ssshhhhhhhhhhhush, we don't want anyone to know
 

we just completed a 7 day CRUISE to the western Carrib., our first cruise experience. WE LOVED THE EXPERIENCE...

We had dinner with Dunbug (the fab June and DH) the night before the cruise. They gave us tons of hints and suggestions..

the ports are a waste of time, imho, but non travellers might like the "foreign??" experience.

i had disdained a cruise because i equated it with the dreaded Tour mentality... it is only that if you let it be that.

think of the experience as a floating 4* hotel...

canada and the mid-west were solidly represented on our cruise.

trans-atlantic might be next

K&B

as we sit here atop the marriott in miami overlooking biscayne bay, we are watching 3 ships leave the port on cruises

Thanks, Rhkkm. t yes, it is a surporise the first time one "cruisies" to fin how relaxing it is. No worrries about where to sleep, where to eat, how to get around,etc. I lvoe he experiencer of the ship, you can so as much or as little as you like. Glad you enjoyed it!!!

DO as much or as little as you like. Darn, these keys on the keyboard keep moving! (-:

And you only unpack ONCE!! I love cruising. It's been almost 8 years since my last cruise... gotta get on another ship. Fave port is BERMUDA. Bob, Karen, you'd like that destination, I think. You visit ONLY Bermuda, since there is nothing else nearby. You have plenty of time to see if you like the island because you are there for several days. You can see it all!!!

Glad you enjoyed yourselves. Wish we could meet up, but you're in MIA and I'm in Orlando, and heading back to Tampa on Tuesday to go home to Illinois.

To add ASIA to this thread... who has cruised in and around SE Asia, and how was it? I'm tempted to do a SIN to Hong Kong or something like that, with stops in Phuket, BKK, and Taipei, or something like that.

Carol

At a certain age onward I think people will start enjoying cruises. A few of my friends are starting to go "cruising" and they loved it. Did you buy a captain's hat Bob? Love to see your pictures so do share!

Glad you and K had a great time. I am sure Jeane and I will be ready to cruise in about 20 years.

I love cruising too, but haven't done it in several years. A cruise makes a perfect family vacation as you can convene at meals but do your own thing the rest of the day. If anyone else heads my way (south fl), drop me a line. Dinner with bob & Karen was great fun...finally we have met fodorites in person! A codifies cruise reunion would be fun.

cruise for a boston GTG??? Bermuda??

will be working on boston GTG for usual weekend in October when i get home----March..

Glad you and Karen enjoyed the cruise. The only cruise I've been on (Yangtze River for 3 days) was boooring. Maybe we'll give it a try again when we can no longer ambulate. But even then, I'm not sure.

Bob, it was BOS to Bermuda that I 'did' twice!! And loved sooo much. It was on a smallish ship called the Majesty. Don't know 'who' does that cruise now.

Let us know about the BOS GTG so we (I) can start checking fares. I plan to be there!

The best cruise idea I've heard of, and one that somewhat appeals to me , is what an older American lady did some years ago. She sold her house and made the Queen Elizabeth 2 her permanent residence. She used the ship in lieu of assisted living-meals, recreation program and on call doctor all provided under one roof. She sailed from port to port all year round, sometimes never getting off at the ports. It cost her no more than luxury assisted living, and was a lot more fun.

Jeez... you guys want to have a GTG in the middle of the Bermuda triangle? Carol went on her cruise in 1917 and it did not returned until 1984. Luckily jet aircraft had been introduced by then and she was able to visit Bangkok every other 3 moths.

hanuman...lol

1917??? Really??? (I know I'm OLD.... but....)

I was somewhat concerned about that Bermuda Triangle thing before my first cruise out there, but then the second time around was eeeeeaassssyyyy! It's beautiful!!

Remember a year or so ago, there was talk of a GTG on a SE Asia cruise of some sort. It never did 'take off'... which is too bad.

Time for breakfast!

I like the concept of a cruise: you unpack once while visiting a bunch of places, and all your hotel and meal details are handled in one fell swoop.

I did an Alaskan cruise with my Former Beloved a while ago, and it was not bad -- certainly very relaxing. We avoided all ship-organized port tours and explored on our own, which was a good choice. The great majority of our cruisemates were not at all experienced travelers, and they were far more comfortable having everything arranged for them. Food (this was Holland America) was generally not a highlight, as you might expect when the kitchen is preparing meals to be served to a couple of thousand people.

For me, a way more interesting experience was a river cruise down the Danube. Compared to an ocean cruise, the views are fantastic because you're always very close to shore, port stops are always in the city center (or close to it -- no having to take those tenders), you get none of the waves and accompanying godawful feeling that are a feature of ocean/sea cruising, and there are enormously fewer passengers on the ships. Plus, you get to start and end in places like Amsterdam or Prague rather than Miami or Anchorage, which makes for a lot more fun (and travel opportunities) at the beginning and end of the trip.

I've never done an ocean cruise. The idea of stopping in a port for 6 hours to "see" the place doesn't appeal to me. The one cruise I have done was a week on the Nile and it was a fabulous experience.

A friend of mine did one of the small ship cruises to Alaska - I think it carried under 30 people and loved that. A naturalist would paddle out in a kayak and join them on board for a couple of hours, as they were cruising close to land and point out the wildlife. There was no "dressing for dinner" people put on a fresh sweater and wore their "good gortex." I'd think about one of those.

And, like Shelly, I was taken with the woman who moved on to the QE2. When I'm old and decrepit, I may find cruising to be just the thing!

Bob- glad you had a good time on your first cruise. I suspect you would enjoy a cruise across the pond on the QE2. Alas for us we will likely never cruise for the following 3 reasons:
1)The cabins and especially the bathrooms are way too small.
2)There really is not any shopping on board to write home about.
3)You can't get really good Chinese food aboard.

These are 3 must haves for us when we travel.

bill, you need to broaden your horizons..

for me the cruise experience is being on the ship, certainly not the ports... i only went off once and hired a car for the day---back by noon... K went off several times but was back quickly...

its a totally lazy change of scenery...

Mmm i'm with Craig, think I'll be ready for cursing in about 20 years :) .......

Oh jeeprs that should say cruising... Im all over cursing already......