Mediterranean itinerary - Athens to Barcelona or Barcelona to Rome

[cruizergal70]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:43 AM, DarrenM said:

The best part of being on a cruise is, errrrrr, being on the ship.

 

I want at least 2 sea days and like whats been said here, we create a 3rd.

I'm always fascinated by this comment.  Regardless of line, there is nothing appealing on any ship except that the ship actually takes me to different places. If I'm not being transported to different locales,  what's the point? Everything else can be gotten on land.

 

I prefer port intensive itineraries and we never revisit the same ports.  Heck, I wanted to do a transatlantic until I found out most ships can make the crossing in like 4 days but they drag it out to 10-14 days because people just want to waste time on the ship.

 

Life is short. I want to see the world. Not see a ship.

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

I'm always fascinated by this comment.  Regardless of line, there is nothing appealing on any ship except that the ship actually takes me to different places. If I'm not being transported to different locales,  what's the point? Everything else can be gotten on land.

 

I prefer port intensive itineraries and we never revisit the same ports.  Heck, I wanted to do a transatlantic until I found out most ships can make the crossing in like 4 days but they drag it out to 10-14 days because people just want to waste time on the ship.

 

Life is short. I want to see the world. Not see a ship.

 

Why fascinated?  Your view that there is nothing appealing on any cruise ship is probably opposite of 90% or better of your fellow cruise passengers.  I think you would understand that by now.    If it is as you say that cruise ships offer nothing, then flights and ferries would seem to be a better choice.  Why take an unappealing form of travel with limited port time if other methods are readily available.  

[cruizergal70]

2 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Why fascinated?  Your view that there is nothing appealing on any cruise ship is probably opposite of 90% or better of your fellow cruise passengers.  I think you would understand that by now.    If it is as you say that cruise ships offer nothing, then flights and ferries would seem to be a better choice.  Why take an unappealing form of travel with limited port time if other methods are readily available.  

Coverage. While I do land trips, some cruise itineraries can't be beat for the amount of countries visited.  No need to change hotels or book multiple flights. I'm also a "hit it and quit it traveler. " I like the one day port stops. 

 

The majority of humankind,  past,  present, and future, will not have the means to travel. I count myself lucky I get to see so many places if only for a day. A lot can be seen and done in that time.

Edited July 8, 2022 by cruizergal70

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

Coverage. While I do land trips, some cruise itineraries can't be beat for the amount of countries visited.  No need to change hotels or book multiple flights. I'm also a "hit it and quit it traveler. " I like the one day port stops. 

 

The majority of humankind,  past,  present, and future, will not have the means to travel. I count myself lucky I get to see so many places if only for a day. A lot can be seen and done in that time.

 

I've not thought of it that way, but kind of like the "hit and quit" concept for a lot of places and a cruise ship is ideal for that.  

 

Lucky -- Me too!  

[jsn55]

13 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

I'm always fascinated by this comment.  Regardless of line, there is nothing appealing on any ship except that the ship actually takes me to different places. If I'm not being transported to different locales,  what's the point? Everything else can be gotten on land.

 

I prefer port intensive itineraries and we never revisit the same ports.  Heck, I wanted to do a transatlantic until I found out most ships can make the crossing in like 4 days but they drag it out to 10-14 days because people just want to waste time on the ship.

 

Life is short. I want to see the world. Not see a ship.

That's a real shame.  I find life onboard a ship is endlessly fascinating, pampering, interesting, comfortable.  To me, the best part of a cruise is the mindless enjoyment.  Just chose your activity and go do it.  The ports are great, of course, but if you just want to go someplace, fly on an airplane. 

[Hlitner]

10 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

That's a real shame.  I find life onboard a ship is endlessly fascinating, pampering, interesting, comfortable.  To me, the best part of a cruise is the mindless enjoyment.  Just chose your activity and go do it.  The ports are great, of course, but if you just want to go someplace, fly on an airplane. 

