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Yes, I was aware of your indifference for views. OTOH, I am a view fanatic and will pay a premium for it. But I am lazy and enjoy hanging out in my room and enjoying the view.
Max of 10 people on board, different snorkeling spots twice a day, self-service bar 24/7, great food, beautiful islands, excursions, get to meet interesting people.
I'd invite you on a cruise Mary Ann, but my wife would probably disapprove. Of course, you and your husband could get your own room.
We took our first cruise three years ago, which was just about the right time in our lives. The floating hotel went to Bermuda, stayed three nights in Hamilton, and then back to Boston. We really enjoyed it. Last year we did New England Coasts, Boston back to Boston. Again, we enjoyed it. Food service, nice meals, dress up a couple of nights. It is relaxing and enjoyable. In April we head to Tampa for a Western Caribbean cruise. We have a room overlooking the wake. We hear moonlit nights and the wake are very enjoyable and relaxing. Cruising on HAL is relaxing. Smaller ships, older clientele, slow pace.
We are thinking of a river cruise on the Danube River one day. I am interested in the pros and cons of the various river cruise lines. What are your thoughts?
Not having a lot of experience to be able to make an informed comparison, we've been spoiled by AMAWaterways. They have treated us as royalty. We had occasion last Summer to spend several days with a port agent who works with most river cruise lines and he said there are less problems and a very positive working arrangement with this Basel Switzerland based carrier. I had to leave the cruise early due to emergency medical problems. AMA checked on me daily, and after getting back home to the US, I got flowers and a personal note from the owner and president of the company. For us, there is only ONE river cruise company.
Ha, ha, LOL. I think it is fine that you are a land person and not a water person. We are all different. I am a big time water person. I joke that I should have been a mermaid! LOL
It's funny because I love water and being in it. But not being on a cruise ship. I like getting off the cruise ship and doing the land excursions and exploring. I feel confined on a ship and I also am intimidated being way out in the ocean in the middle of nowhere- especially once you lose sight of land and only see endless water.
We consider cruises as scouting trips and we both love being on the water. It's an easy was to visit a number of places without packing and unpacking every day. You can't see much on a 6 hour excursion, but you can get an idea if you'd want to come back for a longer visit. The only cruise we're likely to repeat is Alaska. It was also one of our favorites.
Even on larger ships, you don't feel like it's crowded. They have plenty of dinning rooms and excursions are staggered. The biggest problem with a large ship is that it may be a long walk to get where you want to go. We're not that social. We usually dine alone and avoid on-board organized activities. We do enjoy the enrichment lectures, though. On the last cruise we took, the guest lecturer was Shelley Bonus, the Session Director of the Mt. Wilson Observatory. She gave several entertaining astronomy lectures.
Cruise ships have very strict security, much like an airport. They also are sticklers for hand sanitation. They make you use the sanitizers every time you enter a dining room and encourage all to wash their hands frequently. Considering the number of cruises each year, outbreaks happen a low percentage of the time, and make big news when one happens. The week following a cruise ship disaster is a good time to get a deal on a future cruise.
We enjoyed cruising, sailboat sailing, riverboat cruising, cataram sailing and timeshare resort vacation cruising.
The only thing I disliked on the ocean waters is when I am on my son small twin engine boat; because there is no dining facilities or sky lounge on his boat for relaxing .
Hopefully, next month we will be cruising on the new Celebrity Cruise Lines ship
called The Edge in Aqua Class with their new Infinity IV balcony.
TravelTime, some of the very best riverboat cruising are found in Europe. You can read more about riverboat cruising at the Cruises Critics website. There is a whole Forum dedicated to riverboat cruising. There are less people on a riverboat cruise, the dining and the service is impeccable IMHO.
The USS Cole was in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen, and Captain Phillips was based on Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean near Somalia - which is also near the Gulf of Aden. Most of the popular Mediterranean cruises stay close to the coasts of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and into the Adriatic. That's quite a ways (thousands of miles and in a different ocean/sea) from the pirate areas near Yemen and Somalia. I've heard many cruise lines that have itineraries that traverse the area with pirate/terror risk take on additional security before passage through those waters.
