To Cruise or NOT to Cruise in the Mediterranean? On Oceania of Course!

[clo]

10 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@clo No, Please.  No apology needed.  NONE.  If I write something, it is to invite comments.  I know that before the first word.  Opinions are like that.  If my feeling are hurt by kind folks like you and other on CruiseCritic.com, I should not post.  So, PLEASE know I was not even taken back by your comment.  I tend to be a developed taste with the way I write.  It has been that way all my life.  Why change now.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Well, bless your heart and I don't mean that in the mean Southern way 🙂

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, clo said:

That's why some years ago we went with the charitable donations at Christmas. And each grandchild gets just one gift. When I suggested that one girl said "music to my ears."

We will take them out to eat occasionally.

We have done that especially giving to a homeless charity that provides Christmas lunch and health checks etc for the homeless. Unfortunately our grandchildren were too young to understand so it turned out to be a ‘donation’ to make us feel ‘rightgeous’ but they were still too young see it!

[clo]

5 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

We have done that especially giving to a homeless charity that provides Christmas lunch and health checks etc for the homeless. Unfortunately our grandchildren were too young to understand so it turned out to be a ‘donation’ to make us feel ‘rightgeous’ but they were still too young see it!

Oh, the grands get a gift (just one) and honestly we kinda followed our unspoken suggestion from our daughters. We give them small gifts and the girls give "Santa" and larger gifts. Let them get the glory 🙂

 

[Vallesan]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

Oh, the grands get a gift (just one) and honestly we kinda followed our unspoken suggestion from our daughters. We give them small gifts and the girls give "Santa" and larger gifts. Let them get the glory 🙂

 

Oh yes! They got gifts too but knowing they had provided lunch for a few homeless people just didn’t hit home. Probably, thank goodness, they’ve never been homeless or hungry and we’re probably too young to understand.

Edited May 7 by Vallesan

[NCHPcruiser]

6 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Oh yes! They got gifts too but knowing they had provided lunch for a few homeless people just didn’t hit home. Probably, thank goodness, they’ve never been homeless or hungry and we’re probably too young to understand.

They may not understand now but the cumulative effect of doing things like this over the years surely will impact their thinking.  

[clo]

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Nothing much nicer in life than ‘treating’ your grown up children!

These two have such very, very specific likes that it's pretty impossible. One, for instance, like to rock climb, go off the grid, kayak down a river with the three of them. LOL 

[Vineyard View]

So….are others looking at both land and sea….sea only….land only….or combinations of the two in the next couple of years?  

[Hlitner]

I will give my usual response to the subject question.  Yes, one should try and cruise in the Med (we have done it dozens of times), but also combine the cruise vacation with some additional time on land, be it on an organized tour or independent trip via rental car or train.  To us, this offers the best of both travel worlds (sea and land).  We are living what we preach and are currently driving through Slovenia and Austria after a wonderful 35 days on the Vista (TA plus part of the Med and Adriatic).  

 

Land trips are not a substitute for cruises (especially for those who love being on ships) but neither is a cruise a good substitute for land.  One will not be able to go up into the Swiss or Austrian Alps on a port day :).  One possible compromise is a River Cruise, but that is its own subject.

 

Hank

[Harters]

5 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

combinations of the two in the next couple of years?  

We plan to continue to have varied holidays whether in the UK (a week in Herefordshire is upcoming), "fly and flop" holidays in Europe (Cyprus in the autumn and Spain in January) and cruises (Vista in June). No doubt, there will be "long weekends" away as well - we remind ourselves that we still havent done that trip to Sirmione on Lake Garda. We are now in our 70s and not in the best of health so, without being morbid, I know the future may not be long extended, so we do need to get on and do what we can, while we can. 

 

I think the only type of holiday that we might be finished with are road trips in the States, which we've enjoyed since the 1980s. Long haul flights are increasingly difficult for us, not least the effects of jet lag on our return home. And my night vision isnt what it was so I'm no longer very confident about driving in unfamiliar circumstances. 

 

By the by, our TA here is a large company and regularly sends advertising brochures of cruises they are particularly marketing (never Oceania ones). But I remember one brochure  a couple of weeks back that included a cruise and then what I can best describe as a "music tour", taking in Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans. It took in most of the major sights that we did in our own road trip in 2016 where we also took in Tupelo (for Elvis' birthplace), Vicksburg (for the military history) and Lafayette (for Cajun music). The difference between the two is, as with any land based trip, you're travelling at your own pace, seeing exactly what you want to see

[Sthrngary]

8 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

So….are others looking at both land and sea….sea only….land only….or combinations of the two in the next couple of years?  

