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What are your opinions on sailing from certain homeports?


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I've cruised out of Harwich, Southampton, Baltimore, Bayonne, Barcelona and Fort Lauderdale.

Personally, I would avoid sailing from Baltimore again due to the conservative and all-American demographic. Same goes for the likes of Galveston as well. Equally, I would not recommend a non-Brit to sail out of Southampton. Barcelona is a great one for anyone in my opinion.

What homeports do you like going from? Do you ever feel that you mix better with people on certain itineraries as opposed to others?

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This doesn't seem to be one of my concerns when booking a sailing. I have always booked based on itinerary and price, and a couple times the ship was the destination.

Have sailed from Southampton a couple times and yes, the ship was 70% Brits, but it was great. Have sailed from Baltimore, didn't give a hoot about "conservative demographic"(not sure where you got that)....same goes for Galveston a couple times. Not sure what you are looking for or trying to accomplish.

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I have no idea about "conservative and all-American demographic " especially since Baltimore is not a conservative city in the slightest. Besides, who cares about the politics of an area? Insulting people on a post may not be received well.

In term of ports on cruise ships and large ferries:

Port Canaveral --> favorite

Tampa --> second favorite

Miami --> did not care for it, although I like the spectacular views

Tallin, Estonia --> one of the coolest places I have been

Helsinki, Finland --> very cool city

Holyhead, Wales --> small and full of character

Dublin, Ireland --> very cool

Portsmouth, UK --> love this city

Le Havre --> very nice

Southampton -- I've been there, but haven't sailed from there -- nothing special to me

 

 

 

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We always sail out of Florida.  Cost of airfare has a huge impact in our decision of when and where we cruise from.  My home airport is DTW and prices are fairly reasonable.  We have looked at doing a Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan but the airfare was just too costly.  So we decided to book a 9-Nt Southern Caribbean for April 2019 sailing out of Miami, FL.  

We have always met wonderful people on our cruises from all over the world.  Great place just to talk with people is at the casino tables.  Everybody there has one common goal.  Try to beat the House! 

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1 minute ago, jurrjurr said:

We always sail out of Florida.  Cost of airfare has a huge impact in our decision of when and where we cruise from.  My home airport is DTW and prices are fairly reasonable.  We have looked at doing a Southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan but the airfare was just too costly.  So we decided to book a 9-Nt Southern Caribbean for April 2019 sailing out of Miami, FL.  

We have always met wonderful people on our cruises from all over the world.  Great place just to talk with people is at the casino tables.  Everybody there has one common goal.  Try to beat the House! 

Same, from DTW we always prefer Florida. The ports that are closer to the airports are my favourite. I love Port Everglades. Everything is always smooth sailing there. Lots to do in the area the night before.  Short drive to the pier.  And one of my favourite restaurants is there!

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Are you driving to Detroit ??

58 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Same, from DTW we always prefer Florida. The ports that are closer to the airports are my favourite. I love Port Everglades. Everything is always smooth sailing there. Lots to do in the area the night before.  Short drive to the pier.  And one of my favourite restaurants is there!

 

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I always see great crowds out of Florida. Yet to do Miami or Canaveral, but done FLL twice and had great fun on those ones.  It is often quite a diverse crowd and a positive vibe on those cruises.

BTW - Baltimore mainly attracts older Americans, hence prompting my comment. Younger ones tend to head up to NJ for Anthem or go somewhere else. 

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I don't know that I have really noticed a difference in the shipboard experience based on the departure port beyond the obvious of ... sailing from a European port tends to have a more European crowd than a sailing from a US port.

I would say my list is:

Athens > Canaveral > Tampa > Lauderdale > Miami

Boarding process was super slick and easy in Athens ... it was a little longer to get there than our usual drive though ;)

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Port Canaveral, Barcelona, Tampa, Bayonne, Vancouver,  and so on and so forth.   The beauty of a cruise is the people you meet at dinner.  It`s a vacation.  We don`t care where you are from or how you look or how you talk or what you wear.   Many folks  weather local or from abroad will get  a perplexed look on their face when we say we are from Tennessee.  They say you don`t talk  like you are from Tennessee.  That`s because we grew up in Chicago.  I then proceed to talk as if I am from the south.  Then they really look confused.   And I don`t do that out of respect either.  You can never learn or hear enough about other parts of the country or the world for that matter.   It is all about the itinerary.   And the pizza.   

