What destinations turned out better than expected?

[rkacruiser]

On 10/27/2020 at 10:19 PM, Cruzaholic41 said:

Pisa. I read so many reviews expressing disappointment, so I went in with low expectations. I loved it!  

 

Certainly am glad that I visited Pisa.  Seeing the Leaning Tower and the Cathedral while being disappointed that neither could be entered on the day I was there was OK.  But, the port-a-potties in the area!😨  But, Mother Nature required me to do "what I needed to do"!

[pris993]

St Petersburg comes to mind.  I did not have any real expectations for starters, went in l990s.  We could only do tours off the ship unless we we got a visa which initially was a turn off, as we like to explore independently.  Where there 2 days, booked a couple of ship tours which we enjoyed a lot.  What was heart warming was the locals we meet, they were so happy to see American tourist.  Some told us they would have starved if it was not for American aid.  Many young folks followed the tours buses and did business out of the trunks of their cars selling T shirt etc.  There was a band stationed outside the ship in the port and every time folks walked off the ship, the band played a well known American tune.  We went to a folks dance and music show that was outstanding, 3 hours of music I had never heard before; they had an intermission and served vodka.   A Baltic cruise has amazing ports and this was definitely one of them. 

[HxFx]

9 hours ago, pris993 said:

St Petersburg comes to mind.  I did not have any real expectations for starters, went in l990s.  We could only do tours off the ship unless we we got a visa which initially was a turn off, as we like to explore independently.

You made the right decision! I think they purposely try to make their visas a pain. My brother in-law was working at the U.S. embassy in Moscow and it was still a pain. I think they don't believe they did their job right if all your paperwork is good to go at your first visit to the consulate 🤣 The alternative is you pay several hundred dollars for someone else to do the leg work but it still takes a while. I also visited St. Petersburg while visiting my family. It was beautiful along the water and the Hermitage was great. I hope they had a ship excursion for that!

[Joebucks]

If you are a first-timer on these forums, it won't take long to read how Nassau is the worst place you can ever go. With that, I was skeptical on my first trip there. 4 trips later, we still have a great time. While the straw market can be aggressive, it's really not the ruiner of days like many make it out to be. 

 

You have a free beach you can walk too, multiple resort day pass options, huge casinos, blue lagoon, straw market, zoo, historical sites, restaurants, distilleries, parks, etc. There is a ton to do. Many beautiful beaches. Our first trip there we did a Sandals day pass, and that was a fantastic day. We've done the coconut drinks on cabbage beach a few times too. Lots of fun!

 

I am a firm believer that if Nassau was further away and a more "uncommon port" ,people would like it more. The hate is more along the lines of frequency of visits there and/or people wanting to make it known they are not "mainstream cruisers".

[azrose]

Easy for me....on a Med cruise -- I was so excited for all of the ports except  Dubrovnik, Croatia.  But when we arrived, it was WONDERFUL walking the walls and taking in all of the history.  Best surprise ever

 

[dolittle]

On 10/27/2020 at 7:47 PM, whogo said:

I expected London to be great, it was so much better than great.

Agree on London we had stayed two nights before Baltic cruise ,walked everywhere all day and all night. Happened into the theater district walked by the Royal Druery theater and one of my favorite musicals was playing ''Oliver! '' bought tickets for the next night (our last) and had one of the best night's we have had anywhere. What could be more London than a great story by Dickens turned to one of the greatest musicals ever. The Baltic cruise was great too.B.T.W. Great movie too if you ever come across it.
 

[capriccio]

Gdansk, Poland. 

 

It was about a 45 minute drive from the port of Gydnia so we took a cruise line tour (something we usually don't do).  DH and I didn't know much about the city itself but we are old enough to remember the growth of the Solidarity movement and the eventual fall of the Polish Communist government.  We were so surprised at the totally rebuilt (to the way it appeared during the period of the Hanseatic League in the 14th-15th centuries) of the historical downtown area financed, according to our guide, in part by Polish communities in the US after it was leveled in WWII.  Our guide was especially impressive.  He was a pre-teen during the beginning the Solidarity movement and his stories of life in Gdansk at that time and since were spell bounding. 

