I want to travel damn it...

[thyme4change]

Apr 3, 2019 13:11:06 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Apr 3, 2019 10:20:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I will never cruise. Days on a floating barf bucket with a thousand other people? Nope.

I've been lots of places, and travel at different price points. I can't do what I want and still save as if I will live to 100.

I'm not a fan, either.  When I travel, I like to experience different cultures, different people, different food, different lifestyles and different music.

I don't want to be stuck on a boat with a thousand other people JUST LIKE ME, eat food I get get at home and have entertainment I can find in my own city.

Exactly! It seems like fake travel.

[souldoubt]

Apr 3, 2019 13:25:40 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Apr 3, 2019 12:50:40 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Our cruise in the Mediterranean had over 2,300 passengers on it and the only time I was annoyed was when we were waiting for our excursion to be called and some people couldn't follow simple instructions and not stand in the walkways.  My wife gets motion sickness in a car but never had issues on the boat and there was no barf to be seen in any public areas.  For me aside from looking out at the passing scenery after a while it didn't register that we were on a boat.  I'd love to do a smaller cruise and think we definitely will some day but those seem to cost a bit more.

I don't understand the appeal of a floating resort. When we were in Cayman the boats would roll in and all those tourists were stuck on a couple of streets that were absolutely nothing like the rest of the island. Those people technically have been to Cayman, but they didn't experience it. If I just want to do the activities, why not just stay on land?

Like anything it's what you make of it.  We did shore excursions that took us inland and had us seeing things people wouldn't come across without doing quite a bit of research and everything was handled through the cruise operator.  Some people simply get off the boat on their own and end up in the most touristy areas but they don't have to pay to get there and maybe that's their speed.  Others weren't too mobile and even just seeing those places from the ship was worth it to them. 

Our cruise lasted a week and had 5 stops in 3 different countries.  We were fine with that because we spent 9 days in one country before/after the cruise which was the main place we wanted to visit so the best way to see some of what the area had to offer was a cruise.  Two of the three countries we stopped in we plan to go back to some day but before the stops there we had no frame of reference as to where we'd want to go in those countries and now we do.  If we were rich we'd spend our days traveling the world and really taking in the culture.  Unfortunately we're not and we eventually have to get back to work so we try to get the most out of our big trips while we're in area even if it's just for a day or so many hours.    

[movingforward]

Apr 3, 2019 13:27:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Apr 3, 2019 13:11:06 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I'm not a fan, either.  When I travel, I like to experience different cultures, different people, different food, different lifestyles and different music.

I don't want to be stuck on a boat with a thousand other people JUST LIKE ME, eat food I get get at home and have entertainment I can find in my own city.

Exactly! It seems like fake travel.

There are definitely certain places that I wouldn't want to cruise to, but IMHO it was great for seeing places like Hawaii. My family took a Hawaiian cruise back in 2007 for my parents 40th birthday. I took the lead on all the planning. No one really wanted to just stay on one island the entire week and hopping from island to island was going to cost a small fortune. The cruise sailed out of Honolulu, there were 2 nights in Maui, 2 nights in Kauai, and it went to both sides of the big island so we got to see the volcanoes on one side and do some amazing snorkeling on the other side. Then we stayed a few extra nights in Honolulu before flying out. Everyone did as they pleased...sometimes we went on different excursions. There were a couple of days when mom and dad just wanted to hang out in the sun while others of us wanted to be more active. We would all meet back for dinner. With the family being scattered all over the country and everyone wanting to see different islands, etc. the cruise made sense.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Apr 3, 2019 13:27:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Apr 3, 2019 13:11:06 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I'm not a fan, either.  When I travel, I like to experience different cultures, different people, different food, different lifestyles and different music.

I don't want to be stuck on a boat with a thousand other people JUST LIKE ME, eat food I get get at home and have entertainment I can find in my own city.

Exactly! It seems like fake travel.

