Are there people who will ONLY travel by cruising?

[clo]

5 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

I can see that as we age (74 now) cruises may be the go-to because of the ease of travel compared to DIY tours and/or bus tours.

We're your age and I can see it being more appealing with time.  The escorted land ones are nice but awfully tiring.  For us anyway. I can't imagine not doing pre and post and I also can't imagine repeating a lot of places.  And I like airbnb-equivalents as I love to cook and shop at local markets.  Plus I get really tired of living in just one room.

[cb at sea]

Yes...there are PLENTY of folks who think cruising is the ONLY way to vacation.  That's what a cruise is...a vacation.

[clo]

31 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I fly and stay at hotels for work on a weekly basis. So for me, air/land vacations feel like I’m still at work. With that said, we still take several mini vacations throughout the year, but our big vacation for the year HAS to involve a cruise. Otherwise it feels like a wasted my vacation time. 

As I've asked others, do you do pre and post time in the ports?  I may have said this above but we have no interest in repeating the majority of ports.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Yes...there are PLENTY of folks who think cruising is the ONLY way to vacation.  That's what a cruise is...a vacation.

What about you?

[Tapi]

4 minutes ago, clo said:

As I've asked others, do you do pre and post time in the ports? 

We do, but it varies. If we are cruising from a city that we know well, we may just fly in the night before the cruise. But if we are cruising from a city that we have never been to before, or that we’ve been to but there’s much more to explore (like on our last cruise from Civitavecchia/Rome), then we may spend a few nights there before or after the cruise. 
 

I do enjoy the pre/post stay, but the cruise portion is always the part of those vacations that I overwhelmingly most look forward to. 

[clo]

7 minutes ago, Tapi said:

We do, but it varies. If we are cruising from a city that we know well, we may just fly in the night before the cruise. But if we are cruising from a city that we have never been to before, or that we’ve been to but there’s much more to explore (like on our last cruise from Civitavecchia/Rome), then we may spend a few nights there before or after the cruise. 
 

I do enjoy the pre/post stay, but the cruise portion is always the part of those vacations that I overwhelmingly most look forward to. 

Are there certain parts of the world where you most enjoy cruising? Mediterranean?  

[Tapi]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

Are there certain parts of the world where you most enjoy cruising? Mediterranean?  

Not particularly. We have cruised the Caribbean most extensively, simply because it’s convenient and affordable, but I do consider other parts of the world to be more attractive. From my most recent cruises, I loved the Mediterranean as well as Alaska. 
 

 But I’m now entering a stage in my life where I don’t want to repeat the same destinations, and I don’t even want to sail on the same cruise line more than two times in a row. All in the name of variety. I do have two upcoming Caribbean cruises, but I chose them because they both visit ports that I have never been to before, aboard ships that I have never sailed on before. But after these  two, my eyes are set on the following regions:

 

- Norwegian Fjords / Baltic

- Asia (China and Japan)

- Canada / New England

 

Beyond that, I also have South America on my long term radar. And my ultimate goal would be to do a World Cruise when I retire, but I still have a few decades to go before that day comes 😉.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

I could live in Venice.  The ambiance...  Same with Hong Kong.  Or Manaus.  A house on the river to watch the traffic...EM

 Manaus??? Perhaps the most perpetually hot ant humid city (with an astronomic crime rate) in the Western Hemisphere.  Interesting to see , perhaps,  but to live there?,  what else would you do after watching river traffic?

 

Perhaps living in coastal Georgia toughens you, but I would prefer Houston’s climate a thousand- fold over Manaus’.

[clo]

10 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Norwegian Fjords

You will LOVE that!

Here's a couple of photos (I always have a hard time controlling myself!)

 

We're doing a Baltic cruise next fall.

 

[wwcruisers]

5 hours ago, clo said:

So you'd travel out of Seattle or Vancouver? Can you see enough of the world that way?

Well, Alaska, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, Oz & Nz -- plus, much of Asia -- for a start. Europe -- now that's a tad trickier!😉

[GUT2407]

We don’t have a lot of choice, Mrs Gut isn’t allowed fly, I can’t sit for long flights or road trips, so cruising it is.

 

We tend to do one a year in December to Tasmania when Mrs Gut first breaks up from school and a longer one every year or two during the year, though in the next 15 months we have four booked in School holidays, two to Tasmania, one to NZ, and one to nowhere, and 34 nights out of holidays, circumnavigation of Aus and NZ

[clo]

23 minutes ago, wwcruisers said:

Well, Alaska, Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti, Oz & Nz -- plus, much of Asia -- for a start. Europe -- now that's a tad trickier!😉

Well, that covers a lot of territory 🙂  What's wrong with flying?

[clo]

16 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

We don’t have a lot of choice, Mrs Gut isn’t allowed fly, I can’t sit for long flights or road trips, so cruising it is.

 

We tend to do one a year in December to Tasmania when Mrs Gut first breaks up from school and a longer one every year or two during the year, though in the next 15 months we have four booked in School holidays, two to Tasmania, one to NZ, and one to nowhere, and 34 nights out of holidays, circumnavigation of Aus and NZ

In no way do I want to violate privacy but are you willing to say why she's not "allowed" to fly.  If I'm out of line, please ignore me.  TIA.

[GUT2407]

29 minutes ago, clo said:

In no way do I want to violate privacy but are you willing to say why she's not "allowed" to fly.  If I'm out of line, please ignore me.  TIA.

She has a neurological condition the take off and landings (pressure changes) lead to stroke like symptoms, her Neurologist says it could potentially kill her.

