Has your attitude to cruising changed?

[GaryT-UK]

When I went on my first ever cruise I went on a shore excursion every day and felt like I had to see every new Country and all the big sites, never imagining this would be the first cruise of many.

Now I'm getting ready for my 10th cruise and I'll be visiting half the ports for the 2nd or 3rd time, so I've already seen a lot of their big sites and I'm wondering whether to re-visit them, or maybe I need to change my attitude in those ports and enjoy just relaxing in port or on the ship.

On a recent cruise I overheard a lady say they hadn't left the ship all week, they'd been everywhere already, but the ship was better than any hotel.

Has anyone else experienced this as they clock up the cruise miles?

[Minz]

Sounds like the ship itself is your destination which makes for a relaxing holiday in its own right. We choose where we are going...sea based travel to visit new ports (= take a ship/liner of choice and itinerary relevance), or we fly and travel to new destinations by land. You could always try some holiday resorts and fly into them as an alternative to cruising.

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

When we first started cruising, we had already been all over Europe and a few other places. Cruising gave us the chance to see even more places without living out of 1 suitcase per person.

We have done way past 120 cruises and now with health issues, we don't do as many tours as we used to. But we do like to still get off the ship and see what has changed in the various ports.

[sparky-elpaso]

We're still working on our "bucket list" so seeing things in ports is more of a priority for us. Although we do like sea days too.

[KirkNC]

We have learned to not try and rush around to see everything. We move at a more relaxing pace now.

[NMLady]

When I went on my first ever cruise I went on a shore excursion every day and felt like I had to see every new Country and all the big sites, never imagining this would be the first cruise of many.

Now I'm getting ready for my 10th cruise and I'll be visiting half the ports for the 2nd or 3rd time, so I've already seen a lot of their big sites and I'm wondering whether to re-visit them, or maybe I need to change my attitude in those ports and enjoy just relaxing in port or on the ship.

On a recent cruise I overheard a lady say they hadn't left the ship all week, they'd been everywhere already, but the ship was better than any hotel.

Has anyone else experienced this as they clock up the cruise miles?

 

We often stay aboard the ship in ports that we've been to several times. It is a very relaxing day, allowing us to rest up for sightseeing in a different port.

[PORT ROYAL]

When I went on my first ever cruise I went on a shore excursion every day and felt like I had to see every new Country and all the big sites, never imagining this would be the first cruise of many.

Now I'm getting ready for my 10th cruise and I'll be visiting half the ports for the 2nd or 3rd time, so I've already seen a lot of their big sites and I'm wondering whether to re-visit them, or maybe I need to change my attitude in those ports and enjoy just relaxing in port or on the ship.

On a recent cruise I overheard a lady say they hadn't left the ship all weekly , they'd been everywhere already, but the ship was better than any hotel.

Has anyone else experienced this as they clock up the cruise miles?

 

Think you may need a change of Cruise Line and itineraries in search of new experiences. I do agree that around the Mediterranean there are a lot off the same old ports. But this is due solely to the availability of suitable berths and termed contractual agreements.

 

Just select new ports of interest to you, with a Cruise Line that visits. The selection of a small ship could be to your liking.

[packedandready]

If we are visiting new ports we try to get in as much as possible. But with RCI's bogo sale we were able to get some really, really good rates on itineraries we've done a number of times so booked 3 extra..already had 1 booked.

 

One a cruise we have scheduled for november we've decided to make it a "beach vacation". We're going to find a nice beach and spend the day in the sand. We've never done that at all the ports so this will be a little different, but something I'm looking forward too.

[JimAOk1945]

We still enjoy cruising and feel excited as each embarkation day approaches, however we take a more relaxed attitude toward shore excursions. We still have a lot of places to cross off our "bucket list" before we get to the point where we will make the ship our destination.

 

Happy cruising everyone. It's a great way to travel!

[Hlitner]

We have cruised to an awful lot of ports on 6 continents and only stay aboard on a few rare occasions. But we probably average 1 cruise tour per every 50 ports as we nearly always prefer to go off and do our own thing using our feet, local/regional buses, trains, and rental cars. We do often manage to have relaxing port days as we might just drive to one or two places and perhaps enjoy a long lunch in a decent café/restaurant. We were never into the "cram as much as possible into a short port day" mode and as we grow older we often do less and less and enjoy things more and more :).

 

Hank

[FTLcruisers]

we have done so many Caribbean cruises (we live in South Florida) so we have a different attitude on those cruises - more about relaxing/the ship than the ports. We still get off the ship but don't go on excursions. We have cruised numerous times in Europe, but would never think of just staying on the ship. Even if we don't do an excursion, we get off and explore someplace we haven't seen before or go back to someplace we really liked.

 

In general, we have learned that we don't have to do every single thing there is to do - that it's ok to relax!

 

Marianne

[OCruisers]

We use to have excursion plans for every port stop.

Now, there are many times when we just "play it by ear" and walk around in town or take a taxi someplace ... especially, toward the end of longer cruises.

LuLu

[sail7seas]

Having sailed HAL over 80 cruises and other cruise lines in addition, we repeated many ports a number of times. Our earlier visits, we toured. Our subsequent visits we returned to places we particularly enjoyed. We had lunch in a restaurant we remembered, shopped in a store we liked, went to a beach we had enjoyed.

 

As years went by, we often didn't get off the ship for more than a brief walk around the port area. We might get off for lunch and return after.

 

Our priorities and interests in how to enjoy our cruises definitely shifted.

