My Boyfriend and I want to go to Europe in Sept 2009. The problem is, we can't decide if we should go on a cruise or to travel by land? We have had so many people to tell us yes go on a cruise and we had finally decided to go on a 7-day Royal Caribbean Cruise from Barcelona, Spain traveling to Italy, in Rome, Naples, Florence/Pisa, then to France, in Nice, Provence, then back to Barcelona, Spain. Then people from my boyfriend's work told him "No don't go a o a cruise you feel rushed on a cruise" so now we are really tossed on what to do!? So does anyone have any thoughts on to go on a Cruise or not go on a to Cruise?

Like anything, I think there are pros and cons. With a cruise, you are staying in one place and will not have to pack and unpack for everywhere you're going. I think you'll be able to pack more into 7 days with a cruise than if you did it on your own (and at a better price). However, the cons are that you might not feel as though you've had enough time in each place. You'll see the cities...but you may not FEEL them...part of the WOW factor of Rome and Barcelona are how they look and feel at night. Plus, you will have most of your food included on the cruise so you won't be able to try as many local spots.

But you've chosen a fantastic itinerary with some of the greatest places in the world! Whatever you end up doing, enjoy!!
If you still do the cruise, I would suggest staying 2-3 extra nights in Barcelona at least to really get to know the city. Barcelona is incredible!

Is there no one who can give me any more advice on this?????

Hi puppetfig~

It all depends on whether you want to be a tourist or a traveler. If you want to be a tourist, then the cruise is the way to go. They take care of everything for you, so you don't need to worry about catching trains, carrying your bags, finding good restaurants, etc. The friends you'll meet will be other Americans like yourself (if you are American on an American themed cruise), the food will be mass produced, etc. It's a controlled experience with no worries, and built more around the cruise experience than the actual destinations. When you leave the ship, you'll be leaving with a horde of passengers and re boarding with the same horde. You'll never get a feel for the locals or the culture.

If you travel on your own, I'd cut down on the number of places you visit. You'd be spending too much time traveling and not enough time visiting. You'll need to do more food, hotel and transportation research. You'll need to carry your bags (I'd recommend a bag with backpack straps that can be pulled out since wheeled luggage doesn't work so well on cobblestone streets). It would be reasonable to do a Barcelona to Nice trip or a Rome to Nice trip. Naples is a bit rough so if you visit, be careful and definitely wear a money belt anywhere in southern Europe, no matter cruise or on your own.

If you have any other questions on the differences, I'll try to answer them for you. I prefer the non-cruise trips but I'm more into local cultures than sightseeing.
(Steve from San Diego)

I'm with swamp rat! I agree 100% on what you said.I personally like traveling on my own and mix and mingle with the locals. On a cruise, you mix and mingle with fellow Americans. But we can do that at home! I enjoy the Rick Steves style of travel, but not everyone is into that.

There are pros and cons to both. As mentioned with a cruise you only pack and unpack once. You will see several destinations. You get a taste of a destination. (Some cruises do have overnights in some ports). True, you may wish you had more time in one destination. But this is true of a land vacation also. Cruises are economical with the Euro exchange being so high. You pay for your cruise upfront in US dollars and all your meals and entertainment are included. You can also pay for your shore excursions in US dollars through the ship. As for traveling with Americans. What's wrong with that? It may be a comfort level to you if you don't speak the local language. European cruises are not all American anyway. There will be a mixture of nationalities. You will still experience a local flavor when you are in port. You can try out a pub or restaurant when your in port. Many people like traveling on their own. But if your vacation time is limited a cruise saves you a lot of time. The cruise is your transportation to different cities. It transports you at night time while you're enjoying the activities on the ship or sleeping. No waiting in airports, or waiting on trains, or figuring out how to rent a car. No figuring out directions or how to read road signs in a language you don't know or spending time reading a map and worrying about local traffic and parking. Booking shore excursions through the ship saves time from standing in long lines to get tickets to attractions. There are pros and cons to both. But for a first timer with limited time a cruise lets you see and enjoy your vacation time.

I think cruisefanatic did a good job listing the advantages of taking a cruise. I'd like to go a little deeper into the other side.

When traveling by yourself, you have control over how long you stay in any one destination. My wife and I usually freelance our time, lengthening or shortening our stay depending on what we think of a particular destination. We appreciate the flexibility which a cruise can't provide.

What's wrong with traveling with Americans? For cruisefanatic, there's nothing wrong and I respect that. For me, there's EVERYTHING wrong with it. I didn't come to France to hang with other Americans, I came there to learn about France and the French. If you are traveling to see stuff, it's not a big deal. But my fondest travel memories all involve meeting and interacting with locals. For me, seeing stuff is just a "bucket list".

