How strenuous is a strenuous excursion?

[Richteab]

Reading the various excursion descriptions, it looks like "strenuous", which I would normally overlook, is normally do-able by a reasonably active 70 year old and not at all the sort of high adrenalin event that the tag might suggest.

 

I can understand the need for a warning and that, maybe, the average cruise guest is of "mature years" and everyone is different, but how realistic are the descriptions?

 

What are your experiences of this? 

[uktog]

13 minutes ago, Richteab said:

Reading the various excursion descriptions, it looks like "strenuous", which I would normally overlook, is normally do-able by a reasonably active 70 year old and not at all the sort of high adrenalin event that the tag might suggest.

 

I can understand the need for a warning and that, maybe, the average cruise guest is of "mature years" and everyone is different, but how realistic are the descriptions?

 

What are your experiences of this? 

I have been on strenuous that were mildly active - think walking on relatively flat surfaces for a few miles and I have been on the lower level moderate that involved walking up extremely steep inclines for some distances.  So the "badging" can be a little hit or miss.

 

You might get a better response if you give us a couple of examples you are thinking of and people can chip in if they have been on them.  I certainly know strenuous and hike in Greece was indeed very strenuous, not that I did one, but a couple we met were gingerly walking around the ship one evening, they were fit people as well!

[Richteab]

4 minutes ago, uktog said:

I have been on strenuous that were mildly active - think walking on relatively flat surfaces for a few miles and I have been on the lower level moderate that involved walking up extremely steep inclines for some distances.  So the "badging" can be a little hit or miss.

 

You might get a better response if you give us a couple of examples you are thinking of and people can chip in if they have been on them.  I certainly know strenuous and hike in Greece was indeed very strenuous, not that I did one, but a couple we met were gingerly walking around the ship one evening, they were fit people as well!

 

Good point. Specifically "Best Of Mykonos" and "Best Of Rhodes".

[Dr H]

I've done "Strenuous" at the ripe old age of 72, and have been less than thrilled, but covid, time, and lack of exercise on my part contributed to the issues. Walking for me after a day or two of WALKING is no issue, stairs and hills are pushing the envelop. Even I have to admit that I'm not 25 any longer.  Moderate for me is no problem. There is a ship's tour in Mumbai to Elephanta involving A LOT of stair climbing. I would have killed my wife, and left me VERY unhappy and near death. It's labeled "strenuous", I opted out. Hope this helps.

[Richteab]

15 minutes ago, Dr H said:

I've done "Strenuous" at the ripe old age of 72, and have been less than thrilled, but covid, time, and lack of exercise on my part contributed to the issues. Walking for me after a day or two of WALKING is no issue, stairs and hills are pushing the envelop. Even I have to admit that I'm not 25 any longer.  Moderate for me is no problem. There is a ship's tour in Mumbai to Elephanta involving A LOT of stair climbing. I would have killed my wife, and left me VERY unhappy and near death. It's labeled "strenuous", I opted out. Hope this helps.

I can do flat and cobbled surfaces like a Duracell bunny, but the stairs are a killer!

[Dr H]

There is an expression here in the US South that you won't hear (routinely at least) anywhere else in the States: "Bless your heart!"  Basically it translates sweetly from "You poor S.O.B."  I can say from a professional standpoint that replacement knees don't work so good. Take care of the ones you've still got, skip the stairs!

[curmudgeon98]

I've really appreciated some excursion descriptions where they get really specific: "x.x miles, yyy steps, paved paths, unpaved, rocky etc".  Even then, specific weather conditions can change the impact quite a bit - high temperatures or high winds can make a trip a lot more strenuous than it would be on a nice day.  Reading the descriptions closely, and maybe doing a bit of maps "street view" can be helpful.  Of course, there's also often the problem that somebody else who goes on the tour thinks they can handle "strenuous" because they walk a mile once a week.  

 

Mykonos and Rhodes are good candidates for doing on your own, at your own pace.  If the "Best of Mykonos" tour includes Delos, I understand that can be a challenge in hot weather.  Similarly, Rhodes can include quite a few stairs depending on what ground they are trying to cover.

