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KSRdallen
07-02-2017, 05:20 PM
My wife and are considering a Mediterranean cruise next year. We'd like to maximize the countries we can see but also have a quality cruise/ship experience. We never been on a cruise, so we know little about cruise lines.

Suggestions?

dan_bgblue
07-02-2017, 06:08 PM
Any chance I could could convince you to change cruise destination?

Darrell KSR
07-02-2017, 07:21 PM
Alaska!

KSRdallen
07-02-2017, 08:06 PM
We toured Alaska, but completely by train. It was an amazing trip.

EDIT: I highly recommend Alaska by train. Here is the company we used: http://www.alaskatravel.com/

Darrell KSR
07-02-2017, 08:22 PM
Now take Alaska by cruise!

dan_bgblue
07-02-2017, 09:04 PM
Now take Alaska by cruise!

Ports of call are the same as some of the train stops, and most of the cruises offer train excursions off ship, but the two experiences are totally different and you get to see things you could not see by train.

I am committed to seeing all of the USA that I can before I venture off to foreign lands. That is just me though and in no way applies to others. This country is filed with sites and wonders that occur no where else in the world and so many folks fail to see what is at home while seeking the next adventure in foreign lands.

Darrell KSR
07-02-2017, 09:14 PM
Ports of call are the same as some of the train stops, and most of the cruises offer train excursions off ship, but the two experiences are totally different and you get to see things you could not see by train.

I am committed to seeing all of the USA that I can before I venture off to foreign lands. That is just me though and in no way applies to others. This country is filed with sites and wonders that occur no where else in the world and so many folks fail to see what is at home while seeking the next adventure in foreign lands.
Part of the reason we chose Hawaii for our honeymoon as opposed to some foreign countries. But haven't stuck 100% to that, admittedly...

kingcat
07-03-2017, 11:54 AM
Id love to visit Greece one day. And the Swiss Alps appeal to me too.

Likely will never come to fruition for me however. So I love to see friends and acquaintances get to travel abroad.

KentuckyWildcat
07-03-2017, 12:53 PM
Any chance I could could convince you to change cruise destination?

How come?

I want to do at least 3 cruises. Mediterranean, Alaska, and one of a few options. But I may have to find me a girlfriend to go because I don't think I'll ever get the wife to go on a cruise.

KSRBEvans
07-03-2017, 02:22 PM
Let me put in a quick word for a river cruise. We just got back from a 7-night Rhine River cruise on the Avalon Felicity. We booked it last fall when Avalon Waterways was offering $1000 off + free airfare.*

We started in Amsterdam and went south to Cologne, Koblenz, the Rhine Gorge, Rudesheim, Mainz, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Obernau, the Black Forest, Colmar and ended in Basel, Switzerland. It was my 1st trip to Europe and maybe all Europe's like this, but it was an incredible display of history and beauty and about the best vacation I've ever taken. I can't recommend it highly enough.

http://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/romantic-rhine-southbound/waz/?content=itin



*--We took Icelandair out of O'Hare, which was a bad move. We left 6 1/2 hours late, which meant we missed our connection and they had to put us on another flight, arriving in Amsterdam about 9 hours later than planned. So I think I won't ever fly out of O'Hare again. Other than that, a great trip.

dan_bgblue
07-03-2017, 03:17 PM
How come?

I want to do at least 3 cruises. Mediterranean, Alaska, and one of a few options. But I may have to find me a girlfriend to go because I don't think I'll ever get the wife to go on a cruise.

I think the answer is in my last post above. I don't have anything against foreign ports of call for a cruise, but if one has not seen everything this country has to offer, then why go abroad until you have?

KSRdallen
07-03-2017, 05:27 PM
Let me put in a quick word for a river cruise. We just got back from a 7-night Rhine River cruise on the Avalon Felicity. We booked it last fall when Avalon Waterways was offering $1000 off + free airfare.*

We started in Amsterdam and went south to Cologne, Koblenz, the Rhine Gorge, Rudesheim, Mainz, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Obernau, the Black Forest, Colmar and ended in Basel, Switzerland. It was my 1st trip to Europe and maybe all Europe's like this, but it was an incredible display of history and beauty and about the best vacation I've ever taken. I can't recommend it highly enough.

http://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/romantic-rhine-southbound/waz/?content=itin



*--We took Icelandair out of O'Hare, which was a bad move. We left 6 1/2 hours late, which meant we missed our connection and they had to put us on another flight, arriving in Amsterdam about 9 hours later than planned. So I think I won't ever fly out of O'Hare again. Other than that, a great trip.

Thanks, Brian. Another friend just returned from a river cruise similar to yours. I'll keep it in mind.

CitizenBBN
07-03-2017, 06:58 PM
My wife did a river Europe cruise very much like BEvans, the Rhine so a lot of the same stops. Was with Viking. She enjoyed it.

Honestly I doubt cruises are my thing, but she liked this one for the size (small ship on the river) and service (more than one staff person on the ship for every customer so top notch service).

KentuckyWildcat
07-04-2017, 10:38 AM
I think the answer is in my last post above. I don't have anything against foreign ports of call for a cruise, but if one has not seen everything this country has to offer, then why go abroad until you have?

Gotcha, completely missed that. I'm pretty much with you. The only places I want to see outside of the US is Bora Bora and a Mediterranean cruise. There is a lot more I need to see here before I go to those places. Maybe in retirement. I want to see Cape Cod/Maine area and the Northwest. The wife is finally coming around to visiting those places. She has had the mindset that every vacation needs to be in Florida....I love the beach, but I want to see some other places as well.

KSRBEvans
07-04-2017, 11:23 AM
My wife did a river Europe cruise very much like BEvans, the Rhine so a lot of the same stops. Was with Viking. She enjoyed it.

Honestly I doubt cruises are my thing, but she liked this one for the size (small ship on the river) and service (more than one staff person on the ship for every customer so top notch service).

Yes, I'd been on 3 Caribbean cruises on ships with 3000+ passengers. Here, the size of the Rhine locks dictates the size of the boat--narrow and long, but not nearly as long as a cruise ship, so fewer passengers--we had only 129. There are pros and cons to both, but this is a different experience.

CitizenBBN
07-04-2017, 11:32 AM
Yes, I'd been on 3 Caribbean cruises on ships with 3000+ passengers. Here, the size of the Rhine locks dictates the size of the boat--narrow and long, but not nearly as long as a cruise ship, so fewer passengers--we had only 129. There are pros and cons to both, but this is a different experience.

That was about the size of hers. As you said, it's on a river, it's a totally different scale.

She had a good time, but hasn't really been expressing that "we have to do these" vibe either. But neither of us are going to be big cruise people, we're very unstructured when we vacation b/c we're so structured otherwise. That's why I like the Keys. I get up, start walking somewhere, see what happens and where I end up. I don't have much of a plan and don't want one.