I think I might prefer land trips over cruising

[DietCokeMommy]

Enjoy pre-kid vacations is all I can say; life was sooo much simpler then, and vacays so much easier.

This 1000x, lol. We're planning on doing a land trip to France in a couple years and I've tried so hard to figure out how to make it a cruise because they're so much easier with kids. But Paris is a must-see for this trip (DH has never been) and it's just hard to combine a cruise with Paris and it's so much more expensive. We could do an ABD with a river cruise to the south of france and it would be like twice as much.

Part of my issue with land vacations is that I like to see a lot - we're going to do several days in Paris, several in the French Alps, and then a couple at Disneyland Paris because we have to fly in and out of Paris anyways. It would be so much easier if I could take a cruise ship from Paris to the Alps, lol. Instead we have to take a train and rent a car and then get two hotel rooms. In Paris we'll rent an apartment.

 

[emilymad]

We had that cruise booked and ended up cancelling. We hadn't been to Hawaii before and only getting 4 days there seemed too short and the length of the cruise wouldn't allow us to spend more. If you end up cancelling and look at Europe I can offer some suggestions I did a crazy amount of research before this trip and did a lot.

Thanks! It is a tough decision. We are trying to decide where to go before canceling the Hawaii cruise. Too many places to see and not enough time.

 

[darnheather]

For me traveling alone with children cruising is the only way to truly have a vacation.

 

[FSU Girl]

This 1000x, lol. We're planning on doing a land trip to France in a couple years and I've tried so hard to figure out how to make it a cruise because they're so much easier with kids. But Paris is a must-see for this trip (DH has never been) and it's just hard to combine a cruise with Paris and it's so much more expensive. We could do an ABD with a river cruise to the south of france and it would be like twice as much.

Part of my issue with land vacations is that I like to see a lot - we're going to do several days in Paris, several in the French Alps, and then a couple at Disneyland Paris because we have to fly in and out of Paris anyways. It would be so much easier if I could take a cruise ship from Paris to the Alps, lol. Instead we have to take a train and rent a car and then get two hotel rooms. In Paris we'll rent an apartment.

I really liked the train part of our trip from London to Edinburgh. I could see it being a bit more complicated when I have a kid in tow. My husband has kids, but they have zero desire to go to Europe at the moment. I'm hoping when they're older they will want to go. Your trip sounds like it's going to be so much fun though! I've never been to Paris, working on a trip to visit soon. I've been to the Swiss Alps, which I think are connected to the French ones. It is gorgeous you're going to love it. Hard to do a cruise there since water is no where nearby.

For me traveling alone with children cruising is the only way to truly have a vacation.

I will probably do cruises when I have a kid, but my parents took me a ton of vacations from a very young age and we didn't start cruising until 11. We went to a lot of places during the summer that had day camps my parents put me and my brother in so my parents still had some child free time on our trips. Those were all in the US and Canada though. I didn't make it over to Europe until I was a late teen.

 

[ember1205]

For me, cruising is a floating all inclusive resort. I don't really want to get off the ship. Land vacations are all about doing, and there is so much to see and do that isn't at a cruise port. This is why we won't cruise the Med or northern Europe. I would rather be immersed in the cities and the land instead of hopping from place to place each night.

So glad you enjoyed yourself. I remember your planning threads and all the different options you had!

To me, this captures the essence of why you do, or don't, cruise.

Land Vacations are all about the activities and the large quantity of things to see ON LAND. Cruising is about getting away from land, from the constant connectivity, and just relaxing. Cruising is as much a method of transportation as it is a collective of activities. Land Vacations are made up of both as well, but you are able to schedule your transportation around your activities, not the other way around like you do on a cruise ship.

I enjoy BOTH kinds of vacations and appreciate both of them for what they offer me. When I want to do a bunch of stuff, I stay on land. When I want to get away and relax, I cruise.

 

[otten]

Yea I wouldn't cruise places that I really wanted to explore. Like we'll never do the med cruises because if I'm going to Rome I want several days not less than one. I would one day like to do one to St Petersburg because I don't think I'd go any other way but in general cruising for me is about the cruise experience itself.

I am really looking forward to our Panama Canal cruise though because that's one thing we can't experience any other way.

 

[starvenger]

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer land trips over cruising now. I just did a two week trip to England and Scotland and it was beyond amazing. I've never planned a trip like this before and everything was perfect. I had originally had a British Isles cruise booked with Princess that I ended up cancelling, and reading reviews of how badly excursions went on it and most people got sick has me really happy I didn't go.

I still love cruising, but I think my future cruises will be more focused on the ship than locations and I'll be flying to destinations more. I just loved being immersed in the culture, not having to race back to a ship every night and really get to explore a country at a slower pace.

This sounds about right. Sometimes you just want to explore a place for more time than a port day will allow. A few years ago we stayed for a week in Barcelona. And it was good to just explore the city and get out to Montserrat and do it at a pace that suited the kids. And we'd rented an apartment, so we could relax whenever we weren't exploring.

