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Post by sophie on Jan 23, 2017 0:09:29 GMT 2
So, as I posted a while back, I went on a cruise and now I am back. I had a good time, but it may have been a combination of being on the boat with a good friend and great weather (and having gotten a great deal made it sweeter as well!). Would I do it again? No. Not for many years. The shore excursions are too short and too limited to give more than a tiny taste of the country. While I a, still able to, I would rather go to a place/ country and do more in depth explorations. However..the trip through the Panama Canal was fabulous. I don't think it could be appreciated from shore. This is an immense work of engineering and vision. My friend's father in law had worked on the canal in his youth, and she had gone through it on a freighter when she was 10, so having her with me and telling her stories (she is in her 80s) was wonderful. I also managed to meet friends (Guatemalan friends) for a long and leisurely lunch in Antigua while we had our day in Guatemala, so that was special. I was glad I was able to do that. All in all.. Good trip, worthwhile for the reasons given, but don't expect me to go on another one anytime soon.
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Post by lumi on Jan 24, 2017 21:30:26 GMT 2
Your summary pretty much sums up the reason I have never been tempted to book a cruise. Except for the addition that seeing the same people on the boat all day, everyday would surely bug me a lot as I am sure there would be many with terrible manners and loud voices. Glad there was plenty of positives on your trip though. Do you have any photos to share?!
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Post by sophie on Jan 24, 2017 23:25:04 GMT 2
I put pictures up on my fb... Have had many hassles putting pictures on here...
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 24, 2017 23:43:35 GMT 2
Sorry about the pics posting situation. There simply is no space to post pictures directly on the forum. It is only possible to post links from a picture hosting website at the moment. Maybe I'll discuss with lumi over the next few months.
Yes, I also share your views of organised travel and especially cruises. However, they do have their place on the travel marketplace.
What you describe also reminds me of a beach holiday. Another thing I am not fond of, but which has its place on the holiday marketplace.
Would you visit the region by yourself/without an organised group?
I was told that one of the big issues with cruises is their (mis)handling of the refuse. I guess they can't exactly throw the bins overboard in the canal.
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Post by sophie on Jan 25, 2017 7:39:52 GMT 2
AuntieAnnie, I have travelled throughout Guatemala and Mexico by myself..no problems. From my impressions, Costa Rica and Nicaragua would be okay as well. I plan to travel throughout Colombia next year with a friend.
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Post by kuskiwi on Jan 25, 2017 8:31:09 GMT 2
Sounds as if the cruise worked in some ways but not in others, but the canal and friends made it all worth while.
Columbia sounds interesting.
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Post by Netsuke on Jan 25, 2017 12:55:36 GMT 2
Perhaps a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 might be the go. For a mere $130,750 Australian dollars you could do a nice round the world cruise New York to New York, or for something a little cheaper, Southampton To Southampton for AUD$102,480. Staying in a Queens Grill Suite - you have your own butler. If you wanted to do it on the cheap you'd be looking at $39,060 and $36,840 respectively, but who'd want to be stuck in an inside cabin? Better go for the best. I can imagine it now - your own suite with lounge room, your own balcony, a butler how absolutely wonderful. And lots of fabulous shore trips when the ship docks. Actually the "best" suite would cost you $615,9389 for New to New York. Not much really, it's only a little over half a mil.  |
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Post by Voy on Jan 25, 2017 17:18:52 GMT 2
One type of cruise I found bearable, was a canal boat cruise in Holland. Chosen because my then 80 yo mother really didn't have the stamina for just hiring a car and going. We went one place - the boat - unpacked and were set for a week. Great shore excursions, and then she could just have a nap, while I took a bike and worked off energy and got some exercise. Turned out to be the perfect compromise for us.
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Post by sophie on Jan 25, 2017 18:28:24 GMT 2
I would probably consider a cruise up the Amazon in a small ship.. And I have to admit I enjoyed my aranuni cruise in French Polynesia a few years back as well as a sailboat cruise I took for a week in the Galapagos. Mind you, that was only with 15 passengers, so not sure if it would be classes as a cruise!
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Post by ninchursanga on Mar 1, 2017 13:46:54 GMT 2
I'll do the cruise trips at 85 when I still want to travel but am not fit enough anymore for independent travel.
Before that there are different sorts of trips by boat/ship that I wouldn't mind though. The onese that sophie described sound exciting.
One that is more ordinary but still seems cool to me is a short trip on the North Sea on a traditional Dutch sailing boat. Another one I wouldn't
mind doing is a "Mavi Tour" in Turkey. Just sailing along the Turkish coast. Such tours are usually very relaxed and you have ample time everywhere.
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Post by tzarine on Mar 2, 2017 2:52:33 GMT 2
tzar & i took the slow boat to china
overnight from hongkong to guangzhou. all locals, great food, we had a little room w bunk beds
over night via the canals of suzhou to hangzhou. oh the stars! on my first china trip
one cruise - just weird, his parents couldnt go, so the 3 of us went from boston to montreal via scotia, princee edward island.
some of the leechy senior men were gross. the line @ at buffet & the waste was appalling. we had dinner in one of the restaurants. our indonesian waiter took a liking to tzarvich bc he hadnt seen his son in a year. best - the indonesian cultural night performed by staff
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Post by tiltedflipcurves on Mar 11, 2017 0:00:27 GMT 2
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Post by Voy on Mar 11, 2017 16:24:37 GMT 2
The is a tv ad now for one of the huge cruise lines... 3 "days" to the Bahamas for $149. Of course that means per person, and an inside cabin. But still, I am tempted just to see how horrendous those monster boats may be ! - I mean, even paying for two - it would be under $500 -- all meals etc - really not much more than a couple of nights in a motel somewhere , and then you'd have to buy food too...
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 11, 2017 20:55:22 GMT 2
I am with Sophie about the Galapagos. Like her we were on a 16 passenger boat. Any bigger and going ashore would have been a problem. We watched an 85 passenger boat (85! but it looked huge to us) trying to offload everybody and it took over half an hour. And then you'd all be walking like a herd of cattle, conscious of the crowd of people.
I have been on a proper cruise. Once. It was decades ago when I worked in advertising. A cruise line was a client and they insisted I should go. No, no, I protested, the art director should go. But they stamped their feet and said the copywriter had to go. It was made bearable by the great Australian photographer and his wife who were doing the publicity shots.
My aunt is flying from South Africa to celebrate her 90th birthday on a Rhine cruise. Possibly a river cruise is a better bet.
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