How did you handle the port intensive itinerary?

[Boo's Mom]

So, you have been on a port intensive itinerary....

 

How did you manage the pace?

 

Perhaps you didn't manage very well. Now that you have been, what advice can you give to someone who is planning to go?

 

Thanks !!

[Globaliser]

I consider each port and ask myself these questions: How much do I really want to do and see here? Could I do and see some of it next time? Would I actually bother coming here if the ship wasn't bringing me anyway?

 

Many times, the answer is that I'm just not going to bother to get off the ship. I've paid to be on board, and many calls fall either into the category of "could come here any time" or "wouldn't bother coming anyway".

[JeannyCT]

How did you manage the pace?

I managed the pace just fine because I did what I always do: spend the time by myself or in a small group of friends and doing what I/we want to do. Sometimes I do a lot of sightseeing, sometimes I just hang around in a park or sit in a cafe and watch people - usually a mixture of both. I hate being herded around as part of a big group, not my idea of fun.

[Andee]

For us, the thought is usually, "We may never gat back here, so let's see as much as we can in one day."

 

That being said, we have found that if we bound off the ship the very first minute we can, sightsee without stopping all day, and get back on board the last minute we can, we don't have a very good time.

 

I read about the ports before hand and select the things we like to see. I make sure to schedule in time to have a drink at a sidewalk cafe and to sit on a bench and do some people watching.

 

We would feel cheated if we stayed on the ship--its the ports that make us want to go on a cruise.

[gooselace]

After my mother retired she was determined to see as much of the world as she could. When someone snidely asked her before her first trip to Europe "how much can you see of Vienna in just one day?" she replied, "a lot more than I if I'd stayed at home." In her later years, she visited six continents and hundreds of countries, some "one day at a time."

 

So whatever I can see in one port, it's more than I'd see if I stayed on the ship. And when I get tired, I also find someplace to sit and people-watch.

[cruisintwinsmom]

We get off at all the ports, but don't necessarily do a "tour". We will see some of the highlights, then take our time so we don't get too worn out. On our trip to the med we ended up missing some of the evening entertainment because we were so tired from walking all day. A nice perk to being in port so much, I didn't gain any weight on the 14 day vacation (extraordinary for me).:D

[Juliadlf]

We have always done land vacations to Europe for many, many years. Had the ability to stay in one place as long as we wanted and then moved on to another place.

Last year we took our first cruise to the Med. Needed to experience another style of travel. We found we like the pace of more ports. We also research a great deal about the places we will visit and decide what are the "must do's" versus if we have the time. If we paced our trips like a marathon we know we wouldn't enjoy it. We take organized tours and then do alot of independent touring at our pace.

 

Looking forward to our next cruise.

[JodiBB]

We did all the ports (except St. Petersburg) on our own. Upon returning to the ship, we would take naps and wake up to get ready for dinner (late seating). This gave us the ability to rejuvenate ourselves for the evenings.

 

On the "at sea" days, we lounged around and gave ourselves the opportunity to gear up for the next port days....while the days could be tiring, this routine helped us conserve our energy.

[mare s.]

On our Baltic cruise last summer, we decided that St. Petersburg was the focus and we planned accordingly, using a very intensive itinerary with Red October. The other ports we decided to "do on our own." Celebrity usually had a shuttle to the center of town and then we just wandered around mainly to get a feel for the city and the people. For example, in Helsinki we took a public tram and were helped by a friendly local who spoke excellent English and we saw the city (the tram made a circle) and then had coffee and the best pastry in a small cafe. Much much better than getting on a ship's tour and being herded around from place to place. We may never get back to Helsinki but we thoroughly enjoyed our limited time there.

[dileep]

Don't sweat it. Just have fun!

 

Not all ports are intense.

[mcnyc]

Gooselace, I love your mom's attitude. My mom and I have that same attitude, and my mom is my best friend and travel partner of choice. :)

 

As for the OP's question, last summer, we took a Med cruise which was VERY port intensive. We're different kinds of travelers as we go out and travel like a tornado. It's the only way I travel, and I realize others don't travel in the same way, but for my family, they want to see as much as they can, and cruising is the best hotel/transportation to the next destination. This is their taste of something new, knowing they will come back to see things at a more leisurely pace later on. We figure we can always rest when we get back home. ;)

 

For the Baltics, we're going on our own but taking a more leisurely pace. Except for SP. I'd really like to roam SP myself without joining a tour and am seriously considering applying for visas.

[swdke]

How did you manage the pace?

Thanks !!

