I Guess Cruises Aren't My Thing

[disneysteve]

You arranged day trips / excursions on the ship for when you arrived in next port. Had to stand around waiting for everyone else to get there, walk somewhere to board big bus, cram in bus to go to your destination, then more lines to board and whale watch tour, jet boat trip or whatever. Most excursions also had big galley style lunches with more lines, crowding and waiting.

Anytime you got to a port to visit and look around, the streets were jam packed with tourists, restaurants and stores full to the gills, etc. because all of these little 2,500 people port towns just had (3) boats of 2,000 passengers dumped in their laps. Guessing it's that way all season?

The ship itself also seemed pretty claustrophobic, constantly jammed around people with exception of your tiny suite. Crowded dining halls, everyone jamming the sides to see whales, crowded elevators, lines to get on & off ship, etc.

Understood. In Alaska, are most of the ports places where you can't really just wander on your own? I've only cruised to the Caribbean and in most of those ports, you can just walk off the ship and go where you'd like. You can do an organized excursion if you wish, and we've done several, but you can also just go off on your own which we've also done many times.

The only ports I recall where there was some waiting involved were Key West where you had to take a shuttle from the ship to the front of the shipyard and one other (Belize, maybe?) where you had to take tenders from the ship to shore.

As for the crowding on the ship, I suppose that's a function of the particular ship you were on.

[rennigade]

There's probably an underlying anxiety disorder in there somewhere, but I really struggle with planning vacations.

Im not sure how old you are but my parents struggle to book things. They still use a travel agent. Ive been helping them in the past couple years...booking rental cars, hotels, flights. Maybe its an older generation thing. Talk about an industry that will be gone in the next 20 years...travel agents.

[rennigade]

Has anyone done the Hawaii 7 nighter? I live in Los Angeles now but wished I had done the Hawaii cruise when I had lived there for my first 37 years. It starts in Honolulu, Hawaii, then goes to Maui, Molokai, the big Island (possibly Kona & Hilo), maybe Lanai, Kauai, and back to Honolulu. It would have been so convenient. No need to book airfare or hotel. I think the 7 nights run about $999 base price and goes up from there.

This sounds painful. I couldnt imagine squeezing in 3 islands in 7 days. Also...the big island is huge. You need a rental car. By the time you pick up the rental and drive to destination you'd have a few hours to do what you want before it was time to leave.

Oahu...my guess is you get shuttled to waikiki. Again a huge tourist trap. Rental car to get to north shore...can spend multiple days there.

Maui...not sure where you'd get dropped off at. Spread out island...you'd need a rental. Road to hana blows an entire day...no way around it. Another day for sunrise at haleakala...snorkeling at honolua bay...theres a day blown...thats 2 days already and you havent scratched the surface of that island.

Big island...forget it. Too big to do much of anything in a day. You have kilauea in hilo...which btw is flowing lava in the ocean...if you're going to go now is the time. Mauna kea at night for telescopes and star gazing. Kona for all the coffee, good snorkeling, kayaking. Manata ray night diving or snokeling at the sheraton. Theres a crammed 3 days right there. (really crammed)

[disneysteve]

Talk about an industry that will be gone in the next 20 years...travel agents.

People have been predicting the demise of travel agents for years and there's no sign of it happening. There will always be people who want help booking their trips. And there will always be circumstances where an agent is needed.

Really, there's no reason not to use an agent. It doesn't cost you anything and a good agent can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars and avoid lots of headaches if anything goes wrong.

We don't routinely use an agent but we do at times. Last time was actually when we took our last cruise. We were traveling with a group and the only way to book was through the agent. You couldn't do it on your own if you wanted to be part of the group. We could have gotten on the same ship but not at the group rate and not as part of the group.

[Fishindude77]

Slightly off subject.
Parked beside our ship in one port was a small National Geographic ship, maybe 100' long. Had inflatables with outboards on the roof, they were filling scuba tanks, etc., so I chatted with young guy about this.

They do small cruises to remote places really getting out in the outdoors and getting out and doing things. I could see one of these being much more to my liking, but it's far from a cruise ship experience and doubt if my wife would like it.

[disneysteve]

Slightly off subject.
Parked beside our ship in one port was a small National Geographic ship, maybe 100' long. Had inflatables with outboards on the roof, they were filling scuba tanks, etc., so I chatted with young guy about this.

They do small cruises to remote places really getting out in the outdoors and getting out and doing things. I could see one of these being much more to my liking, but it's far from a cruise ship experience and doubt if my wife would like it.

Definitely different than a megaship cruise, but that's part of my point. When people say, "I don't like cruises" they're generally talking about one specific type of cruise. The cruise industry encompasses a wide variety of experiences, from Windjammer cruises that hold 50-60 people to megaships that hold 6,000 or more. You could cruise the Mississippi on a Victorian paddlewheeler. There are so many options that all fall under the umbrella of "cruising".

[rennigade]

Slightly off subject.
Parked beside our ship in one port was a small National Geographic ship, maybe 100' long. Had inflatables with outboards on the roof, they were filling scuba tanks, etc., so I chatted with young guy about this.

They do small cruises to remote places really getting out in the outdoors and getting out and doing things. I could see one of these being much more to my liking, but it's far from a cruise ship experience and doubt if my wife would like it.

Sounds like a liveaboard trip. Its not a cruise at all. You live/sleep on the boat...scuba several times a day and stop at islands/beaches. Its mainly for scuba diving and its bare bones. Sometimes it takes several days to get to the areas where the reefs havent been destroyed.

[disneysteve]

Slightly off subject.
Parked beside our ship in one port was a small National Geographic ship

National Geographic has a pretty extensive cruise program.

