If you are curious about taking a cruise and are riddled with preconceived ideas of what to expect, my “Curious About Cruising,” series is aimed to arm you with some information that may help you see cruising in a new light.
Today’s topic: Sampling Different Destinations!
One of the many things I love about cruising is the fact that stopping port to port in a river boat or a ship gives you flexibility in destination decision making. If you have always dreamed of travel to the Mediterranean but can’t decide between Italy or Greece, why choose? Do both! A cruise affords you the option of visiting multiple cities and/or countries without committing to a one-and-done destination decision.
Once onboard, you unpack and stay unpacked in the same stateroom for the duration of your trip. No unpacking & repacking, shuffling to a train station or airport to get to your next destination, and no harried crowds. It’s smooth and easy to experience multiple places all while staying in the comfort of your floating resort.
Our family did a Viking River Cruise last year through Russia and we thoroughly loved the experience. We traveled from Moscow through the Russian countryside to St. Petersburg and had the most incredible experience visiting smaller Russian communities, meeting locals and shopping at small markets along the way. While underway, we were able to learn how to prepare pelmeni (delicious Russian dumplings!), we learned the basics of the Cyrillic alphabet along with a few key words & phrases and of course – we experienced a vodka tasting complete with our cruise director, Yulia demonstrating how to take a vodka shot off of a sabre.
Imagine you are onboard a cruise through Paris, Bamberg, Germany and Prague. You find that the history, architecture and smoke-flavored beer in Bamberg speaks to you so much that you are dying to return to spend more time exploring the area. If you had planned only to spend a week in Paris instead of taking the cruise, you never would have discovered your love for Bamberg!
Today, with so many unique destinations that you can visit by way of boat, cruising really is an awesome option to “try-out” new and different destinations before you fully commit your time and money into one place. Whether it’s the Amazon, Antarctica, Africa or Asia, cruising is everywhere and can open you up to places and experiences that you never knew you loved.