Where have you visited on a cruise that you would return for a Land-only vacation?

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 6/29/2020 at 4:59 AM, excitedofharpenden said:

I'd fly to Dubrovnik and then travel the short distance to Montenegro and stay in Budva. Kotor and the surrounding area not too far away. Beautiful!😎

 

Phil 

Cavtat is also a very nice location to stay and explore the Adriatic coast.

[George C]

Our normal non cruise vacation is Sandals in Jamaica, easy flight , similar to cruises  but totally all inclusive, lots of restaurants and swim up bars , but entertainment can not match the cruise. For Europe would love to go to Italy either Florence or Amalfi coast , also would love to return to Barcelona.

[pumpkin 11]

On 6/27/2020 at 11:37 AM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Loved Croatia and its people!  Actually, I'd do a land trip in just about any place I've cruised to with the possible exception of St. Petersburg.

 

For a summer trip in US, I'd go to Maine.  That's what I did last summer.  If I could go to Canada, I'd visit friends in Nova Scotia.

I get that it isn't a friendly place, but there is a lot to explore there.

[dani negreanu]

Galapagos.

 

7 days cruise was not nearly enough.

 

[biguntx]

St. Martin

 

We used our first 35 cruises window shopping for a place in the Caribbean to vacation.

 

We have spent a week or two in St. Martin each year since 2010.

 

We will apparently miss this year but can't wait to return.

[dani negreanu]

On 6/28/2020 at 10:15 PM, Ride-The-Waves said:

Toured China and Lhasa - once is enough.  Moscow you can keep, as well.

 

100% agree ...😁

[cirpi]

On 6/27/2020 at 8:58 AM, Prost Seattle said:

One of my favorite land vacations is Walla Walla, Washington.  There are some great wineries and a lot of amazing food.  You can rent bikes, there’s nice trails around town to ride on, and friendly people.   The bed and breakfast we stayed at (Inn at Blackberry Creek) was charming and the people were great there.  it’s in a historic neighborhood with a large park nearby that had an aviary.  If you go for a drive to the north you’ll get into the rolling hills of wheat farms, and when it’s time for harvest the contrast of the blue skies and golden hills is startling.

 

I always feel like Walla Walla might be what Napa was like in the mid-1960s.

I agree that Walla Walla has much the same feel and vibe that Napa Valley had in the 60s and 70s. Can you recommend a restaurant or two?

[babylene]

On 6/30/2020 at 10:53 AM, DrKoob said:

 

Thanks Phil I knew they had a collective name. Another tip. When you are there and are eating in a restaurant, make sure you have Guernsey butter on your bread. It comes from Guernsey cows and it is the BEST BUTTER I have ever had. I can almost still taste. We loved it so much we could have just eaten the bread and butter for lunch. 

 

One more thing. Before you go read, "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." It's the story of how these islands (so close to Britain) were occupied by Nazi forces in WWII and how the islanders organized their own type of resistance. There is a movie as well but the book is outstanding.

The movie is on Netflix. Excellent

[mac_tlc]

This is a very interesting thread. I have given it some thought and, well, didn’t come up with anywhere, except maybe Rome. 
 

There are a lot of places that we really, really enjoyed, but we are not beach people for more than a day so there is no beach place that I would go and stay... would be very bored. 
 

Some mobility challenges affect lots of other options.. we are not hiking the Alps. Really liked Amsterdam, but a couple days pre-cruise is perfect. 
 

Probably a minority opinion on this thread, but this is the reason we like to cruise so much. I guess we really like the sampler plate as opposed to the all-you-can-eat option. A few hours ashore, maybe a few hours at Maho beach, a little shopping, them back to the ship. Tomorrow? Rinse and repeat! 
 

The responses are a good read, though, and have given me ideas on places I’d like to cruise to!

 

mac_tlc

[ClaudiaB]

• We were on Infinity in 2004 on a 10 day from Ensenada to Hawaii for 7 days.  We spent an entire day on Kawaii and fell in love immediately.   Two years later we rented a house on the north shore and spent every minute enjoying that island.   We want to return to England and Scotland again, not on a cruise.   

[Mercruiser]

6 hours ago, cirpi said:

I agree that Walla Walla has much the same feel and vibe that Napa Valley had in the 60s and 70s. Can you recommend a restaurant or two?

Brasserie Four. Best bouillabaisse I've ever had. And I've tried it all over the world.

[cirpi]

31 minutes ago, Mercruiser said:

Brasserie Four. Best bouillabaisse I've ever had. And I've tried it all over the world.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Mercruiser. If things settle down with the virus by fall, we might do a road trip to Walla Walla. We have cruised half a dozen times with an elderly couple who told us they live in Walla Walla. If we can remember their names, we will look them up and perhaps we can join them for dinner at Brasserie Four.

[excitedofharpenden]

10 hours ago, babylene said:

The movie is on Netflix. Excellent

I had a search on Netflix and it doesn't seem to be available. Not here in the UK at least 😕

 

Phil 

[mrsgoggins]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I had a search on Netflix and it doesn't seem to be available. Not here in the UK at least 😕

 

Phil 

 

It is on the BBC iPlayer - or it was a few weeks ago!

[TeeRick]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:14 PM, Texed said:

Bora Bora.

Who wouldn't want to return to paradise?  😎

I would love to get there at least once!

