Maybe it's time to stop cruising Europe?

[franu]

From my first Med. cruise in 1975, I described it as a smorgasbord vacation. A taste of this and a bite of that, partaking the areas and deciding where I would like to have a sumptuous meal. That cruise was when I fell head over heels in love with Italy. I have returned there about 13 times, usually for about 3 weeks but some for a few days and sometimes longer. I have never been bored.

 

I research the areas that I will visit and how I will get to each spot. My late DH used to say that I enjoy my vacations three times as the first is research, the second is the actual trip and the third is sharing it with friends and family.

 

In all fairness I have cruised to certain places that I have no desire to return to and when they are on the ship's itinerary, I take it as a sea day.

Fran

[Cruise Junky]

Just to provide an update on this, we've been diligently going over all the cruise lines itineraries for Europe 2010 to see if we could find something close to what we were looking for. Oceania has a fantastic cruise that hits a lot of the lighlights in France that we were looking for. But with a price tag of close to $8,000 for 14 days for an INSIDE cabin! That breaks down to $571 per day US...keep in mind, I'm Canadian so add another 25% on that at this time = $741 Canadian a day...(trying not to choke on that one). We have decided to spend much more time in the area and are going on a land trip. Normandy, Brittany and Provence. Our accommodation in Brittany is 159 Euro per night, Honfleur 135E, and our week's rental in Provence is 1050 Euro for 7 nights. Breaking down to 147 Euro a day for accommodation or $245 Canadian a day. Then of course we have our transportation and our food, but that's a bigggggg difference in the daily rate and on the cruise I'd still have my shore excursions...Mont. St. Michel alone is a $300 us Shore Excursion for two people.

 

Now a know a lot of you are saying, well it's oceania, of course it's expensive. You're right, but they were also the only one with the right itinerary.

 

Just wanted to provide an update!

[chipmaster]

We've been to Europe 3 out of the past 4 years and love it. We're starting to look at 2010 and off the cuff last night I asked DH to name his favourite memories from our past three trips:

 

1. Monaco

2. London

3. Venice

4. Paris

5. Our Week in Provence

 

So I commented, "Interesting, all the places we've been on a land trip and stayed in a hotel, and not on a cruise ship" It was interesting, I would have to say my list would be pretty similar (only I would add Santorini in there). Seems to me if we're getting better memories out of our land portions then that's what we should stick to. Thoughts?

 

For really getting to explore a place cruising is less then ideal with its limited time in a port. What cruising is great for is convenience, ability to pack/unpack once, and the cruising :D

 

In every port I was in last summer I truely wished for another day at the least in each place, but in then end I wouldn't have traded the cruise for anything else as it was simply the best way to get a whirlwind tour of 10 ports with 3 generations with 11 people. Call it the cliffs notes tour of Europe, perfect for what its designed.

 

Will I cruise Europe/Med again, never! Been there, done that, so many more adventures lie ahead it'll be decades before that rises to the top again :)

[Cruise Junky]

For really getting to explore a place cruising is less then ideal with its limited time in a port. What cruising is great for is convenience, ability to pack/unpack once, and the cruising :D

 

In every port I was in last summer I truely wished for another day at the least in each place, but in then end I wouldn't have traded the cruise for anything else as it was simply the best way to get a whirlwind tour of 10 ports with 3 generations with 11 people. Call it the cliffs notes tour of Europe, perfect for what its designed.

 

Will I cruise Europe/Med again, never! Been there, done that, so many more adventures lie ahead it'll be decades before that rises to the top again :)

 

I think I've got one more Med. cruise left in me, next time we'll find one that does both Istanbul and Egypt but I think that'll be it. I couldn't believe how jaded I'd become when browsing the itineraries...been, there done that definitely summed it up.

 

Nice new avatar by the way :)

[robbinsca]

I was brought up on car driving trips across the U.S. As a result I get itchy to move on after, at most, a couple of days. The cruises allow me to go to, and experience, many different things.

 

My wife likes to "loiter" a bit more. She loves to window shop and people watch. One thing for the whole day is plenty.

 

If I am in one place for a week I tend to hunker down with a book, whereas if there is something new to visit because of a limited amount of time I am constantly on the go.

 

So, she gets her time on the ship, I get my frantic days, and for some reason we are both VERY happy with the cruising lifestyle.

[mickeysgal]

Will I cruise Europe/Med again, never! Been there, done that, so many more adventures lie ahead it'll be decades before that rises to the top again :)

 

I think I've got one more Med. cruise left in me, next time we'll find one that does both Istanbul and Egypt but I think that'll be it. I couldn't believe how jaded I'd become when browsing the itineraries...been, there done that definitely summed it up.

 

 

A question for the two of you. About how many cruises to the Med/Europe did it take before you felt you were your saturation point?

[Cruise Junky]

A question for the two of you. About how many cruises to the Med/Europe did it take before you felt you were your saturation point?

 

I've done two european cruises, one followed by a 5 days in Monte Carlo and two days in Paris, the other was two days in Barcelona and two days in Venice. Inbetween the two cruises we did a land trip, Paris - 3 nights, St. Paul de Vence - 3 nights, 1 week in Provence, 1 week in Tuscany and three nights in Rome. There are still places I want to see and by ship does make sense...but when it comes to the normal Barcelona - Venice Grand Med Route...I'm done. I think more of the saturation with us, is we're starting to resent the "schedule" of a ship. We much prefer to get up in the morning and plan our day.