How so?  You can get as intensive as you make it.  We did a transAtlantic tour, starting in Lisbon.  We spent 4 days in Lisbon before it started.  We stopped in the Azores and got a taste of the islands.  We stopped in Bermuda, meh.....not gonna go back there.  Docked in Miami.  It was a nice, relaxing vacation in better weather.  

Our next cruise is going to give us 6 days in Bergen/Oslo, 6 in Barcelona and we stop in some places we have been, others we want to check out for further travel.  Some excursions are events we would not be able to do any other ways.  Our hotel floats with us, which makes it easier on me.  We are doing this cruise because of a particular excursion we would not have access to otherwise.  The cruise after this will be starting in Lima, through the Chilean fijords and around the horn of South America and winding up in Bueno Aires.  We will take a few days on either end on this cruise too.

[Apple]

I've had a few people try to talk me into trying a cruise.  They've had as much success as I've had convincing them to travel the way I do (no reservations, no real plans, just go exploring through multiple countries without a data plan).  I did plant the seed for one guy who recently retired though.

I'm someone who will walk around until late at night/early morning, and I don't want that walking to be limited to a ship.  I'm not going to wander around aimlessly and turn the corner to find an old cemetery ready to be explored, or some other historical site.  Even when it's not late at night, I prefer to be on my own schedule.  I can understand why some people enjoy cruises, but it's not how I want to spend my limited travel funds and time.

ETA: I might feel different about the right river cruise, but it would have to be pretty specific to what I want, and time on the boat would need to be limited.  If it was mostly "use a boat to get from place to place instead of a train, and have almost all the time off the boat I want, in the cities I want, for the amount of time I want" and it was less expensive than doing it on my own, then maybe.

[resolution]

My parents were avid cruisers for about 30 years, although now they are in their 80s they are cruising a lot less. The experience isn't as good as it used to be, and they have been getting sick on the ships. They valued the cruise experience onboard the ship more than the destinations. For a lot of repeat destinations, they would just stay on the ship or go on a short walk instead of taking an excursion that they had already done.

They really enjoyed feeling pampered and they loved the quality of the food and the live music for ballroom dancing. Now the prices have gone down a lot, as well as the level of service and food quality, but they aren't willing to pay for a luxury line to meet the same standard that the regular lines used to have.

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2019 14:32:12 GMT -5 Apple said:

I've had a few people try to talk me into trying a cruise.  They've had as much success as I've had convincing them to travel the way I do (no reservations, no real plans, just go exploring through multiple countries without a data plan).  I did plant the seed for one guy who recently retired though.

I'm someone who will walk around until late at night/early morning, and I don't want that walking to be limited to a ship.  I'm not going to wander around aimlessly and turn the corner to find an old cemetery ready to be explored, or some other historical site.  Even when it's not late at night, I prefer to be on my own schedule.  I can understand why some people enjoy cruises, but it's not how I want to spend my limited travel funds and time.

ETA: I might feel different about the right river cruise, but it would have to be pretty specific to what I want, and time on the boat would need to be limited.  If it was mostly "use a boat to get from place to place instead of a train, and have almost all the time off the boat I want, in the cities I want, for the amount of time I want" and it was less expensive than doing it on my own, then maybe.

Our cruise was only completely at sea two of the seven days.  The rest of the time we were docked somewhere.   I hiked to a glacier, rented a jeep and explored the back country, took the White Pass railroad up a mountain, perused all the stores, watched them make totem poles, panned for gold....

I got a gazillion steps that week!

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2019 14:04:48 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Apr 3, 2019 13:27:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Exactly! It seems like fake travel.

There are definitely certain places that I wouldn't want to cruise to, but IMHO it was great for seeing places like Hawaii. My family took a Hawaiian cruise back in 2007 for my parents 40th birthday. I took the lead on all the planning. No one really wanted to just stay on one island the entire week and hopping from island to island was going to cost a small fortune. The cruise sailed out of Honolulu, there were 2 nights in Maui, 2 nights in Kauai, and it went to both sides of the big island so we got to see the volcanoes on one side and do some amazing snorkeling on the other side. Then we stayed a few extra nights in Honolulu before flying out. Everyone did as they pleased...sometimes we went on different excursions. There were a couple of days when mom and dad just wanted to hang out in the sun while others of us wanted to be more active. We would all meet back for dinner. With the family being scattered all over the country and everyone wanting to see different islands, etc. the cruise made sense.