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/triptypes/byship?adpos=1t1&creative=153838836682&device=c&matchtype=e&network=g&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

[disneysteve]

Its not a cruise at all.

What defines whether or not it is a cruise? I don't mean to be snarky but I'm curious how different people define it.

I just Googled "what is a cruise?" and got this definition:
"a voyage on a ship or boat taken for pleasure or as a vacation and usually calling in at several places."

By that criteria, the trip Fishindude77 mentioned would certainly qualify.

[rennigade]

What defines whether or not it is a cruise? I don't mean to be snarky but I'm curious how different people define it.

I just Googled "what is a cruise?" and got this definition:
"a voyage on a ship or boat taken for pleasure or as a vacation and usually calling in at several places."

By that criteria, the trip Fishindude77 mentioned would certainly qualify.

I stand corrected. I have been on several cruises. Just last month I was on a cruise I suppose. They arent so bad after all although the cruise I was on during my honeymoon made me sick in the guts.

[msomnipotent]

I went on a Carnival cruise many years ago. I don't know why people are saying that you don't have to do planning with a cruise. I still had to book a round trip flight, reserve a hotel for the night before, hire a cab to get to the port, and all the while stressing because one person in our group was convinced that something would go wrong and we would miss embarkment. Then we had to plan around meal times, book our excursions, and then stress about missing the excursions or not getting back on time. Plus, having my bags searched for liquor and other contraband every time we came aboard was not my cup of tea. Getting back on the ship from Cozumel was pretty insulting, IMO. They had us stand in lines with our bags at our feet and dogs sniffed everything in front of us. A few people were grabbed by the arm and pulled out of line. I felt like a prisoner.

But other than that, it was merely ok, until the earthquake hit and we thought we would capsize and drown. Not even exaggerating. People were dropping to their knees and praying, or just screaming and crying. Even the employees were frantic. I'm not sure if I would ever cruise again, but if I did, I would spend the entire time wondering if every little bump was the start of an earthquake and continuously washing my hands to avoid Legionnaire's. I would prefer driving to our destination any day over that.

[disneysteve]

But other than that, it was merely ok, until the earthquake hit and we thought we would capsize and drown.

Wow. That must have been pretty scary. Not the cruise line's fault, of course, but still very scary.

[msomnipotent]

Wow. That must have been pretty scary. Not the cruise line's fault, of course, but still very scary.

Yes, it was extremely scary. The ship was rocking so much that we really thought it was going to roll over. You could hear things crashing around above all the screaming, and no one wanted to go back to their staterooms to be trapped, so they were just running around. Total chaos. Thankfully, it happened on our way home. I would have been very tempted to not get back on the ship after that.

[QuarterMillionMan]

This sounds painful. I couldnt imagine squeezing in 3 islands in 7 days. Also...the big island is huge. You need a rental car. By the time you pick up the rental and drive to destination you'd have a few hours to do what you want before it was time to leave.

Oahu...my guess is you get shuttled to waikiki. Again a huge tourist trap. Rental car to get to north shore...can spend multiple days there.

Maui...not sure where you'd get dropped off at. Spread out island...you'd need a rental. Road to hana blows an entire day...no way around it. Another day for sunrise at haleakala...snorkeling at honolua bay...theres a day blown...thats 2 days already and you havent scratched the surface of that island.

Big island...forget it. Too big to do much of anything in a day. You have kilauea in hilo...which btw is flowing lava in the ocean...if you're going to go now is the time. Mauna kea at night for telescopes and star gazing. Kona for all the coffee, good snorkeling, kayaking. Manata ray night diving or snokeling at the sheraton. Theres a crammed 3 days right there. (really crammed)

Rennigade knows the Hawaiian islands. My understanding of the 7 night Hawaiian island cruise embarks on Saturday at 5:00 pm and returns Saturday 8:00 am, I could me mistaken so anyone planning this cruise please do your own research. Knowing this information it's possible to avoid needing a hotel room for people who fly to Oahu (Honolulu). I believe the cruise line allows embarkation beginning around noon on Saturday so as long as your flight arrives before the 5:00 pm embarkation on Saturday a hotel wouldn't be needed. And strategically planning your flight back home to coincide with the disembarkation the following Saturday after the 8:00 am disembarkation one could avoid needing a hotel room all together. Hotel rates in Waikiki can easily run $499+ per night not including the dreaded resort fees, meals, transportation, etc. Compare that with the cruise price of $1000 for 7 nights (no resort fee, all meals included, and a cheap $20 Uber/Lyft ride) and the cruise is a quite bargain. The cruise ship in Honolulu docks near the Aloha Tower market place (downtown Honolulu) which is about 7 miles from HNL airport. I've driven past it many times and was always fascinated by its size.

[terri77]

All fair points.

Again, I don't think cruising is for everyone. I just think despite it's popularity, the cruise industry still has an image problem. It has a reputation based on what it was 10 or 20 years ago even though it has changed dramatically. Plus, most people still hear "cruise" and think of a mega-ship with 5,000 passengers and hundreds of screaming children. They don't picture something like a river cruise that holds 200 people or a Viking ocean cruise that holds under 1,000 and is only for passengers 16 and over. You won't find a casino or bright lights and loud noises anywhere. There are cruises focused on fine dining. Cruises that offer all sorts of educational opportunities. And much more.

I looked into a cruise sponsored by the WWII museum. They had nightly lectures by renowned historians as well as visiting areas of interest to significant WWII events in Europe. I decided against the cruise, but I do hope to one day take a river cruise. Next month I'm taking a 4-day Western Caribbean group cruise.