Re: Serenade of the Seas ( ship)
@ Pummy and Gilly
I understand totally your reservations but I assure you they are misplaced.
Yes, if you book yourself on a huge skyscraper ship like the new ones which hold 5000 passengers (pax) and as many crew, you will feel like it's a floating city.
There are however plenty of small and mid-sized ships which are far superior imo. The ships I sail on typically have just 1500 pax and yet the ships are big enough that there is no crowding at all. They are a delight to be on. There are decadent lounges and bars for a relaxing pre or post-dinner drink which are a delight to be in, cultured, friendly, full of atmosphere.
Visiting places by ship provides a completely different view of places. Flying into Venice for example would see you missing out on the totally unique and rather magical experience of sailing in early morning as the mist rises and the towers and cathedrals emerge in all their splendour.
It is true that if you fly, you can stay in a place for a week or longer and see more of the country and sample more of the foods and customs it has to offer. On the flip side, on a cruise you can have a smaller sample of a great many more places, waking up in a different port and often a different country each day. It provides great diversity and experience.
In addition, I personally hate staying for an entire week or more in some whitewashed self catering shack surrounded by yobbish tourists getting drunk every night. On a cruise, no matter where we visit, we return back to our 4-5 star air conditioned personal hotel every night and find our bedrooms cleaned and prepared. By day we can sample all the foods a country has to offer. By evening we return to our variety of ship restaurants and enjoy great meals and the company of like minded people.
Originally Posted by Gilly
I love the peace of open countryside, of wonderful sandy beaches, the amazing vista of huge snow-capped mountain ranges that you find in Scotland, even the wonderful Snowdonia in Wales. I do not find any pleasure in being cramped up with loads of other people.
I totally appreciate that Gilly. Likewise I love the majesty, peace and variety of the vast open seas filled with dolphins, porpoises and whales, flying fish, turtles and other creatures.
I love the amazing vistas of the sail-ins to many countries such as the imposing and beautiful mountainous fjords of Norway, the oldie worldy vistas on the entry to Malta, the many sights along the river Tagus on entry to Lisbon, Portugal and the sailing under the 25th April suspension bridge. The unmissable sail in to Venice, the breath-taking vista of Madeira during the New Year Celebration fireworks, the sail-in to the beautiful places in the Adriatic like Dubrovnik, Koper and Kotor.
Cruising provides views of places that you will never see in any other way. Fly in and walk around and you will never see the lovely coastal scenes that you see from the sea.
As Pummy says, don't knock it until you've tried it. But if/when you do, be sure to research and seek advice to be sure of picking the right ship and cruise for your preferences.