[2ndDivisionVet]

Anyone ever tried this? We've never been on a cruise and someday would like to.

[not2be4gotten.com]

Here is a tip for any cruise, but especially Alaska.

At every port, rent a car.

The drive up to Whitehorse, Yukon was very memorable.

You betcha.

[mad_as_he$$]

I know of three couples that are retired that “live” on cruise ships for cheaper than any apartment you would live in.

[not2be4gotten.com]

For instance, there is a 14 day cruise on Dec 6 from Savona, Italy to Guadeloupe on the Costa Mediterranea $392.

That is $28 a day.

That is less than I pay for rent.

[Vince Ferrer]

Bea Muller, an 86-year-old retiree, has been a permanent resident on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 since 5 January 2000. Her husband had passed away while the couple was on a world cruise eleven months earlier, and rather than opt for a retirement home, Mrs. Muller sold her house and possessions and booked herself onto the ship.

A cruise ship is her retirement home

[MasterGunner01]

I did four cruises: three on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (now defunct) and Royal Caribbean. The difference was night and day. The Windjammers island hopped among the various Caribbean islands and you'd go to the out of the way spots the big ships could not. The maximum passengers was 126 and crew was 45. Everything was laid back and shoes were optional (some folks only wore them on shore excursions).

The big ship experience was on the Sovereign of the Seas (now scrapped). We had about 1,800 passengers and everything was luxurious. We hated the sit down dinners. Somehow, the Royal Caribbean line had assigned people from our geographic location to this one table and we found them not a lot of fun. At the time, Royal Caribbean did not have the informal buffet option. One of the high points of the cruise was the cigar bar in the ship's library after the evening meal where you could enjoy a premium cigar and a good adult beverage.

To those not familiar about cruising, the cruise fee includes room, maid service, entertainment, and food. It doesn't include drinks — and they command premium prices for even the bar liquor. No, you cannot bring your own.

Windjammer used to have a more civilized way of handling drinks. Prices were around $2 to $4 per drink and you carried a paper “doubloon”. As you drank, the bartender punched the appropriate number of holes. When the number of punches were done, you bought a new “doubloon”. My fondest memory was my first cruise on the S/V Polynesia. As we were getting underway for the week, the ship's 26-foot motor whaleboat pulled up to the gangway filled to the brim with cases of Heineken’s beer!

There is a definite need for the small, informal cruising represented by the Windjammer Cruises. The problem with the big ships is they completely change the island experience into a mega mall kind of shopping. On my last Windjammer (1997) we pulled into Philippsburg, St. Maarten. There were three cruise ships anchored there getting ready to disgorge about 4,500 tourists on the town. We beat the rush and picked up our ‘round the island tour minibus. When we got back to town, we couldn't get within eight blocks of the pier due to the milling hordes. I commented on this to our driver. He said to me: “This is nothing. On Thursday we're expecting five cruise ships.” That summarizes the damage done to these islands by the cruise industry.

[JimRed]

I told Mrs. JimRed that I’d take her on a cruise- when they let me DRIVE!