Cruise vs traveling on our own
 

If you enjoy bars, music, scenery and hiking, I would do a land based holiday. I don't know the size of the cruise ship but many cruise ships (especially when they arrive in port en masse) change the very nature of the place you are visiting just because it is suddenly swamped by a lot of people at once. In places like Venice, they are causing huge damage to the fabric of the buildings as well. For me personally, I'd feel trapped on a boat.

Italy is a very easy and very friendly country for tourists to visit. Many people speak some English and goodwill on both sides will usually get you through. I find it easiest when in an unknown environment to research how to travel from A to B before I leave home and book some hotels - and everything else pretty much falls into place. For train travel, I recommend you take a look at seat61 which will guide you through trains within Italy and the rest of the world. It's a great starting point. Plus, there are many willing helpers on this forum and others - just ask and you'll find the answers you need for independent travel.

>>I’m wondering if we will have problems because we only speak English. My husband would like to visit Germany (he was there in the late 70’s with the Marines and would like to go back. We enjoy pubs, music, scenery, hiking. I would like to travel through Italy to Rome from there. Do you think that we should be concerned about communicating? It seems that people in most countries speak some English. <<

You will have absolutely no problems -- A HUGE percentage of visitors are mono-lingual and it doesn't stop anyone :)

A cruise is fine (and fun) -- but it is primarily a CRUISE with a few ports of call. If you want to sightsee and actually visit place, then you should do a land base trip/

(BTW -- many visitors have a harder time understanding Scots than they do Germans ;) )

English is the international language of travel. Anyone working in travel related industries or in places where international travelers go needs to speak English. In fact, in some places with a lot of international travelers, staff will just speak English first because, no matter where you are from in the world, it's expected that you'll speak English.
Likewise international travelers need at least basic English to get by if they don't know the local languages where they are traveling. So long way of saying, "don't worry at all".

English should not be a problem!
That said, it always helps to learn at least a few civilities -- hello, thank you, that kind of thing.
From what you say of your interests, I think traveling independently might suit you well.

Are Biergartens ok substitutes for pubs? :-)
>>> Do you think that we should be concerned about communicating?
This depends on where you are heading to and with whom you are talking. If you are visiting internationally known destinations, tourist facing people speak good English.
If your idea of hiking involves hiking on mountains, May might not a good time. Transports taking you to high altitude locations are placed offline for maintenance.
Instead of worrying about nearly non-existent language problems, focus on what you are doing and how you integrate your air portion to the ground portion. Many venues require reservations months ahead especially at popular Italian venues. Many people don't think about the reservation requirements until it is too late.

Hi Labattlovr,

I'm an American living in a small Bavarian town, and I get along fine (though I keep plugging away to learn the language). Remember that for Germany at least, English has been taught in school since WW2, and that English and American soldiers have been residing and working in the country since then. Even on remote hiking trails, I'm guessing that folks will be happy to speak English with you.

Funny story -- one time I was dressed from head to toe in stuff I bought in Germany -- top, pants, shoes, handbag. And still, when about to bump into me in a crowded drug store, a man in the middle of a conversation in German with a clerk glanced at me and said in English, "Sorry." How did he know I speak English? And he made the assessment and changed language in half a second. He wasn't a young man, either; he was about 60 years old or older. Also while hiking, I normally give the greeting of the day in German, but am very often answered in English.

Really, you will have no problem speaking English.

About coming to hike in May -- it may be fine. You can research the dates the cable cars are closed for maintenance and schedule your visit around those days. Whether it will be warm or cold is really anybody's guess. This year we had a heat wave in April, and May was cooler. But there's no way to tell in advance.

Have fun as you plan!

s

S, many Germans use "sorry" as a substitute for the much longer and more formal "Entschuldigung" in their daily communication (in fact, I do so myself). It has long invaded our language. So this probably had nothing to do with you.

A nice variety is even "Tut mir sorry" instead of "Tut mir leid", often said with a little undertone.

Languages, most Italians do not speak English, but then again most Italians do not live in the international tourist hot spots you are likely to go to. The great thing is that, for example, train ticket sellers often speak English. I'd happily travel in most of the first and second-tier sites in Italy with just English.

Germany; this is possibly unfair, but in the old West part a lot of Germans speak English (ranging from better than yours to just enough to do business), in the old East it is a bit harder but not impossible, especially in the Berlin/Leipzig/Dresden triangle.

For both countries, small hotels are less likely to have English speaking staff, but will still work with you to sort out any problems.

Since Cruise ships are major polluters, I would avoid the damn things.

We've been on several Med cruises over the years and will be taking another one next year. I would NOT do one if you plan to do any sort of in-depth travel in Europe. Yes you will have to keep "a strict timetable." I know people who won't even travel by rail in Europe for that exact same reason. Communication in the places you will likely visit should not be a problem. You are right: a cruise is NOT you.

