Do you regret

[JMorris271]

Unfortunately,  we also got sucked into the carpet (warehouse) in Istanbull.   About an hour hacked off of my life.

Edited December 21, 2018 by JMorris271

[OzKiwiJJ]

No regrets. Cruises can sometimes take you to places that you wouldn't be able to go to without extensive and expensive land travel. Sure, you only get a "taster" of those places but it's better than never going there at all. 

 

And the advantage of a cruise is you usually get some relaxation time on sea days - which we love.

 

[Cruisercl]

16 hours ago, JMorris271 said:

Thanks for your responses but my question is not regarding one's preference to cruise over not  cruising but rather about someone that is currently on a cruise  having a fleeting moment of doubt that they may have sold themselves short by doing a cruise instead of getting up close and personal to that area or country.

Not at all.

Question for OP, how did you have a terrible time on a cruise? 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Cruisercl
Added text.

[judytata11]

I take two types of trips, one that i consider as a vacation, like a resort stay or a cruise and others that I consider as a travel the world type like land tours. Land tours are my favorite whether on my own or with a group. Usually it’s 3 to 1, 3 on land and then 1 vacation. I do regret being on a cruise occasionally, like the day we stoped in Cartegena in Columbia. I wanted to stay there on land for a couple of days.

Edited December 21, 2018 by judytata11
to add info

[Toofarfromthesea]

I enjoy the things I get to see and do not give a second thought to the things I didn't get to see.  Life is too short to regret not seeing something.

[sattva]

I think possible "regrets" depend on location.  We've done land travel and cruised in Norway.  For seeing gorgeous scenery, a cruise is much better than driving.  Same for Alaska. We've mostly traveled in Europe and lived in Britain for two years.  Seeing the UK via car or train seems to me much more interesting than merely visiting ports on a cruise.

 

We're now in our 'seventies, so the hassle of driving in Europe or lugging suitcases on and off trains no longer appeals.  Cruises give us the right balance of creature comforts and interesting sights.  The occasional regret about not having time to see all we want to see near a port is more than balanced by discovering places we would never have bothered to visit by land: Glacier Bay, Kotor, Porto, Portovenere, Split among others.

[iancal]

Our last five or six cruises have been part of a break for extended independent land travel.   With the exception of a TA which was a nice break from a land tour and an alternative to flying.  Four were purchased well inside the final payment window-last minute decisions to take advantage of great offers on great ships/cruise lines.

[new_cruiser]

On 12/20/2018 at 10:31 AM, iancal said:

I am looking to try an escorted tour.  I want to go to India for two or three weeks.  DW is giving it a pass.  Will I regret doing a guided tour?  Perhaps, but it will be an experience that I otherwise would not have had.  I think that it is better to look to the future than regret the past.

 

You might consider choosing a small group tour. When we toured China, we went with Intrepid Travel - their trips generally have a maximum of 12 to 15 people and they say that they average 10. Our trip ended up with 7 plus the trip leader. If I was going to just one or two cities in China, I'd probably have done it on my own, but in this case we wanted to do a tour that included most of the highlights and it was great to have all the logistics handled. 

 

The trip had a mix of planned activities and free time to explore the cities we visited. The trip leader gave us an orientation on arrival in each location and provided help if we needed it (e.g. arranging for a calligraphy lesson for me in one city). Perhaps we were extra lucky but our group was wonderful - all adventurous open-minded people. My husband and I went on the trip together but the rest of the group were traveling solo (mostly married with a spouse not interested in the trip).

 

We had absolutely no regrets. 

[calliopecruiser]

I don't regret it, because I don't expect it.......I cruise for the relaxation, comfort, and ocean views.  If I want to see interesting things on land, I do a land trip, not a cruise (though sometimes I will combine the two, spending several days or weeks in a place either before or after a cruise).  In my opinion, an ocean cruise is a lousy way to see interesting things, and I wouldn't be surprised that some people regret that they couldn't see a sight, or see it the way they want to.

[ilikeanswers]

I understand the regret you talk about. When you visit a place you really enjoy you do wish you could stay longer, explore more and then you get that moment of doubt that you might have picked the wrong type of holiday😱. But in some ways I am glad for that regret because that feeling motivates me to research ways to maximise my stops, look at every option going through the pros and cons so with every pang of regret I have learnt how make my trips richer and more fufiling🤗. As much as people say you can come back and explore more that isn't alsways an option for a lot of people. For me most destinations a very far away and I know realistically I won't be able to long haul fly forever. Then of coure there is money and time, so I treat every trip like it is once in a life time because really I don't if I will be able to go back to those places😢.

[bakersdozen12]

Not really. I mean, maybe for a fleeting moment when we were visiting Chichen Itza or Pompeii I thought, “Gee, it would be nice to do a land vacation and spend a whole entire day here.” But honestly, push come to shove I would rather visit as many different places as I can in my lifetime, even if for a short while. Cruising is a great way to see the world, the whole world. If I had all the money in the world I would do more land vacations, but since I’m on a budget, cruising makes seeing the world affordable for my husband and I. 

[ontheweb]

The one port where I really wished we had a lot more time to see more was Stockholm.

[JMorris271]

I am currently putting a trip to Japan together and in my research I read so many comments from people that indicated that they wished they could have seen more of the area and not been rushed at a museum even though they were on a wonderful cruise.

