What % of people who start cruising from the U.S start cruising in Europe, I think it is small.

[dolittle]

17 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

We are fortunate to be relatively close to a major airport that offers nonstops to most other major airports.   Outside of high traffic times, we can be there in about an hour.   

Same here we live close to an airport with many flights to Europe, we can get there in 15 minutes . I guess I sometimes take this for granted.

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, dolittle said:

Same here we live close to an airport with many flights to Europe, we can get there in 15 minutes . I guess I sometimes take this for granted.

I've always wondered about that.

For me, in the Seattle region, it's 6 hours to Miami, 6 hours to Hawaii, & 10 hours to London. I've got friends on the East Coast who will fly to Seattle, LA, or Honolulu to take a cruise, who never have and never will fly to Europe in less time and for less money.

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, marco said:

For some, a European "ocean" cruise just does not offer enough time to see a country.  They (obviosuly) only dock at coastal port cities, usually they are there for just the day.  There is rarely an opportunity to spend evening/night hours in the city and excursions usually offer an opportunity to see one or two of the citie's attractions. On the other hand, we do very much enjoy European river cruises, whch offer a better opportunity to explore and experience where they stop.

 

I'd broaden it to say cruises in general (including river cruises) have drawbacks versus land travel.  I haven't found that river cruises offer that much more "immersion" than ocean cruises, depending on the specific cruise. I've sailed on several ocean cruise lines that pride themselves on long port times and a smattering of overnights. Not all river cruises stay docked throughout the evening and not every port is an overnight -- often you don't get significantly more time than on an ocean cruise.

 

Again, YMMV. Look at itineraries on Azamara -- overnights, plus ships are small enough to go upriver and dock in places like Seville, Bordeaux, HCM City, Bangkok....so no long transfers.

 

[dolittle]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

I've always wondered about that.

For me, in the Seattle region, it's 6 hours to Miami, 6 hours to Hawaii, & 10 hours to London. I've got friends on the East Coast who will fly to Seattle, LA, or Honolulu to take a cruise, who never have and never will fly to Europe in less time and for less money.

It is not less money or time but way better. Florida is very easy Orlando is 1 hour 50 minutes Miami a little longer.

[RW75]

I’m sure all those points - passport excluded - count equally be used in reverse direction explaining why Europeans don’t frequent US based cruises as much as European. 
That said, I do feel on a percentage basis Europeans travel to North America for cruising more than US/Canadians travel to Europe.

Of course in the winter season we have to travel further for the good weather. Maybe there will be less Europeans taking Caribbean cruises this winter.
Flights are more expensive than I ever remember and fewer of them.  The same can be said of Miami hotels.
London-Miami must be at least 1000 daily seats less than 2019. I’m basing that guess on the loss of two carriers on the route and reduction in capacity from the three major carriers operating. 
Orlando has less seats, Fort Lauderdale is no longer served where as 2019 had BA and Norwegian daily. 
There has to be a trickle down effect in booking number for this reason alone.  Same for Seattle, Vancouver and a lesser extent Los Angeles. 
RCCL have had some very low pricing in the UK for their Barbados departures. Unfortunately an economy ticket from the UK is two to three times the cost of the cruise. 
My next cruise out of Miami cost less than the airfare.  Sure we will see more localised region cruising than ever before.
 

[pris993]

On 9/15/2022 at 11:34 AM, ontheweb said:

Not as relaxing is truly an understatement. You come back from a European cruise (especially if your DW is an art teacher) and feel like you now need a vacation. LOL

One has to pace themselves, we learned that along the way.  I remember, getting off in Barcelona after a 12-day cruise, staying at a Ritz Carlton on the Mediterranean for 2+ days and all I wanted to do is sleep.  I said to myself, something is wrong with this picture.  After that we did a better job of pacing ourselves.  We were lucky because we knew we would be coming back again and did a least another dozen times.  We did not need to see everything in one trip or go from dawn to sunset.

[pris993]

On 9/16/2022 at 5:57 PM, dolittle said:

It is not less money or time but way better. Florida is very easy Orlando is 1 hour 50 minutes Miami a little longer.

When you live on the west coast, it takes all day to fly to Florida, not that much further to Europe. LOL

[katrina915]

Been to Europe many times, but the overnight flights are getting to me so I go to Alaska or stay in North America more than I used to. 

[navybankerteacher]

18 minutes ago, katrina915 said:

Been to Europe many times, but the overnight flights are getting to me so I go to Alaska or stay in North America more than I used to. 

Fortunately, most of my trips to Europe either start in England or are completely in England.  A morning flight from JFK gets us there in the evening - in time for a late supper and then to our hotel.  While the time change needs to be considered, the fact of having sat up for about 7 hours makes it easy for a deep sleep to ease you into GMT.   The overnight flight works also, but you need to schedule about a two hour nap in the middle of the day to expedite adjustment, and we have come to prefer the daytime flight.  