[Jernhon]

For years we were independent travelers (before the internet when you really had to work for it) and looked down our noses at people who "just" cruised. It seemed too easy, and we thought ourselves vastly superior to these cruise people. We kept saying we'd cruise "we when get old." That said, after a short 3-day R/T out of Seattle with friends that introduced us to cruising, we could appreciate the appeal. When DH's 50th birthday approached and we wanted to do something special, we booked a trip that included two days in St. Petersburg, Russia, as that was somewhere we'd never venture on our own. And there we found our niche -- we enjoy cruises that take us places we wouldn't feel comfortable touring on our own. Couple that with the "taste" of destinations that other posters have mentioned, and it's a happy mix. The only problem now is that we're spoiled! I fully intended exploring Italy independently this year ... but there were some tempting itineraries out there, and prices were dropping, and it was just so easy so here we are counting down to our 4/29 sailing on the Noordam -- but with a week in Rome beforehand, on our own. I suspect this trip will feed our desire to do Italy on our own in the future , so I hope we don't get sidetracked again! But if we do, that's okay too.

[QueScaisJe]

Our Europe trips have been mainly on land, with just a few cruises. We find that there is a "sameness" to the cruise experience that we don't get with the land tours. Also I am an inveterate planner, and love this aspect of our trips, which seems lessened somehow on a cruise. I would certainly suggest a cruise for an inexperienced traveller to Europe; it's the effortless way to go.

 

Great thread, by the way; wish I'd seen it earlier. The thing about these boards is that you miss a day or two, and <poof> the thread is gone!

[Ship's Wake]

Agree with the comments about cruises being a an ideal way to sample a destination before spending significant time there.

 

I love ocean cruises, but I love river cruises even more.

 

River cruises, like ocean cruises, have the advantage of only unpacking once. Your ship holds at most 150 people. Often at your port stops you are steps away from the city center of the town you are visiting. Since ports are so close together, you often stay docked until midnight or later, giving you ample time to wander back into town after dinner.

 

When you combine a pre and post stay with a river cruise, you get the best of both cruises and land vacations.

 

While river cruises are sometimes more expensive upfront for beginning room categories than ocean cruises, it often evens out when you factor in that excursions and wine are often included in the fare with companies like Uniworld and Avalon.

 

Joe

[jms2362]

A question for the two of you. About how many cruises to the Med/Europe did it take before you felt you were your saturation point?

 

We are going on NCL Jade in Sept it starts in Istanbul and goes to Greek Isles and Cairo overnight so we will have 2 days of exploring Egypt and pyramids. Can hardly wait. We love cruising the Med as when we return to a town we have been to before, we do things we did not get to see previously.

[cruisemom42]

I think I've got one more Med. cruise left in me, next time we'll find one that does both Istanbul and Egypt but I think that'll be it. I couldn't believe how jaded I'd become when browsing the itineraries...been, there done that definitely summed it up.

 

Nice new avatar by the way :)

 

Come join me on the November 18 Grand Princess sailing.....stops in Istanbul and overnight in Egypt.

[MVPinBoynton]

Agree with the comments about cruises being a an ideal way to sample a destination before spending significant time there.

 

I love ocean cruises, but I love river cruises even more.

 

River cruises, like ocean cruises, have the advantage of only unpacking once. Your ship holds at most 150 people. Often at your port stops you are steps away from the city center of the town you are visiting. Since ports are so close together, you often stay docked until midnight or later, giving you ample time to wander back into town after dinner.

 

When you combine a pre and post stay with a river cruise, you get the best of both cruises and land vacations.

 

While river cruises are sometimes more expensive upfront for beginning room categories than ocean cruises, it often evens out when you factor in that excursions and wine are often included in the fare with companies like Uniworld and Avalon.

 

Joe

 

River cruises do seem like a great way to experience ports. This is why we are doing our first European river cruise next month. Can't wait.

[Cruise Junky]

Come join me on the November 18 Grand Princess sailing.....stops in Istanbul and overnight in Egypt.

 

We'll definitely do that one day. But this November is too close to our September b2b on Sapphire. I'm trying to figure out how to get the $$ and the Time Off for the Star's TA next April :)

[iancal]

Interesting. We are at the other end of the spectrum. We like cruising but we always do independent land vacations in Europe. We cannot get our heads around only visiting one of our favorite cities for a few hours. Normally we spend a few days in a city and a few days in the environs. We are still looking at European cruises but I think that ultimately we will pass until we have at least seen what is still on our list.

[Cruise Junky]

River cruises do seem like a great way to experience ports. This is why we are doing our first European river cruise next month. Can't wait.

 

I'm curious to see how you guys like the River Cruise. We looked at them but everytime I think about an itinerary, I'd rather just do it in a car ourselves. Not many of them have balconies which we seem to live on. Silly to ask you guys to do a review when you get back :) I don't think you couldn't

[SunDapple]

We are taking our first European river cruise in May. This will allow us to see totally different ports and also be able to spend more time in them rather than taking long bus rides into town.

 

We decided a while ago that our next trip would be a river cruise through France. They sound like a delightful way to do a more intensive visit without all the packing/unpacking. But then Oceania sent us a brochure with some real incentives to sail away to the Mediterranean, and that is just what we'll do this summer. However, we both pledge to try again for that river cruise in 2010. After that a cruise to South America, as both of us have done land trips (separately, 30 years apart) to Machu Picchu in Peru, the Galapagos, and Ecuador, and we would love to taste more.

[seapenarth]

We've been to Europe 3 out of the past 4 years and love it. We're starting to look at 2010 and off the cuff last night I asked DH to name his favourite memories from our past three trips:

 

1. Monaco

2. London

3. Venice

4. Paris

5. Our Week in Provence

 

So I commented, "Interesting, all the places we've been on a land trip and stayed in a hotel, and not on a cruise ship" It was interesting, I would have to say my list would be pretty similar (only I would add Santorini in there). Seems to me if we're getting better memories out of our land portions then that's what we should stick to. Thoughts?

 

Monaco ugh :(