fast and slow walking tours

When reading about fast and low walking tours, I wonder how fast and how slow they really are. We have no mobility issues, but we take pictures and my husband sometimes makes video clips. If 'fast' means that we are running around, that wouldn't work. On our ship and land tours so far, the pace was 'medium'. Nobody had mobility issues and almost everybody took pictures. At one time, a tour was announced as fast and athletic, no picture time until on top of the mountain. That way, everybody knew exactly what to expect.

What is your take on 'slow' versus 'fast' on river cruises?

On Uniworld the slow walkers do not cover as much territory as the faster walking group and do not do as many hills, etc. I would call the faster walking group medium walking with plenty of time to take photos. Plus they have the Quiet Boxes with ear phones so if you have lagged a bit for a picture you can still hear the guide. We have no mobility issues and were very happy with the faster walking group.

I was recently on Viking with someone who needed the slow group. Uniworld's pace sound similar to Viking. I think the main difference was avoiding routes with hills, going at a much slower pace and probably having less free time at the end of the tour. Our tour guides were very good at stopping at places where those who needed to could sit and have a rest while he/she talked. I think with the fast tours, you'd have plenty of time to take photos and not miss any of the dialogue with the quiet boxes - they have quite a far range. Just might have to walk a bit fast to catch up with the group.

The only place where lingering to take photos would be a problem if you're touring a building. Some allow photos and some don't. But you really need to keep up with the tour guide as they close doors to a room when they go on to the next to keep on schedule.

I have been on 13 river cruises and have never had a fast paced group. AMA said they were going to, but didn't. There were normal paced groups and gentle walkers' groups.

Thank you all for the clarification, 'fast' it will be. ;)

We have several "fast walker" tours with AMA. Each moved at a good pace, some involved uphill walking and multiple flights of stairs.

On these days, slow walker and regular tours were also offered.

The fast pace groups are far too often going at a snails pace.:( The slow group is for those needing all flat ground and at crawl!

I have advocated for a true "fast" group, a regular group, and a group needing extra considerations. The cruise lines have ignored those pleas from many of us for PC reasons. This is truly one of my biggest complaints with river tours. A walker that takes 10 minutes to walk 100 meters needs to not be in the "fast" group, imo, but I am, of course, out voted by the cruise lines. :mad:

In the military we called it "Hurry Up and Wait"! and wait and wait and wait!

Seems to me that the terms "fast and "slow" are very subjective and difficult to adequately describe the actual pace one will walk. I walk every morning and I feel my pace is fast....until I meet up with someone who has longer legs! Then I am practically running to keep up! Would not want to experience this on a tour but then the gentle walkers may not suit either.

If I am on a tour, I want to see and enjoy the place I am visiting because I may never visit there again. I do not need to fast walk through these areas. If I want to do a fast walk, I will go off the ship on my own after the tour or before and walk on my own or with my DH or friends.

The funniest writeup I saw about walking tours was as follows:

It is disconcerting to see the guide holding an umbrella shaped like a duck's head disappearing around a corner on a tour course set by a marathon runner

The funniest writeup I saw about walking tours was as follows:

It is disconcerting to see the guide holding an umbrella shaped like a duck's head disappearing around a corner on a tour course set by a marathon runner

I think that must have been a very unusual tour guide. On our AMA cruise they had a Fast Walkers group the first day. I think it's actually done in case there are Slow Walkers who overestimate their ability and bog down the regular groups. Once they saw that all the Slow Walkers on our cruise selected that option, they dropped the Fast category and let all the regular tours go at a nice pace. This worked out well for us [note that we just did 75 miles on the Camino de Santiago, so we know about walking and walking fast] because it gave the guide room to explain the history as well as the buildings, and it gave photographers enough slack to lag behind and get their pictures without strangers ruining the view. We generally had about the same number at the end as at the beginning, so obviously not many people bailed because of the "slow" pace.

The fast pace groups are far too often going at a snails pace.:( The slow group is for those needing all flat ground and at crawl!

 

I have advocated for a true "fast" group, a regular group, and a group needing extra considerations. The cruise lines have ignored those pleas from many of us for PC reasons. This is truly one of my biggest complaints with river tours. A walker that takes 10 minutes to walk 100 meters needs to not be in the "fast" group, imo, but I am, of course, out voted by the cruise lines. :mad:

In the military we called it "Hurry Up and Wait"! and wait and wait and wait!

sounds like you would do better exploring on your own after doing some research on the ports you will be visiting. i'm sure the ship's officers would be happy to give you suggestions on what to see. My BW and I ,who are in the mid 60's-early 70's age group, have enjoyed the pace, content, and tour guides on the numerous tours we have taken as part of the Uniworld cruises.

If I am on a tour, I want to see and enjoy the place I am visiting because I may never visit there again. I do not need to fast walk through these areas. If I want to do a fast walk, I will go off the ship on my own after the tour or before and walk on my own or with my DH or friends.

This is why it is nice to have the option. We also enjoy seeing and enjoying the areas we visit but not at a slow pace.