World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Cruising
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I've never been on a cruise, Nik. The closest I got was buying some Henri Lloyd clothing in the 1990s.
If I were to go on one, it would be the one you're on now. It sounds idyllic. Hope you have a wonderful time.
Re recommendations, best mate has recently been on one around Norway for his 50th. He said poor weather but lovely sights, and that the indulgence of cruise life was very much to his liking (looked like he'd put a bit of timber on).
If I were to go on one, it would be the one you're on now. It sounds idyllic. Hope you have a wonderful time.
Re recommendations, best mate has recently been on one around Norway for his 50th. He said poor weather but lovely sights, and that the indulgence of cruise life was very much to his liking (looked like he'd put a bit of timber on).
Lloyd is a sufficient proximity to actual sailing. Yep, enjoyed it a lot, thanks. The weather can be decisive in these things. Luckily (although reasonably expected in this season), we had only one day when the sea was a bit less than tranquil, but many felt uneasy.
Did a cruise around Caribbean a few years back, went from New York and back - waist line still recovering. Wife and daughter loved the dressing up for dinner (Cunard).We're planning another last year when my wife got ill. That was from Rome to Greek Islands and back. Had to cancel and instead went to Kenya when my wife was fit enough to travel.
Looked again this summer but decided against it.
Currently in plan but not purchased is a trip from Singapore to Hong Kong - or the reverse. Not sure if we will or won't and savings a bit depleted with EV etc.
Loved food, service and stops (even if rushed) didn't like over priced drinks. Looking for more inclusive trip next time. If there is a next time
Yep, stops, food, service, and I'd add - shows are highlights. A floating five star hotel - what could be better.Although the cruise prohibits bringing self-bought alcohol aboard, pertaining Facebook groups claimed this rule wasn't enforced.
Probably I'm not an exemplary passenger, but I did enjoy whisky, ouzo and raki brought from the shore to counter overpricing.
Sorry, Nik, in my haste to post I didn't pay sufficient attention to tense. Glad you had a good time. Seeing glimpses of the ancient world and drinking fine spirits would take some beating.
My wife and I have done a few. I'd have to say there are cruises and cruises though... some are just floating bogan parties that get hosed out once a week. Avoid.We've done a few on Oceania - absolutely brilliant. We've also done some of the more adventurous cruises, such as Scenic and Hurtigruten at the poles. Those are more expensive but, as in all things, you get what you pay for.
For those who are cruise curious, I cannot recommend more highly an Oceania cruise in the Mediterranean.
Poles sound exciting. Would love to catch a boat from Argentina to Antarctica one day...
The only cruise which I've seriously looked into was an Antarctic summer cruise. The problem was that most of the affordable tickets were aboard old Russian icebreakers. 😬What you need to know about Russian ships is that many of them are well built, but the Russians don't understand maintenance. Seriously, they run what should be the pride of the Russian fleet, the Admiral Kuznetsov, on fuel oil so unrefined that it has completely destroyed her boilers.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/04/w...
This is made worse by the fact that Russian ports can't supply adequate shore power to maintain ships, so they have to run the boilers constantly.
If she's a Russian built ship which is maintained by Argentinians, she's probably fine. If she's a Russian flagged ship, you might be safer visiting the Titanic in a home built carbon fiber submarine.
Well noticed, safety and maintenance are the least of their concern. They’d rather steal the allocation than maintain properly. If anyone considered traveling with aeroflot, think again
Nik, that sounds wonderful. Glad you had a good trip. I'm a landlubber myself, don't want to be out of sight of land, especially when isolated with a bunch of strangers. But I'm happy for those who do enjoy it. Cool that you sneaked in your own booze :-)
Thanks, Scout! Yeah, traveling alone may not be such a great idea, however with friends or family - should be a very enjoyable experience. Maybe a landcruising then? 😎
Yes, train travel is more my style. Solidly grounded. You get the experience of seeing miles of woods, the backsides of towns -- sharing sunrise on wheels with strangers -- once with a guy playing harmonica.
