Have you cruised in your own backyard?

[K32682]

An article about a Great Lakes cruise offered by Viking has caught my attention. I grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, have never lived more than 30 minutes drive from one of the lakes and have been to every place on the cruise itinerary one of which is my home town.  Cruising on waters I'm intimately familiar with to places I've already been to is a novel concept. Have you done it and how did it go? 

 

https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2022/09/02/cruising-in-ontario-i-hit-the-great-lakes-aboard-a-new-ship-full-of-high-tech-toys-in-the-water-including-yellow-submarines-named-after-the-beatles.html?

 

[LHT28]

other lines have been doing the GLC for years 

We wanted to try one  but  not done so as yet

 

We did one from Kingston to Montreal   that was fun

[shipgeeks]

Our back yard is the Ohio River.  We have done a few river trips, including an all-day trip on the last cruise of the President.  It was neat seeing our area from the river instead of our usual land routes.  That trip lasted around nine hours.  We were met by charter buses at the terminus, and back home in 45 minutes.

[iancal]

Yes.  

 

At least once when we waited too long to buy a late booking cruise.  The verandahs were sold out.

 

Instead, we spent the time cruising around our backyard.

 

Learned our lesson.

[wcook]

Me: Looks in backyard. Sees the $8 kiddie pool the dogs cool off in. Ponders how to make it work 🙂

 

In all seriousness, I live in New England and see adds for New England fall cruises. They look so gorgeous, but then I remember it looks like that here in town all autumn. Then I starting thinking about winter in New England. And decide my cruise budget is better spent elsewhere.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

Occasionally, we’ll do RT commuter flights to L.A. and do a quick 7-10 day Coastal CA - kind of like a “long weekend” getaway.

[jsn55]

5 hours ago, K32682 said:

An article about a Great Lakes cruise offered by Viking has caught my attention. I grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, have never lived more than 30 minutes drive from one of the lakes and have been to every place on the cruise itinerary one of which is my home town.  Cruising on waters I'm intimately familiar with to places I've already been to is a novel concept. Have you done it and how did it go? 

 

https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2022/09/02/cruising-in-ontario-i-hit-the-great-lakes-aboard-a-new-ship-full-of-high-tech-toys-in-the-water-including-yellow-submarines-named-after-the-beatles.html?

 

Yeah, I've been eyeing those 'local cruises' for a long time, especially the Mississippi.  It's been even more interesting to us, as air to Europe has gone through the roof.  But I grew up midway between Fargo and Minneapolis, and I just can't get energized about most of the ports on the Mississippi. The Great Lakes might be more interesting, have to read up on that one.  Thanks for the reminder.

[TheOldBear]

So far, all our our cruises have been from our 'back yard'.

There are no bridges, tunnels or ferries between our house and the Brooklyn Cruise terminal. So far we have not had any incentive to start a cruise by getting on an airplane.

[XBGuy]

I am going to tell a story similar to those of @Flatbush Flyer and @TheOldBear.  It is about a 50-minute drive from our house to the San Pedro cruise port.  We have taken numerous cruises out of San Pedro, and most of them we have done more than once.  After a 40-year corporate career I am done with airports and airlines.  For us cruising is about the shipboard experience and about being at sea.  Ports are pretty inconsequential to us.  To the OP I would say that it is your decision, and there is no right or wrong

[rkacruiser]

Many years ago, my family sailed on the S. S. South American of the Georgian Bay Line.  The line did Great Lakes cruises.  Our cruise was from Detroit to Buffalo to Cleveland and back to Detroit.  It was a nice cruise; the ship was certainly smaller and much less modern than current cruise ships are.  We had a Bedroom which was the best quality category available and it was a nice accommodation.  This really was my introduction to a cruise and it helped me to become addicted to cruising.  

[dolittle]

Philly is close to both Balt. and New York so it is easy and have done both more than a few times. It is easy but I do miss fly to ports. 

[Heidi13]

We are about 30 miles from Canada Place in Vancouver and have completed numerous B2B's up to Alaska. Since I completed 2 seasons in Alaska on cruise ships and worked the BC Coast for many years I know the waters well.

 

DW also joined me on the original Sun Princess from Vancouver when we deadheaded to Esquimalt for drydock and then also on the return to Vancouver. She also sailed on SS Oriana from Vancouver to Sydney.

[ldubs]

We are 33 miles to the SF cruise piers.  We even have a public transportation option to get there.  For whatever reason we have only done two cruises out of SFO.  Our other "local" cruise terminal would be San Pedro which is about 6.5 hours driving or 1 hour flying.  We have taken several cruises out of San Pedro.  Mostly Mexican Riviera and one California costal.  

[Blondilu]

Most of my cruises have been out of SF or LA.  The first is 2 hours from my house but I consider anything in California my backyard. 

 

I have lived in this state all my life and there were still some places I hadn't been to.  San Diego, Santa Catalina island, Santa Barbara.  In 2009 my cruise to Mexico got diverted due to a virus.  Imagine that.  All the cruise lines switched up their Mexico itineraries and we got to go to......San Diego, Santa Catalina island and Santa Barbara.  Never mind I could drive to those places in a day (something I have done often though never to those cities for some reason) and never mind half the passengers got off early in a snit cuz their vacations were "ruined".   It was awesome.