 

[jocap]

I see that you're on Thomson next- now, there's a line which visits unusual ports, and also has stay/cruise (or cruise stay :rolleyes:)

Yes, the big lines duplicate many ports, such as Civitavecchia, Livorno, Barcelona, and that can be off-putting when hunting for something a little different. We're apt to treat those as beach days now, and often end up back on the ship within hours.

Enjoy your next cruise!;)

[GaryT-UK]

In general, we have learned that we don't have to do every single thing there is to do - that it's ok to relax!

 

Thanks for all the comments everyone. I think this sums nicely what a few people have said... definitely a lesson I'll learn.

I'm very fortunate that I can have a few holidays a year, so I try to have a land based holiday too (just back from Berlin where I also crammed in everything I could!!) and I have a long list of more exotic itineraries to try (1st trip to the Caribbean coming soon).

But I do like the Med, and even though I've been to half the places on my next cruise that means there's half that are brand new to me, so I'm not complaining :) I'm going to try and adapt my style, as others have done, and just see what the day brings in the places I've been before.

I travel solo, so for me the entertainment and food on ships beat anything on land hands down, it's much harder work to keep myself entertained on land, so I long ago realised I love cruising. It's good to hear about all of your experiences. Happy sailing :D

[ducklite]

It would take something pretty incredible to get us to book a cruise with ports we've been to already. (Croatia would be the exception to the rule at this point in the game.) We are committed to the small ships in order to get to see places that the large ships simply can't visit.

 

We typically alternate land based with cruises and add in one or two short land based getaways per year as well as our 10-15 day vacations.

Edited June 7, 2014 by ducklite

[ehfl]

We did the same thing, and over-programmed on our first cruise. We learned to not try to do everything, since there will always be opportunity next time. The ship is a nice resort, and there's nothing wrong with staying aboard and enjoying some down-time.

[travlnblueberries]

We've been to the same ports so many times we have made friends with the locals on the islands. So if there isn't anything specific that we want to do first, we go visit our friends.

[JimAOk1945]

I see that you're on Thomson next- now, there's a line which visits unusual ports, and also has stay/cruise (or cruise stay :rolleyes:)

Yes, the big lines duplicate many ports, such as Civitavecchia, Livorno, Barcelona, and that can be off-putting when hunting for something a little different. We're apt to treat those as beach days now, and often end up back on the ship within hours.

Enjoy your next cruise!;)

 

Hi Jo,

 

Can you please explain what a stay/cruise is? It's an expression I'm not familiar with?

 

Thanks!

[Cruise life]

We have learned to not try and rush around to see everything. We move at a more relaxing pace now.

 

Agree with this. We don't rush off the ship anymore and get back before the big rush most times. We weren't devastated missing Roatan. We have even left our children on board once and done an adult's only excursion which was really nice...kids like camp that much :-)

I was just checking mountain cabin prices and for four nights in one of the "cheap cabins" we could sail four days all inclusive with our two children. The only thing that still worries me is picking the wrong cabin when I can't find recent reviews to reassure me I'm in a good location. Mostly, we are comfortable with the product and have had repeated success with only a couple issues (cabin under free weights was our worst -ever problem). Being able to celebrate our time off and walk to our room is a plus.

 

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[Cruise life]

One other thing, we both have traveled to Europe, Asia and hubby to the Middle East so we don't feel this desire to cruise the med or the orient. It makes it easy to pick cruises close to home for the joy of cruising and trying new ships/upgrades. I would never cruise the med or the orient before a land vacation there. Discovered that about Hawaii despite a wonderful cruise. Some places require a longer stay to experience fully...6 or 10 hours doesn't cut it.

 

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[GaryT-UK]

Can you please explain what a stay/cruise is? It's an expression I'm not familiar with?[/color]

 

A stay/cruise or a cruise/stay is where you have a weeks cruise followed/preceded by a weeks holiday on land in the resort where the ship sails from - it's quite common in the Med.

[jocap]

Hi Jo,

 

Can you please explain what a stay/cruise is? It's an expression I'm not familiar with?

 

Thanks!

As GaryT says, it's a package ....Thomson have both cruise ships and aeroplanes, so you buy a complete package where you turn up at your local airport, and are in Thomson's hands until you return back.

The last time we did this, we caught the 'plane to Sharm in Egypt, and had a week in a hotel, then a week on the ship. Others flying out with us were doing the cruise first, or simply the cruise or hotel for a week. :)

[Karysa]

One other thing, we both have traveled to Europe, Asia and hubby to the Middle East so we don't feel this desire to cruise the med or the orient. It makes it easy to pick cruises close to home for the joy of cruising and trying new ships/upgrades. I would never cruise the med or the orient before a land vacation there. Discovered that about Hawaii despite a wonderful cruise. Some places require a longer stay to experience fully...6 or 10 hours doesn't cut it.

 

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The ships are the same no matter where they are ported but the passengers and ports in Europe, that's what I am starting to enjoy more and more.

[marco]

It depends on where we are and if we've been there prior and how many times. We've taken our "Friends and Family Annual Winter Caribbean Cruise" now for almost 40 yrs. It's a tradition my parents started when I was a kid and it's now kind of morphed into the next generation. (I've seen LOTS of changes in the cruse industry, but that's a topic for a completely separate thread) Most of the islands we've been to repeatedly and the destination is not important. Folks will ask "where are you going?" and I'll reply, "Don't care....it'll be 80 degrees and the sun's out!" For those of us in the group who have gone pretty much every year, at lot of the islands we don't even get off the ship as the ship itself IS the destination. Some of the best time to enjoy the ship's facilities during the day is when pretty much everyone else is ashore.

Edited June 9, 2014 by marco