Dream Cruise

[mikeyboy1966]

Given the name and content of the forum,

I would hazard a guess that we all enjoy inland/coastal cruising.

what would be your dream destination for cruising?

inland,estuary,lake or coastal.

or even proper offshore.

money no object,and maybe what boat would you chose.

[Gracie]

I love threads like this

It's simple for me, I know there are some beautiful places all over the world to cruise, some breathtaking places but it's the Broads for me every time.

A simple center cockpit cruiser with nice comfy cabins and en suites. Spending a month cruising the Northern and Southern Broads, stopping at the riverside pubs and cafes.

Completely alone on a wild mooring or mud weighting on one of the Broads, no sounds to hear other than wild life and water. You really do feel like you are the only person on the planet

One of the most loveliest things for me is getting up early and seeing the mist on top of the water an almost eerie magic to it.

I could watch a sunset and sunrise on the Broads every single day. And of course sitting on the bow with a glass of wine and feeling so relaxed that all your worries and problems disappear in those moments 

Of course if money was no object I would have to go online and buy some Jimmy choos 

I love the place with a passion just like every single member on here x

[BrundallNavy]

For me it would be the Greek islands. 

[YnysMon]

Broads for me too and I agree with every detail the Grace has waxed lyrical about (except maybe the choos, my feet are too old for those). There are wonderful places to visit around the world but I can no longer be hassled with the stress of flying somewhere and going on a big ship cruise just doesn’t appeal to either of us.

I like watching some travel vloggers, so do my international travel 2nd hand nowadays. My favourites are:

Kara and Nate, who mix things up from roughing it to luxury, recent episodes featuring a luxury cruise to the North Pole to simple backpacking in an American National Park. They spent their first four years of vlogging with a goal of visiting 100 countries and were very fortunate to have achieved that just before Covid struck. 

Flying the Nest. Australian couple travelling the world with a two year old. (Simply delightful). During lockdown (when their daughter was a baby) they converted a van and travelled around Australia but are currently in Europe. Seeing their daughter develop during their adventures as been so interesting. 

Travel Beans. English couple who converted a van in the UK during lockdown, spent some time taking it around the UK then Europe and have recently bought a second van in the USA, having worked out that would be cheaper than shipping their UK van to the States. That almost went pear shaped when the first van that they bought in the US burst into flames. They had a narrow escape! 

Kinging It. Welsh couple who take on some mad adventures like doing the Mongol Rally or driving a Tuk Tuk across India, but do so me normal travel in between. They also converted an old bus (Custard the Bus) and certainly have a ‘British’ sense of humour. 

 

[NeilB]

I don’t think I can describe it better than Gracie’s post.  There’s something about Norfolk that keeps drawing me back and now I’m lucky enough to live here.

I’ve fond memories of holidays here dating back to when I was a toddler and hopefully my children will have too.

[Roy]

It would definitely be the broads for me too! 

As im not keen on flying plus there is nowhere better than the broads on a hot sunny day in the summer. 

Boat wise it would be a little Hampton Safari I’ve always wanted one of those from a child. 

[Broads01]

Broads for me too although having experienced the Great Glen in Scotland last year that runs a very close 2nd, followed by the Thames a close third.

My dream boat would be a dual steer, 20 foot high to get brilliant views but having fold down bits to reduce the airdraft to 5 foot so it could even get through Potter on a bad day. It would have a 1000 bhp engine so as to cross Breydon really quite fast.

[ExSurveyor]

I have cruised various areas of the Med in a small ship, the SS Topas, a beautiful old cruise ship from a different era.

Egypt to the Med via the Suez canal, fascinating trip.

The Nile and all the sights, I did that 3 times because there is so much to see.

But the place I think of as my second home is Norfolk.

[Davydine]

I just love being afloat!

On the Norfolk Broads I can't argue with what Gracie said above, I think my ideal boat would be a Broom Skipper or the old Aquafibre 35 with the seat at the bow, because they remind me of childhood holidays.