@Vineyard View For me it was a progression over decades.  First, 3 day cruise; then 5 to 7 day mostly leaving from Miami. Time and cruises pass to finally going to the Mediterranean.  First cruise only then adding days before and after cruise depending on ports. 

 

My cruise in November 2023 took me to Rome.  I wanted more so my land trip last week we went back to Rome for more time.  The Nice part of Europe is the train system can take you almost anywhere and it is safe and fun.  Best of both worlds.  

 

So short answer, it progresses as your enjoyment of the area also progresses. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Vineyard View]

We have taken both land and sea trips over the years in Europe. Such different experiences. We enjoy both. We always arrive early, stay over, or both.  One thing we have noticed is the impact of the mega ships in some of the ports. We have visited so many of them, and so glad that so many we visited when 2500 pax ships were considered big! 
We are torn next year between cruising, followed by some land time. Or just land time. I have encountered many who are feeling the same. Spend time in ‘non-port’ areas without the large cruise passenger daily influx. 
I agree that the  train system is so incredibly convenient in Europe. The bags just feel heavier than they used to! I don’t see us giving up sailing/cruising….but one of these days, great trains or not, those suitcases may be a deciding factor! 
Thank you again for sharing your beautiful Father/Daughter story. 

[pinotlover]

Through the end of 2025, which is the furthest we’ve planned we have 2 Oceania cruises; one Uniworld river cruise; and four land trips planned. The land trips include Tuscany;  Willamette Valley , Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast; Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, and northern Vermont; and a fly fishing trip to the Rockies ( CO).

 

If possible, we may try to squeeze another trip in from Washington, DC and down to the Cape in NC with lots in between. This may have to wait until 2026. The DW wants to return to the FG again. Don’t know if that will be on Paul G ( which we find superior in the FP) , or an over the water in Bora Bora. That’ll be 26 also.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Through the end of 2025, which is the furthest we’ve planned we have 2 Oceania cruises; one Uniworld river cruise; and four land trips planned. The land trips include Tuscany;  Willamette Valley , Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast; Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, and northern Vermont; and a fly fishing trip to the Rockies ( CO).

 

If possible, we may try to squeeze another trip in from Washington, DC and down to the Cape in NC with lots in between. This may have to wait until 2026. The DW wants to return to the FG again. Don’t know if that will be on Paul G ( which we find superior in the FP) , or an over the water in Bora Bora. That’ll be 26 also.

Just beware of the FP cruise ship restrictions (i.e. no more than 1200 cruise passengers, per day, on Bora Bora).  

 

Hank

[pinotlover]

28 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just beware of the FP cruise ship restrictions (i.e. no more than 1200 cruise passengers, per day, on Bora Bora).  

 

Hank

Thanks, but Paul Gauguin ships have that covered.

[Hlitner]

34 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Thanks, but Paul Gauguin ships have that covered.

 

34 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Thanks, but Paul Gauguin ships have that covered.

Tis true and we have considered that line in FP.  But thought I should raise the issue since this is the O blog.

 

Hank

[MEFIowa]

Not sure the OP is really apples to apples. The point of cruising is to "sample" quickly and move on. But the point of spending time on vacation in a particular area is to dig deep and experience. They both are what you make of them

 

So, I know what you mean about the Med cruise we were both on off Riviera 11/2023. We had a magnificent time. We're in our late 50s so we were doing all the energetic walking and excursions to see sights (e.g., all those steps up the St. John's Fortress in Kotor). We did ours as a 20-night B2B hitting so many cities from Istanbul to Barcelona. With 3 nights each in Venice (before the start) and in Barcelona (at the end). We came to see and we saw. Each day off the boat early to be on the road to somewhere.

 

BUT I can then COMPARE our 2023 Med cruise to my solo dream vacation in PARAGUAY in April-May 2022. I spent 2 magnificent weeks in country. I did it by building my own personal route with an American who does small group and individual tourism there. We literally planned each day out in 30 minute blocks. And we drove her diesel SUV over 2000 KM from deep in the Chaco desert to the heart of the swamps of Neembucu. Usually with a guide or history expert on the day's places. With so many points in between. I took her to places she'd never been to in her 20 years dealing with Paraguay! I'd wake up at 4:30 or 5 am and immediately get up to wander around whatever city I was in. And I'd walk around them at night before going to bed. With each day filled with the places I wanted to go to. My bucket list trip tied to my love of Paraguayan history going back 40 years to my college days.