And it's not that you can't explore a place in a day. Back in my younger days I did a Contiki bus tour (recommended, if you're in your 20s and don't mind riding a coach for hours at a time), and we got a day, day and a half to explore places like Paris and Venice. And you can make it work, but everything is rushrushrush and you don't get to experience as much.

And getting back to cruising, you really have to pick one thing and focus on that experience. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it is just as much about the ship as it is the ports, so you're sacrificing a bit on the exploring end for the sake of having this floating resort take you from place to place.

I feel the same way as you. We are booked on the Hawaii cruise and are considering canceling. 5 nights at sea is too many days wasted. We have already done Hawaii by land so we are thinking back to Europe. We have traveled both land and cruises but this Hawaii trip really has us conflicted.

The only real issue with cruising Hawaii is that you have to be back on the boat before they leave. I think they stay overnight in some ports so that's not as big a deal as it is in the Caribbean? For me though, I feel like Hawaii is best experienced by staying there at least 4 nights and driving around the islands. For my 10th anniversary we did (with the kids) 5 nights on Oahu and 5 nights in Maui, booking via Airbnb (I understand that's a point of contention in the state right now, but not the time and place to talk about it). One of the most enjoyable times I've had.

Coming back was a different story, as our Maui-LAX flight got cancelled and we had a mad scramble to rebook back to Toronto. I mean, if OGG-SFO-IAH=YYZ doesn't sound like fun, I'm not sure what is.

I have no idea what is allowed but there are several places on DIS your experiences could be useful. Here, for those who spend days in the UK before or after their cruise. The Disneyland Paris trip reports board, as most US visitors who go to DLP go to the UK as well, and I think there are Adventures By Disney where people spend time in the UK on their own before or after their tour.

I have seen one or two reports of travels without a Disney component on the DIS because the author went to a popular place, visited frequently by people going to a Disney park. I think on the Asia boards... But not sure.

Or you just put the link to your blog in your signature, that is always an option.

I posted about my Austria trip in the Canadian forum, but that's just us Canucks talking about whatever. I also have a personal blog, which I've been sporadically posting to, and I basically did a CnP of my reports on there. I don't actually expect to get many eyeballs on the blog, but sometimes I just want to write some thoughts down (such as thoughts on The Amazing Race), and it's... kind of cathartic. I'll probably post about my LA trip (where I'll be cruising... along the PCH) there, and somewhere on this board, if they let me.

 

[AquaDame]

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer land trips over cruising now. I just did a two week trip to England and Scotland and it was beyond amazing. I've never planned a trip like this before and everything was perfect. I had originally had a British Isles cruise booked with Princess that I ended up cancelling, and reading reviews of how badly excursions went on it and most people got sick has me really happy I didn't go.

I still love cruising, but I think my future cruises will be more focused on the ship than locations and I'll be flying to destinations more. I just loved being immersed in the culture, not having to race back to a ship every night and really get to explore a country at a slower pace.

I agree when it comes to Europe. We sailed on a Norwegian cruise a couple of years ago and I longed to stay off the ship honestly. For us it makes sense in the Caribbean where you island hop, or in Alaska where you can't easily drive around (sometimes it is literally impossible) but not so much in other areas. For Norway it downright bugged us that we were back on the ship for 12 hours a day doing the same thing we could do from Port Canaveral....

 

[Chemist]

Honestly, dont' flame me, but...
I've never understood doing cruises as essentially your only vacation.
I mean, they are lovely, but, it seems like you miss out on so many other things.
(Or maybe the PP who do a zillion cruises have more vacation time than we do!)

In the past 3 years we have done two Caribbean cruises. Both of those were essentially beach vacations for us!
We also went to the Big Island for 8 days, spent a week in Washington DC/Colonial Williamsburg, and are going rafting as our vacation this summer.
(Plus various trips to visit family, which are NOT vacations.)

We definitely want to take the boys to Europe and do more trips to Mexico/Central America, just need to wait until they are a little older and much better eaters! Those trips would all be land based, so we could explore more!

 

[suedon70]

OP, I totally get where you're coming from regarding European vacations vs Caribbean vacations. It is so much better to do land vacations in Europe because you have the opportunity see so much more! Of our many trips overseas only one was via cruise (Scandinavia which included Bruges, Oslo, Copenhagen, etc.). For cities we have visited including London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, etc. I think a traveler definitely needs more time to really see the sites plus hidden gems that you normally wouldn't experience during the limited time of just one full day in a city you would experience on a cruise.

I agree with many that I love my cruises (especially DCL cruises!) but I love to do land vacations just as much!

 

[realhousewifeofportland]

If you want to see more of a specific area (Rome was used as an example), then just make sure that city is an embarkation/debarkation city. You spend a few days or week in the city before you hop on/off the ship. That's what we are doing with our upcoming Med cruise, as are many others. Not sure why so many people think it has to be one or the other. If we did Italy just on foot, we would not be going to the South of France or Barcelona.

 

[starvenger]

I'd think the main reason is budget and time considerations. If you're going for a week in the Mediterranean, and have to fly overseas, it doesn't leave that much time for pre/post exploration if you have 9 days off (5 weekdays plus the weekends). If you can afford 2 weeks off, then sure, it's something you can consider.

