Access to inaccessible locations

[Dyncymraeg]

On youtube I have seen the view expressed an advantage of cruising is that you can visit locations which are not accessible by other means of transport. Do you feel this is an important advantage of cruising and have you been somewhere you could only access by cruise ship.

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, Dyncymraeg said:

On youtube I have seen the view expressed an advantage of cruising is that you can visit locations which are not accessible by other means of transport. Do you feel this is an important advantage of cruising and have you been somewhere you could only access by cruise ship.

Well, it's not only accessible by cruise ship, but we've been to Juneau.  You can't drive there - it's accessible by ship or air only.

 

Kiribati.  Now that one is pretty much only accessible by ship/boat.

 

 

 

 

[thinfool]

   Most inaccessible locations are available by air...but it's nice we have a choice. I cannot think of any Caribbean island that you can drive to. 

   As mentioned, SE Alaska is way more accessible by ship than car for the average tourist. 

   Even in Europe, while land based transport is available, being on a ship offers a nice way to see the sites and still have a place to sleep and eat...controlling costs for travelers who are unfamiliar with the area.

[klfrodo]

43 minutes ago, Dyncymraeg said:

On youtube I have seen the view expressed an advantage of cruising is that you can visit locations which are not accessible by other means of transport. Do you feel this is an important advantage of cruising and have you been somewhere you could only access by cruise ship.

Have you tried to drive to Juneau, Alaska?, Tough to drive from LA to Honolulu

[bonsai3s]

Cruising has it's limitations.  There are many areas that cruise ships can't go.

To answer your question, sailing through these areas are best onboard a ship:

* Panama Canal

* Suez Canal

* Viewing fjords around the world.

* We find the open seas...Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean...relaxing.

* Oh, and don't forget river cruises.

[jocap]

Islands... I've flown into Santorini on a package holiday, and know that some of the people were going for the beaches, and never saw the caldera, on the opposite side from the airport. Going there by ship is a completely different experience.

Also- driving on a motorway to Edinburgh or Glasgow is very different to sailing up the firths, passing islands you cannot see from the mainland- unless you take a ferry.

[KnowTheScore]

1 hour ago, Dyncymraeg said:

On youtube I have seen the view expressed an advantage of cruising is that you can visit locations which are not accessible by other means of transport. Do you feel this is an important advantage of cruising and have you been somewhere you could only access by cruise ship.

 

 

Actually there's more to it than inaccessible locations.

 

You can for example visit the beautiful city of Venice by car, train, plane or ship.   Multiple methods.

 

Yet sailing in on a cruise ship has to beat the rest by a country mile and is what many would deem a "life bucket list experience"

 

Sailing into Venice early morning as the mist rises and reveals the beautiful cathedral and the terracotta rooftops and bell towers is nothing short of magical and breath-taking for many.   You will never get to appreciate those things flying into the airport.

 

 

There are numerous other places in the world where the same is true.

 

Sailing into the magical and imposing fjords of Norway

 

Sailing into the port of Malta seeing it's amazing old buildings

 

I'm sure people can add many more to such a list.

 

Then of course there is the sea itself.  The only way to experience that destination !!   What's so fantastic about it?

 

Huge pods of dolphins playfully leaping out of the water along side the ship

 

Whales further out spouting water

 

Sea turtles bobbing up and down

 

Thousands of jelly fish in their mating season going by

 

Huge menacing storm clouds and mists in the distance

 

Bolts of lightening striking the water surface just yards from where you are standing with a deafening crack

 

The clearest and most amazing view of the night sky and Milky Way you are ever likely to see

 

Passing down the great canals

 

A million unbelievable sunsets

 

A million amazing reflections of a full moon across the water

 

and so on.

 

 

Sure, it takes longer to get somewhere by cruise ship, but my God it's the most fantastic way to travel bar none !

 

 

[calliopecruiser]

11 hours ago, Dyncymraeg said:

On youtube I have seen the view expressed an advantage of cruising is that you can visit locations which are not accessible by other means of transport. Do you feel this is an important advantage of cruising and have you been somewhere you could only access by cruise ship.

 

Or, you could say that there are some places that are inaccessible by cruise ship because the cruise ships are too big, even if a boat or ferry is the best or maybe only way to visit. 

 

I can't think of a single place that is only accessible by cruise ship.  Most are also accessible by plane, and those that aren't (such as smaller islands) are accessible by smaller boats and ferries. 

[All That Jazz]

I doubt if a cruise ship is ever the only access: but here a few more difficult to otherwise access:

 

Komodo Island, Indonesia (there be dragons here)

Polar Ice Barrier

Archangel, Murmansk, & Solovetsky Islands, Russia - all very remote

Petropavlovsk in the Russian Far East

St. Helena, see Napoleon's last home in exile, Longwood

Svalbard in the high Arctic (guide carries a rifle to protect against polar bears)

Devil's Island, French Guiana (there's no escape)

Falklands, West Point Island - not Stanley, but a remote tip of an island with a steep cliff teeming with rock hopper penguins and albatross

 

Been to each of these places on a cruise ship. (note: West Point Island was on an expedition ship.) Amazing sights to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[K32682]

The primary attraction of cruising for us is being able to access places that are otherwise hard to get to or do not have the infrastructure in place to house and feed large numbers of people.  Alaska, Marquesans Island, Greenland are three that I've been to that fit that category. 

 

There are also places where a short visit is sufficient.  The two days we spent in Reykjavik on a repositioning cruise was more than enough.  I'd like to visit Easter Island on a cruise but wouldn't make a special trip there.

 

For us there has to be a specific reason to take a cruise.  Cruising in and of itself is often too limiting and can be quite frankly tiresome.  

  

 

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by K32682

[crystalspin]

For years my husband beseeched me to go on cruises. My first two cruises were Cape Town to Buenos Aires and Hawaii R/T from San Diego -- with my seasick and tea-totalling MIL! DH was also seasick and I couldn't even fathom why those two claimed to like cruising when throwing up was among my least favorite things!

 

After ten years from Hawaii, I relented, saying "I will cruise if it is the only or only convenient way to see a place -- no more days and days of looking at water!" We cruised Alaska, Panama Canal, and Cape Horn... Having much better times and only one episode of seasick in the Gulf of Alaska. Then my husband challenged me to take a TransAtlantic with a Mediterranean after (B2B) and I said, OK. 

 

Now it's three TAs and two Alaska cruises later, with a Hawaii+TransPacific, two Alaskas, a TA (including Greenland), another Hawaii, and a 21-day Caribbean all booked! My husband now pleads with me to take land-based escorted tours!

[calliopecruiser]

7 hours ago, K32682 said:

There are also places where a short visit is sufficient.  The two days we spent in Reykjavik on a repositioning cruise was more than enough.  I'd like to visit Easter Island on a cruise but wouldn't make a special trip there.

 

For us there has to be a specific reason to take a cruise.  Cruising in and of itself is often too limiting and can be quite frankly tiresome.  

 

I agree about the short visits -- I would very much like to see Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but I don't really envision wanting to spend a lot of time there, so a cruise stop sounds like the perfect option.  I've got that planned for 2022.

 

However, for me, cruising in and of itself is exactly why I like to cruise - long stretches of sea days is perfect for me and I'm calmer and more relaxed there than anywhere else.  That's why transpacific cruises are my favourites.