Ordinary big-boat cruise: Bo-ring.
Star Trek cruise: Fun!
Main Street cruise on Friday Night: Nope. I’m not 17.
Cruise control: I miss having this. (Stickshift.)
@chienfou@kittykat9180 They aren’t nonexistent, but they are extremely uncommon in cars. But then, stickshifts are extremely uncommon in cars in the US at this point. I’ve had people look inside my xB and ask what that third pedal does. I wish I was kidding about this.
I recall when taking your driving test with an automatic transmission meant that you got stuck with a restricted license. (I passed with a stick on the first try.)
@chienfou@werehatrack
I once had a tire shop tell me I had to wait until the tech that could drive a manual arrived before they could do my alignment.
They wouldn’t let me drive it in because of insurance and liability.
@werehatrack ECP really does the themed cruises quite well. I have done the 80s Cruise right after you Trekkies disembark 7 times now and did their 90s Cruise for the first time this year.
As a Nurse, It is highly unlikely that I would EVER voluntarily go on a Cruise. Being trapped in a floating Petri Dish is not my idea of fun, TYVM… Hard Pass
@Mandamm
As an ER nurse (30± yrs) the concept doesn’t ever bothered me. I figure my exposure is not any worse than going to a restaurant and a busy mall. Basic hand hygiene will cover most of it, and in my experience staff does a great job of keeping areas wiped down.
But YMMV.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My aunt treated me to a train ride across the western half of the country, and a cruise to Alaska, inward passage. It was wonderful!!
I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
I went on a 3 day cruise from LA to Ensenada. It was okay.
It’s not something I desire to do again.
I prefer to spend time in a country and experience the culture.
… something we’re doing in about a month.
Going out of Galveston on MSC. We havent cruised with this line and are toying with the idea of doing a transatlantic - either from the US to Europe or vice versa (spring versus fall) in the future.
@chienfou When my family returned to the US from New Zealand, we took a ship. (My mother did not enjoy the island-hopping flight, her first time in the air, on their earlier US-to-NZ journey.) So we spent almost 3 weeks on the SS Oriana, with many stops along the way.
Unfortunately I was only five at the time, so a lot of the experience was lost on me. (I do have pretty clear memories of splashing in the ship’s pool. )
@chienfou We’ve done both transatlantic and transpacific cruises and liked the transpacific one the best. Flew to Vancouver and left from there up to Sitka, Alaska and then over to Yokohama-stayed in Japan for 2 days and then flew back. It was an all inclusive trip with everything arranged by travel co.
I have ZERO desire to get on a massive traveling city thing with people under the age of 25 or so. Well, unless we’re allowed to hunt the young noisy things for sport. But that is very unlikely to happen in my lifetime.
But I very much want to go on European river cruises and similar, say what Viking offers, tho they are quite spendy.
I am also interested in smaller cruises in the Caribbean for example, with perhaps 200-300 passengers max.
A friend recently started a three week tour of England and Scotland by getting to England on the QEII. Took at week and was rather spendy, especially given that they did several upgrades. But they don’t have kids and might as well enjoy all the money they saved over the years.
@baqui63
We did a river cruise with Ama Waterways from Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland. Yes it was pricey but it was also a lot of fun. Went with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. Had a blast.
Cruise included excursions at each of our stops along the way. There were usually several different ones with different activity constraint levels available. It was more expensive than some of the vacations we’ve had but was worth the $$.
@baqui63 Don’t do Carnival cruises. Go with Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. I avoid Royal Caribbean. Their ships are entirely too large for me.
Those really small ships like you are interested in are very expensive but they also tend to be 100% inclusive though.
@baqui63@ironcheftoni
We’ve cruised with all those except Princess. Did a one week sail with granddaughter and her friend (for her spring break) last spring on Carnival. Was a good fit for her (early teens). No real complaints about the boat itself.
18 months before that we did a fall cruise with our daughter and her family (including the same granddaughter). We were on a giant Royal Caribbean ship, but amazingly it never really felt crowded. The number of amenities and small tucked away spots made it easy to sequester yourself from the crowd if you wanted to. We happened to be out during the shit show that was Milton. Lost a couple of ports in the process but got a rebate on the cruise fare so it was not a total washout. Still had a good time.
But yes, small ships are a lot more enjoyable in my opinion. My favorite cruises were the ones we did with Island Windjammers… barefoot sailing on 100 ft-ish sailboats with a 10 to 25 passenger list. I have wanted to try the Star Clippers but haven’t made that happen yet.
As always, YMMV
I’ve done two, 3 day cruises from Florida to Nassau and back. Both times I got sea sick really bad which is extremely weird bc I grew up on a lake, being on a boat is no probably, and used to spend weekends, weeks as a kid in a house boat on Lake Erie. Everybody tells me it’s bc it was to small of a boat in the open sea but I have nothing to compare it to and have no intentions on it. I’d rather take a trip to a central location and day trip by boat somewhere if I really want.