So many comments like in retrospect  "we should have" or I wish we had done that tour instead  of this tour"

[JMorris271]

On 12/21/2018 at 3:44 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

No regrets. Cruises can sometimes take you to places that you wouldn't be able to go to without extensive and expensive land travel. Sure, you only get a "taster" of those places but it's better than never going there at all. 

 

And the advantage of a cruise is you usually get some relaxation time on sea days - which we love.

 

That's a wonderful way to view things. Happy cruising!

[JMorris271]

On 12/21/2018 at 10:28 AM, Cruisercl said:

Not at all.

Question for OP, how did you have a terrible time on a cruise? 

I never said I had a bad time on a cruise. Also, I have never had a terrible time. I have lost at blackjack but had a nice time anyway.

You misunderstood what I said.

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by JMorris271
add comment

[JMorris271]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

The one port where I really wished we had a lot more time to see more was Stockholm.

Oh well, you can always go back as they say .

[donaldsc]

I totally agree.  I would much rather do driving trips or else spend 4 days in each of 3 cities as opposed to cruising where I take a 10 day cruise  giving me 5 full days in 5  different ports, 2 half days in 2 different ports and 3 sea days.  I hate sea days.  However, my wife likes to cruise so guess what - we cruise.  I always try to work it out so that I have 4 or 5 days either pre or post cruise or both if possible on land.  

 

I sometimes go through the cruise options for upcoming cruise and can't find one that I want to do so I give the brochures to my wife and she finds something that we want to do.

 

I do admit that there are some interesting places to visit that can only be done by ship.  For example, I just got back from a 20 day cruise to S. Georgia Island.  That would have been sort of hard to do without going by ship.

 

DON

 

 

[JMorris271]

Today I canceled plans for our 15 day cruise around Japan. We decided that this time we are going to really see the shrines and gardens instead of zipping by them.I am loosing the $900 deposit so we will need go get some great photos AND  have no regrets.

We will be doing a self guided tour rising the JR System for longer hauls and renting a vehicle locally.

We will do a cruise another time.

Edited December 26, 2018 by JMorris271

[crystalspin]

We took a TA+Mediterranean (as far as Venice). We were largely robbed of the day in Barcelona by too many ships in port, lack of seats on HOHO buses, and an early all-aboard. However we saw enough to know we wanted to come back! (Only port I felt that way about although we did have delightful visits in other ports.)

 

So we took a small-group land tour that included 3 days in BCN (incl Sagrada Familia as well as quite a bit of time on our own), and when THAT wasn't enough, we spent 5 nights there pre-reverse-direction TA earlier this month. 

 

When we sail FLL to Denmark next spring, we will spend a few days in Copenhagen at the end.

 

Fortunately we have the health and wherewithal to look as some cruises as "tasters", to find the places we want to come back to.

[SRF]

I cruise for the CRUISE.  I do not care about what ports I get to.

 

If I want to SEE a place, I go and spend time there.   We do cruises.  But last May, we spent a week in Sicily, driving around and doing what we wanted to do that day.

 

For these reasons, I have NO desire to do a Med cruise.  Every day is a port day, and never enough time for that city.  Why bother?  Most of the port stops, are at least a week or even longer to really explore and enjoy.

 

Different types of vacation, for different reasons.

 

But I do enjoy the people who have "been" somewhere, like Rome, because the visited on a cruise stop.  REALLY???? 😄

Edited December 26, 2018 by SRF

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, SRF said:

...

 

For these reasons, I have NO desire to do a Med cruise.  Every day is a port day, and never enough time for that city.  Why bother?  Most of the port stops, are at least a week or even longer to really explore and enjoy.

 

...

 

But I do enjoy the people who have "been" somewhere, like Rome, because the visited on a cruise stop.  REALLY???? 😄

Agreed.  Major port call destinations like Rome (via Civita Vecchia), Florence (via Livorno), Athens (via Piraeus) simply cannot even be glimpsed in the few hours available; while the smaller ones, like Mykonos and Santorini, simply cannot be seen over the heads of the thousands of other cruisers in port with you.

[Markanddonna]

Every cruise has taught me to be a better traveler and to better know my own interests. I cruise Europe to experience history and culture, the warmer Caribbean to enjoy a respite from the winter, and to appreciate nature in places like New Zealand, Alaska, and Australia. To be honest, I care minimally about each Caribbean island's history, so I don't visit their museums or take many of their tours. I would never criticize another traveler's interests, but most excursions cost money and I prioritize my spending.

 

[K32682]

5 hours ago, SRF said:

But I do enjoy the people who have "been" somewhere, like Rome, because the visited on a cruise stop.  REALLY???? 😄

In all fairness to them they probably wouldn't have "been" there otherwise.  Some people are intimidated by the prospect of managing in another language and culture and need the reassurance of the large floating security blanket.  At least they were there as opposed to never having seen the place even for brief cruise stop.    

[CanobieFan]

I've always put the cruise in a sampler sort of view. Giving you a taste of the area and then if you really enjoy it or whatever you could make a dedicated trip and can actually spend time there, wherever it was.

 

all but one of my cruises have been in the Caribbean, returning to some of the same destinations giving me the chance to do something different the second time or third time than I did the first time. That's given me the chance to see more of each area. When it came to my first 'destination' Cruise, I added a few days before and a few days after and took internal flights as well in order to see/do more (2 days before the sailing, the 5 day cruise, and 6 days after)

[marco]

Now, the only places we cruise to (other than river cruises) are the Caribbean, Alaska and Bermuda. The latter, only because on a  day cruise there,  the ship is actually docked in port for 3 or 4 days.