We used to have a sailing boat (Moody 34) that we sailed around the Essex and Suffolk coast, but there is much in common with holidays on the Broads, sailing to country pubs like the Green man at Bradwell or the Ramsholt arms, anchoring in Pyefleet round the back of Mersea island or The Rocks on the Deben are just magical. 
We would sometimes sail to Belgium / Holland (we DID mean to go to sea!) I loved the sense of sailing overnight and arriving in a new country

Soon we will be flotilla sailing in Greece, swimming in the sea and mooring outside a taverna.

All are lovely in their own way and I get to holiday afloat!

[andyg]

We will be departing on our 1st ever crusie in 6 weeks. Absolutely no idea of what to expect of life onboard. We are both apprehensive and excited. The broads are a wonderful destination to visit and I could never get bored. I do have one major cruising regret. I've always wanted to hire a canal boat but never got round to it. Unfortunately Kim isn't keen on the idea and neither are my mates so I doubt it will happen. 

[ExSurveyor]

34 minutes ago, andyg said:

Absolutely no idea of what to expect of life onboard.

Weight gain.

Take clothes with an expanding waist.

[ChrisB]

From Venice, down the east coast of the Adriatic to the Greek Islands onboard a new Beneteau Oceanis 54

[ChrisB]

In the UK. The West Coast of Scotland aboard a classic Nicholson 38.

 

[ChrisB]

Inland Cruising:- The Shannon Erne Waterway, North to South, Belleek to Killaloe on-board something Dutch and Steel. Preferably with radiator heating! And a heated drying locker!

[andyg]

5 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

Weight gain.

Take clothes with an expanding waist.

Your not the 1st person to give me that advice lol.. I have to say they do serve what looks like a very nice afternoon tea onboard. I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't noticed the cakes in the videos ive seen. Her in doors has already booked a couple of nights in the surf and turf restaurant as well. That's half a stone I've gain already..jeez..

[Mouldy]

5 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

Weight gain.

Take clothes with an expanding waist.

My mum and dad went on their first cruise in 2001.  It was a relatively small ship with a capacity of about 550 guests.  They loved it and invited us to go with them the following year.  I was hoping for the Med, but they’d chosen to go round The Baltic on the same cruise ship.

I wasn’t really looking forward to it, nor was the wife, but in the end we loved it.  Stops at Copenhagen, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Stockholm, Kalmar (Sweden) and Amsterdam were full of interest, especially St Petersburg.  Growing up through the age of the Cold War, I’d never dreamt of seeing the former Leningrad.  What a spectacular city, full of contrasts between vast riches and extreme poverty.  Being a small cruise ship, we moored in the city centre on the River Neva and passed through the old naval dockyards filled with evidence of the extent of the Russian navy much in evidence as we passed through.  Bearing in mind what’s happening in Eastern Europe now, I doubt I’ll ever get the opportunity to visit there again, but the memories are vivid still.

As for putting on weight, the food was plentiful and always available, it seemed, but despite that, I didn’t put on a pound.

I love The Broads and spending time on our boat, but maybe when the wife retires and if we can still afford it, I’d be happy to go on another cruise, however, certainly not on one of the modern floating tower blocks.  It would have to be on something similar to the one we enjoyed so much before.  The service was excellent and the experience truly memorable.

[Davydine]

7 hours ago, andyg said:

We will be departing on our 1st ever crusie in 6 weeks. Absolutely no idea of what to expect of life onboard. 

I forgot to mention that Actual cruises rather than smaller boats. If money was no object a round the world cruise would be interesting. 
 

I hope you have a wonderful time Andy, my experience of cruise holidays have all been a great way to see different places. My advice would be to book any excursions that you really want to do in advance and read the daily newspaper so that you know what is happening on the ship each day so that you can plan the on board entertainment.

[ranworthbreeze]

I like any waterway including the Broads, but my first love has always been the Canals.

 

[PaulN]

11 hours ago, andyg said:

We will be departing on our 1st ever crusie in 6 weeks. Absolutely no idea of what to expect of life onboard. We are both apprehensive and excited. The broads are a wonderful destination to visit and I could never get bored. I do have one major cruising regret. I've always wanted to hire a canal boat but never got round to it. Unfortunately Kim isn't keen on the idea and neither are my mates so I doubt it will happen. 