I have family on two of the islands and have visited them several times, but I think now that I've had a taste of cruising, the island cruise sounds like it would be super fun.  I wouldn't do it unless I could go all out and get a balcony though.  I'd just kick back on my balcony with my free drinks and hang with family when I was on their island. 

Man I wish I had money.  I need to figure out a way to finagle this. 

[souldoubt]

Apr 3, 2019 15:18:35 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Apr 3, 2019 14:32:12 GMT -5 Apple said:

I've had a few people try to talk me into trying a cruise.  They've had as much success as I've had convincing them to travel the way I do (no reservations, no real plans, just go exploring through multiple countries without a data plan).  I did plant the seed for one guy who recently retired though.

I'm someone who will walk around until late at night/early morning, and I don't want that walking to be limited to a ship.  I'm not going to wander around aimlessly and turn the corner to find an old cemetery ready to be explored, or some other historical site.  Even when it's not late at night, I prefer to be on my own schedule.  I can understand why some people enjoy cruises, but it's not how I want to spend my limited travel funds and time.

ETA: I might feel different about the right river cruise, but it would have to be pretty specific to what I want, and time on the boat would need to be limited.  If it was mostly "use a boat to get from place to place instead of a train, and have almost all the time off the boat I want, in the cities I want, for the amount of time I want" and it was less expensive than doing it on my own, then maybe.

Our cruise was only completely at sea two of the seven days.  The rest of the time we were docked somewhere.   I hiked to a glacier, rented a jeep and explored the back country, took the White Pass railroad up a mountain, perused all the stores, watched them make totem poles, panned for gold....

I got a gazillion steps that week!

We left on a Sunday, stopped in 5 different cities, had one full day at sea then were back the following Sunday.  The majority of the time we were actually sailing was when we were asleep.  On the boat we went to the gym every day then did a lot of walking on excursions.  We actually got more steps in during our cruise week than our non-cruise week while both weeks we got more steps than we would back at home.  I get that going on cruises isn't for everybody and I didn't have high expectations because the only cruises I had been on before were 2-3 day cruises which are basically booze cruises. 

In regards to the overall cost I thought we got great value with the food (ton of options, different specials every meal), entertainment, everyone we interacted with, room with a window and the list goes on.  We didn't do the alcohol package and instead bought a few bottles of wine spread across our meals while eating at the restaurants that were included in the base package.  For us taking the cruise was the easiest/cheapest way to get a brief taste of countries we wouldn't see otherwise over the course of that week.  There's no places right now we feel we absolutely have to go to so a cruise stopping in multiple places along with a week or so in a country is the best way to go.

[Deleted]

My parents are currently on a Mediterranean cruise.  Every day there are new pictures on Facebook and none on a boat.  

At a castle in Lubljana (Slovania)

At a country estate in Sibenik watching Croatian musicians while eating local foods

Visiting the museum and site of the first Olympic games. 

Yesterday's post was "lots of walking on the cricket pitch in Corfu" 

[finnime]

I wanna go!

DH will be 70 in October. I turn 60 the following January. This thread has me dreaming of a trip to Hawaii, where we've never been, or to Europe maybe, to celebrate. DH has trouble walking much distance, especially on uneven pavement.

Costco has some travel deals... I think I'd spring for first or business class because DH wouldn't be comfortable traveling for 10 or so hours in coach. If only the money gods rain down on us.

[thyme4change]

Apr 3, 2019 14:28:33 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Apr 3, 2019 13:27:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Exactly! It seems like fake travel.

