As I started looking at itineraries and prices there were a few options. The first was pretty cheap (cheaper than airfare, even). It left from Copenhagen, but only had one port of call beside NYC. The second was a Carnival cruise leaving from I-don't-remember-where with several ports of call in the UK and Ireland, but it was sold out by the time I got serious about booking. The final choice was a Holland America collector voyage that was basically back to back cruises. The first seven days was a round trip out of Barcelona to the Western Mediterranean with a fourteen day transatlantic that skipped across the Spanish coast at the end.
I worried a little bit about being on a ship for 3 weeks, but I'd never had a problem with motion sickness and we would be visiting a lot of places I'd dreamed of visiting, so I emailed a travel agent and made it happen. The only downside is that now I am spoiled and think that 21 days is the minimum you should be on a ship!
I discovered there were a lot of previously unrealized pros and cons about cruising versus traveling on your own. The biggest pros are:
- Everything is already taken care of. I didn't have to worry about tours, transportation, meals, hostel reservations, public transportation, or navigational issues.
- Someone makes your bed (and turns it down) and cleans your room for you every day.
- You get chocolates on your pillow
The cons:
- You can get stuck on a boat for a long time with really annoying people that are hard to avoid because the ship ain't that big.
- You lose the ability to be spontaneous, and are always with killjoy tour group.
- If you don't like cruise food it can get pretty monotonous.
I really missed being able to set my own schedule and linger somewhere I thought was interesting. I missed being able to set my own pace and do my own thing. One thing I wasn't prepared for was all the bitching and moaning from fellow cruise passengers. The excursions are coded with little "hiking people" icons to tell you how strenuous each excursion is. One person = riding in a bus, Four people = lots of walking with uneven terrain, stairs, etc. I signed up almost exclusively for four person tours. I was here to see stuff! There were, unfortunately, a lot of people on every single tour that couldn't walk (or couldn't walk well), and complained the entire time, but old, rich, entitled, white people are really Holland America's bread and butter so I guess they just deal with it. It annoyed the shit out of me, though.
I also really missed being able to immerse yourself in local culture. When you're traveling solo you have to talk to other people. Local people, other travelers from other cultures. You have to figure out how to communicate, you get to eat in great local places (Hard Rock, Krakow excluded), and you get to learn a lot about other countries and a lot about how other people view America (and Americans) and the world in general. It was fascinating. On a cruise excursion it is very isolated from the local culture and you don't get to experience anything authentic.
Some random observations...
Holland America ships all end in "dam". (I sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam.) This leads to a lot of punny branding.
I bought an honest-to-goodness-illegal-in-America Kinder Egg in the Azores, and documented the full wonderfullness of the experience.
I had some issues with the dining room staff. I had initially been wait-listed for fixed dining, but when I got there the fixed dining had gone through. The only problem was that I was seated at a table for six with one couple. For those of you keeping score that means if the couple didn't show up I was seated at a table for six by myself. Now, I have absolutely no problem eating by myself, but not at a table for six. That is poor planning dining staff! So, I requested a table for 2 instead, because see: don't mind eating by myself. The Maitre d' was kind of rude and basically told me he'd let me know if he could work something out, and the next day (when I called them back) I was told that they'd given me a standing reservation in open dining. Fine. Except the standing reservation was for 5:45 which is perfect for the old people on the ship, but a) it's a little early for me, and b) I had shore excursions scheduled that didn't return me until 6:30 most nights.
When I asked the assistant Maitre d' about moving my reservation to 6:30 - 6:45 he said, "See me after you eat and we'll work it out." When I stopped after dinner he said, "New reservation at 8:30." Wait, what?! Now we have a bit of a Goldilocks situation...I don't want too early or too late. I want just right. Anyhow, he said he that was the best he could do for me so I ended up a)going to other assistant Maitre d' the rest of the time, and b)going whenever I wanted and just requesting a certain area so I could have the same dining stewards. I love having the same dining stewards because they learn what you like and what you don't and generally make sure you feel special. For example, they will know I want a diet coke with dinner, that I'm allergic to shellfish, and that I love chilled soup. They know that I'll almost always choose the chicken dish, and that I don't like nuts in desserts. They also make you special tchotchkes...
When my dining stewards found out I was by myself on the ship they made me this little bird in a wine cork as a dining companion. How cute and sweet is that?!
I also like that they change the elevator carpeting every day so you don't lose track.
And they'll give you a GIANT bag when you buy a watch.
And of course ... towel origami.
I got to make some really amazing memories on this trip. I got to play team trivia every day, I read nine books, I nerded out about art (both on and off the ship) and watched cooking competitions, demonstrations, and game shows. I ate cannoli in Sicily and pasta all over Italy. I ate a croissant in France. I saw limoncello factories and holy churches. I inhaled the scent of a jacaranda tree in bloom. I made some great friends (Hello, McIlroys!) who I will always remember and stay in touch with (and will visit if I ever get to Alabama). I learned all about voting patterns in the 1960s, and ate the best coconut soup ever. I was caught in a mid-Atlantic rainstorm, and saw the green flash during a sunset. I had an amazing experience.
