Now that Tom and I are nearing the end of our trip, I have been reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages of cruising versus taking a tour bus.  Having done both of them in close proximity means my memories of each are fresh.  Our cruising has been with Holland America and the bus tour was with Insight Vacations.

I will begin with the advantages of cruising.  1.  We move from place to place but stay in the same cabin.  This means that we don’t have to pack and unpack a suitcase whenever we change locations.  On the first part of our trip, we stayed in the same cabin for 56 nights.  On the bus tour we had to pack our suitcases every night.  We also had to figure out how to turn on a new shower every morning and remember where the toilet was int he middle of the night.

2.  You have many choices for meals.  Tom and I usually eat in the Lido, which is like a mall food court, only with better food.  You go to a station and order what you want and how much you want.  And the food is included in the cost of the cruise.  We could also eat at the burger joint or in the dining room.  On a bus tour, you either pay for your meals in addition to the tour cost, or the provided food is generic and bland.

3a.  There are lots of different activities.  We enjoy going to the lectures about the different ports we will be visiting and the history and traditions in the different countries.  I like to go to the knitting group where we sit and knit (or crochet) and talk.  It is a good way to get to know some folks.  There are art classes, cooking classes, trivia matches, and three different bands on board.  Tom and I have especially liked listening to the jazz trio that plays four sets a night in the Ocean Lounge.  We have in room movies, shops on board, and shows at night.

3b.  As part of those activities, we enjoy going to the talks given by different officers of the ship.  Captain Frank has been very visible and gave an interesting talk on the regulations and training that are necessary for captains.  He has to take training in dealing with ports where the officials want bribes.  The Safety Officer, the deck officer in charge of avoiding collisions talked about the rules of the road at sea.  When he was a child, he used to stare out the window instead of paying attention in school.  His teacher told him he would never be able to make a living of staring out the window.  He showed her, because that is now his job eight hours a day.

Chief Engineer Bart talked about keeping all the systems of the ship running.  He is in charge of the engines, the generators, the sewage system, the water treatment, the electrical system, and the heating and air conditioning.  Staff Captain Karl, the first officer, gave an interesting presentation on ice navigation.  Because of the ice around Greenland, the ship had to change its itinerary.  He showed us the ice charts and explained the reasoning behind the decision.  All these talks have helped us understand what goes on behind the scenes.

Now, on to the advantages of a bus tour.  1.  You can see a lot more in less time.  Cruising is a snack, an appetizer.  We generally only have six to eight hours in a port.  On a bus tour you get more of the full meal.  Our Insight Vacation Tour was wonderful and our guide, Nigel, was fantastic.  He gave us all kinds of in-depth information about the places we were visiting.  We were on the go from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, every day.

2.  You get to know a group of folks.  A ship can be very impersonal.  But the tour bus was an intimate experience in contrast.  We toured, hiked, shopped, and ate with the same 29 people for three weeks.  Fortunately we liked the other people on our bus a lot.  They were fun and funny and we got to know them really well.  We hope to see some of them again.  Most of them were from Australia or New Zealand, which made us want to go to those countries.

3.  You enjoy the scenery along the way.  Tom and I love to gaze out the window at the ocean, but seeing the British countryside was even more interesting.  We traveled through cities and villages and saw how a variety of people living in their environment.  On a cruise ship, you drop in with 2,000 other people and totally disrupt life for the people on shore.  The smaller group on a tour bus means you can have a more authentic experience.

So, which one is the right experience for you?  Cruising or bus tour?  It depends on where you are going and how you like to travel.  If you are going to a big country, like the United States, cruising wouldn’t show you much.  You need to get off the coasts and into the interior to get a feel for the place.  But in smaller countries, especially places with lots of coastline, cruising can give you a good sense of what the country is all about.  Tom and I feel like we really experienced Iceland and Norway because we stopped at several different ports and had shore excursions to some really fabulous places.

Do you want to sample a place or get really in-depth?  Estonia was a place Tom and I would never have picked to visit, but we really enjoyed Tallin.  The Canary Islands were a similar situation, so the short stay with cruising was a good experience.  On the other hand, we really wanted to see Great Britain and spend time in lots of castles, cathedrals, and museums.  The bus tour was better for that.

Tom and I really like cruising and we have the time to take longer cruises that can stop in more ports.  We especially enjoy our at-sea days and the more relaxed pace of cruising.  But now that we have taken a bus tour, there are probably times when we will chose that option as well.  There are both advantages and disadvantages to both.  The bottom line, for us, is we love to travel and see new places.  We plan to continue our travels, in many different forms, for years to come.