Have your expectations...

[Sky Sweet]

Have your expectations for a land based vacation changed since you started to cruise?

[Leela]

Nope. If anything, my expectations for a cruise vacation have changed. When I take land-based vacations, I don't go to all-inclusive resorts and sit around and relax for a week or two. I do things like go on adventure tours, or to hang out in one of my favorite cities for a few days for theater and shopping and to visit friends, or I put together do-it-myself itineraries to explore a place I've never been like the time I rented a car and drove around New Zealand for three weeks staying in bed-and-breakfasts.

 

A cruise is a whole other world, a whole other type of vacation for me, so I don't compare it to land-based vacations.

[ocngypz]

I cannot possibly stay at one hotel for 7 nights. Therefore, AI's are not for me.

 

My idea of a land vacation is a fly/drive.. and with the cost of fuel worldwide, it's cheaper for me to cruise.

[Susan-M]

My expectations haven't changed but I've developed more of an appreciation for land based vacations than I had in the past. As much as I enjoy cruising, there is a lot to be said for doing some destinations by land and not having to fit all of your sightseeing into one day in each city.

 

There are certain destinations where I feel that cruising is a better choice from a logistical standpoint, but there are also places where cruising doesn't appeal to me because of the number of sea days vs. port days and/or the inclusion of ports that hold no appeal. Which is why we do both cruises and land vacations ... and sometimes a combination of the two :)

[agabbymama]

Land based vacations can't be beat. They are my preferred vacation (not all-inclusive resorts). Sometimes cost/logistics are better to use a cruise for transportation. Caribbean, San Juan Puerto Rico to St. Martin, St. Thomas (no bridge there yet); Alaska, Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka (only other way is fly); New England/Canada (no way to reach Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, St. Johns, Halifax and Quebec in only 11 days). So while I do cruise, nothing beats having a car, taking the train, or just using your own two feet to see the land and meet the people. There are some good points to cruising (you only have to unpack once and the food is included in the cost).

 

But I usually plan $1000 per week for a land-based vacation (approx $145 per day) whereas the New England/Canada cruise cost me approx $307 per day. That's more than double the cost.

 

So you just have to decide if it's worth it for you. I don't lay out by the pool, or participate in the trivia contests, attend art auctions, or gamble in the casino, or drink in the bar, and bingo is too expensive. We did go to all the shows, but that's really the only entertainment on the ship we partook.

 

I do have an Alaska cruisetour booked for next year, but I think that will be the last cruise in the foreseeable future. Then I'm back to landbased vacations.:p

[judyfssw]

We always go to Aruba as that is my favorite island. We began going there at Easter and it was a great break from the tensions of school. It was a place to relax. It is not all inclusive so we cook or go out to dinner each night. But, cruising is different because I feel pampered on a ship. Usually when we go to Aruba, we get up early in the morning and stay on the beach all day. It's more formal on a cruise and there's nothing wrong like that. We truly enjoy both and get what we want out of both. For us, we are in the best of both worlds.

[Kathie44]

We had done very few non-camping, land-based vacations--chaperoning a HS trip to Spain in '84 and two weeks in Hawaii in '87 (DH's idea. Just us for our 20th anniv.) We had 5 kids to feed, house, clothe, straighten teeth and educate, which took up a lot of potential vacation $$$. So we camped with them and later by ourselves (weekends at st. parks, World Cup in Chicago ) Around the time our youngest finished college in '96 we bought a weekend/vacation home on the water about an hour N. of here. Once we saw light at the end of the tuition tunnel it was really nice to start blowing money on ourselves for a change. Except for weekends at the lake, a couple of camping trips (Atlanta Olympics in '96, wedding-related trip to MA in '98) and a wedding-related trip to VA. Beach in '02 with DH's family, we haven't done much traveling

DH suggested another cool trip to celebrate our 35th anniv. and the rest is history. Cruises are our vacations of choice. I'm not ruling out land-based trips, but they will not be our first choice and not by ourselves.

DH insisted we book the Jan. cruise less than a month after our last one and he picked the itinerary based on conversations overheard on the Jewel in June. He also says he wants us to cruise Aus./NZ!!! Who am I to question plans like that? lol :D

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords + 3 days in London

1/07 Mercury Mexican Riviera

[usha]

Since we started cruising, whenever we take a land vacation,

I find myself wishing we were cruising instead.:o

When we're cruising, I'm ALWAYS glad we're cruising!

[Nurse Bambi]

Land based vacations can't be beat. They are my preferred vacation (not all-inclusive resorts). Sometimes cost/logistics are better to use a cruise for transportation. Caribbean, San Juan Puerto Rico to St. Martin, St. Thomas (no bridge there yet); Alaska, Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka (only other way is fly); New England/Canada (no way to reach Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, St. Johns, Halifax and Quebec in only 11 days). So while I do cruise, nothing beats having a car, taking the train, or just using your own two feet to see the land and meet the people. There are some good points to cruising (you only have to unpack once and the food is included in the cost).

 

But I usually plan $1000 per week for a land-based vacation (approx $145 per day) whereas the New England/Canada cruise cost me approx $307 per day. That's more than double the cost.

 

So you just have to decide if it's worth it for you. I don't lay out by the pool, or participate in the trivia contests, attend art auctions, or gamble in the casino, or drink in the bar, and bingo is too expensive. We did go to all the shows, but that's really the only entertainment on the ship we partook.

 

I do have an Alaska cruisetour booked for next year, but I think that will be the last cruise in the foreseeable future. Then I'm back to landbased vacations.:p

 

Agabbymama,

I would have to agree that my favorite vacation used to be a cruise, but after all the reported noro virus and the recurring mechanical breakdowns, that I too, for the first time, more inclined to look at a land based vacation. While things can go wrong on any vacation, at least on a landbased vacation you are more in control and are more aware of what is going on, and have the option to change your plans at your own discretion. JMHO