How so?  You can get as intensive as you make it.  We did a transAtlantic tour, starting in Lisbon.  We spent 4 days in Lisbon before it started.  We stopped in the Azores and got a taste of the islands.  We stopped in Bermuda, meh.....not gonna go back there.  Docked in Miami.  It was a nice, relaxing vacation in better weather.  

Our next cruise is going to give us 6 days in Bergen/Oslo, 6 in Barcelona and we stop in some places we have been, others we want to check out for further travel.  Some excursions are events we would not be able to do any other ways.  Our hotel floats with us, which makes it easier on me.  We are doing this cruise because of a particular excursion we would not have access to otherwise.  The cruise after this will be starting in Lima, through the Chilean fijords and around the horn of South America and winding up in Bueno Aires.  We will take a few days on either end on this cruise too.

Bergen is awesome. Take an umbrella;)
Oslo was fun, too.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Apr 3, 2019 15:47:24 GMT -5 finnime said:

I wanna go!

DH will be 70 in October. I turn 60 the following January. This thread has me dreaming of a trip to Hawaii, where we've never been, or to Europe maybe, to celebrate. DH has trouble walking much distance, especially on uneven pavement.

Costco has some travel deals... I think I'd spring for first or business class because DH wouldn't be comfortable traveling for 10 or so hours in coach. If only the money gods rain down on us.

We are traveling business class to Bergen, my hips hate economy.  If you decide to book, try businessclassconsolidators.com.  Our flights for the Bergen/Barcelona Cruise were about 50% off advertised business class.  We had to be flexible on travel days though.  This business only does international travel though, you might not have much luck with Hawaii.

Costco did have a very nice price on the package I found for Mexico last year.  I know they have Hawaii packages, but not sure about those prices.

[NastyWoman]

Apr 3, 2019 16:22:18 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Apr 3, 2019 15:47:24 GMT -5 finnime said:

I wanna go!

DH will be 70 in October. I turn 60 the following January. This thread has me dreaming of a trip to Hawaii, where we've never been, or to Europe maybe, to celebrate. DH has trouble walking much distance, especially on uneven pavement.

Costco has some travel deals... I think I'd spring for first or business class because DH wouldn't be comfortable traveling for 10 or so hours in coach. If only the money gods rain down on us.

We are traveling business class to Bergen, my hips hate economy.  If you decide to book, try businessclassconsolidators.com.  Our flights for the Bergen/Barcelona Cruise were about 50% off advertised business class.  We had to be flexible on travel days though.  This business only does international travel though, you might not have much luck with Hawaii.

Costco did have a very nice price on the package I found for Mexico last year.  I know they have Hawaii packages, but not sure about those prices.

I hate economy, but my wallet says if you want to travel and live to be 100 (without resorting to catfood or ramen noodles exclusively) you better plunk your butt into an economy seat.

[finnime]

I agree, NastyWoman, but due to physical limitations I don't think we could go at all if DH went coach. So, fewer trips but pricier ones if we go / when we go.

[wvugurl26]

The only time I got sick on my cruise, two thirds of the boat was sick. We were in nasty seas. My Fitbit did not register me as asleep until we were 60 minutes out from docking.

It was nice to go somewhere warm in February for cheap. My cousin has 3 young children and her MIL has dementia. Flying would be hell.

I have way more vacation time than my DH so I wouldn't have been able to go away if they weren't going on a cruise.

We had a blast. The staff was super friendly, the food was great and I didn't have to cook or clean for five days. The cruise director in particular was outstanding. She remembered our names and engaged with the kids. I know she gets paid but I was impressed.

We went to Atlantis and had a blast at the water park. I've been to the Bahamas before it's all americanized anyway so we didn't miss any great adventure.

[NastyWoman]

Apr 3, 2019 18:19:27 GMT -5 finnime said:

I agree, NastyWoman , but due to physical limitations I don't think we could go at all if DH went coach. So, fewer trips but pricier ones if we go / when we go.

There are always trade-offs but you chose the one that gets you the most pleasure (since we are talking leisure travel).

In addition to the fact that I do travel economy I really live quite frugally otherwise.