[iancal]

When we lived in Vancouver we purchased a cruise on Wednesday.  Embarked on Saturday.

 

Now we live within an easy drive so we tend to look at the late booking...and the very late booking specials.   We can be there in a day.

 

Some of the last minute pricing for Alaska cruises over the past few years has been incredible.  Seems like a supply inbalance.  Lowest we have ever seen for 7 days was prior to covid.  $269 for an inside on Zaandam mid summer. No idea what the cabin was like though.  Saw the same price on NCL...the Sun I recall.

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, Blondilu said:

Most of my cruises have been out of SF or LA.  The first is 2 hours from my house but I consider anything in California my backyard. 

 

I have lived in this state all my life and there were still some places I hadn't been to.  San Diego, Santa Catalina island, Santa Barbara.  In 2009 my cruise to Mexico got diverted due to a virus.  Imagine that.  All the cruise lines switched up their Mexico itineraries and we got to go to......San Diego, Santa Catalina island and Santa Barbara.  Never mind I could drive to those places in a day (something I have done often though never to those cities for some reason) and never mind half the passengers got off early in a snit cuz their vacations were "ruined".   It was awesome.

Wow, I'd KILL to have those three ports on a cruise!!

[navybankerteacher]

Not exactly "back yard" - but have lived in New England (near New York) many years.  Cruise from Quebec to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor, Boston, Newport to New York was about as close to back yard as I can see.  Of course, a number of cruises either RT New York or trans-Atlantic to or from New York were at least partly in my "back yard".   

[Honolulu Blue]

22 hours ago, K32682 said:

An article about a Great Lakes cruise offered by Viking has caught my attention. I grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, have never lived more than 30 minutes drive from one of the lakes and have been to every place on the cruise itinerary one of which is my home town.  Cruising on waters I'm intimately familiar with to places I've already been to is a novel concept. Have you done it and how did it go? 

 

https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2022/09/02/cruising-in-ontario-i-hit-the-great-lakes-aboard-a-new-ship-full-of-high-tech-toys-in-the-water-including-yellow-submarines-named-after-the-beatles.html?

I live a long way away from any ocean cruise port, but within two hours of three of the Great Lakes - and within a day's drive of the other two.  I'm mildly interested in cruising them, but the current prices are enough to dissuade me.

 

I have done a couple of cruise-ish things that I haven't seen mentioned yet.  I took a dinner cruise on one of our rivers some years ago.  Out and back in a few hours.  Not a bad experience, but I haven't been in a hurry to repeat it.  And a long, long time back when working casino riverboats were a thing, I boarded one that actually went up and down the Des Plaines River (yes, I know Joliet's not in my back yard, but stick with me for a bit).  That was a quite interesting experience, I thought.  It's too bad that I couldn't repeat it before the riverboats were allowed to chain themselves to the dock and not ever bother sailing.  

[lenquixote66]

I lived in Brooklyn,NY nearly 60 years and I was quite close to the Manhattan cruise port and the Bayonne,NJ cruise port.

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm mildly interested in cruising them, but the current prices are enough to dissuade me.

 

Agree.  The current Great Lakes cruises are more expensive than I think the experience is worth.

 

A day's round trip cruise on the S. S. Badger is a much better priced substitute.  But, it wouldn't of the same quality as the small cruise ships now operating on the Lakes.  

[jsn55]

The river cruises are always far more expensive than an ocean cruise.   Too few pax against total expense.  You can cruise much more cheaply if expenses are divvied up by 2000 pax ... vs 92 on a river cruise. 

[navybankerteacher]

Come to think of it - if US Navy ships count, I once cruised within two blocks of my home.  On a reserve training cruise I rode USS DeLong DE-684 from her pier at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx down the East River (passing within 2000 yards of my East 85 St. apartment) en route to the Naval Ammunition depot at Earle, NJ to offload ammunition before heading to a shipyard on Staten Island for dry dock.

[lenquixote66]

If US Navy ships count what about 3 hour cruise boats ?

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

If US Navy ships count what about 3 hour cruise boats ?

Does a “short hop” count? Perhaps if it is unusual.

Pre-retirement and a few times since, we’ve had the opportunity to do a day long  advancement cruise on the TS Golden Bear from nearby Vallejo (home to the California State University Maritime Academy) to “The Slot” on SF Bay during Fleet Week in the early autumn.
Exempt from USCG commercial/recreational prohibitions in the fly over zone, the roar of the Blue Angels during a low pass salute directly overhead is always awe-inspiring.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Does a “short hop” count? Perhaps if it is unusual.

Pre-retirement and a few times since, we’ve had the opportunity to do a day long  advancement cruise on the TS Golden Bear from nearby Vallejo (home to the California State University Maritime Academy) to “The Slot” on SF Bay during Fleet Week in the early autumn.
Exempt from USCG commercial/recreational prohibitions in the fly over zone, the roar of the Blue Angels during a low pass salute directly overhead is always awe-inspiring.

In September 2017,our college alumni association had a 3 hour cruise in the waters of Long Island .I did not go but I know alumni who did .I assume that you did not go either.😀