I enjoy it when our vacation mixes things up. I have been on a few cruises (Celebrity ships) which departed from the port outside Rome -- in that case we arrive several days early and enjoy Rome, and then begin the cruise. If you had time you could cover as much of Italy as you wanted to ahead of the cruise, and then cruise for the 2nd part of the vacation (it IS relaxing to have someone else take care of all the logistics for you). The one to Athens and the Greek islands might be of interest.

OH my gosh, quokka, that's so funny!! Thanks for letting me know!

s

I agree

BTW Carnival emits more than 10 times all the SOx than all of Europe's cars. While washing out the tanks may well carry on despite million dollar fines (a drop in the ocean for their profits) https://www.transportenvironment.org...E2%80%93-study

Nobody where I live speaks English, but if I travel 5 kms in either direction everybody speaks enough to have a conversation with a traveler. Your concern is rather 18th-century. You won't have any problems unless you are planning to travel on goat paths through the hinterlands.

I have only one experience with a cruise (in the Caribbean), and I will never replicate it. It embodied everything I loathe about travel. It might have been that I was on it with my in-laws, though, but I think even way back then I was aware that I was part of a scour-the-earth plan. But generally speaking I like to own my own travel experiences and my own timetable and not leave them up to persons unknown. Even in very obscure, out-of-the-way places (which don't seem to be on your travel list), I have never had communication issues. Those would be so far down my list of travel worries as to be non-issues. I'm more likely to want to know if I need mosquito repellent than whether anyone speaks English.

I think comparing cruises and land-based tours is really an apples - oranges exercise.

Most Med cruises of 10 or more days' length will include five or six port calls. These will be for one day, and of necessity they'll focus on coastal communities or those that are easily reached from ports - Florence, for example. The ship's excursion options (which is where they make their money, along with the casino and bars) will be wide-ranging, from passive to active. You can ride a bus to some ancient ruins, visit museums, whatever, but you'll have to be back on the ship before it sails that evening. You don't have to be regimented; you can rent a car in some port and in minutes be in the back country, or hop a bus or a train from the port and spend the day on your own in - wherever.

But the ship isn't going to wait for you, and you won't be able to enjoy that candlelit dinner in some sidewalk cafe - you'll have to be back on the ship.

ON THE OTHER HAND, you only have to unpack once, you don't have to worry about wrangling rental cars, suffer hotel rooms that don't match their advertising, or search aimlessly for nonexistent laundries. Standing on your veranda with more stars than you can imagine overhead, with the ocean hissing by... well, that's pretty cool, too. Most cruises will get you a 4-star hotel room with a water view for a fraction of the cost of a comparable land stay. And you won't be in some cultural bubble, either. Many of your fellow cruisers will be from all over the world - families from India, lots of South Americans, Asians... this really is global tourism.

So I think either choice is fair. If you can manage the time, just do a combo. Cruise for 10 or 12 days, then hop a train (or a cheap flight) to - wherever. Germany? A one-way flight next month from Rome to Munich on Alitalia costs US$68, or $50 to Geneva, or $58 to Prague, all of which are far from the cruisers. Get a car and take off into the countryside - Alps, lakes, little villages... easy peasy.

In "German", "sorry" is as widespread in everyday use as "okay".
But used in the sense of "excuse me" as freely as for "I am sorry".
It's also pretty common to use "hi" as a greeting.
Just the most popular phrase to say good-bye has been borrowed from the South: Ciao.
But unlike Italians, we would only use it to say good-bye, not to greet somebody.
And while we like to make fun of the US phrase "How are you?" as being just that, a phrase and not an inquiry, slowly but steadily the German equivalent "Wie geht es? (How goes it)" is used more and more in the sense that you should not feel invited to recite a health bulletin.

To the OP: there are people here who absolutely LOATH cruises. If Jesus himself were the cruise director these folks would tell you it is the worst way to travel. Personally I think a cruise has advantages but telling would-be passengers that the stop is for a city that takes at least 1.5 hours each way from the ship and in some cases as much as three hours, be smart about your research. There actually are places the ships stop which are not worth more than a few hours; of course non of the haters wil tell you that part. Enjoy your trip whatever you decide to do and if it is a cruise, use a discounter to buy it.

I can't answer about the choice of a cruise vs. self travel (having never done a cruise).

But I've been a few places in Europe (only 5 trips, but visiting Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, various towns in Switzerland) and have never had a problem because of speaking only English. I do try to plan in advance so I know what I'm doing and where I'm going, so I'm not lost on the streets of Paris trying to ask for directions from strangers :-)