Slow Travelers
 

We are looking at trying a cruise this year for our winter vacation. We consider ourselves slow independant travelers. We like to make our own excursion plans rather than pay someone to haul us around. We look for the true culture experience not tourist attractions. Is it possible to get this on a cruise without spending our retirement?

Going somewhere HOT or COLD?

What does slow travelers mean. If slow means you travel on your own schedule than doing shore trips on your own might not work - if you are late to the ship, it will leave without you (an advantage of doing ship excursions, although independent exploration is often better)

Winter vacation means warmer climate to us. Slow Travel means not racing from site to site and taking your time. Just as I know you can't show up late at the airport, you can't show up late to the ship. But does one have to follow a strict schedule to enjoy cruising?

IMO- If you strongly prefer slow travel cruises are not for you. Generally, you spend only a few hours in each port and are under time constraints, RE: if you're not back on time they will leave without you.
My spouse and I prefer to travel independently, but every couple of vacations we will take a cruise, because we don't have to'think', everything is done for us.
You should know that planning your excursions indenpendently can also carry a degree of risk. Example: Friends were booked on an Alaskan Cruise last year. The ship crashed into the docks at Victoria, causing damage to the engines and propellers. The ship was late arriving into Seattle the next day where my friends were to board. Boarding was delayed 8 hours. The ship could not operate on full power, causing the cancellation of 2 ports!!!
Although the cruise line graciously credited each cabin $500, our friends had independently booked excursions in the two ports that were cancelled. They lost their money in full, (which required a 7 day notice), they were out more than $1000
I share my friends experiences as a cautionary tale. I now NEVER prebook excursions with independently companies. Either I go through the cruise line or book on the 'docks' when I arrive.

OP - I was not implying that you thought the ship would wait for you - what I meant was that if one travels independently in each port, anything that could happen and delay you - flat tire, getting lost, traffic - the ship does not care, unless you are on one of their excursions.

The very nature of ports while cruising is the antithesis of Slow Travel. In general, one only gets a brief taste of a port, and then it is time to get back on the ship and sail to another. There are some exceptions, but they are few. For example, we did a Boston-Bermuda cruise where the ship was docked in Bermuda for 3 days.

I imagine it might be possible to look for the "true culture experience" while in a port, but unless you had done extensive research ahead of time by the time you found it, it would be time to leave.

We have always selected a prefered excursion on Carnival and we have never had a problem Be selective in your choices and enjoy yourselfs. On the Ship you do as much or as little as you wish. Enjoy your Cruise.

Yes, the schedule of sailing is strict. You can't get off ship earlier then scheduled, and you must be back on time for sailing.

As for meals, some ships have dinner time set up, but if you don't feel like it, you can go to the buffet or order room service 24 hrs. So here it's not like you missed your time, you go to bed hungry. Other ships have "open seating" - you dine when you choose.

On the first day right after boarding there is a mandatory emergency drill, everybody must attend. Takes maybe 1/2 hour.

Every night you'll get the next day's schedule to know which shows where at what time. You don't have to be there!

Also on that schedule is when restaurants are opened, which are free, which are not.

If you mean the off-shore tours... it's up to you whether or not to buy a tour from a ship, or to buy a local non-ship tour, or just walk around. No pressure.

By the way, the tours are posted on the websites and you can sort them out by degree of difficulty - mild, medium, strenuos. It makes the decision easier. Also, how long, if food included, and of course how much.

There is absolutely no pressure to buy a tour on the ship.

You can get off ship any time while it's docked, or you can stay on the ship without getting off. It's your choice. I was told, they show movies during the day :)

You don't have to get off the ship the moment it's docked.

You can come back any time, for example, you left the ship early, walked around, worked out an appetite and came back for lunch or a nap. If you have time, you can get off again till it sails.

You say you do not want to go to Tourist attractions!!?

Then it all depends what you want to see and do.

You know what make a tourist attraction!

A place that everyone wants to see .!

The Vatican is a tourist attraction...because everyone wants to see it.
Are you going to go to Rome and not see the Vatican, or Colessum or Trivi Fountain or Michaelangelo's Pieta,etc.!

Or St.Petersburg Russia and not seeing The Winter Place, or Catherine's Place or Peterhof or St.Issacs Cathedral etc .

