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| Worst Travel Advice | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 6 2012, 02:42 PM (446 Views) | |
| Tipacanoe | Feb 6 2012, 02:42 PM Post #1 |
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Blue Star Member
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For me it was "you'll really enjoy a trans-Atlantic cruise". The one we took gave me the heeby jeebies, a cross between claustrophobia and depression. Food was good, entertainment OK but the people just seemed so boring and after about 5 days at sea I was getting very squirrelly. It didn't help that somehow I got to reading "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" - what a depressing story. Once we began getting into ports, I felt a lot better though. What was the worst travel advice you ever got. Anything like this: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/11-06/whats-the-worst-travel-advice-youve-ever-received.html |
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| Kahu | Feb 6 2012, 05:59 PM Post #2 |
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Can I add my tuppence worth here..... ? My wife and I looked at several options for cruises seeing it was our first time ..... our criteria was the to choose the cruise with the least number of 'at sea' days. Cruising the trans atlantic would be very like cruising the south pacific there's a whole lot of ocean between ports of call. |
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| Durgan | Feb 7 2012, 01:11 AM Post #3 |
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Veteran Member
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A cruise might have some merit if one was with a new lover, or with the bosses wife in some instances. I was about 25 days travelling from Auckland to NYC and about the only thing of interest was the Library aboard, and the drunk antics of the Australians was fine entertainment every night. I just love it when people talk about how good the food was on a holiday or cruise. Pay all that money and the food is of interest-give me a break. It is sort of like playing golf, may I never get so old or bored. |
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| Darcie | Feb 7 2012, 02:21 AM Post #4 |
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Skeptic
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I can identify with the cruise experience. I found it extremely boring and the food got to be same old same old after a few days(though it was well presented). It was a problem to get away from the bores, and one wondered what the drunks would do the next night. I found myself spending time in my cabin trying to get away from some of the passengers and wishing I could escape. Did a lot of reading, sure was expensive reading. If I had a lover etc. I would rather a cabin in the woods where there is no time set for incarceration. biggrin 04 The thought of a long cruise is not my idea of fun, a river cruise in Europe I would really like though. |
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| lilal | Feb 7 2012, 05:37 AM Post #5 |
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Blue Star Member
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My parents went on an Alaska cruise and also a riverboat cruise in Germany. Dad said on the Alaska cruise he felt like a sheep in the herd but really enjoyed the riverboat cruise - not so many people and more to see. |
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| swing | Feb 7 2012, 06:27 AM Post #6 |
swing
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I have never been on a cruise. I am somewhat claustrophobic, and feel the cabins would be too confining however a friend echoed many of the sentiments stated here. She said you pay all that money to sleep in a closet, and eat the same food every day. |
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| campy | Feb 7 2012, 06:30 AM Post #7 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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You're knocking golf? One of the best exercises in the world for seniors. |
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| angora | Feb 7 2012, 06:30 AM Post #8 |
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WWS Book Club Coordinator
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I get seasick on the ferry in Manitoulin so I stay away from water vacations but, I really wanted to go on the Galapagos cruise. :( |
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| Tipacanoe | Feb 7 2012, 02:05 PM Post #9 |
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Blue Star Member
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When we told our friends and family that we’d be going to Rome for eight days, friends & family were concerned we were going without a tour group, and neither of us speak any Italian. They couldn’t figure out how we would get around without someone guiding us every step of the way! However, we knew that by doing a little reseach ahead of time we’d be just fine. Sure enough, we had a wonderful time and only got lost once…and no less than three people came over to assist us when they saw us looking confused! It did take us a couple days to screw up the courage to take transit but once we started, we moved around like pros. We went to the Termini and had great fun trying to figure out how to buy tickets to Florence but after a half hour or so a lovely young lady came up and helped us out with it. Our train trip to Florence and back was one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken. I will say that the wonderful Italian food I had heard about didn't quite materialize. We could have used some good advice about where to eat. The guide books weren't too helpful really or maybe I am too picky. But I will go back to Rome under the same circumstances at the drop of a hat! |
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| Daniel | Mar 11 2012, 06:14 AM Post #10 |
Small Star Member
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I would think this is contradictory for taking a cruise. I look for cruises with the maximum number of sea days. From what I've experienced, unless you take excursions, Ports of Call are nothing more than out door shopping malls. All the stuff are the same and you're in a walled community. One of my survey comments back to the cruise liners was that the boat was the main attraction. I enjoy just to sit at my balcony or where ever and watch the water go by. I can enjoy unobstructed sunrises (haven't seen the green-flash of a sunset yet), flying fish, sea weed that look like the dispersant and to track the ship with my gps identifying islands that are beyond the horizon. |
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| Kahu | Mar 11 2012, 10:42 AM Post #11 |
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I appreciate your point, but because we have to travel long distances to get anywhere in this world, we purposely looked for a cruise that had as few as possible 'sea days'. Some of the areas visited were places that we'd been to before and the cruise offered to NZ and Australian customers was actually two scheduled cruises both starting and ending in Rome and including North Africa, Turkey, Croatia and Albania. All places we'd never been to. We planned and paid for all ports of call activities before we left, and as a result there were no nasty surprises at all. From our experiences the 'shopping mall' was the ship itself, diamonds, art, photography, fashion right down to the coca cola bought from a passing steward at an exhorbitant price. The right cap off for us was a very average New Zealand sauvignon blanc which we can buy in a supermarket here for round NZ$10.00 was sold onboard for US$50.00!!!! |
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| Daniel | Mar 11 2012, 03:33 PM Post #12 |
Small Star Member
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That makes sense if you're going that far. So far my experiences have only been in the Caribbean. But I still like the sea days, so eventually I'll pull my money and time together for a transatlantic and then another one specifically for Europe. Those are gonna cost a bundle. |
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| Kahu | Mar 11 2012, 06:41 PM Post #13 |
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You can always head 'down under'. Plenty of sea days there ...... biggrin 04 Seriously, though if ever you do, don't think you can 'do' NZ in a couple of days .... just because we're small, you'd miss out on an awful lot and waste money to boot! |
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