 

Since he told us that I can’t get her on a plane ✈️  no matter how hard I try.

Edited November 15, 2019 by GUT2407

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, clo said:

You will LOVE that!

Here's a couple of photos (I always have a hard time controlling myself!)

 

We're doing a Baltic cruise next fall.

 

Thanks for the pictures. We are doing a Norwegian fjords cruise next summer.

[clo]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Thanks for the pictures. We are doing a Norwegian fjords cruise next summer.

We loved it so much we're do a northbound next spring as part of a bigger trip.  And that's the true color of the water 🙂

[SimplyMarvie]

We rarely cruise -- most of our vacations are regional, trying to take advantage of living overseas for work to see as much of the surrounding area as possible. We do a lot of discount airline trips, road trips, ferry trips, etc. and mostly it's been easier and more cost-effective to do places that way, even if cruises are an option (ie. the Med, etc.)

 

Cruises for us are actually kind of a treat because there is so much less logistics to manage as far as hotels, rental cars, visas, where to eat, what to do, etc. so we usually plan them when Mr. Marvie and I are really tired and need something regenerative. 

[Rala]

14 hours ago, clo said:

What about you?

Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer to your question! 😉

[clo]

3 minutes ago, Rala said:

Don't hold your breath waiting for an answer to your question! 😉

LOL.  That's why I asked 🙂

[slidergirl]

19 hours ago, wwcruisers said:

 

While we're not there yet, I have to say that it's tempting. The only thing I hate worse than long car trips is flying. Seeing as how a return to luxury train travel (in this country, anyhow) is not likely in my lifetime -- traveling by ship has become my favorite way to see the world! When my DH retires, and travel is no longer limited by his vacation hours, I can see us putting waterway transportation (cruise ships, ferries, ocean-liners, river-boats) front-n-center in our various itineraries!

 

Combine an AMTRAK trip down the coast to San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego with a cruise!  Sure, it's not luxury, but if you get a bedroom (NOT a roomette - it's good for one, but would be cramped for two), it is a classic trip.  I did it last year - flew to Seattle and took the Coast Starlight down to Los Angeles.  It was an amazing 36 hours!!!  Great scenery all the way.  The food in the dining car was surprisingly good.  Even had wifi!  I hunkered down in my roomette, watching the World go by to my favorite music on my headphones.  I'd do it again.  

 

that's one way to change up your embarkation/debarkation ports other than the Northwest.  

[pacruise804]

My husband and I are in our mid 40's and while we take vacations, I don't think we've reached the level of "traveling" yet.  Early in our marriage we would do short camping trips, then longer camping trips as our children got older.  We decided several years ago we wanted to repay DH's parents for investing in our marriage by treating them to a 50th anniversary cruise wherever they wanted to go. 

 

They had done a cruise years ago so we know they don't get sea sick, but we figured we should try a cruise to make sure we liked it and didn't get seasick either.  Fortunately we also have good sea legs and caught the cruise bug.  Our schedules don't permit long vacations, and we aren't comfortable at this point being another continent away from our children - so no real "travel" yet.  Cruising gives us the best value for what we want from a vacation, so that is our primary vacation but we also do land trips.

 

In retirement I suspect we will start traveling, and will likely combine a TA as transportation at least one direction for European trips.  Will probably try a river cruise too.

[crzndeb]

Since I am a solo traveler, I only cruise. But, I do go out and explore the ports on my own. I just returned from 38 days on 2 different cruise ships (and cruise lines), and extra days in Singapore. It was my first time to Asia, and I will be going back in Apr/May of 2021 to visit even more new ports. Next year, I have 4 cruises booked, with a few days in between in Venice. I tend to add several cruises together, once a year, just to cut the amount of flights. I figure if I’m going to spend 9+ hours on a flight, I am going to see as much as I can while I’m there. I’m all about seeing new places while I’m still healthy and able. Sometimes ports may be repeated, but there usually new ports in that itinerary.

[clo]

8 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 

Combine an AMTRAK trip down the coast to San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego with a cruise!  Sure, it's not luxury, but if you get a bedroom (NOT a roomette - it's good for one, but would be cramped for two), it is a classic trip.  I did it last year - flew to Seattle and took the Coast Starlight down to Los Angeles.  It was an amazing 36 hours!!!  Great scenery all the way.  The food in the dining car was surprisingly good.  Even had wifi!  I hunkered down in my roomette, watching the World go by to my favorite music on my headphones.  I'd do it again.  

 

that's one way to change up your embarkation/debarkation ports other than the Northwest.  

We want to do that.  IIRC we'd have to embark in Sacramento and go north.  I've heard nothing but good things.  Thanks for speaking up.

[clo]

8 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

In retirement I suspect we will start traveling

What a great description!  Thanks so much.

[slidergirl]

1 hour ago, clo said:

We want to do that.  IIRC we'd have to embark in Sacramento and go north.  I've heard nothing but good things.  Thanks for speaking up.

I really enjoyed the trip.  Skirting parts of Puget Sound was gorgeous.  Going through the mountains in Oregon while it was snowing (even though it was May) was fun.  Seeing the peninsula around Vandenberg AFB, which is closed to the public, was spectacular - the cliffs and the surf still so wild.  

 

I'd recommend this for anyone!

 

Now, for crzndeb who said that she only cruises since she is solo:  Why?  I'm truly curious why you say you will only cruise.  I know we're all different.  I'm now 65.  I travel all over the place, with all sorts of transportation, by myself.  I just finished a 10 day camping trip through Southwest Utah/Northeast Arizona.  I love traveling solo.  Just wondering..,