In Sydney Australia the Opera House is a tourist attraction because everyone wants to see it, wouldn't you like to see it if you were in Sydney!.!?

Seeing a real life Aboriginal Show in the Australian Outback is a culture experience BUT it is also a tourist attraction.

I was in Gdansk Poland a few weeks ago.
The very FIRST shots of World War ll were fired at Westerplatte just outside of Gdansk.

I went to this World War ll Memorial site..... I do not know , was this a cultural experience or a tourist attraction...there WERE tourists there.

I wonder and would really like to know what it is that you do and see when you are avoiding ALL the tourist attraction.!

You can do anything you want when you disembark the cruise ship.
Your only obligation is to be back to the cruise ship on time.

And you can certainly make your own plans, but how are you going to get from point A to point B...by bus, walking,( the dock may be 6 miles from town) or taxi...but then if you use a taxi ,that means you are "paying someone to haul you around".

see what I mean...that is why I am confused.
:)
Percy

If you are cruising in winter and want to be "slow" then try the Carribean or Mexico or the Panama Canal. I think with good plannig to can see some things at leisure. However it amkes no sense to ry "port intensive" cruises such as the Baltic or the Med. There is so much to see and do that you can't really take it too easy. The BI of Hawaii would be a very good choice for a place to see at your leisure. Cheers, Larry :-)

Percy!
Relax, You obviously are not a slow traveler and I have been convinced by all the posts that I am not a cruiser. So for that I appreciate everyone's input.
Yes when we were in Rome we saw the coliseum and the vatican on our own terms and at our leisure. We went when the tours were gone(late afternoon) and didn't pay someone to guide us. We took our trusty guide book. We spent 3 days in Rome and then took off on the train to Cinque Terre for a few days. We went back to Italy last summer and spent 2 weeks in Umbria. We visited Assisi and many Duomo's but we stayed on a farm in a small apartment. That is slow travel. I highly recommend it and respect that everyone has their own travelstyle. I went on a cruise several years ago and had heard that it had changed from the be here and go there that I remembered. But I realize in reality when you are trying to hit 4 ports in 5 days you can't be too flexible. Again thanks for the input.

Pammyjo

;;)

I will relax !!! I am glad that you can do this on your own.
I did not see Rome on my own, I had a private tour guide..

The pace off a cruise ship can be hectic...many people get exhausted after doing 4-5 ports in a row.

Good for you that you have your own schedule worked out at your own pace.:)

Percy

Coincidentaly, We also had a private tour of Rome by a delightful Jewish Ghetto survivor. We had asked him for directions and he spent the afternoon with us. It only cost us a glass of wine. It was fabulous. Love slow travel.

I am a slow traveler like you describe, Pammyjo. I believe it is possible to enjoy a cruise this way. My dad and step mom do it all the time.

For example, in the mornings, they order room service coffee. Then, when they're ready, they wander to the main dining room for a leisurely sit down breakfast (meanwhile most of the other cruisers are heading down the gangway into the port). Some port days they never get off the ship (they say these are their favorite days - pool empty, restaurants available, movie seats in the first row etc). They read books, hang by the pool, nap in the afternoons. If they do decide to explore the port, they either book an excursion, or my dad who loves making deals will go onshore and negotiate with a taxi driver for an impromptu tour.

The only true schedule you have to keep to is dining, if you don't want a buffet setting. And they happen to love getting dressed up and meeting their tablemates - but you do have to be there at the appointed hour!

So, it can be done very enjoyably. You just have to know what you want.

I agree that the cruise part of cruising can be the ultimate in slow and no stress traveling - no important decisions to make, food available all day - no need to rush to make a meal, except perhaps dinner.

However, the land portion is just the opposite.

As a slow traveller myself, I would not choose a cruise based on your professed preferences. It would not be a good fit.

Unless you opt for a luxury line who can offer extended port times, interesting ports not overrun with other ships and an environment that will not force you to share space with 2,000-4,000 others, then I would avoid cruising.

Regent, Azamara and Oceania are worth investigating and the onboard atmosphere would be a good fit but these are all pricey.

The mass market lines cater to a much larget audience and their "style" shows it.