Agreed. My first cruise was a southern carribean cruise…eight days. We left out of San Juan. We cruised at night…departing about sundown. Woke up every day in a different port where we had the full day to explore. I loved it!
Last cruise was 10 days…with four “at sea” days. We were traveling in a party of 17 so we kept busy. Took jewelry making class, scrapbooking class, ballroom dance lessons, went to some lectures, did trivia every morning with our team…And did lots in the evenings too…karaoke, game shows, shows, etc.
I think cruises are great if you enjoy those types of activities, I truly do! But we don’t. Plus, I wanted to be “outside” during the day, not inside the ship. That is probably why we enjoyed it more in the evenings when we were inside, there are lots of things to do. Even 4 days is way too much for me to be at sea. That is what we had on the 7 day cruise. If I do it again, I will definitely look for ones that stop at a port each day. Or, maybe cruising really just isn’t for us. I am so glad that I did it once, though. The ship was magnificent and it is an experience. I would just suggest for first timers, that you go on a 4 night cruise the first time.
I could never do a cruise for the reasons listed. I am not one to sit around the pool…I have that in my own yard , but mostly use it in the evenings when the sun isn’t strong.
With the exception of the Viking River Cruises…that I want to do ! We are more sightseers , but to me, a port with tax free perfume, jewelry, cigarettes and alcohol holds no appeal.
But just because they sell tax free items, and maybe even push them a bit, is irrelevant. You walk right past them and do what you choose to do. You find ports that are interesting to you, and book those trips. There are smaller cruise lines, like Windstar, that have exotic ports that are not as busy. It’s just so convenient and cheap to travel to many places without having to constantly pack and unpack. I would also like to do a river cruise.
We actually started doing some preliminary research for an Alaska cruise, although I doubt we’ll take it this year - it’ll either be next year, or the following. H and I learned a year ago, we are not cruise people - we don’t gamble (and hate walking through the casino where smoking is allowed to get to other places), and I honestly thought the shows and music were of poor quality. We don’t drink, and aren’t of the ‘eat-till-you’re-sick’ kind of diners (although H did get norovirus, so I guess he did eat until he was sick).
So I found Lindblad ships that partner up with National Geographic - they meet all of our criteria and I’m excited about using them. They get into areas of the bays and inlets that the large ships can’t. They can also alter their itineraries at the last moment to go see a pod of whales, or whatever works best to see the most interesting stuff. No shows/live musicians/casinos, etc. I heard the food is also excellent.
I’ve never been on a cruise, and I’ve never wanted to go on one, until I came across the National Geographic Linblad tours. I am very interested in the one that goes to the Arctic Circle (or close to it) in Norway, with the possibility of polar bear sightings. I came close to booking but ended up changing my mind. I’d be very, very interested in hearing how a non-cruise person enjoys it. Are you considering a particular trip?
Those Lindblad cruises sound interesting. Like you,teriwitt, I didn’t gamble on the cruise we took and didn’t like the smoky atmosphere in the casino. I don’t like sitting around the pool, if you can even find a chair. I’m not all that interested in eating at all hours. But Alaska seems to be best experienced on a cruise, so I’d like to find one that’s different.