where, why and how often

[Hawaiidan]

I read the post about sailing 20-40 even 60 times on Oceaina.... and one must assume other lines as well.

, Since there are only so many places in the world you can take a ship to and only so many ports and regions...

To me it seems that sailing several months a year year after year on the same ships you would have to take the same cruises over and over.....

 

I am thus curious as to how many times people repeat the same route...there is only so many times you can sail the Greek islands, travel the Panama canal or sail the Baltic.... got to Tahiti or Hong Kong?

 

Not a criticism if you do, but doesn't it get rather mundane seeing the same stuff over and over? I find I have to take a year or more break between cruises to keep it interesting.

[GeorgesGal]

Dan, I've read about people who literally live on board. Perhaps they are the ones with all those trips on one line.

 

Donna

[msn123]

As we are deciding on #20 for ourselves, thought I would give our answer: We try to do different itineraries but you can always find a different excursion in repeat ports; and rather than escaping winter to one location in Florida for a few weeks, a Caribbean jaunt works for us. The ship is the destination rather than the particular places where the ship stops.

[hypercafe]

We do a feel the same way. We escape the NY winter each winter by taking a trip in the Crab. Only diff is we use lots of lines.

 

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[mom2travel]

I am currently on board the Riviera...I have only done about 6 cruises so far all different destinations...provided time and money were of no issue...u can only see such a small area of the city at each port...so I would have no issue returning to a port I have visited before...kinda like been to New York 4 times...still haven't seen it all:)

 

 

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[StanandJim]

I read the post about sailing 20-40 even 60 times on Oceaina.... and one must assume other lines as well.

, Since there are only so many places in the world you can take a ship to and only so many ports and regions...

To me it seems that sailing several months a year year after year on the same ships you would have to take the same cruises over and over.....

 

I am thus curious as to how many times people repeat the same route...there is only so many times you can sail the Greek islands, travel the Panama canal or sail the Baltic.... got to Tahiti or Hong Kong?

 

Not a criticism if you do, but doesn't it get rather mundane seeing the same stuff over and over? I find I have to take a year or more break between cruises to keep it interesting.

 

There used to be a saying, back in the time when people still read books, that only boring people are ever bored.

 

Todays travelers seem to want to tick off the top four or five "sites" in a given city and then chuck the entire thing into the "been there, done that" bin.

They are only cheating themselves

 

Research is your friend and will return untold dividends.

 

If you've been to Athens three times, do day trips to the Corinth Canal or Delphi, instead.

 

If you're in Naples and just can't face Pompeii again, go off the beaten path and tour the palace of Caserta.

 

For larger cities, such as a New York, Istanbul or Shanghai there are always other facets to be seen. Step of your comfort zone, Take the Jewish tour if you are a Christian, take the Financial tour even if you can't run a calculator, spend the day at the local Symphony.

.

[Hawaiidan]

I totally understand your point.... that there is ALWAYS something to do if you look.

However, life as we know it is rather finite we all have and suffer from it in the form of birthday disease..

Too I understand people with a bucket list who just want to say that they have been there and hit the road for an other been there done that to share at cocktail parties is sad.

 

But my question was what motivates one to travel anywhere receptively when faced with limited time and alternative options.

I know people who go to Florida and Hawaii or the same place every time every year. Is it comfort, routine, safety ?

To me ship travel is exciting in and of its self because it is not something I do every week month or year but to exclude to a large extent other options. For example would you choose going to the same place for the 3rd or 4th time over say a river trip down the Grand Canyon or a Snow mobile exploration in winter of Yellowstone or taking a week of art or cooking classes in Provience... as an alternative to repetition?

[Fairfield Nana]

I bet those old dudes chained up in the ancient galleys rowing to the beat of the big, bald guy on the bass drum asked this same question.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I read the post about sailing 20-40 even 60 times on Oceaina.... and one must assume other lines as well.

, Since there are only so many places in the world you can take a ship to and only so many ports and regions...

To me it seems that sailing several months a year year after year on the same ships you would have to take the same cruises over and over.....

 

I am thus curious as to how many times people repeat the same route...there is only so many times you can sail the Greek islands, travel the Panama canal or sail the Baltic.... got to Tahiti or Hong Kong?

 

Not a criticism if you do, but doesn't it get rather mundane seeing the same stuff over and over? I find I have to take a year or more break between cruises to keep it interesting.

 

Some people love being at sea, period. Lots of people up north want to escape winter, and being on a luxurious ship with great food and service with the odd interesting port is heaven.

 

Some people, like me, get hooked on a place. I have the Polynesian Flu. I have been to Tahiti 4 times, on 5 cruises, and will go back again next week for my 6th cruise. We just love it there--never get tired of the scenery, the people, the warmth, the ocean...and we repeat the same excursions at times, and they are just as good the second or third time!

