen for miles. It was perfect.

• Quebec City- We had both been there prior, so we just got off the boat and walked the city, taking in the buildings, architecture, and food... We loitered all day, and while the city is teeming with tourists, there were lots of great parks on the high side of the city that were super quiet. Again, avoid the 'postcard' spots if that's not your thing, and you'll be perfectly fine.

Like I said, you won't be able to completely avoid touristy areas, since you'll obviously be parked in it... but it is extremely easy to get out and explore on your own with a small bit of pre-planning and good old fashioned walking.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to golfduke: We finally are going to do a Quebec-St.Lawerence trip next September. So very excited about that.

You'll love it. If you have any questions about ports or places to see/visit, I'd be happy to help. We actually loved it so much that we are planning to do another 7 day in the region with a few different ports (we want to hit Gaspe, saguenay river, and St. John's)... Which cruise line are you going on?

Our european cruise this year was nice. Sure, there are touristy areas. But in Athens, the main thing you're looking for is the PArthenon anyway (or at least, for me anyway). Santorini was nice. quiet, quaint and someplace we wouldn't mind going back to. Turkey, yeah I'm good. Been there, done that, ready to go someplace new.

The carib cruises tend to be similar island things. becahes, shops and the like. Bermuda was nice as we were docked for two days. Rented a scooter and explored the whole island for two days. HAd to fill the little critter up twice!

I've done two Carnival cruises. Longer one out of New York City to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas. 7 day cruise was too long for me.

Number two was out of Miami and hit Key West and Cozumel. Leave Monday PM back Friday AM. Short and sweet cruise. I'd do this one again in a heartbeat.