 

[tlprice]

But I can't imagine seeing Rome in one day. It's actually a turn off for me.

This was exactly why I did the Barcelona to Rome cruise last summer. I hadn't been to Rome before, but had always wanted to go. I couldn't fathom only spending one day there. Ending our cruise there was great. We weren't jet lagged so we got to enjoy every moment of our 3 days there. We also really enjoyed our cruise and the ports. I don't think I would have really wanted to spend more time in any of the other ports, but I did enjoy going to those places.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I prefer land trips over cruising now. I just did a two week trip to England and Scotland and it was beyond amazing. I've never planned a trip like this before and everything was perfect. I had originally had a British Isles cruise booked with Princess that I ended up cancelling, and reading reviews of how badly excursions went on it and most people got sick has me really happy I didn't go.

I still love cruising, but I think my future cruises will be more focused on the ship than locations and I'll be flying to destinations more. I just loved being immersed in the culture, not having to race back to a ship every night and really get to explore a country at a slower pace.

We originally had a DCL Med cruise booked for this week, but instead we opted for a 2.5 week exploration of Paris, Barcelona & Amsterdam, which we're in the midst of right now. There is no question that you can see & do more in Europe via a land trip then on a cruise, and we have already seen so many extraordinary things that we're very glad about the choice we made.

However, we're still also cruise people. I can understand the appeal of cruising in Europe, and am open to doing so in the future, because there are downsides to land trips, too: the harder planning, the moving in & out of strange hotels whose quality and convenience can't be fully gauged until after you check in, the having to figure out food and transportation on your own.

All of that effort and novelty can lead to some homesickness. If you're on a cruise (particularly on a line you've cruised multiple times before), the ship is your home away from home, so homesickness is less likely to be an issue.

So I see advantages to both kinds of trips,.even in Europe.

 

[flowsoul]

Cruising and land travel are two totally different types of travel. I guess it really depends on the traveler and how he/she wants to experience the journey of going to the destinations. Both have their own pros and cons. And it's only natural you will prefer one more than the other. But it's always nice to experience both for sure!

 

[FSU Girl]

If you want to see more of a specific area (Rome was used as an example), then just make sure that city is an embarkation/debarkation city. You spend a few days or week in the city before you hop on/off the ship. That's what we are doing with our upcoming Med cruise, as are many others. Not sure why so many people think it has to be one or the other. If we did Italy just on foot, we would not be going to the South of France or Barcelona.

My husband and I don't get that much vacation time. We would at most be able to add a day or two before a cruise and that's about it. For this past trip of mine I wouldn't have been able to have any additional days because of the length of the cruise. My parents are retired and love traveling by cruise and spend 6 months at a time traveling the world, I hope one day I can do that. When I was a teenager we did spend a week in Rome before our cruise and I fell in love with the city. I went back with a friend years later by cruise where it was a port and it was a really long packed day and we saw a lot, but I wish it could have been for longer. Especially in the Med where all the cities are far from the port I wouldn't do a cruise there again.

 

[FSU Girl]

Don't get me wrong, I still love cruises, especially Disney cruises which I've only been sailing with for the last couple years. I definitely will be going on more cruises in the future. I just think when I do trips to Europe I will do a land trip over a cruise one so I can spend more time in the locations we are visiting. For sure I'll only visit the Caribbean by cruise (although won't be doing that for a while since we are trying for a baby and zika) and I live super close to both the Port Everglade and Miami ports so doing cruises from there is a really easy way to vacation.

I think I might do a mini trip report in the cruise trip report section since we went to places people can visit before or after a cruise leaving from the UK. And then post a link to my blog if anyone wants to read a more detailed description of everything.

 

[flowsoul]

Don't get me wrong, I still love cruises, especially Disney cruises which I've only been sailing with for the last couple years. I definitely will be going on more cruises in the future. I just think when I do trips to Europe I will do a land trip over a cruise one so I can spend more time in the locations we are visiting. For sure I'll only visit the Caribbean by cruise (although won't be doing that for a while since we are trying for a baby and zika) and I live super close to both the Port Everglade and Miami ports so doing cruises from there is a really easy way to vacation.

I think I might do a mini trip report in the cruise trip report section since we went to places people can visit before or after a cruise leaving from the UK. And then post a link to my blog if anyone wants to read a more detailed description of everything.

Yes, I agree that Europe is best visited and explored via land trip. There is just so much to see and a day or two is not enough to really experience the city and the culture.

 

[starvenger]

Also, hard to get to places like Austria from a cruise ship.

 

[mmmears]

I'm glad you had a great land trip!

For me, it depends on the itinerary. I've been to Europe 6 times, and the Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise was one of the best trips ever. If the ports are good, the timing works, etc. it can be great. But I don't think it's the only option and it's nice to mix things up a bit. Next trip there will be land only (and only one country) and I hope we enjoy it. My point is that I look at the places I want to go to first and then figure out what works best for my family.

ETA - Personally I won't visit Hawaii on a cruise since I could be happy spending a few weeks on each island and wouldn't want to use up all those days just getting there. But I get that other people would rather sail there.