Via cruise ship: Florida woman has traveled to 55 countries, says cruise ship vacations are the way to go (msn.com)
Cruise ship travel isn’t real travel. You get dropped off at a port for a day, wander around, perhaps pay to go on commercial tours in a charter bus and are quickly whisked from attraction to attraction.
You don’t meet locals. You don’t interact with locals. But you can quickly mark off the # of countries you’ve set your feet in to, even if only for 4 hours.
I wrote this while on 24-day cruise on board a small passenger ship. The purpose of the trip was a multi-generational family trip, including a very senior family member for whom a cruise is easier than other alternatives. This was my first cruise. Some observations:
The service is excellent
The staff and crew are excellent
The pricing was not bad, including our airfare, for 24 days.
People eat way too much since the food in the cafeteria/cafe is “free”.
Port stops are typically for 6-18 hours. People can walk off the ship and see what they can do on foot, or they can sign up for fairly expensive, cruise organized charter bus or walking tours to see a bit more. But you’ll never be at attractions for very long – you’ll drop in for 30 minutes and then it’s on to the next destination.
Do you really get to know a community, an attraction, an event, a people – via a quickie visit?
You will not have the experience of self-directed travel – where, in some ways, half of your learning experience comes from the large amount of research and prep work you have to do on your own.
Cruise ships cause many to experience motion or sea sickness (me, unfortunately).
We did this trip for a specific, multi-family get-together and experience and for that it worked out well. There were other multi-generational families on this ship too.
However, this type of travel is not for me. I prefer self-directed, independent travel, and the opportunity to connect with a community, not feel like I just hopped in and hopped out a few hours later. I understand why cruise travel is good for many – planning is simplified (you just sign up for the trip), you are in one “hotel room” for the duration of the trip, and if you have mobility issues, it can be a good way to visit many places that you would not otherwise be able to visit.
I suffer from sea sickness (mild but it’s a problem none the less) so I don’t see myself making cruise travel into a habit. (I learned that sea or motion sickness can manifest as a headache, constantly feeling fatigued, dizziness and the better-known stomach upset.)
I, like everyone else on board, came down with Covid – which was 2-3 days of feeling really crummy, and then a few days feeling tired and weak. Minor symptoms continued for about 2-3 weeks – mostly continued minor sinus drip and very slight cough.
My country count list is short (4?) – and I only count a country visit if I stayed at least 24 hours (i.e. overnight). That excludes airport transfers or most cruise stops as the ship is in port for less than half a day, usually 7-8 hours. Since I only stopped in Greenland for 3 hours, I do not include it in my country count.
Many people like cruises. On this cruise trip, most passengers are elderly – ranging from the fit elderly to the not so well elderly. For some, this is their only option for travel – this mode of travel provides a way to see some things from on or off the ship. Also, due to the duration of the trip (24 days), that lengthy period mostly limits the passengers mostly to those who are retired.
At several port stops, at least one passenger has been disembarked via ambulance to a local hospital. At our 2nd to last stop, we heard the call for an on-board medical response – where the ship’s medical staff, including a doctor, respond. Due to the patient’s condition, they chose to transfer the patient to an on-shore hospital. As we were anchored about 1 mile offshore, the patient was transported by boat from the ship to the dock, where the patient was met by shore-based ambulance and paramedics and transported to the local hospital.
For many cruise travelers, they enjoy not having to plan anything. You just select a vendor and itinerary and go. That lack of planning is something many prefer (I’m the opposite – I prefer to plan and implement). But many people do not have the time necessary to do a self planned trip – especially those travelers who are working challenging jobs and also have families. For them, it is much easier to select a pre-planned cruise trip or an “all inclusive resort” travel option.
Update – totally wild
AFTER the trip we learned that our son-in-laws parents were on the same trip and ship as us – and we never saw each other! What are the odds of that?