What tour have you done that blew you away?

[ldubs]

On 7/30/2021 at 11:36 AM, ontheweb said:

We were in Copenhagen for a day after our cruise and were disappointed that many museums were closed because it was a Monday.

 

The port that disappointed me the most was Helsinki. We just did not find that much there. Stockholm was the opposite as there was way, way too much that interested us given the time we had there.

 

And Talinn did stand out.

 

Talinn and Stockholm were terrific. I hope I can visit those places again some day.  I still enjoy Copenhagen every time we visit.  I kind of felt the same as you about Helsinki, though we did enjoy wandering around and checking our the street market and food vendors.  We bought one of those babushka dolls there.   Should have skipped breakfast that day.   

 

I think of my "stand-out" tours.  Then I someone makes a comment that reminds me of another place and I think, yeah, that one too.  

Edited August 1, 2021 by ldubs

[rkacruiser]

17 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Maybe off base, but seems like a disconnect in your two posts?  Your visit was a blur, but you had adequate time?

 

Adequate time for the main attraction, for me, of my tour:  the Vasa Museum.  Yes.  The rest of the tour?  I cannot tell you what, if anything, that impressed me.  There is no memory other than it is a lovely city and worthy of more time than I could spend.  The time lost by having to be transported from where the Eurodam was anchored and our return was significant.  Yet, she is to large to be docked in downtown Stockholm.

 

 

17 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Sometimes, as in this post and your posts on Venice, I sense a certain wistfulness at not have more time in a place.

 

You are correct.  

[FredT]

Volunteer Point, Port Stanley.

[rkacruiser]

21 hours ago, FredT said:

Volunteer Point, Port Stanley.

 

Why?

[wrmiles]

For me, they were both independent tours on a Hawaii cruise:

 

Helicopter flight over a live volcano on the big island, could look down into the fissures and see the glowing lava. Some good "sacrificing a virgin" jokes too.

 

Scuba diving in Honolulu. We got two dives and special attention from the divemaster because we were beginners.

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Why?

 

Penguins.

 

DON

Edited August 2, 2021 by donaldsc

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

 

Penguins.

 

DON

 

We loved the penguins but we also had a wonderful tour guide with stories of the life on and off the island (she had a 16 year old heading to the UK for college in two years), the Falklands War, and her parents job as wardens of Volunteer Point.  It was a fascinating tour in all aspects.

[rkacruiser]

On 8/2/2021 at 6:40 PM, donaldsc said:

 

Penguins.

 

DON

 

Good reason!  Creatures that are fascinating to observe.  One that I witnessed was moving from one group to another.  I wondered:  why is it doing that?  

[FredT]

On 8/2/2021 at 5:22 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Why?

Well, first, Port Stanley is so damn small that "usually" there is only one ship in port.  (Although I have heard a couple of recent horror stories of 3-4 ships in)   But in our 2 stops there it was just us.   

 

THEN, you have volunteer point.   An hours drive in SUV's (no busses, you are going "overland" to an absolute BEAUTIFUL beach that could be in the Caribbean and filled with penguins.  The glory of this place is that there are no fences, no boardwalks, no tourist stands.   You are told not to walk up to the penguins, but they can walk up to you (And the juveniles DO) You can also walk down to the waters edge and watch the penguins time their entry into the ocean to avoid the leopard seals (Waiting for the penguins...) 

 

As there is a "guide"  (Your driver)  for every 4 guests you also get a GREAT running commentary on the island, it's history, and ecology. 

 

In summery, on both visits it is the most memorable port we have ever visited.

 

 

[alibaba1]

Blue Lagoon - Costa Maya

Day stay @ resort with water toys, lunch, and drinks included.

[hallasm]

… To sail through Raftsundet in Norway at 1 am with the sun just to the north.

 

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, hallasm said:

… To sail through Raftsundet in Norway at 1 am with the sun just to the north.

 

 

Absolutely memorable!  My Royal Viking Sky cruise found us off the North Cape at Midnight with the Midnight Sun shining!  It's been on my bucket list for a repeat for many years.  

[marco]

Most memorable...actually two.  1) Ephesus  in Turkey  2) Abu Simbel  temple in Egypt

[slidergirl]

6 hours ago, marco said:

Most memorable...actually two.  1) Ephesus  in Turkey  2) Abu Simbel  temple in Egypt

Totally agree with Abu Simbel temple!!!  

I remember as a little kid reading and hearing about the building of the Aswan dam and how they were moving the temple up-hill in blocks.  I even donated a dime or two to a fund that helped with it.   To be able to visit the temple and just look in awe at that engineering marvel was a definite bucket list item for me.   I could see just how all those blocks were made (AS was carved into the stone), marked and re-built.  It was such a good job of duplicating it's positioning from the original location, that the annual solar alignment was only off by about one day from what it did for thousands of years.