 

I loved them both and both were so entirely different. Now if I can just do future dedicated vacations in Madagascar & the Wild Coast of S. America (Guyana, Surinam & Fr. Guiana)!

[Sthrngary]

2 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Not sure the OP is really apples to apples. The point of cruising is to "sample" quickly and move on. But the point of spending time on vacation in a particular area is to dig deep and experience. They both are what you make of them

 

So, I know what you mean about the Med cruise we were both on off Riviera 11/2023. We had a magnificent time. We're in our late 50s so we were doing all the energetic walking and excursions to see sights (e.g., all those steps up the St. John's Fortress in Kotor). We did ours as a 20-night B2B hitting so many cities from Istanbul to Barcelona. With 3 nights each in Venice (before the start) and in Barcelona (at the end). We came to see and we saw. Each day off the boat early to be on the road to somewhere.

 

BUT I can then COMPARE our 2023 Med cruise to my solo dream vacation in PARAGUAY in April-May 2022. I spent 2 magnificent weeks in country. I did it by building my own personal route with an American who does small group and individual tourism there. We literally planned each day out in 30 minute blocks. And we drove her diesel SUV over 2000 KM from deep in the Chaco desert to the heart of the swamps of Neembucu. Usually with a guide or history expert on the day's places. With so many points in between. I took her to places she'd never been to in her 20 years dealing with Paraguay! I'd wake up at 4:30 or 5 am and immediately get up to wander around whatever city I was in. And I'd walk around them at night before going to bed. With each day filled with the places I wanted to go to. My bucket list trip tied to my love of Paraguayan history going back 40 years to my college days.

 

I loved them both and both were so entirely different. Now if I can just do future dedicated vacations in Madagascar & the Wild Coast of S. America (Guyana, Surinam & Fr. Guiana)!

My point was simply to tell a story of a new experience for me.  My first Oceania and Mediterranean Cruise we were on together was such a good time, I actually wanted to try a land only vacation in some of the same area's.  

 

Just like dining, to do or not do drink packages and type of staterooms we tend to choose; it is all relative and everyone is different.  I hope my post did not sell folks from wanting to do land only adventures.  That was not my intent. For me, only me, Cruise with a taste of a port seems to suit me best at the stage of my life. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[MEFIowa]

1 minute ago, Sthrngary said:

My point was simply to tell a story of a new experience for me.  My first Oceania and Mediterranean Cruise we were on together was such a good time, I actually wanted to try a land only vacation in some of the same area's. ... For me, only me, Cruise with a taste of a port seems to suit me best at the stage of my life.

Though that "taste" can be quite different. We did Istanbul twice on our 11/2023 B2B on 2 consecutive weekends. Think it was Sat-Sun and Sun-Mon. With the overnight both times. So, 4 days and 2 nights.

 

I'm pretty sure we saw MORE of Istanbul in our 4 days than anyone on the ship and maybe more than many do in a week. BUT we knew to get our Istanbul card to use the public transportation, had great maps, and Rick Steves' guide that game some amazing walking tour options. We literally went all over the historic old part and the new part, both on the European side. Walked for miles and took public transportation for so many miles. On the day of the Istanbul marathon when public transportation was shut down, we walked from the port terminal to Hagia Sophia & the Blue Mosque and back. Amongst tens of thousands of people.

 

I'd bet we were the only two who took a public bus out to the old walls of Constantinople (the #38 bus) and then walked it back. That's nearly out 4 miles. Oh the things we saw as the only tourists wandering Steves' route past old walls, imperial palaces, churches, synagogues, and the Patriarch of Constantinople's area (our Orthodox "Vatican") on a lovely afternoon.

[clo]

11 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

The Nice part of Europe is the train system can take you almost anywhere and it is safe and fun. 

We're going to be looking at those for sure. We're definitely destination oriented and sea days are pretty boring to us. Also cruises that make stops at beachy places. No interest there. When we had our place in Rio we finally stopped even taking bathing suits. We never went in the water. Sat on the great sidewalk under an umbrella and had super food and drinks.