Europe by land or sea?
Jan 6th, 2004, 03:53 PM
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Europe by land or sea?
I'm seeking some travel advice on the pros and cons of a cruise vacation verses independent land only vacation.
My husband and I will be celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary next April and are trying to decide on a very special vacation. We can't seem to make up our minds whether we should take a two week cruise that stops at multiple European ports or should we go to Italy on our own and take two weeks to explore at leisure. Our only previous European travel experience was a long weekend to London. We were both so excited to be in London that we didn't sleep for two days so that we could fit in as much sight seeing as possible. We have cruised a few times. One cruise was to the Caribbean and the other was a cruise out of NYC to Nova Scotia. Both of these cruises were long weekends. It was a nice experience but not what I would call special.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Jeri
My husband and I will be celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary next April and are trying to decide on a very special vacation. We can't seem to make up our minds whether we should take a two week cruise that stops at multiple European ports or should we go to Italy on our own and take two weeks to explore at leisure. Our only previous European travel experience was a long weekend to London. We were both so excited to be in London that we didn't sleep for two days so that we could fit in as much sight seeing as possible. We have cruised a few times. One cruise was to the Caribbean and the other was a cruise out of NYC to Nova Scotia. Both of these cruises were long weekends. It was a nice experience but not what I would call special.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Jeri
Jan 6th, 2004, 04:29 PM
#2
Okay, an opus.
First, congratulations.
We're also doing our first European cruise in April, having lived and traveled pretty extensively around the continent for 30+ years.
Here is/was our take. First, don't compare a land holiday with a cruise; it's not fair to either.
You've been on cruises (as have we) and know the drill - the focus seems to be more on the cruising than the touring, the ship is heavily oriented to the basic vices - food, booze, gambling, shopping - and all that. Cruiseline excursions are very pricey, crowded, and we get the sense that the cruise people are "processing" us much more than we typically encounter in comparable shore-based situations.
On the other hand, the amenities are first-rate, the service (usually) is excellent, and it's a very "safe" setting - a luxury hotel where everyone speaks your language and you recognize what they put on the plate. Nowadays, depending on your tastes, cruising can also be cheaper than the equivalent land touring would cost, and usually in much better accommodations.
Land-based touring is much less predictable: your accommodations might be lovely or the opposite, you have to deal with people who couldn't care less about your needs, and there's traffic, hassle, unpronounceable foodstuffs, and unending logistical demands - where to eat, sleep, park, visit, shop, drive, wash clothes, all that.
But you can also walk along a river at night, or sit all day with a coffee and a newspaper, or hike for hours... while the cruiser will have to beat it back to the dock or the tender before the SS Whatever hoists anchor and steams off to Livorno. Your range as a land tourist is much greater than a cruiser's - you can travel <i>way inland</i> - imagine that.
It's really a question of wide vs. deep. On a land tour, you can, if you want, go "deep" - meaning spend a week in one village, learning the names of the people in the shops. You'll see one or two places intensely, but only one or two.
The cruise lets you go "wide." Ten ports in 14 days. It might become a bit blurry by the end, but you can eliminate places from your "I wonder about Sorrento" list and move them to the "I really want to go back to Barcelona" list. The land-based tourist will need several trips to get the overview you'll get in a fortnight.
April is tricky. We're cruising this April because we'll be coming from a (probably) intense week or two in Israel before we sail, and the ship sounded like a real chance to decompress. The weather in the Med (I'm assuming that's your itinerary - too early for N. Europe) can be chilly or wet (or not) in April, so for us the cruise represented an opportunity to see a few places we haven't (and a few we have, where we'll ditch the crowd and blast off to old haunts for the day) while having a warm, dry, luxurious room for retreat at day's end, followed by a good meal and drinks with no rental car to hassle over. Next morning, Monte Carlo. How bad is that?
Only you can choose. But it is your anniversary, and I'm betting that a nightcap on the deck with the Mediterranean sliding by beneath is likely to be more romantic than most settings you could manage on shore, although my spouse has watched "Enchanted April" enough times that I've memorized the lines, and she's convinced we could stay at <i>San Salvatore</i> if I only knew who to phone.
As a practical matter, if you're planning an April cruise, better get on the stick and book it soon. They're filling up fast.
Good luck with your plans.
First, congratulations.
We're also doing our first European cruise in April, having lived and traveled pretty extensively around the continent for 30+ years.
Here is/was our take. First, don't compare a land holiday with a cruise; it's not fair to either.
You've been on cruises (as have we) and know the drill - the focus seems to be more on the cruising than the touring, the ship is heavily oriented to the basic vices - food, booze, gambling, shopping - and all that. Cruiseline excursions are very pricey, crowded, and we get the sense that the cruise people are "processing" us much more than we typically encounter in comparable shore-based situations.
On the other hand, the amenities are first-rate, the service (usually) is excellent, and it's a very "safe" setting - a luxury hotel where everyone speaks your language and you recognize what they put on the plate. Nowadays, depending on your tastes, cruising can also be cheaper than the equivalent land touring would cost, and usually in much better accommodations.
Land-based touring is much less predictable: your accommodations might be lovely or the opposite, you have to deal with people who couldn't care less about your needs, and there's traffic, hassle, unpronounceable foodstuffs, and unending logistical demands - where to eat, sleep, park, visit, shop, drive, wash clothes, all that.
But you can also walk along a river at night, or sit all day with a coffee and a newspaper, or hike for hours... while the cruiser will have to beat it back to the dock or the tender before the SS Whatever hoists anchor and steams off to Livorno. Your range as a land tourist is much greater than a cruiser's - you can travel <i>way inland</i> - imagine that.
It's really a question of wide vs. deep. On a land tour, you can, if you want, go "deep" - meaning spend a week in one village, learning the names of the people in the shops. You'll see one or two places intensely, but only one or two.
The cruise lets you go "wide." Ten ports in 14 days. It might become a bit blurry by the end, but you can eliminate places from your "I wonder about Sorrento" list and move them to the "I really want to go back to Barcelona" list. The land-based tourist will need several trips to get the overview you'll get in a fortnight.
April is tricky. We're cruising this April because we'll be coming from a (probably) intense week or two in Israel before we sail, and the ship sounded like a real chance to decompress. The weather in the Med (I'm assuming that's your itinerary - too early for N. Europe) can be chilly or wet (or not) in April, so for us the cruise represented an opportunity to see a few places we haven't (and a few we have, where we'll ditch the crowd and blast off to old haunts for the day) while having a warm, dry, luxurious room for retreat at day's end, followed by a good meal and drinks with no rental car to hassle over. Next morning, Monte Carlo. How bad is that?
Only you can choose. But it is your anniversary, and I'm betting that a nightcap on the deck with the Mediterranean sliding by beneath is likely to be more romantic than most settings you could manage on shore, although my spouse has watched "Enchanted April" enough times that I've memorized the lines, and she's convinced we could stay at <i>San Salvatore</i> if I only knew who to phone.
As a practical matter, if you're planning an April cruise, better get on the stick and book it soon. They're filling up fast.
Good luck with your plans.
Jan 6th, 2004, 05:27 PM
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Seems to me these are apples and oranges. Do you want to be primarily at sea with all the non-Europe-related cruise frills, with just pot-shots at various European ports, or all of Italy at your beck and call?
I know which I would choose, but can't say which would be best for you.
I know which I would choose, but can't say which would be best for you.
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