The Extra Day

Last night we returned from a cruise through the Eastern Caribbean.  This was our first sea cruise; we have been on a river cruise but it was a shorter duration and the ship was considerably smaller.  We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam which can carry about 2100 passengers and a crew of about 900. In comparison to the river cruise, the sea cruise had a lot more to offer, especially in terms of entertainment and service offerings.  

Several friends who have been on cruises have returned with very positive reviews. It is a very comfortable way to travel with low stress as all the planning and logistics are taken care of.  The only decisions one might make are which restaurant to enjoy for dinner; which show to see in the evening.  It allows one to find their preferred mix of home vs. local culture and food. Travelling within this bubble is very different from the mode of travel I’m familiar with.  There is also the convenience of no packing and unpacking at each location; the hotel moves with you. A such, the room one stays in becomes a little more important as a result of a longer commitment.  We chose a suite that had a sitting area where I could spread out my computer and photo equipment and a veranda where we could sit and enjoy the outside.  I liked being able to go outside early in the morning to watch the sunrise without the overhead of going out to one of the decks.

I am left with a few learnings and observations:

• As one stays in the same room for the duration of the trip, selecting one with some extra room and a veranda turned out to be a good choice.  
• The serving portions were smaller than one usually finds in restaurants.  This was true at every meal, and it turned out to be a good thing.  I didn’t over eat and I didn’t gain weight.
• It was easier than I thought it would be to remain active.  We made sure to walk at least 10,000 steps each day; Deck 4 was the walking track that circumnavigated the ship: 3 rounds adds up to one mile. We usually climbed the stairs, rather than take the elevator. 
• There was a lot of selling on the ship: art sales; a duty-free zone; photographs / portraits; presentations on shopping in each port of call; musicians selling their CD’s; and of course the local tours at each destination. A seminar on how to increase one’s metabolism turned out to be a pitch to sell algae pills at a cost of $600 / person.  An assessment of the pressure points on one’s feet turned out to be a pitch for orthopaedics.  I couldn’t help but develop a sense that the cruise was a platform for cross-selling.
• On this trip we registered for a couple shore excursions; next time I’ll look more closely at other options, including arranging my own.  Most people I spoke with felt the sponsored excursions were expensive.  I found going with a group lacked flexibility to go at my own [photographer’s] pace.  
• For this cruise, the ship was usually docked for just a day, sometimes just half a day.  This limits what can be done ashore.  As the bulk of time was spent at sea, I came to realise that activities aboard and / or the route the ships takes (and what can be seen from the ship) are as important or more so than ports of call.  This was a bit of a paradigm shift.  For example, an Alaskan cruise through the inside passage and into the Alaskan Fjords should offer a perspective that just can’t be got from a land tour.  

So now we’re back and it’s February 29th.  An extra day to unpack, process my pictures, and settle back into the normal routine.  Until the next trip.