 

Coming home is a snap, as QM2 (or a Fall repositioning) makes it kind of leisurely.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, RW75 said:

I’m sure all those points - passport excluded - count equally be used in reverse direction explaining why Europeans don’t frequent US based cruises as much as European. 
That said, I do feel on a percentage basis Europeans travel to North America for cruising more than US/Canadians travel to Europe.

Of course in the winter season we have to travel further for the good weather. Maybe there will be less Europeans taking Caribbean cruises this winter.
Flights are more expensive than I ever remember and fewer of them.  The same can be said of Miami hotels.
London-Miami must be at least 1000 daily seats less than 2019. I’m basing that guess on the loss of two carriers on the route and reduction in capacity from the three major carriers operating. 
Orlando has less seats, Fort Lauderdale is no longer served where as 2019 had BA and Norwegian daily. 
There has to be a trickle down effect in booking number for this reason alone.  Same for Seattle, Vancouver and a lesser extent Los Angeles. 
RCCL have had some very low pricing in the UK for their Barbados departures. Unfortunately an economy ticket from the UK is two to three times the cost of the cruise. 
My next cruise out of Miami cost less than the airfare.  Sure we will see more localised region cruising than ever before.
 

 

I really miss Norwegian Air. They had some terrific routes to Europe out of the San Francisco Bay Area.  I wish they would come back.   Norse Air seems to have stepped in to fill some of that market.  But sadly Norse Air isn't in the San Francisco Bay Area (yet).  

[RW75]

8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Fortunately, most of my trips to Europe either start in England or are completely in England.  A morning flight from JFK gets us there in the evening - in time for a late supper and then to our hotel.  While the time change needs to be considered, the fact of having sat up for about 7 hours makes it easy for a deep sleep to ease you into GMT.   The overnight flight works also, but you need to schedule about a two hour nap in the middle of the day to expedite adjustment, and we have come to prefer the daytime flight.  

 

Coming home is a snap, as QM2 (or a Fall repositioning) makes it kind of leisurely.

The daylight flights are great and certainly make the journey easier. 
in the same vein I often take the late departure into JFK from London and arrive at 10pm.  Not quite the same as the other way but does make a difference to time adjustment.

[RW75]

6 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I really miss Norwegian Air. They had some terrific routes to Europe out of the San Francisco Bay Area.  I wish they would come back.   Norse Air seems to have stepped in to fill some of that market.  But sadly Norse Air isn't in the San Francisco Bay Area (yet).  

Suspect Norse will be expanding rapidly once the general situation with basic operations in Europe is dealt with.  There are still huge capacity controls in place at many airports which will be lifted and carriers will eventually sort out their shortsighted lack of aircraft and crew. 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, pris993 said:

One has to pace themselves, we learned that along the way.  I remember, getting off in Barcelona after a 12-day cruise, staying at a Ritz Carlton on the Mediterranean for 2+ days and all I wanted to do is sleep.  I said to myself, something is wrong with this picture.  After that we did a better job of pacing ourselves.  We were lucky because we knew we would be coming back again and did a least another dozen times.  We did not need to see everything in one trip or go from dawn to sunset.

Yes, and I have tried to get that across to DW, but she at times sets a frenetic pace. I do think we are better than that then when we started. The few times I think she actually is slowing us down is when we are in a museum, and she does much more studying of the art than I do. (I guess that comes from being a long time, just retired, art teacher.)

[clevercruiser]

On 9/22/2022 at 1:37 AM, RW75 said:

I’m sure all those points - passport excluded - count equally be used in reverse direction explaining why Europeans don’t frequent US based cruises as much as European.

True during the summer months, but...

 

On 9/22/2022 at 1:37 AM, RW75 said:

Of course in the winter season we have to travel further for the good weather.

My wife and I only travel abroad in Winter these days, so the Caribbean is the most

cost effective cruising option for us - we have done the P+O cruises from Barbados

to death over the years, so we are looking at doing more from Florida in future.

 

 

On 9/22/2022 at 1:37 AM, RW75 said:

Maybe there will be less Europeans taking Caribbean cruises this winter.
Flights are more expensive than I ever remember and fewer of them.  The same can be said of Miami hotels.

 

Yes, it is expensive to fly from the UK to Florida these days, but cruises from Florida between

November and February (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas) are so cheap, especially on

some of the older ships, that it is almost the same cost as a cruise from (say) Barcelona in

Summer, even allowing for the airfare in each case.

 

 

On 9/22/2022 at 1:37 AM, RW75 said:

My next cruise out of Miami cost less than the airfare. 

Likewise, but our solution to that problem is to do a pair of cruises back to back! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RW75]

1 hour ago, clevercruiser said:

True during the summer months, but...

 

My wife and I only travel abroad in Winter these days, so the Caribbean is the most

cost effective cruising option for us - we have done the P+O cruises from Barbados

to death over the years, so we are looking at doing more from Florida in future.

 

 

 

Yes, it is expensive to fly from the UK to Florida these days, but cruises from Florida between

November and February (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas) are so cheap, especially on

some of the older ships, that it is almost the same cost as a cruise from (say) Barcelona in

Summer, even allowing for the airfare in each case.