Hi Andy. We have only ever done one cruise which was on Sea Princess in 2009 and we still have very fond memories, I'm sure you will have a fabulous time. 

What surprised us was how many people gorged themselves all day in the buffet, with burgers, iced cream and cakes. If you have all inclusive like we had, I would recommend that you avoid that and save your appartitie for the fabulous restaurant in the evening. I remember our first evening on board when the waitress went to take our order and I said 'It's hard to make my mind up between my two favourites that you have on the menu this evening, Lobster and Beef Wellington'. She said, 'Thats easy, have the lobster as a starter and the beef as a main'. I said 'Can I do that', she said 'Of course, you can have it as many times as you want' We had fabulous meals in the fantastic restaurant every evening. Would love to go on another cruise, but financially now our spare cash goes to keep the Broads Cruiser going, which we love so much.

Have a great time!

 

[andyg]

1 hour ago, PaulN said:

Hi Andy. We have only ever done one cruise which was on Sea Princess in 2009 and we still have very fond memories, I'm sure you will have a fabulous time. 

What surprised us was how many people gorged themselves all day in the buffet, with burgers, iced cream and cakes. If you have all inclusive like we had, I would recommend that you avoid that and save your appartitie for the fabulous restaurant in the evening. I remember our first evening on board when the waitress went to take our order and I said 'It's hard to make my mind up between my two favourites that you have on the menu this evening, Lobster and Beef Wellington'. She said, 'Thats easy, have the lobster as a starter and the beef as a main'. I said 'Can I do that', she said 'Of course, you can have it as many times as you want' We had fabulous meals in the fantastic restaurant every evening. Would love to go on another cruise, but financially now our spare cash goes to keep the Broads Cruiser going, which we love so much.

Have a great time!

 

I took earlier retirement back in January and Kim is doing the same this January. So it's a bit of a prezzie to ourselves for 40 years of bloody hard work. It's the most expensive trip I've ever had I just hope it's worth it, on a side note, we are staying on in Jamaica for a week after the crusie and our son and girlfriend will be flying down to join us. Kim is totally unaware they are coming. They have some exciting news for my wife. How I've managed to keep it a secret I don't know lol..

[webntweb]

There isn't a waterway that I've holidayed on that I wouldn't return to, plus many more that I would have liked to have cruised given the time/funds. Like Alan my first choice would be the canals, then the Broads (first holiday 1958), then followed by the French waterways, the Thames and the Fens. I've alway regretted not doing the river Barrow in Ireland

Money no object for a Broads boat? We had a share in Lightning and loved the upper helm which made for easy mooring when just two of us and for the views over the river banks, but still able to pass under Wroxham, Beccles and Wayford . . . so "money no object for a Broads boat": a Broom Commodore Bridgemaster 43 ft (as Lightning) with hull lengthened by 3 foot and rear topsides by 2 foot, to give a wider rear deck; engine moved from centre of boat to under rear bed to enable a double or bunk beds to be built in engine's original position thus making boat a 10/11 berth to accomodate our tribe. Oh, just a couple of other things: electric flush toilets and some more ballast to give us a chance of squeezing under Potter.

[YnysMon]

9 minutes ago, andyg said:

They have some exciting news for my wife. How I've managed to keep it a secret I don't know lol.

How lovely! That will make the trip extra special. What memories!

[andyg]

10 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

How lovely! That will make the trip extra special. What memories!

It's gonna cost us lol...

[Smoggy]

1 hour ago, webntweb said:

There isn't a waterway that I've holidayed on that I wouldn't return to

You've not done the middle levels in the fens yet then, lots of straight ditches and steep banks and if you are really lucky you may see a tree (in the distance).

[Gracie]

10 hours ago, ChrisB said:

From Venice, down the east coast of the Adriatic to the Greek Islands onboard a new Beneteau Oceanis 54

You know I said I wanted a simple center cockpit cruiser, well scrap that, I want this one  x