[dolittle]

As far as the Caribbean I could do with out all of it except mainland Mexico . I think it has a lot to offer the many attractions of Excrat ,Tullam some real beach towns . The site at Chichen Inzas  the pyramid is one of the most amazing things you will see anywhere . Nice people also I wish they had more stops in mainland Mexico.Sorry about the Mexican spellings.

[SelectSys]

I have been thinking for a while and finally came up with Tenerife.  It's probably considered a fairly pedestrian European travel spot, but I liked Tenerife quite a bit and would consider going back for a longer stay or at least another cruise.  I rarely do any special research prior to cruises and Tenerife  just turned out to be a pleasant surprise having a nice blend of natural beauty and tourist activities. 

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, Joebucks said:

If you are a first-timer on these forums, it won't take long to read how Nassau is the worst place you can ever go. With that, I was skeptical on my first trip there. 4 trips later, we still have a great time. While the straw market can be aggressive, it's really not the ruiner of days like many make it out to be. 

 

You have a free beach you can walk too, multiple resort day pass options, huge casinos, blue lagoon, straw market, zoo, historical sites, restaurants, distilleries, parks, etc. There is a ton to do. Many beautiful beaches. Our first trip there we did a Sandals day pass, and that was a fantastic day. We've done the coconut drinks on cabbage beach a few times too. Lots of fun!

 

I am a firm believer that if Nassau was further away and a more "uncommon port" ,people would like it more. The hate is more along the lines of frequency of visits there and/or people wanting to make it known they are not "mainstream cruisers".

You will also read that Jamaica is the worst place in the world.

 

We've been there twice and enjoyed ourselves immensely both times. The first was for several days at an all inclusive owned and run by locals (and unfortunately no longer there.) The second time was on a cruise and we took a tour, the Bob Marley bus. It was a blast. The music of course was superb. The drive to the Bob Marley birthplace allowed us to see a part of Jamaica most tourists do not see. And contrary to what everyone always says the natives we encountered on  were all friendly, not pushy.

[ldubs]

8 hours ago, capriccio said:

Gdansk, Poland. 

 

It was about a 45 minute drive from the port of Gydnia so we took a cruise line tour (something we usually don't do).  DH and I didn't know much about the city itself but we are old enough to remember the growth of the Solidarity movement and the eventual fall of the Polish Communist government.  We were so surprised at the totally rebuilt (to the way it appeared during the period of the Hanseatic League in the 14th-15th centuries) of the historical downtown area financed, according to our guide, in part by Polish communities in the US after it was leveled in WWII.  Our guide was especially impressive.  He was a pre-teen during the beginning the Solidarity movement and his stories of life in Gdansk at that time and since were spell bounding. 

 

Yeah, Gdansk was a pretty good day for us too.   We had a ship excursion but it was basically just a roundtrip bus ride to the old town.  So we spent most of the day on our own and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.   No real tour guide but we did get to stop by the Solidarity park on our return trip.  

[LocoLoco1]

Azores. Istanbul. 

[K32682]

Sofia, Bulgaria. It is underwhelming driving in from the airport but the center of the city it is a vibrant, beautiful place with fascinating architecture, great food and interesting things to do. 

 

London does not fall into my "better than expected category."  I had very high expectations of the city.  It met them on the first trip and for close to 20 subsequent visits.  It remains my favorite city in the world and I've lost two trips there this year due to the virus. 🙁

[dolittle]

19 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Azores. Istanbul. 

Agree on Istanbul a lot to see walked thru the main bazaar  came out to a collage on it's first day of school. walked the streets and had a great day. 

[ldubs]

Budapest.  We arrived by car just at dark.  Coming across one of the bridges and seeing the city all lit up was incredible.   This is a place I would love to revisit.  

[DaveSJ711]

La Paz in Bolivia.  The view from El Alto into the city canyon was absolutely spectacular and vastly exceeded my expectations.  And I loved La Paz itself!

 

Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia.  I was expecting a relatively modest geological formation.  But Uluru just dominates the surrounding Outback with a physical and spiritual presence.  Outstanding.