AND, and this is a big plus, I pay very little for hotels since I have family in both Europe and SE Asia (a place to crash as well as local bargain hunters for my side trips ). Without that, and frugal living, I would barely get to half the places I do get to visit.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Apr 3, 2019 17:00:30 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Apr 3, 2019 16:22:18 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

We are traveling business class to Bergen, my hips hate economy.  If you decide to book, try businessclassconsolidators.com.  Our flights for the Bergen/Barcelona Cruise were about 50% off advertised business class.  We had to be flexible on travel days though.  This business only does international travel though, you might not have much luck with Hawaii.

Costco did have a very nice price on the package I found for Mexico last year.  I know they have Hawaii packages, but not sure about those prices.

I hate economy, but my wallet says if you want to travel and live to be 100 (without resorting to catfood or ramen noodles exclusively) you better plunk your butt into an economy seat.

I don’t really have a choice if I want to travel.  My last long haul economy flight was South Africa, and the only reason I was not in pain was that the Emirates flight was not full and 8 got to stretch out some (plus there is more room on these flights).  I can do about 4 hours in an economy seat, which doesn’t get me far out of the US.

[NastyWoman]

Apr 3, 2019 19:23:42 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Apr 3, 2019 17:00:30 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I hate economy, but my wallet says if you want to travel and live to be 100 (without resorting to catfood or ramen noodles exclusively) you better plunk your butt into an economy seat.

I don’t really have a choice if I want to travel.  My last long haul economy flight was South Africa, and the only reason I was not in pain was that the Emirates flight was not full and 8 got to stretch out some (plus there is more room on these flights).  I can do about 4 hours in an economy seat, which doesn’t get me far out of the US.

That is tough and I do remember all your hip problems, so I am happy for you that you can afford the extra room. I fear that my limited wallet will make travelling impossible once I can't fly cattle class anymore. And even though I don't have problems yet, at 67 that time may not be far off. So I keep going while I can and worry about better seats later.

[movingforward]

Apr 3, 2019 17:00:30 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Apr 3, 2019 16:22:18 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

We are traveling business class to Bergen, my hips hate economy.  If you decide to book, try businessclassconsolidators.com.  Our flights for the Bergen/Barcelona Cruise were about 50% off advertised business class.  We had to be flexible on travel days though.  This business only does international travel though, you might not have much luck with Hawaii.

Costco did have a very nice price on the package I found for Mexico last year.  I know they have Hawaii packages, but not sure about those prices.

I hate economy, but my wallet says if you want to travel and live to be 100 (without resorting to catfood or ramen noodles exclusively) you better plunk your butt into an economy seat.

I flew premium economy to London last summer. You might try that on your next international flight. I believe it was around $350 more than standard economy. Like you, I can't afford first class (at least not at this point in my life) but the premium economy gave us more leg room, the seat went back a little farther, the service was better, etc. It was definitely worth the extra money and comes nowhere near the cost of first class.

[Cookies Galore]

Apr 4, 2019 9:09:54 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Apr 3, 2019 17:00:30 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I hate economy, but my wallet says if you want to travel and live to be 100 (without resorting to catfood or ramen noodles exclusively) you better plunk your butt into an economy seat.

I flew premium economy to London last summer. You might try that on your next international flight. I believe it was around $350 more than standard economy. Like you, I can't afford first class (at least not at this point in my life) but the premium economy gave us more leg room, the seat went back a little farther, the service was better, etc. It was definitely worth the extra money and comes nowhere near the cost of first class.

I managed to get Main Cabin Extra on a flight to Florida last month with American. We had basic economy and I lucked out with the seat assignment, but the extra legroom and free booze was nice. I might have to pay for that going forward. Hubs is tall so it would be good for him, anyway.

[tcu2003]

Apr 4, 2019 9:50:19 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Apr 4, 2019 9:09:54 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I flew premium economy to London last summer. You might try that on your next international flight. I believe it was around $350 more than standard economy. Like you, I can't afford first class (at least not at this point in my life) but the premium economy gave us more leg room, the seat went back a little farther, the service was better, etc. It was definitely worth the extra money and comes nowhere near the cost of first class.