 

 

[Mackdogmolly]

16 hours ago, Dr H said:

Bless your heart!"  Basically it translates sweetly from "You poor S.O.B." 

I’m in Georgia right now visiting relatives for the holidays and we were just talking about this at dinner last night! Also used to soften an insult, such as “He’s a real S.O.B., bless his heart!”

[Richteab]

3 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I’m in Georgia right now visiting relatives for the holidays and we were just talking about this at dinner last night! Also used to soften an insult, such as “He’s a real S.O.B., bless his heart!”

 

Its a phrase used here in the UK to much the same effect. Also gets shortened to a simple "Bless".

[Benthayer Gonbak]

I've found that ports  that shore has been to  numerous times are better at knowing how many stairs and are they all together answer.  We were on a 1st cruise to isle man which listed  a moderate hike as AA billygoat trail.  The total distance was listed as .5 miles.  When we got on board there was a separate flyer that  said the trail was 5 miles long!  Ii had the paper in my hand as  I walked into the lobby where Shore excursion was.  From across the room they said, yes it is right and please don’t take it!  I had figured a half mile Billy goat trail I could crawl! I then asked how it got rated as moderate based on the length and description and was told the ratings  was from the locals!   
 

This trip I saw one description that listed 130 stairs and was  also moderate.  Again no one had been to that port.    I find the staff normally very knowledgeable about most of the tours but on  occasion can’t describe well what condition cobblestones are in, or  size. I  started asking if they would advise riding a bicycle down it because it was listed as rough..  I got better answers, and yes I rode a mobility scooter on a fairly rough cobblestone that I wouldn’t ride a bicycle on, ever!  i rode an electric wheelchair in Rome on roads I’d never push a manual wheelchair down because of tire width and their flexibility  

 

All this is to say things get rated different depending on how you perceive difficulty.  I  did a trek in Dominica where the pics showed almost landscaped steps with railroad ties and sand for surface. When I got there the trail was a mass of roots all over the trail with no easy footing.  Thus out they’d had a  flood that had washed out the trail entirely.  That can always be a problem. 
 

 

[TERRIER1]

It depends who is doing the rating and therein lies the problem. I learned my lesson from hiking trails in Iceland and Switzerland. Whoever rated the trails as moderate was 25 years old and obviously ran up and down Mt Fiji without a huff or puff. I now go on youtube and pull up videos of trails and hikes to see for myself how "moderate" they are. Stairs and elevations are problematic especially in hot weather. I have been to Mykonos but both times headed to beaches and just walked the town. There can be lots of stairs getting to the beach. Delos is a ferry ride and not that strenuous but there is NO shade. Rhodes Town is relatively flat and not a problem. Has lots of cobblestones. However, if Lindos is included in the tour than that is a different story since there are lots of stairs. Enjoy.

Edited December 14, 2022 by TERRIER1

[Benthayer Gonbak]

23 hours ago, TERRIER1 said:

It depends who is doing the rating and therein lies the problem. I learned my lesson from hiking trails in Iceland and Switzerland. Whoever rated the trails as moderate was 25 years old and obviously ran up and down Mt Fiji without a huff or puff. I now go on youtube and pull up videos of trails and hikes to see for myself how "moderate" they are. Stairs and elevations are problematic especially in hot weather. I have been to Mykonos but both times headed to beaches and just walked the town. There can be lots of stairs getting to the beach. Delos is a ferry ride and not that strenuous but there is NO shade. Rhodes Town is relatively flat and not a problem. Has lots of cobblestones. However, if Lindos is included in the tour than that is a different story since there are lots of stairs. Enjoy.

I was remembering the Fort, perhaps Lindos?, that had the walkway up to it narrow and sloped away from the hill!  And yes, the town near the pier has an entrance with no sidewalk and larger rounded surface stone for all the roads.  The entrance is also on an incline but after that the rest of the area is pretty flat.