[alainciao]

Hey, Dan

 

We live in Virginia and every January we go to the same place 5,000 miles away simply because we LOVE it. It's called..................Hawaii.

[Travelcat2]

Firstly, I think that living onboard your favorite cruise ship would be heaven. You learn the ports, where to eat, where to shop, etc. You no longer need or want to do tourist oriented things. We have traveled internationally since 1987 and began cruising in 2004. We have seen pretty much every place that we are interested in seeing. For us, going somewhere familiar is better than visiting new cities for 1 day and doing tours. Having said that, there are places in the world that we get tired of and avoid. There are a few ports where we do not step foot off of the ship as we prefer not to visit that port again. This is not to say that the places are not important ports to visit -- just not places that we feel the need to repeat.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Travelcat2

[RetiredFL]

Having completed 14 cruises on Oceania and having 3 more booked, along with prior cruises on other lines, we still look forward to each cruise.

It is a little more difficult to find new destinations but we still have a bucket list. Just got back from an Oceania cruise that included Greenland, a place not even on our bucket list but fascinating never the less.

Yes we have repeated ports, 3 time in Kusadasi Turkey so far, for example. The first time we had to see Ephesus, second time Mary's house. But the third time was the best. We just walked around town, looking in the shops, having a drink at a favorite cafe and watching the first timers run around like crazy in an effort to see everything. There is something satisfying about knowing a place well enough to feel comfortable there. We will probably be there a fourth time, sometime in the future, and I am sure we will still enjoy doing nothing special.

[azevedan]

Plenty of people own vacation houses and thus go to the same place over and over again....not much different than those folks. Not my cup of tea, but whatever floats your boat! :p

 

OTOH, we are knocking off a travel bucket list, and I'm finding that many of the places I've visited I'd *love* to go back to!

[no fuss travel]

OTOH, we are knocking off a travel bucket list, and I'm finding that many of the places I've visited I'd *love* to go back to!

 

'I'm with you. We are still working on our bucket list and we have another list of places that we have visited that we would "love" to go back to. Some of our bucket list will have to wait until things quieten down and others we will work on in the near future. We crossed 22 things off our bucket list in past year and a half.:D

[wandrr]

Two years ago, on a circumnavigation of South America with HAL Prinsendam, we met a lady who had retired on board, basically doing B2B2B2B2B2B... She was 94, I believe, but still capable of travel, obviously. She rarely (if ever) went ashore, and had thousands of sea days, probably more than most of the crew. The crew members all knew her and loved her. She was a very personable individual, willing to talk to anyone. Her own table was always waiting, and the Maitre'd regularly escorted her to and from all meals. She was a wonderful person, clearly still having fun on a cruise ship without doing any shore visits. It can be done.

 

You can probably pop over to the HAL discussions, and inquire. Some of the HAL frequent cruisers we met on board knew her, or at least knew of her.

 

That is how you get 60 cruises. I just hope I am equally capable when I hit 94!

[ronrick1943]

I don't think your cheating yourself if you don't won't to get off at a port---We cruise to cruise nothing else. If we want to see something at a port we do just that and if we don't we don't. What one person enjoy may not be for us, it's as simple as that.

We cruise to relax and sometimes that's doing nothing at all.....

Rick

[Hawaiidan]

First Thanks for your comments and what makes you do what you do. As expected lots of you had the same motivation. But also many had fixed tastes..., all sorts of reasons. All for them valid because they are you !

 

I tried the concept of living on a ship for several years... ( us Navy) and also on cruising boats in the south and central pacific sailing. .

I smiled at the Virginians who every Jan go to Maui for a month and they love it because its only a month don't make the mistake of moving to the nirvana whether an island or Ship...living in a place is far far different than visiting or part time resident.

 

My main query was to hear the logic that was exercised to make these decisions... And for that I again thank you all for your candor.

 

Follow your heart and your dreams...if you don't who will for you?

[jertom]

Hawaiidan,

Thanks for starting this post.

I think you will agree that the comments are interesting !

Everyone's situation and reasons for cruising are unique. Good to remember this, and it applies as well to life in general.

[dorisis]

I read the post about sailing 20-40 even 60 times on Oceaina.... and one must assume other lines as well.

, Since there are only so many places in the world you can take a ship to and only so many ports and regions...

To me it seems that sailing several months a year year after year on the same ships you would have to take the same cruises over and over.....

 

I am thus curious as to how many times people repeat the same route...there is only so many times you can sail the Greek islands, travel the Panama canal or sail the Baltic.... got to Tahiti or Hong Kong?

 

Not a criticism if you do, but doesn't it get rather mundane seeing the same stuff over and over? I find I have to take a year or more break between cruises to keep it interesting.