 

Yes, it is an intensive itinerary, even the Cruise Directors makes jokes about how busy it is when comparing a Baltic cruise to a Caribbean cruise. But, just do as you always do when you travel and you'll be fine. Each traveler is different, and has their own way of doing things. Me, I like to see and do it all. Lots of research and planning like you're doing now will help to ensure you'll get to do all you want to do. Other's, take travel more leisurely. I knew of one family who decided they didnt' want to see Helsinki and stayed on the ship. Personally, I thought that was crazy, but if that's what they want, then that's okay. Each person travels differently. But, if you want to see and do it all, don't worry, you can do it, I did. Granted, it may seem overwhelming, but you'll figure it out. These message boards are fantastic for research. Other sites for gathering information are http://www.virtualtourist.com and even Frommers has message boards too. AOL has a community travel board too. For me, this message board, and virtualtourist.com had the best information. As for this message board, I think last season every question that could we asked, was asked, and answered. So just reserach back all the messages over the past 18 months and you'll probably have all the information you need to accomplish your travel goals. Planning is half the fun, enjoy yourself and have fun. Good luck, you'll do fine.

[Boo's Mom]

Thanks Steve...and ALL the other posters !

 

Great information. :)

[SaylorGirl]

Take bandaids for your feet and a bottle of water and go! I cruise for the ports not the ship, I would be off at every port if I had to crawl. We always do our ports on our own including St. Petersburg, and I do much research before the trip. When we went on the Baltic cruise in September we spend 10 days touring Europe before the cruise sleeping on trains each night. By the time we got on the ship the schedule almost seemed tame.

[sunprincess]

Go at your own pace wherever you are ;)

Planning what you want to see & do helps. Sleep always helps.

Did the Baltic last August. Loved it. Yes, it is port intensive, but, awesome. This summer will be doing the Greek Isles.

I find myself relaxing more on my winter Caribbean cruises. There I can go the week without going ashore.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[phdiva]

I'm the sort who has to plan everything to the last detail for "maximum efficiency." That said, things often don't go as planned and I just have to go with the flow.

 

For example, in the Med last year I developed some serious allergies or something in Mykonos (our first stop) so we scratched our plan to go check out the beaches and instead just wandered around Mykonos-town. Naples was our last stop - by then, we were just plain tired (and I was cranky) so after hiking Mt. Vesuvius and touring Pompeii, we went back to the ship and collapsed on some deck chairs instead of trying to find the Naples' museum.

 

Granted, the ports are the reason I cruise, but the main purpose of my vacation is to have fun. When sightseeing starts becoming a "forced march," it's time for me to do something else, whether its just sitting in a cafe people-watching or going back to the ship and taking a nap.

 

Oh, and I also try to come back from vacation on a Friday so I have the weekend to "recover" from my vacation. You know... do laundry, go shopping, weed the yard :o

[BuildingMemories]

Greetings fellow cruisers. Hi Boo's Mom.

I'm a highschool teacher so my way of dealing with anything new is to study up on it. I feel one appreciate's what one's seeing so much more if you know the history, etc. Looking at a castle is just a castle unless you know a little about the monarchy...statues are just statues unless you know about the people being depicted. I'm not suggesting an intensive history lesson, however, I've found that part of the fun of visiting new places is to learn as much as I can.

 

I've just ordered the following two books:

"Rick Steves' Scandinavia 2006" In paperback from Amazon it's $12.97 US

and "Estonia, 4th: The Bradt Travel Guide" $14.27 US I've seen the Bradt and it's excellent. The Rick Steves has been very highly recommended.

 

We are planning to read the above cover to cover and then use the recommended walking tours in the Steves book. We were well prepared for our bus tour to southern Europe last year and saved quite a bit going to places on our own that the expensive Trafalgar tours offered.

 

Most important... enjoy.... take extra memory for your camera.... you can never take too many pictures!

 

[dbh62ark]

I've cruised Scandinavia/Baltics twice and checked all the guide books but liked Frommers Scandinavia the best. Except for Tallinn, and we used the Rick Steves walking tour there.

 

We are very active in port, so we use the sea days to rest and relax. We were on the Constellation last year and had 4 sea days; I thought that was too much at first, but we sure enjoyed sitting out on that balcony with the great weather that we had.

 

Check your schedule because I think we lost 3 or 4 hours on the way to St. Petersburg, so we opted for early dinner--the first time ever in our 18 cruises--for our Scandinavia cruise last year. I just couldn't imagine finishing dinner at 10:30 or so and then losing an hour, so it worked out well for us with a port-intensive cruise.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[VinTek]

We make a point of trying the local cuisine wherever we can. To us, it's not only part of crucial part of experiencing place, it also serves as an opportunity to catch our breath before resuming a breakneck pace.

[dileep]

So' date=' you have been on a port intensive itinerary....

 

How did you manage the pace?

 

Perhaps you didn't manage very well. Now that you have been, what advice can you give to someone who is planning to go?

 

Thanks !![/quote']

 

You can just stay home and watch my video :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=6278289&postcount=12