You are not alone :).  We recently took a transatlantic Seabourn cruise where the first 9 days were sea days.  When we booked that itinerary DW said, "ONLY 9 sea days...awwww."  We would have been happy if they had skipped the Azores and had 12 straight sea days.  Although we like ports we cruise for the ship and cruise experience.  If the ports are our main interest we simply fly to those places and spend some quality time.   When a cruiser tells me they do not want to go back to Rome because they have been there for ONE DAY on a cruise, I just smile and roll my eyes.  We love cruises (which is why we have spent over 1300 days on cruise ships) but also love our independent land travel.  Our best trips combine the two such as when we do a TA cruise to Europe and then spend weeks traveling with a rental car.  Using a cruise ship as a ferry boat is not out thing as we think you get the worst of both the cruise life and land life.   The idea of visiting France and Italy only by ship with one day port stops is enough to make me seasick!  When we think of those countries not only do we think about the usual tourist places, but also start planning where we want to dine, spend an evening, etc.  A great example is Mt St Michal in France.  Many cruisers have visited that town on a day trip from a cruise port.  Going there in the daytime is nice.  But seeing Mt St Michael after dark is spectacular.  Walking in Florence and along the Arno river (long after all the cruisers are gone) is magical.  

 

There is a place for cruises and we think it is upon the sea.  Cruises are also a great way to get a quick snapshot of multiple places on land.  But for truly experiencing land places one must spend multiple days (and nights) in those locations.  One can go to place like Paris from a cruise port, but they will not experience dinner in Paris, the Bateau Marche after dark, etc.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

13 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

I'm always fascinated by this comment.  Regardless of line, there is nothing appealing on any ship except that the ship actually takes me to different places. If I'm not being transported to different locales,  what's the point? Everything else can be gotten on land.

 

I prefer port intensive itineraries and we never revisit the same ports.  Heck, I wanted to do a transatlantic until I found out most ships can make the crossing in like 4 days but they drag it out to 10-14 days because people just want to waste time on the ship.

 

Life is short. I want to see the world. Not see a ship.

Cruising can offer a mix of shipboard relaxation and seeing different places. But, if your whole point is to see the places, doing so by ship seems a waste of time. Yes, the ship takes you from one place to another- but if you never spend an evening in a place, you miss very much of it.  In fact, on a cruise port call (allowing for travel time from the pier to what it is you want to see) you are lucky to get six or so hours doing what you claim you really want - and spending a lot of time riding a bus, train or car to get there: a pretty inefficient way of getting to “… see the world.”

[cruizergal70]

11 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Cruising can offer a mix of shipboard relaxation and seeing different places. But, if your whole point is to see the places, doing so by ship seems a waste of time. Yes, the ship takes you from one place to another- but if you never spend an evening in a place, you miss very much of it.  In fact, on a cruise port call (allowing for travel time from the pier to what it is you want to see) you are lucky to get six or so hours doing what you claim you really want - and spending a lot of time riding a bus, train or car to get there: a pretty inefficient way of getting to “… see the world.”

So many of you must take travel for granted. I've seen more of the world than most. I don't need immersive experiences to be satisfied.  I wish to see and visit a place. I don't need to see all of it for that visit to have meaning and worth. Don't worry.  I'm good with how I travel. 

 

As for the cruise experience itself, I may be taking some things for granted. My home is lovely and peaceful.  No need to flee (and pay thousands of dollars) in order to relax. If some of you are living in sheer chaos where a stranger bringing you a glass of wine or a plate of food is so impressive or where having 30 minutes of quiet time is mindblowing ,  you have my sympathies.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

So many of you must take travel for granted. I've seen more of the world than most. I don't need immersive experiences to be satisfied.  I wish to see and visit a place. I don't need to see all of it for that visit to have meaning and worth. Don't worry.  I'm good with how I travel. 