Used to love trains 🚂 in childhood/teens. After Chernobyl in 1986 travelled as far as south Siberia to Altai mountains ⛰ . It took 4 days on a train. In this age I fail to fall asleep in one 🤷🏼 and similarly- during a flight ✈️
I love train travel too. It's the one form of public transport I really enjoy.
The only disappointing thing is that the UK's rail network is inferior to every other one I've used. Far more expensive and far less punctual.
Nik, your 4 day journey sounds fantastic.
The only disappointing thing is that the UK's rail network is inferior to every other one I've used. Far more expensive and far less punctual.
Nik, your 4 day journey sounds fantastic.
The London Underground is excellent, and Britrail is OK.I've had some terrible journeys in Italy in the past, but had only good experiences in May/June this year.
Adrian, I found Aus network v good and every mainland European one I've tried excellent. German and Dutch the best. Never used Italian railway cause have yet to visit Italy.
IMO, Paris metro p***es on London underground for value and quality.
IMO, Paris metro p***es on London underground for value and quality.
I took a cruise with my brother a few years ago - we went to Cozumel Mexico - we were gone for about a week. It was fun. Though it was a lot of walking which we were not too happy about. But the food was great. :) Only two things that were not so nice was the ship got caught in a storm and we had some rough seas for about an hour. The other thing was we became locked in our room - the card reader to go out would not work and we had to call someone - they couldn't figure out what happened but their master card reader didn't work either so they had to drill our door off its hinges to fix the door. It could only happen to us! lol They said they had never had that happen on that ship before - but they did have problems with some of their other ships in the past with doors not working.
Hope they cared to compensate you for the trouble with something nice - like a line of cocktails on the house 🛳🍹😎
Nik wrote: "Hope they cared to compensate you for the trouble with something nice - like a line of cocktails on the house 🛳🍹😎"They did let us have whatever we wanted at the bar for all the troubles. So it all worked out. :)
Maybe one day aircraft carriers can be remodeled into cruisers, meanwhile we'll enjoy regular ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNflU...
A special offer from Branson to digital nomads: https://www.traveloffpath.com/this-is... work from cruise
In 2019, my 3 sisters and I did a cruise out of Miami, FL to the Carribean. It was ok. I just didn't feel like there was enough time on any of the islands to see the sites. I would have loved to tour old museums and the sugar can plantation. We did one of the but tours and it reminded me of a movie with the animals on the road, steep mountain curves and hoping another vehicle wasn't coming around the bend in the opposite direction at the same time. I did make time for The Callwood Rum Distillery - one of the Caribbean's oldest continuous pot distillery in Garden Bay, British Virgin Island (400 years old?). I did bring back bottles of rum. We were allowed to buy liquor and bring it back to the states, but we had to check it when we returned to the boat and then it was returned to us before debarking.My sisters warned me to get seasick meds, but I didn't need them.
If I could do one around the world or throughout the Mediterranean (Italy and Greece) I would, but outside my budget.
In 2021 my daughter and granddaughter did a cruise from Seattle to Alaska. They liked it. I was invited but it sounded too cold to me. I drove to WI from AZ in lovely July sunshine, house sat the plants and animals for them, and enjoyed the big Summerfest musical festival instead.
We like cruising and have done a few now. Just did Tokyo to Singapore which was pretty good, although while Japan is a beautiful country, the ports are industrial and ugly.Saw only one military vessel in the South China Sea.
In the name of our Roman era fans I bowed my head (didn't have flowers handy) at Gaius Memmius, Sulla's grandson, monument in Ephesus.
I've already put on my bulletproof vest, so feel free to throw your stones at me, for putting my 100kg (plus a little extra, which I'm scary to check on the scales, gained in the ship's buffet) on a donkey to climb 600 steep stairs uphill to Fyra in Santorini.
I can't promise to read all 51 accumulated posts on Trump's thread, but other than that I'll try to keep abreast.
Nevertheless, I'm curios whether there are sailing soulmates among our esteemed members and what unchartered seas and liners would you/they recommend? 🚢