 

 

Likewise, but our solution to that problem is to do a pair of cruises back to back! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clevercruiser, you are quite correct in everything you say. 
I’ve never taken much notice of the P&O fly cruise fares during the winter, although have seen very attractive pricing in the Sunday  newspapers in the past.

I came unstuck trying to do a b2b in December and now find myself having to return to the UK between cruises. How much easier Barcelona would have been. I now find myself with three sets of flights booked to Miami from December to February.  Thankfully Avios availability with Iberia in Business is excellent currently. 

[Joebucks]

On 9/16/2022 at 2:18 PM, marco said:

For some, a European "ocean" cruise just does not offer enough time to see a country.  They (obviosuly) only dock at coastal port cities, usually they are there for just the day.  There is rarely an opportunity to spend evening/night hours in the city and excursions usually offer an opportunity to see one or two of the citie's attractions. On the other hand, we do very much enjoy European river cruises, whch offer a better opportunity to explore and experience where they stop.

 

There are pros and cons to each approach. I agree to your point that if you want to completely explore every nook and cranny of a city or country, land travel is likely your best option. However, let's not pretend like that's the best option for all. Many people are quite content seeing the top things in most cities within 8 hours or so. Traveling on land will require you to procure transportation and hotels, which can vary depending where you're going.

 

A cruise will take care a lot of that for you, and travel while you sleep. It can conveniently bring you you multiple ports in a week that would be quite the effort to reach yourself. Not to mention all of the other time you will need because remember, you want to see everything. Driving from Barcelona to Naples is 15.5 hours. Many cruises make that trip effortless.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Joebucks

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

There are pros and cons to each approach. I agree to your point that if you want to completely explore every nook and cranny of a city or country, land travel is likely your best option

Then you often find out that you really weren’t all that interested, that the 8 hour stop was all you ever want to see of that location.  Cruising makes that discovery convenient and affordable 

[Roz]

On 9/15/2022 at 10:25 AM, mom says said:

To add to Hanks list, most of Europe, and certainly many of the really interesting places, are NOT within a short bus ride from the pier. Given the ease of travel within Europe, it is one of the last places I want to cruise, except for Scandinavia.

 

I've done 3 European river cruises (2 on the Danube and 1 on the Rhine) and at most stops there are interesting places to visit within walking distance of the pier or just a short bus ride away.

[Mary229]

10 minutes ago, Roz said:

 

I've done 3 European river cruises (2 on the Danube and 1 on the Rhine) and at most stops there are interesting places to visit within walking distance of the pier or just a short bus ride away.

Hi Roz,  what lines have you enjoyed.  You can email me at mfen At iCloud dot com.   My first river cruise experience was awful but we do want to do explore Austria and Switzerland 

[navybankerteacher]

My “European” cruises have been primarily the first bits of transAtlantic repositioning.  A good one from Harrwich with stops in France, Spain, Portugal and the Canaries before the crossing, and several from Athens and Rome with Med port calls and Madeira on the way.  I much prefer land travel in Europe which gives more time in more interesting places.

Edited September 23, 2022 by navybankerteacher

[Roz]

@Mary229, you have mail. 😁

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Then you often find out that you really weren’t all that interested, that the 8 hour stop was all you ever want to see of that location.  Cruising makes that discovery convenient and affordable 

That "...8 hour stop..." in Civita Vecchia, Piraeus,  or Livorno, for example, (when you crank in the four or so hour ground travel time to get from and back to ship ) hardly gives you "...all you ever want to see..."  of Rome, Athens or Florence. 

 

In that context, cruising may be convenient and affordable, but offers little in the way of discovery.

[Mary229]

51 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

That "...8 hour stop..." in Civita Vecchia, Piraeus,  or Livorno, for example, (when you crank in the four or so hour ground travel time to get from and back to ship ) hardly gives you "...all you ever want to see..."  of Rome, Athens or Florence. 

 

In that context, cruising may be convenient and affordable, but offers little in the way of discovery.

I meant that you may find that 8 hours was all that you wanted in more impolite terms - you didn’t find it worth visiting.  I have traveled far and wide and many places I wondered why I ever arrived.  I agree if you find you want to go in depth you should stay and do some independent exploration.  

[navybankerteacher]

23 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I meant that you may find that 8 hours was all that you wanted in more impolite terms - you didn’t find it worth visiting.  I have traveled far and wide and many places I wondered why I ever arrived.  I agree if you find you want to go in depth you should stay and do some independent exploration.  

Which cruise ports of call did you find not "...worth visiting."?   Have you experienced many,?

[Mary229]

Just now, navybankerteacher said:

Which cruise ports of call did you find not "...worth visiting."?   Have you experienced many,?

I don’t want to step into that discussion😉. I have traveled more outside of cruises than on a cruise so I have been some places I had to wonder why I was there.  There have been a few ports that left me shaking my head.