Edited October 31, 2020 by DaveSJ711

[panoramaofthepast]

Malta and Stockholm - unanticipated jewels! 

[iancal]

Our first trip to Thailand was booked nine days in advance.  DW was not keen to go but we went.  For three weeks.

 

We liked it so much we spent the next five winters there and used it as a base to visit neighbouring countries.

[Hlitner]

For DW and I it was Spain!  At the time we had only been to a few Spanish ports when on cruises.  But a good friend, who loved Spain and Portugal convinced me to take a long driving trip to Spain and mostly stay in Paradors (quasi government hotels/inns with a lot of character).  So DW I jumped on a plane, flew to Madrid, rented a car for a month, and off we went :).  By the end of that long driving trip (we stuck to the southern half of the country) we had changed our mind about Spain and now consider it among our favorite countries.   

 

In response to Iancal's post I agree that Thailand is a fabulous country.  We live in Puerto Vallarta during the winter (for the past 15 years) but if we ever tired of living in Mexico (unlikely) then Thailand would be next on our list of winter homes.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We have been looking at PV for several years.  Last winter we did a one way to Cancun.  Toured the area and then flew south to Huatulco.  We had heard so much about it.  We did not like it as much as we had anticipated.   Fortunately we only booked two nights.  Took another five weeks to go up the coast by bus and by air.  We very much like Puerto Escondido however Zihuntenejo was our favourite. Spent  a week in Acapulco, then finished with 10 days in PV.

 

We felt very safe everywhere we went in Mexico, contrary to what many people say.  We were out at night in Acapulco, walking and on public transportation.  No issue. Lots of police about which was reassuring.   PV is quite familiar to us-both PV and Neuvo, and Bucerias.

 

One more year in Thailand/Australia, then it will be Mexico again.  Or maybe Costa Rica and Panama!

Edited November 2, 2020 by iancal

[K32682]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

So DW I jumped on a plane, flew to Madrid, rented a car for a month, and off we went :).  By the end of that long driving trip (we stuck to the southern half of the country) we had changed our mind about Spain and now consider it among our favorite countries.   

 

Should you return to Spain try the north. We flew into Bilbao, rented a car and toured the region. Perhaps the best food I've eaten anywhere and San Sebastian is an amazing city. 

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by K32682

[dolittle]

34 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

Should you return to Spain try the north. We flew into Bilbao, rented a car and toured the region. Perhaps the best food I've eaten anywhere and San Sebastian is an amazing city. 

 

We many people do not care for Bilbao we thought it was pretty good nice waterfront some wild architecture and good walking .Would like to see San Sebastian. One thing we did notice the port (Gexto I think it was called) was by far the most friendly and glad to have you port ever.There was a nice beach right next to the ship.

[Hlitner]

46 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

Should you return to Spain try the north. We flew into Bilbao, rented a car and toured the region. Perhaps the best food I've eaten anywhere and San Sebastian is an amazing city. 

 

My other post was about our first land visit to Spain.  We have been back numerous times and are familiar with the North.  I agree that San Sebastian is an amazing place and a fabulous place for tapas, big meals,  and the beach :).

 

Hank

[K32682]

1 hour ago, dolittle said:

We many people do not care for Bilbao we thought it was pretty good nice waterfront some wild architecture and good walking .Would like to see San Sebastian. One thing we did notice the port (Gexto I think it was called) was by far the most friendly and glad to have you port ever.There was a nice beach right next to the ship.

 

Bilbao was our arrival and departure point and we didn't spend much time there.  We went east to Eibar, Zarautz, San Sebastian, down to Pamplona and then a circuit back through Vitoria-Gasteiz, a quick trip to Santander and then back to the airport in Bilbao.     

[Hyperpipe]

We have done 3 cruises of the Mediterranean and so far the port that I loved the most was Valetta, Malta. I was on deck at 5:30 am in the morning as were we sailing into the harbour. It was stunningly beautiful with its walls  lit up in the dark. I loved walking around Valetta, there was lots to see. We also took a drive to M’dina which was also well worth a visit.