I'm a classic American monoglot when it comes to languages, yet I've never had a problem communicating with locals anywhere I've been. Many speak English (fortunately it's the universal language) and if they can't, you'd be surprised how easy it is to communicate when you really want to. Get a phrasebook (Rick Steves has good ones for Europe) and learn the 50 "polite" words. You'd be surprised how far you can go with them and if you use a few in their language, many times they'll respond with a few in yours. I've taken a train across China with my 50-100 Chinese words and had no problem with language.

But in the end, what it really comes down to is how adventurous you are. When you travel on your own, things don't always go as planned. If you are anally retentive when it comes to things like that, take a cruise. If you don't really want to research transportation schedules, good restaurants, hotels, sites, etc., take a cruise. If you want to pack "heavy", take a cruise. if you like organized activities, take a cruise. If you don't like the "unexpected", take a cruise. If you're on vacation to "relax", take a cruise.

There is nothing the matter with cruising, it's just not for me. When I tried it, it bored me to tears.
(Steve from San Diego)

in my opinion there are a few things to consider and they mostly have to do with you rather than the modes of travel.

Neither type is "better" than the other, but be honest with yourself about who you are. It will make the difference between a great trip and an ok but frustrating trip.


Take the cruise if...

1. this is a unique or rare opportunity for your to travel to Europe and you want to see as many places as you can because of that.

2. this is your first time travelling at all and you are not used to dealing with trains, planes and hotels

3. you have a short attention span and just wanna check out a place, see the sights and go

4. you want/prefer/need something more structured and planned

5. you want to have resources you can fall back on at any time... like guides and company officials, etc, for assistance with languages, recommendations, tours, hot spots, etc.

6. you are more comfortable traveling in big groups (that are most likely majority American and probably older) than striking out on your own.

7. you are choosy eater. the cruises will likely have more americanized foods. (i am in no way saying that any of the foods in the countries you are planning to visit is weird or strange, just for some people varied flavors can be an issue...)



Go by land if...

1. this is going to be one in a series of trips in your future so you are not too worried about cramming as many places into 1 trip as possible and so are happy with limiting it to 2 or 3. (might I suggest Madrid -> Morocco -> Barcelona if southern Europe is your thing?)

2. you prefer to immerse yourself and soak in the atmosphere and the people, rather than check cities and sights off the "things to see before you die" list

3. you dont like structured tours and prefer to strike out on your own, move to your own drummer, etc, with flexible structuring

4. you are used to traveling in other parts of the world, this is just your first time to Europe, and can handle multiple cities, train/plane jumps, and dont mind jumping from hotel to hotel.

5. you arent too worried about figuring things out yourself once you get to a place and dont really need all that much help.

6. you have no probs with new and unique foods, circumstances and adventures.


so that's that... really, which to do is more about who you are than what the trips are... and once again, don't lie to yourself about who you are...

if you are an adventurous person, you will hate the cruise. If you are a super structured person, you will have a harder time on your own and it will require much more up front planning that may drive you nuts and it may not all pan out.

think about who YOU are and what YOU want out of your vacation... that is what will make YOUR vacation great!

i will say this as well, if you do not travel regularly, i would be more careful about the places i visit. As mentioned before, some cities can be rougher than others... and for a lot of first time traveling Americans, northern Europe/UK can be easier journeys.

Definitely travel by land. A cruise is a great experience, but it is an experience in itself. What I mean by this is that when a person goes on a cruise, that is all they really should be planning on doing. You spend most of your time on the ship. It's like staying in a really nice hotel and leaving for a day of shopping and then coming back. I'd only take a cruise if it were my second time going to a country/continent. Also, if you travel on land you'll get a lot more sight-seeing in. However, if you're looking for a romantic, spend time together vacation without all the places to visit, than a cruise would be the right option.

So when my wife and I decided to go to Europe, we had the same problem. We are both one of those people who are very organized and research alot, but we are also very easy going and don't mind changing things up on the fly. We wnated to go to Europe, more than once. We decided to take a cruise and get a taste and the places we liked, we will be planning a land trip with longer amounts of time at each place. Just food for thought. BTW...Spain is gorgeus.

We were always the couple that had to go land and have lots of time to explore. We booked a Europe 11 day cruise in Jan on Brilliance of the seas and now love the whole experience. Days at sea to just relax, different ports to see alot of Europe on your dollar and the ship was wonderful. I met all nationalities on the ship and on excursions and can't wait to do it again.

I was wondering Samantha Brown if you will travel to Moscow Russia someday? You should go what a beautiful country to see.