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43 minutes ago, ellcee said:

 ?

Having said that, if they could bring Darryl Dyball back to Royal and Lady G, I'll be there like a shot. Other than that, I felt as if they only catered to the American audience when I sailed from Baltimore and I wouldn't suggest going from there if you are non American. Just go to Cape Liberty instead if you like those itineraries.

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14 hours ago, Joe01 said:

Personally, I would avoid sailing from Baltimore again due to the conservative and all-American demographic.

I would really love to know WTH you meant by this?  As a resident of Maryland (although not Baltimore), but having lived in the region my entire life, I find this particular line incredibly insulting.  What does "Conservative All-American Demographic" mean ......

The one thing that I like about these message boards is that politics are left at the door, we're all family here ...... but it seems as though you yanked it right in --- I guess the word "Conservative" is a 4-letter word to you.  And if it is, that's your business, but it also has no business being brought up here.

Rant Over ....

Mark

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16 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

Having said that, if they could bring Darryl Dyball back to Royal and Lady G, I'll be there like a shot. Other than that, I felt as if they only catered to the American audience when I sailed from Baltimore and I wouldn't suggest going from there if you are non American. Just go to Cape Liberty instead if you like those itineraries.

Are you Canadian or Eurpoean or?  I don't get your comments or insinuations about Royal and the people that sail out of Baltimore. While I haven't sailed out of there,  I have visited quite a few states and never felt that way.

 

In all honesty, if anything if you sail out of Florida, especially Miami then I could see feeling out of place as often it is tough to find someone who speaks English. But that doesn't affect me at all from visiting or sailing out of Florida or anywhere in the US.

 

I don't get your  point at all...unless you can come out and say what you really mean or implying...or telling us about your background to give it some context!!!!

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I for one am truly saddened by this topic I never gave this a thought till I read this I love meeting people from all over the world and take great interest in sampling the food culture humor entertainment and for that matter every aspect of the area from port to returning to port ah well I guess this had to come up eventually?

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Traveling the world and experiencing different cultures and demographics is one of the benefits off cruising.  

To suggest that non-Brits avoid Southampton or non-Americans avoid US ports is very isolationist.  As a non-Brit I intend to sail from Southampton next year as well as other European and Asian ports and I'm looking forward to cultural experiences beyond my own.  That's how I grow and learn to embrace other cultures rather than avoid them as you suggest.  

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28 minutes ago, fonemanbob said:

Port Canaveral, Barcelona, Tampa, Bayonne, Vancouver,  and so on and so forth.   The beauty of a cruise is the people you meet at dinner.  It`s a vacation.  We don`t care where you are from or how you look or how you talk or what you wear.   Many folks  weather local or from abroad will get  a perplexed look on their face when we say we are from Tennessee.  They say you don`t talk  like you are from Tennessee.  That`s betcause we grew up in Chicago.  I then proceed to talk as if I am from the south.  Then they really look confused.   And I don`t do that out of respect either.  You can never learn or hear enough about other parts of the country or the world for that matter.   It is all about the itinerary.   And the pizza.   

@fonemanbob What a small world (but I wouldn't want to paint it!) Brother in law lives in Celina. We visited there and Nashville last September and loved it. The best comment we heard was "Wow you guys are REALLY nice for Northerners!" They were truly shocked.

And @JLMoran , the local pizza there was great-found  place where the owner was from NY.

Sorry for the thread hijack, so to get back on track, we had great embarkation experiences in Bayonne every time and San Juan. Will be getting to Miami next year,

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15 hours ago, Joe01 said:

Personally, I would avoid sailing from Baltimore again due to the conservative and all-American demographic.

I've been keeping my mouth shut, but I really feel like I need to chime in. You say you want to be a CD and that you'd do such a great job of it, and then you make a comment like this.

I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about what goes into being a "great" CD, but I would imagine that having an incredible sense of tact and knowing at a near-instinctive level what topics to avoid talking about so as not to piss off your audience and sour their experience have to be two of the qualifications. As a citizen of the US, I was flat-out insulted and offended by that comment, and no amount of subsequent backtracking or clarifying from you is going to change that.

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41 minutes ago, coneyraven said:

I would really love to know WTH you meant by this?  As a resident of Maryland (although not Baltimore), but having lived in the region my entire life, I find this particular line incredibly insulting.  What does "Conservative All-American Demographic" mean .....