 

There are times when the ship becomes the destination, For us it was RC's Allure. One need not get off the ship. RC's inovations were worth th trip. And cruising on a luxury ship can be a treat after mass market lines.

 

As far as ports go.... everything changes including the experience in port and one day is only a sampling.

[PaulMCO]

Interesting post...

 

As someone just said sometimes the ship is the destination and you just want to get away.

 

Other times it is the country and the people. Example is Australia. Been there about 20 times and both me and my DW certainly would consider any cruise that had a port down-under.

 

Other time it is familiarity. I have been to Vienna maybe 60 times in last 10 years. I can always find something new and interesting to do -- whether shopping or visiting a museum or reading a book in the park near Schönbrunn.

[Hambagahle]

It is a really good question and reading the posts above there are many answers...

 

Coming from a land-locked country we love to see the sea all around us so cruises are perfect. We've also lived on 3 continents and travelled to the others except Antartica. We regard the ship as our destination because we have been to just about everywhere we want to go to (only place I still want to go to and haven't been able to yet is Polynesia but the flights from Switzerland are just too long to contemplate!). We rarely take excursions any more - we prefer to explore on our own and speaking several languages helps there too. For us, being food lovers, Oceania ticks all the boxes as well. Where else can you get superb food, great choices AND cooking lessons? Our preference are cruises with lots of sea days hence the TA cruises.

 

That said we also like to go every year to a small hotel in the Upper Engadine valley (at Sils Baselgia) which I call our "land cruise". No cooking lessons but lots of golf and superb food and service. For me anyway one Oceania cruise a year and one stay at Sils is all I want in the way of holidays.

 

So - to this great question 20 different answers from 20 different people!!

[amusea]

I am always looking for new experiences so I I try to spread out my sailings by experiencing new ships with different designs. Each cruise line seems to have a somewhat different complexion when it comes to the cruisers and their attitudes which is also fascinating. I think I have experienced cruises on just about every major line but some were just out of curiosity and I will definitely not repeat those - i.e. Costa, Carnival, NCL. Now that I have been to every continent I always gravitate back to my favorite locales and number one is Norway both for the scenery and its wonderful people. Itineraries with lots of days at sea are also favorites because I love the beauty of the sea.

 

Jay in Tucson

[MVPinBoynton]

After 36 cruises, we have hit some ports multiple times; but we normally find something new to do in each port. One of the reasons we are enjoying Oceania is that they do different ports than Celebrity does. We are taking a Caribbean cruise that goes to four ports we haven't been to. Even when going to a port we have been to many times, it is nice to just sit out, observe and enjoy being there. Just being able to travel anywhere is a blessing.

[joiedevivre]

I have been sailing the Med over 25 years. And when My friends say "you are going there again! Its definitely by choice. I love the food , the vistas, the wine. I never tire of it. sometimes the ship is just transportation and I eat the local food in every port. Sometimes the food on board is better than on shore and I eat more frequently on the ship. Sitting on Rambla Cataluna, drinking a glass of sangria accompamied ny some sizzling garlic shrimp can't be repetitive...only enjoyable. When I travel to the same city , I always look for a different experience in addition to my favorite ones. This year I am venturing out to explore some Asia. I do it reluctantly, Because I am so fond of the Med.:o:o

[Mura]

In some ways we're different, in others we aren't.

 

A close friend once claimed that we repeated trips ... we denied his assertion, but in thinking it over at the time he wasn't wrong.

 

Back in the '80s we did a road trip to the Gaspe in 1981 and 1982. Then we went to Anguilla in 1983 and 1984. And Portugal in 1984-1985. These were land trips. And we had reasons for the repeats, but it wasn't that we were determined to repeat a trip. We just liked where we'd been and wanted to vegetate.

 

As far as the Portugal trips were concerned, we did different itineraries, both through the north. So there were some repetitions but not many. (And in some cases we'd seen places on the first trip that we couldn't visit so we made sure to do so the next year. After all this time we're planning on a repeat road trip next fall.)

 

But in terms of cruising itineraries we tend to look for new ones. We won't reject an itinerary because one or two ports are repeats! And there are ports that we are happy to repeat time on end (London, Dover, Lisbon, Cadiz), etc. But in general when looking for cruise itineraries we want more new ports than old.

 

When Oceania enticed us off an Alaska cruise in Aug '11 for a Med cruise in Oct '11 -- it didn't hurt that they were boosting us up to a VS on Marina from a PH on Regatta -- we did so because most of the ports were ones we hadn't seen before even though we'd been to the Med several times on cruises.

 

It is true that you can always find a NEW place to visit in a port, whether it's a major city or a rural area. And we're always willing to go out on our own.

 

But, as I said, for cruises we tend to look for new ports ...

 

Don't hold me to that!

 

Mura