 

As for the cruise experience itself, I may be taking some things for granted. My home is lovely and peaceful.  No need to flee (and pay thousands of dollars) in order to relax. If some of you are living in sheer chaos where a stranger bringing you a glass of wine or a plate of food is so impressive or where having 30 minutes of quiet time is mindblowing ,  you have my sympathies.

Ouch.  I am not sure I have ever understood the point of view that those of us who love to travel hate being home :).  For us, travel (cruise and land) has been a passion since our teens.  Now, more than 50 years later it remains a passion.   As to "immersion" that is not necessarily what we are looking for when on land.  We simply enjoy food, drink, and experiencing different cultures.  Seeing a place like Paris on a port day means up to 6 hours just to and from the port, and rushing through various sites so one can get back to the ship.  When DW and I go to the Musee d'Orsay (one of our favorite art museums) we need 2-3 hours just to walk around and enjoy the art.  If visiting the Louvre one could easily spend an entire day (and still only see a tiny part of that museum).  

 

DW and I first visited Florence on a port day (from Livorno) and returned to that city several times on other port days.  Although the city was impressive we never truly enjoyed the place on those rushed port days.  Then one year we decided to stop in Florence (for a few days) while on one of our driving trips through Italy.  We quickly fell in love with Florence because we experienced something not done in a port day.  We did not need to rush, and having dinner in that city gave us an opportunity to go to a fabulous local restaurant where nearly everything involved truffles.  And then later in the evening we stolled along the Arno River (quite romantic) on a long walk back to your hotel.  You might call this immersive but I simply call it enjoying travel without the imposed deadlines and transportation issues encountered on port days.

 

We are not knocking how you travel but simply pointing out that different folks have different "wants" when they travel. 

 

Hank

[carlmm]

Isn't is fascinating 😉, how different the ways can be people enjoy travelling.

Hit and quit - sounds terrible to me if not even ignorant but if this your life style - enjoy travelling they way you want.

Others obviously enjoy the world in a different way - may they enjoy, too.

Re cruises this shows that one must try to find out what the individual preferences are. We all (hopefully) give advice to our  best knowledge.

[navybankerteacher]

10 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

...

 

I've seen more of the world than most. 

...

10 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

 

...I wish to see and visit a place. I don't need to see all of it for that visit to have meaning and worth. Don't worry.  I'm good with how I travel. 

 

10 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

 

...you have my sympathies.

I am happy for you.

[jsn55]

10 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

So many of you must take travel for granted. I've seen more of the world than most. I don't need immersive experiences to be satisfied.  I wish to see and visit a place. I don't need to see all of it for that visit to have meaning and worth. Don't worry.  I'm good with how I travel. 

 

As for the cruise experience itself, I may be taking some things for granted. My home is lovely and peaceful.  No need to flee (and pay thousands of dollars) in order to relax. If some of you are living in sheer chaos where a stranger bringing you a glass of wine or a plate of food is so impressive or where having 30 minutes of quiet time is mindblowing ,  you have my sympathies.

Everyone travels for different reasons and in different ways.  There is no right and wrong way to travel.  For most of us, travelling has nothing to do with how awful our home life is.  I don't think anyone needs your sympathy, we're too busy enjoying ourselves.  

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, carlmm said:

 

Hit and quit - sounds terrible to me if not even ignorant but if this your life style - enjoy travelling they way you want.

 

 

The way I read it, it is descriptive of cruise ship stops.  You know, the short-day experience whirlwind tour as opposed to an immersive experience.  It is the way a lot of cruise ship passenger see other parts of the world.   Calling it ignorant is incorrect and inappropriate.    

[crystalspin]

Athens to Barcelona and find a way to spend at least 3-4 days at either end.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Athens to Barcelona and find a way to spend at least 3-4 days at either end.

Which suggestion makes sense - regardless of the ports involved.   How many people fly across the Atlantic many times?  Getting on a ship almost as soon as you land, and flying home as soon as you debark minimizes the experience.