[clo]

12 hours ago, marco said:

1) Ephesus  in Turkey

Incredible!

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, clo said:

Incredible!

Have to agree with you on this one. We did a ship's tour. There was a private tour of Ephesus being set up in our roll call, but one requirement of it was to not visit the Virgin Mary's House while DW definitely wanted to go there even though conceding that the Virgin Mary might not have actually lived there.

[clo]

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Have to agree with you on this one. We did a ship's tour. There was a private tour of Ephesus being set up in our roll call, but one requirement of it was to not visit the Virgin Mary's House while DW definitely wanted to go there even though conceding that the Virgin Mary might not have actually lived there.

LOL. We also visited BVM's house (that's what we parochial school kids called her). Remember the water that was running through a 'trough' (or ???). A number of us filled our water bottles. Later while wondering ***** I was now going to do with it, I had one of my more brilliant 🙂 ideas. I drank it!!!!! What better use.

[iancal]

 Besides our post cruise  Iguazu Falls and Cappadocia tours, our next favourite would probably be the  hike to the hidden city of Termessos (circa 335BC)  in the hills outside of Antalya, Turkey.  

 

Especially  because of the scarcity of tourists that find the entrance to the park let alone do the hike.   I would say it was one of our most enjoyable finds.  So unexpected, so well preserved, and we could see it up close and in person so to speak with no crowds.  

 

We almost did not go, almost drove by the small park entrance.  The elderly man at the booth was so very helpful in his halting English.  We were not sure about it.  He pulled out the little brochure, showed us the pictures along this  hike and we were sold.  Highlight of our time in Antalya region.

Edited August 26, 2021 by iancal

[Diver2014]

Mont Ste Michel off the coast of France via Le Havre port stop. Top of bucket list since jr high school French class.  Climbed to the top with my new titanium hip. Worth every step.

[no1racefan1]

On 7/3/2020 at 12:26 PM, Dixe Lee said:

Baby sea turtle rescues in Cozumel. Digging the babies out of the sand knowing we were directly instrumental in their rescue and hopefully survival was by far the most rewarding experience we have had.

This is on my bucket list!

[Lois R]

I think I replied on this much earlier but didn't re-read everything......but I remember in 2012 it was the first time I had ever been to Greece/Italy/Turkey.  That cruise still stands out......when we went to Ephesus......I was really taken a back.......it seemed like the people who lived there were way ahead of their time..........it is really an amazing place to see.

 

More recently in 2018 I went to Florence for the first time------DAVID has to be the most fantastic statue I have ever seen in my life. The true life like parts of him....now that blew me away.  And I want to go back......think I will look at 2022 for it!

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I think I replied on this much earlier but didn't re-read everything......but I remember in 2012 it was the first time I had ever been to Greece/Italy/Turkey.  That cruise still stands out......when we went to Ephesus......I was really taken a back.......it seemed like the people who lived there were way ahead of their time..........it is really an amazing place to see.

 

More recently in 2018 I went to Florence for the first time------DAVID has to be the most fantastic statue I have ever seen in my life. The true life like parts of him....now that blew me away.  And I want to go back......think I will look at 2022 for it!

Our first cruise was for our 25th anniversary, and I thought I blew 25 years of marriage when I got us on the train going the wrong way, and we missed Florence. (In my defense, the signs were in Italian.) DW figured it out and we at least got back in time to see Pisa and not miss the ship. Making my art teacher wife miss Florence was horrible on my part. (But she was partially at fault since after 25 years with me she knew how bad my sense of direction is.)

 

For our 35th anniversary, I suggested we pretty much duplicate our first cruise. We probably could have done Florence then without a ship's tour having more experience, but bought a ship's Florence on Your Own Tour just to make sure we got there this time. DW bought timed tickets in advance to the two major museums. And Florence was of course wonderful.

[Lois R]

Happy Anniversary twice😃 so I am guessing you went to Uffizi and The Accademia......😃

[Dixe Lee]

6 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

This is on my bucket list!

Hope you get a chance to do this, no1racefan1!  We would love to hear all about it!

[iancal]

We have been fortunate enough to visit Florence several times...most often for three or four days.

 

Apart from the museums what we like most is sitting at an outdoor cafe sitting sipping wine, watching the sun set, and then going for dinner.  Or going up to Fiesole to have dinner just as the sun sets. 

 

 Like many European cities Florence takes on an different feeling at sunset, almost magical.   

 

 Or....taking a local bus through the countyside and spending the day in Siena.

 

Try visiting as part of pre or post cruise touring.

Edited September 1, 2021 by iancal