2009 spring cruise to Europe

I think it's going to be awfully difficult to experience the real Europe when you have a cruise ship attending to your every need and segregating you from real European people and experiences. Good luck.

There are ways to do it. Maybe not achieve your total goal of immersion. Keep in mind that you are visiting large port cities but this is where the action was two hundreds years ago. First, skip all of the ship excursions. Second, do a lot of research on each stop so you have good feel for what is there and not just the tourist things to see. Third, look for a cab driver at each port, negotiate a flat fee for how many hours you want. Ask him to show you some of his favorite places. Ask him where he takes his family on a Sunday afternoon Take him to lunch if he will take you to his favorite place. We have always had good luck with cab drivers. There will be lots of cabs available and most would love to have an all day fare for a 100 Euro. My brother will wave a 50 E note for tour and then another 50E note, "If it is the best tour I have ever had." I don't like but it works for him and he has received some great tours. Most cab drivers are honest, hard working folks, treat them well and they will return the favor. Good luck PS -- I am guessing Tim has never been on a cruise.

What is described above is essentially what we do on cruises to Mexico.

Another alternative is to walk off the boat and get "lost" in old town. At every corner, walk away from the place where the most people are. Soon you will experience the world as the locals do. When you get here ask people for a nice place to eat, be sure to add nothing fancy or they'll steer you back to the tourist area.

The worst thing about cruises is they only work for destinations where 5-8 hours is plenty to see the place. It doesn't work when you are visiting somewhere that should take at least three days. They also can't get you off the beaten path because they have to stop at a port. The good news is often the port and the tourist area are seperate places.

Frank...it's like the glass is half empty or the glass is half full...you could just as easily have said that Tim may speaking from personal experience.

But I don't think his personal experience included a cruise. A cruise is a different way to travel with tis own pros and cons. For some people the cons and preceptive cons so out weigh the pros that they never try it. Cruising is not a way to have a deep, intimate relationship with Europe but it still can be a good experience. We treat it like a giant smorgasbord. Sometimes will check on a recommended B&B. Always find the train station. Try to completely sample everything with the idea that we will be back. And we make detail notes for that return. And sometimes we make the decision that it is not worth a return. During five cruises we have covered nearly every major port from St. Petersburg to Athens. Unfortunately we have only found a couple that we do not want to revisit.