I managed to get Main Cabin Extra on a flight to Florida last month with American. We had basic economy and I lucked out with the seat assignment, but the extra legroom and free booze was nice. I might have to pay for that going forward. Hubs is tall so it would be good for him, anyway.

I try to get that as often as I can, but I’m cheap and rarely pay for it. My AA status means I can get it for free when it’s within 24 hours of the flight, but it’s not always available. We did manage to get it to/from Hawaii last summer, which was awesome.

[Deleted]

Apr 4, 2019 9:09:54 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I flew premium economy to London last summer. You might try that on your next international flight. I believe it was around $350 more than standard economy. Like you, I can't afford first class (at least not at this point in my life) but the premium economy gave us more leg room, the seat went back a little farther, the service was better, etc. It was definitely worth the extra money and comes nowhere near the cost of first class.

I'm becoming a bit more cautious about paying for Business Class having seen how they pared back the perks. You used to have lounge access. Now it's only certain flights and at least on AA, it's no longer automatic, even for international (didn't get it going to Mexico) or long-haul (won't get it going to Hawaii from DFW in November). "Meal service" in Business Class on a 3-hour flight at 8 PM from DFW to San Juan del Cabo was a small dish of mixed nuts followed by... a warm cookie. Pretty sad that I had to break into my stash of Costco protein bars.

OTOH, I got onto an earlier flight home leaving Cabo but was in Coach in an Exit Row seat, so about the same amount of leg room (and a $175 refund). I flew home from London in Coach after my trip to India last year (didn't have enough miles to do the whole trip in Business) and paid $100 to choose my seat- I ended up in the row behind the bulkhead with no seat in front of mine- so infinite legroom. Perfectly manageable.

Sometimes Business Class is worth it- I LOVED the Polaris Lounge at ORD when I flew United to Edinburgh- but I'm beginning to think there are times when I should save my money.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Apr 4, 2019 11:13:52 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Apr 4, 2019 9:09:54 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I flew premium economy to London last summer. You might try that on your next international flight. I believe it was around $350 more than standard economy. Like you, I can't afford first class (at least not at this point in my life) but the premium economy gave us more leg room, the seat went back a little farther, the service was better, etc. It was definitely worth the extra money and comes nowhere near the cost of first class.

I'm becoming a bit more cautious about paying for Business Class having seen how they pared back the perks. You used to have lounge access. Now it's only certain flights and at least on AA, it's no longer automatic, even for international (didn't get it going to Mexico) or long-haul (won't get it going to Hawaii from DFW in November). "Meal service" in Business Class on a 3-hour flight at 8 PM from DFW to San Juan del Cabo was a small dish of mixed nuts followed by... a warm cookie. Pretty sad that I had to break into my stash of Costco protein bars.

OTOH, I got onto an earlier flight home leaving Cabo but was in Coach in an Exit Row seat, so about the same amount of leg room (and a $175 refund). I flew home from London in Coach after my trip to India last year (didn't have enough miles to do the whole trip in Business) and paid $100 to choose my seat- I ended up in the row behind the bulkhead with no seat in front of mine- so infinite legroom. Perfectly manageable.

Sometimes Business Class is worth it- I LOVED the Polaris Lounge at ORD when I flew United to Edinburgh- but I'm beginning to think there are times when I should save my money.

i can vouch for the Air France lounge out of Vancouver too.  We hung there while waiting for our flight to Lisbon.  TD’s mom offered to drive down from Vancouver to pick us up and we always try to account for border snafus, so would up at the airport nearly 4 hours before our flight left.  

[NastyWoman]

Just some info for the world travellers with the preface that I have never been in any of the lounges in S'pore: I would save my money there if they tell you you need to pay extra for access since the airport itself is wonderful enough just to relax and hang around for a couple of hours...