Big ships running between Miami and Nassau can be traveling across the swells instead of into or with them, which tends to induce roll in the hull. BTDT, didn’t have a problem myself, but others did. This is why I bring Dramamine along.
Done approximately 20 cruises in our lifetime-first one 2nd year we were married-had a cabin same level as crew, bunk beds with when beds were down-bathroom was bigger. Casino right above our cabin and noise from there was very close to my head. Less than $ 400 for both of us on the Carla C-a Costa cruise line ship.
Have upgraded our cabins as we grew older-first to balcony and finally tried suites for two cruises several years ago. Found our sweet spot which was mini suites on Princess cruises for our last two cruises last two years and our upcoming and maybe our last cruise in 2028-specifically the Sanctuary Collection perk. Mini suite has 2 TVs and 25% larger than a balcony. Perks at this level of service include separate dining room and deck/pool for sun bathing. Unlimited specialty and casual dining, prepaid gratuities, unlimited drinks, unlimited wifi (up to four devices each) and reserved seating for production shows in the theatre.
Just seeing this thread now, work has been brutal lately draining my time and energy so have not been here much. Cruises are great and largely what you make of them and who you bring along. The latest one I booked is for next summer cruising from London to the Norwegian Fjords, super stoked, and the entertainment will be largely from the 80s: Go West and Holly Johnson from Frankie Goes to Hollywood are the top two I recall off the top if my head. Brining my teenage kids who are also stoked
@cbilyak
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Going on a cruise is a great way to spend a multi-generational vacation together. No worrying about where is stay and where/what to eat. Particularly handy if you have different dietary habits. They can easily accommodate vegetarian / vegan options on most major cruise lines. You can either do things together or go your separate ways at any port of call. Lots of options of things to do on the ship (which again, you can do independently or as a group).
Takes a lot of load off whoever is the planner.
@cbilyak Took our grown children and one granddaughter on a couple of family cruises-last two were on RC mega ships-Oasis and Harmony of the Seas. They had fun-us not so much as everything was geared for younger families.
I used to cruise around the neighborhood when I first got my DL. (And could afford the gas. Now, not so much…)
Ordinary big-boat cruise: Bo-ring.
Star Trek cruise: Fun!
Main Street cruise on Friday Night: Nope. I’m not 17.
Cruise control: I miss having this. (Stickshift.)
@werehatrack
My car has a manual transmission and it has cruise control.
@kittykat9180 @werehatrack .
Likewise I’ve had stick shifts with cruise control. They are NOT mutually exclusive.
@chienfou @kittykat9180 They aren’t nonexistent, but they are extremely uncommon in cars. But then, stickshifts are extremely uncommon in cars in the US at this point. I’ve had people look inside my xB and ask what that third pedal does. I wish I was kidding about this.
I recall when taking your driving test with an automatic transmission meant that you got stuck with a restricted license. (I passed with a stick on the first try.)
@chienfou @werehatrack
I once had a tire shop tell me I had to wait until the tech that could drive a manual arrived before they could do my alignment.
They wouldn’t let me drive it in because of insurance and liability.
@werehatrack ECP really does the themed cruises quite well. I have done the 80s Cruise right after you Trekkies disembark 7 times now and did their 90s Cruise for the first time this year.
@cbilyak
ECP?
@chienfou Entertainment Cruise Productions, the company that runs the Star Trek Cruise
@cbilyak
TIL…
Have been on at least 2 cruises & would love to go on more
As a Nurse, It is highly unlikely that I would EVER voluntarily go on a Cruise. Being trapped in a floating Petri Dish is not my idea of fun, TYVM… Hard Pass
@Mandamm
As an ER nurse (30± yrs) the concept doesn’t ever bothered me. I figure my exposure is not any worse than going to a restaurant and a busy mall. Basic hand hygiene will cover most of it, and in my experience staff does a great job of keeping areas wiped down.
But YMMV.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My aunt treated me to a train ride across the western half of the country, and a cruise to Alaska, inward passage. It was wonderful!!
I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
I went on a 3 day cruise from LA to Ensenada. It was okay.
It’s not something I desire to do again.
I prefer to spend time in a country and experience the culture.
… something we’re doing in about a month.
Going out of Galveston on MSC. We havent cruised with this line and are toying with the idea of doing a transatlantic - either from the US to Europe or vice versa (spring versus fall) in the future.
@chienfou When my family returned to the US from New Zealand, we took a ship. (My mother did not enjoy the island-hopping flight, her first time in the air, on their earlier US-to-NZ journey.) So we spent almost 3 weeks on the SS Oriana, with many stops along the way.
)
Unfortunately I was only five at the time, so a lot of the experience was lost on me. (I do have pretty clear memories of splashing in the ship’s pool.