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Galapagos.

 

7 days cruise was not nearly enough.

 

On my bucket list!  I was actively researching a trip/cruise there just before the pandemic.  Thinking of Celebrity Flora or Silversea new ship Silver Origin.

[dani negreanu]

13 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

On my bucket list!  I was actively researching a trip/cruise there just before the pandemic.  Thinking of Celebrity Flora or Silversea new ship Silver Origin.

 

Celebrity provided a top-notch experience (10 days with hotel pre- and post cruise).

 

Xpedition was then 96 pax, very intimate and friendly. The groups with the naturalists were no more than 16 pax, very relax atmosphere., time to ask questions and interact with others.

 

I was in the cheapest room, oceanview only (my first and only cruise not in a balcony), but really was in the room just for the bare necessities, since in one step you''re already on the deck.

 

The food was to die for.... and I'm a foodie.

 

I went for the nature and the proximity to animals, fulfilling a childhood dream.

 

Here's a friendly guy inquiring about my shopping bag...

...

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

39 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

On my bucket list!  I was actively researching a trip/cruise there just before the pandemic.  Thinking of Celebrity Flora or Silversea new ship Silver Origin.

I did a 7 day Galapagos trip on a small 16 passenger boat. Amazing experience. Getting very up close to Orca hunting down a sea turtle. Quito and the surrounding area of the city is an amazing place too. So many things to do, so little time!

 

Here's a rather shaky video I took of the Orcas just on the iPhone. Watch to the end!

 

Phil 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by excitedofharpenden

[clarky213]

New Zealand. Would love to drive a camper van around and explore both Islands.

[Mercruiser]

1 minute ago, clarky213 said:

New Zealand. Would love to drive a camper van around and explore both Islands.

We went on a two week car trip in NZ about 30 years ago. One of our best vacations ever. We later went back on a Soltice cruise. I actually liked the car trip better. It was a lot better immersion into NZ than a series of 6 hour port stops.

[pattyj 1204]

Excited... Very nice video--Must have been scary when he disappeared under the zodiac. Thanks for posting

[chemmo]

53 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I would love to get there at least once!

 

Bora Bora was on our bucket list but with the high cost of hotels and complexity of getting there we never thought we would...

 

As I retired we were looking at longer cruise options and could not believe the TP from Hawaii and how many bucket items we could ‘pot’ in one cruise! 

 

Coming from the UK, Hawaii is too far for just a holiday but as a pre cruise stay it was perfect! We saw the beauty, enjoyed the culture, absorbed the history and cried a little too at Pearl Harbour...

 

Our visit to Bora Bora had an amazing start...we were wide awake and on the balcony as we passed Moorea, we could see the peak of Bora Bora poking through the clouds. We were drinking coffee and eating pastries when suddenly we saw a whale! He performed long enough for us to get our wits together and get a snap of his tail...

 

We did love Bora Bora although I must confessed I preferred the Maldives for that feeling of really being away from it all and for snorkelling in peace and quiet...

 

I won’t add more details in this thread but I do think the TP itinerary is one of the most diverse you can experience...

[Mercruiser]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

I would love to get there at least once!

I've got a Windstar cruise booked in Feb and a 5 day Bora Bora stay booked at the Conrad on Hilton frequent guest points. Bora Bora is like the Holy Trail of frequent guest point bookings. I hope I'm able to use the booking.

 

French Polynesia is opening up to international travel on July 15. The Paul Gauguin cruise ship is planning to restart in July with local cruises that only operate in FP territory. At least that's the announced plan now. Nothing is for certain.

 

Windstar also operates cruises that stay in FP the whole time. This has the advantage that only one government is involved in the decision making.

[Spif Barwunkel]

22 hours ago, willma said:

We have cruised for a few years now, but only just last year visited the Caribbean for the first time for a week’s cruise out of Barbados as part of a TA back to Southampton. My husband took a while to persuade, as we aren’t really ‘beach people’, and kept hearing that it was quite risky on some islands to go off exploring. 

We loved it. Our favourite was Grenada, but we really can’t wait to go back and see some more islands and include a proper resort stay. Any recommendations?

We met such lovely people everywhere, and the sunsets were amazing.

We have lost three much anticipated cruises this year, including Summit out of Boston in September , but have recently booked an island hopping cruise in Croatia next April with Azamara, as I need something to look forward to.

 

As residents of Florida we have easy access to the Caribbean. It is in the neighborhood, if you will. Over the last 30 years we have traveled to most of the islands, either cruising or flying. We are not beach people either but we find land trips to be relaxing and rejuvenating. We have stayed at some lovely hotels on the various islands, enjoying the ambience and the location. Here are four of our favorites. If you Google them that will provide you with more information than I could give you here.

 

 - The Inn At English Harbour -  Antigua 

 - Gallows Point - St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

 - Coral Reef Club - Barbados

 - Anse Chastanet - St. Lucia

 

I think you will enjoy browsing.
 

Edited July 2, 2020 by Spif Barwunkel

[excitedofharpenden]

41 minutes ago, pattyj 1204 said:

Excited... Very nice video--Must have been scary when he disappeared under the zodiac. Thanks for posting

Strangely I wasn’t scared because I knew it’s not their instinct to attack humans in a boat.  We also had a wildlife expert with us the whole time and that helped!

 

Phil