Going back without a ship....

[Swells1]

At every port we've ever been, the hubs and I talk about all the things we'd like to do if we could spend an entire week there.

Has anyone here actually pulled the trigger and returned to a favorite cruise ship destination?

Where did you go?

What did you do?

How did it compare to the cruise experience?

[LHT28]

of course

it is easy to do the Caribbean just book an A.I. then you have the same things as the ships offer without the motion

:D

[Bizmark'sMom]

Yep! Spending a week in Puerto Vallarta let me actually explore the area, talk to the artisans (they do incredible silver work.), and in general soak it all in. I stayed at a resort, but there are loads of vacation rentals.

 

I fully intend to get back to Ilulissat, Greenland. I need to spend a few weeks in that amazing area.

 

The cruise is just a quick overview. You get a few hours to whiz through the place on a bus, then it's back on the ship in time for dinner.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

We cruise for the ship. Most ports, especially beach based towns are very similar. The ports fall into a category of either "oh, more sand", "oh, another rum drink", "oh, what a pretty old building".

 

Land based vacations are very different. Usually spend several weeks in a city when we are land based.

[mom says]

Yes, several times in the Caribbean. As a PP stated, an AI resort is just like the ship- on land. Except the booze is included. :) Exploring the islands in depth and at our leisure was great. Our first couple of cruises were for the express purpose of "sampling" several islands We'd never been to, and deciding where our next land vacations would be.

 

I've no desire to cruise around Europe. Land based vacations are the only way we want to experience Europe.

Edited September 17, 2016 by mom says

[kristapb]

On a Panama Canal cruise, we had a stop in Cabo San Lucas. Loved it and later went back for two weeks. Seems cleaner and safer than many of the Mexican ports.

[Langley Cruisers]

Yes; have spent time in St.Lucia and Barbados as DH has family there, and we fully intend to get back to beautiful Santorini one of these fine days. :)

[ccastner]

Stockholm. Due to sea conditions we had to anchor south of the archipelago and bus into the city, curtailing our time. I went back 3+ years later for 4-5 days and loved it. So glad I did. I got to see so much more than I would have on the tour, with full time. I want to go back to Poland but not Gdynia/Gdansk, but I'm working on a land/train vacation for that adventure. The only other places, so far, that I want to return are Alaska (cruise was in 1988), Chile, and Norway. I have done nothing, yet about those places, as my unexplored-at-all list is still quite long.

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

Absolutely. Italy for 15 days. Greece is in the works for about two weeks. We love Europe, and take every opportunity to visit by whatever means we can. Have almost 200 days there in the last less than 10 years.

 

Australia and New Zealand are the same. We have 2 cruises and 4 land trips there.

Edited September 17, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[navybankerteacher]

We go back to St. Maarten for a couple of weeks every January - sure beats CT that time of year.

[sail7seas]

At every port we've ever been, the hubs and I talk about all the things we'd like to do if we could spend an entire week there.

Has anyone here actually pulled the trigger and returned to a favorite cruise ship destination?

Where did you go?

What did you do?

How did it compare to the cruise experience?

 

Yess, wse did. We enjoyed our prtt stops in Curacao so much, we booked a week att a resort hotel stay t and fully enjoyed the island.

Edited September 17, 2016 by sail7seas

[UtterCaro]

Having fallen in love with Venice before a westbound transatlantic cruise, I now look for crossings that embark there -- and fly over extra early so I can spend more time there. That way I get the best of both worlds. :)

[navybankerteacher]

Having fallen in love with Venice before a westbound transatlantic cruise, I now look for crossings that embark there -- and fly over extra early so I can spend more time there. That way I get the best of both worlds. :)

 

Westbound transAtlantics offer the best of both worlds : several days in your favorite spot in Europe, followed by an easy trip home (at low perdiem price) in great autumn weather - with 25 hour days.

[calliopecruiser]

No, I cruise for the days at sea on the ship; the port stops are unimportant to me. I do land vacations as well as cruising, and I take time at the embarkation or debarkation spots too.

[cruisemom42]

Yes, it's happened to me several times. I'll take a cruise as a sort of "recon" and then will go back and spend several weeks somewhere -- Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia are three that come to mind. (I'd already spent time in other places like Italy, France, England....)

[wheezedr]

Cruised the Baltics a few years back and enjoyed sampling cities but knew we just touched the surface. 2 years ago went back on the ground to Stockholm and Oslo as well as elsewhere in Norway. Wonderful trip. As always while we enjoy cruising we realize it is not a good way to visit places in depth and often plan returns

[Sea Hag]

We did a cruisetour some years back and like mainland Alaska so well that we went back to see more of it on a roadtrip. Flew in to Anchorage. Drove up to Fairbanks. Did a van excursion up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse, where we dipped our fingertips in the Arctic Ocean. Flew back to Fairbanks on a small plane. Drove down for two nights at Denali, took the park shuttle down as far as Eielson Visitor Center. Drove back to Anchorage, stopping at the Talkeetna Roadhouse for some bluebarb pie. Spent a couple of nights in Anchorage, with a day trip down to Whittier for a small boat glacier cruise. Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful.

[pris993]

At every port we've ever been, the hubs and I talk about all the things we'd like to do if we could spend an entire week there.

Has anyone here actually pulled the trigger and returned to a favorite cruise ship destination?

Where did you go?

What did you do?

How did it compare to the cruise experience?

 

We have stayed a week in Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Paris, London and Haifa over the years.... staying a week in a major city is very different then spending a day.

 

We have also returned by ship to most ports in the Mediterranean many times... doing so you can explore these ports more each time you go.

 

We do not take organized tours generally, so whether there for day or a week, we explore the cities on our own.

[Cruisin'Christine]

My husband and I have always liked St Maarten, so we went there for a week to an all-inclusive. We decided that we much preferred a cruise vacation, as we got a bit bored after a while. Also, we found the locals not to be very friendly, which isn't something we noticed on our day trips during a cruise. At least we learned that we prefer a cruise vacation.

[paul929207]

In the Med, we usually start and/or end with several days in the port area.

[jocap]

We had a late afternoon cruise visit to Santorini once, and immediately agreed to return for a longer holiday. This time it was with a budget package, so we were in a tiny hotel on the other side of the island, next to the beach.Two main joys- the hotel's "Mamma" cooked the most amazing Greek dishes which were served next to the sea ; and the loveliness of the island after that day's cruise ships had sailed away...:cool:

[tip]

After two cruise stops in Aruba, we have had two land based vacations there. We have rented a colleague's condo on Eagle Beach each time and have very much enjoyed it. Aruba is outside of the hurricane belt, thus there are no worries for fall vacations. We relaxed on the beach and at the pool. We took the local bus to town to have lunch a couple of times and the only splurge we had was for a sunset catamaran sail on the last night of each of our stays. We look forward to returning. The only thing that is holding us back is that me darling wife is a candidate for our state's legislature in November. The result will impact our stay/date.