@chienfou We’ve done both transatlantic and transpacific cruises and liked the transpacific one the best. Flew to Vancouver and left from there up to Sitka, Alaska and then over to Yokohama-stayed in Japan for 2 days and then flew back. It was an all inclusive trip with everything arranged by travel co.
I have ZERO desire to get on a massive traveling city thing with people under the age of 25 or so. Well, unless we’re allowed to hunt the young noisy things for sport. But that is very unlikely to happen in my lifetime.
But I very much want to go on European river cruises and similar, say what Viking offers, tho they are quite spendy.
I am also interested in smaller cruises in the Caribbean for example, with perhaps 200-300 passengers max.
A friend recently started a three week tour of England and Scotland by getting to England on the QEII. Took at week and was rather spendy, especially given that they did several upgrades. But they don’t have kids and might as well enjoy all the money they saved over the years.
@baqui63
We did a river cruise with Ama Waterways from Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland. Yes it was pricey but it was also a lot of fun. Went with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. Had a blast.
Cruise included excursions at each of our stops along the way. There were usually several different ones with different activity constraint levels available. It was more expensive than some of the vacations we’ve had but was worth the $$.
@baqui63 Don’t do Carnival cruises. Go with Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess or Holland America. I avoid Royal Caribbean. Their ships are entirely too large for me.
Those really small ships like you are interested in are very expensive but they also tend to be 100% inclusive though.
@baqui63 @ironcheftoni
We’ve cruised with all those except Princess. Did a one week sail with granddaughter and her friend (for her spring break) last spring on Carnival. Was a good fit for her (early teens). No real complaints about the boat itself.
18 months before that we did a fall cruise with our daughter and her family (including the same granddaughter). We were on a giant Royal Caribbean ship, but amazingly it never really felt crowded. The number of amenities and small tucked away spots made it easy to sequester yourself from the crowd if you wanted to. We happened to be out during the shit show that was Milton. Lost a couple of ports in the process but got a rebate on the cruise fare so it was not a total washout. Still had a good time.
But yes, small ships are a lot more enjoyable in my opinion. My favorite cruises were the ones we did with Island Windjammers… barefoot sailing on 100 ft-ish sailboats with a 10 to 25 passenger list. I have wanted to try the Star Clippers but haven’t made that happen yet.
As always, YMMV
I’ve done two, 3 day cruises from Florida to Nassau and back. Both times I got sea sick really bad which is extremely weird bc I grew up on a lake, being on a boat is no probably, and used to spend weekends, weeks as a kid in a house boat on Lake Erie. Everybody tells me it’s bc it was to small of a boat in the open sea but I have nothing to compare it to and have no intentions on it. I’d rather take a trip to a central location and day trip by boat somewhere if I really want.
Big ships running between Miami and Nassau can be traveling across the swells instead of into or with them, which tends to induce roll in the hull. BTDT, didn’t have a problem myself, but others did. This is why I bring Dramamine along.
Done approximately 20 cruises in our lifetime-first one 2nd year we were married-had a cabin same level as crew, bunk beds with when beds were down-bathroom was bigger. Casino right above our cabin and noise from there was very close to my head. Less than $ 400 for both of us on the Carla C-a Costa cruise line ship.
Have upgraded our cabins as we grew older-first to balcony and finally tried suites for two cruises several years ago. Found our sweet spot which was mini suites on Princess cruises for our last two cruises last two years and our upcoming and maybe our last cruise in 2028-specifically the Sanctuary Collection perk. Mini suite has 2 TVs and 25% larger than a balcony. Perks at this level of service include separate dining room and deck/pool for sun bathing. Unlimited specialty and casual dining, prepaid gratuities, unlimited drinks, unlimited wifi (up to four devices each) and reserved seating for production shows in the theatre.
Just seeing this thread now, work has been brutal lately draining my time and energy so have not been here much. Cruises are great and largely what you make of them and who you bring along. The latest one I booked is for next summer cruising from London to the Norwegian Fjords, super stoked, and the entertainment will be largely from the 80s: Go West and Holly Johnson from Frankie Goes to Hollywood are the top two I recall off the top if my head. Brining my teenage kids who are also stoked
@cbilyak
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Going on a cruise is a great way to spend a multi-generational vacation together. No worrying about where is stay and where/what to eat. Particularly handy if you have different dietary habits. They can easily accommodate vegetarian / vegan options on most major cruise lines. You can either do things together or go your separate ways at any port of call. Lots of options of things to do on the ship (which again, you can do independently or as a group).
Takes a lot of load off whoever is the planner.
@cbilyak Took our grown children and one granddaughter on a couple of family cruises-last two were on RC mega ships-Oasis and Harmony of the Seas. They had fun-us not so much as everything was geared for younger families.