No, you were talking about pirates in the Mediterranean. The references you made about the USS Cole, Captain Philips etc is irrelevant to the Mediterranean as these all happened off the coast of East Africa, Middle East, nowhere near the Mediterranean. There are no pirates in the Med and there is a zero threat of them.
The majority of cruise ships that sail near pirate waters are heavily arm with hi tech weapons and a very strong security staff to protect the cruise ship and its passengers.
Any pirate ship IMHO that pose a threat to a cruise ship will be dealt with.
It's good the ships are taking precautions. They should.
I am well aware of where these activities took place. They were cited because they were illustrative of what could happen. No one thought the horrific attack in Nice (Yes, on the Mediterranean and in France) would happen either.
And...ahem, if you haven't noticed, the Middle East and unsettled countries on the north coast of Africa are ALSO on the Mediterranean.
Everyone's tolerance for risk is different. As I said, "This is just me." If you are fine with the potential risks then go for it.
Yes, I was aware of your indifference for views. OTOH, I am a view fanatic and will pay a premium for it. But I am lazy and enjoy hanging out in my room and enjoying the view.
I am well aware of where these activities took place. They were cited because they were illustrative of what could happen. No one thought the horrific attack in Nice ...
Wait a minute! In Nice, it was a truck that plowed people down on a sidewalk. Same thing in London. Or Charlottesville. And in Oklahoma City it was fertilizer. And in Connecticut and Florida a teen goes berserk. These are things that the victims had no warning of or defense against.
And absolutely zero to do with cruising in any way, shape or form. So live your life like you want. On your terms. And if at some point your number comes up, you can be satisfied that you didn't live in a bunker, fearful of things you can't control.
Max of 10 people on board, different snorkeling spots twice a day, self-service bar 24/7, great food, beautiful islands, excursions, get to meet interesting people.
We just did French Polynesia Tradewinds in November, and omg it was the most fun time I have ever had! We actually thought about buying a full boat and inviting a bunch of friends, but it turns out that only one couple was interested. Most of our friends were almost horrified by the thought of a catamaran cruise. Issues mentioned: seasickness (understand), being "stuck" on the boat, not enough to do at night, small cabins, not liking the food, yadda, yadda, yadda. Now I understand why there is a club. It's tough to find enough like minded folks to do a cruise.
Anyway, everyone has their thing. And as someone told me years ago, it's a good thing that we don't all like the same things, otherwise no one would be able to find their car in the parking lot.
I don't like eating fish. I have eaten it a lot because I eat it to be polite, but yuck, it tastes like fish. And, man, I don't like the taste. You may as well have told some people that their baby is ugly, they try so hard to convince me that fish tastes good. I am sure that it does - to them but not for me. Y'all know that it tastes like fish? All of it. Just like beef tastes like beef, and brussels sprouts taste like brussels sprouts. Those I like, but fish, no way. So even though some in my family have made it their mission to get me to like fish, I can safely say that after almost 60 years, I am not going to change my mind about this. I wish that they would just leave me in peace and order their salmon and let me eat my pork chop, because their happiness in enjoying their fish does not hinge on me enjoying it as well.
Everyone obviously has to do what they are comfortable with, and shouldn't do things they are not comfortable with. But I think what some people here are trying to say is there is risk everywhere. Terrorism has happened in virtually every country on the planet, so I'm not sure the risk in a trip to the Mediterranean is really that much different than the risk of a trip to New York, London, or Paris. All have experience with terror. The Middle East is also no longer the only source for terror. Much of it - while maybe inspired by actors in the Middle East - is home grown in each nation. There are also many terrorist activities (Oklahoma City, Charlottesville) that have nothing to do with the Middle East.
While I don't think I'll be planning any trips to Yemen, Baghdad, or Mogadishu, the European Med seems fine to me. I know in our recent Med cruise, I was more concerned about pickpockets in the cities than terrorists. But our kids, who have traveled in Europe more than we have, told me I was being paranoid. We all have our issues.
In my trips which included Mediterranean coasts (4), the only incident was my DW's wallet being lifted outside Buckingham Palace, London... not eggsactly hotbed of pirates, but a valuable lesson about money-pouches nonetheless.
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