Sure. Maybe I am being a bit harsh on it as Baltimore was my first cruise outside of Europe (actually my first visit to the United States), but right away when we arrived in Washington, the first thing we saw was a "Welcome Home All Americans" banner and those who were non American were completely ignored. That sort of set the tone.

So as for cruising from Baltimore, I mainly mean that it attracts a much more mature clientele than what I usually sail with. Even during the summer, it didn't seem to attract much of a young crowd, and it was pretty much made up of only Americans. They didn't seem to try and cater for non American guests on that sailing, and Baltimore is too much of a pain to get to anyway. I would go to New Jersey and sail on AD or AN if I wanted to do those itineraries again (which I do).

Then again, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the East Coast.

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40 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

 Are you Canadian or Eurpoean or?  I don't get your comments or insinuations about Royal and the people that sail out of Baltimore. While I haven't sailed out of there,  I have visited quite a few states and never felt that way.

 In all honesty, if anything if you sail out of Florida, especially Miami then I could see feeling out of place as often it is tough to find someone who speaks English. 

I am from Scotland. I have sailed from Fort Lauderdale twice and have had no issues. It's a great port and the crowds out of FLL are always fun.

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10 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

Sure. Maybe I am being a bit harsh on it as Baltimore was my first cruise outside of Europe (actually my first visit to the United States), but right away when we arrived in Washington, the first thing we saw was a "Welcome Home All Americans" banner and those who were non American were completely ignored. That sort of set the tone.

So as for cruising from Baltimore, I mainly mean that it attracts a much more mature clientele than what I usually sail with. Even during the summer, it didn't seem to attract much of a young crowd, and it was pretty much made up of only Americans. They didn't seem to try and cater for non American guests on that sailing, and Baltimore is too much of a pain to get to anyway. I would go to New Jersey and sail on AD or AN if I wanted to do those itineraries again (which I do).

Then again, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the East Coast.

You really just don't get it ...... Keep digging that hole deeper .....

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Are you really serious with those comments? And you want to be a cruise director? Why in the world would you bring such bias and politics into this blog? It's about cruising and advice from fellow cruisers.  Having just sailed out of Baltimore two weeks ago and loved everyone on my ship, young, old, or in between, it was a fabulous group of people.     

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8 minutes ago, jurrjurr said:

When we sailed on Oasis in 2017, I was quite shocked to see law enforcement officers armed with assault rifles at MCO.  Totally understood why but just did not expect to see it right out of the gates. 

Better safe than sorry! Port Canaveral is one that I would love to sail from.

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38 minutes ago, jurrjurr said:

When we sailed on Oasis in 2017, I was quite shocked to see law enforcement officers armed with assault rifles at MCO.  Totally understood why but just did not expect to see it right out of the gates. 

Probably because the Pulse Nightclub shooting was a few months prior and security has been stepped up. I'm glad to see it wherever I travel.

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1 hour ago, Joe01 said:

Sure. Maybe I am being a bit harsh on it as Baltimore was my first cruise outside of Europe (actually my first visit to the United States), but right away when we arrived in Washington, the first thing we saw was a "Welcome Home All Americans" banner and those who were non American were completely ignored. That sort of set the tone.

So as for cruising from Baltimore, I mainly mean that it attracts a much more mature clientele than what I usually sail with. Even during the summer, it didn't seem to attract much of a young crowd, and it was pretty much made up of only Americans. They didn't seem to try and cater for non American guests on that sailing, and Baltimore is too much of a pain to get to anyway. I would go to New Jersey and sail on AD or AN if I wanted to do those itineraries again (which I do).

Then again, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the East Coast.

I am american. I live in Scotland (North Ayrshire). I have been here for 18 years.  I sailed out of Harwich a couple years ago and found the British population onboard the ship very overwhelming.  I sucked it up because, after all, I am in their country.  I would never put down and call names to the people of the host nation.  That is just bad diplomacy.

Regarding the "Welcome home all Americans" banner: it was in America, in the Nation's Capital of America.  If they can't say it, then there is something wrong with the country.  I am retired US Navy, and I am often appalled at the way the UK treats their service members, both active and veterans.  (I know that All Americans does not mean servicemen and women, but just go with me on this). Open your mind and see how other countries act and see if it can be used in your own country.  Maybe if everyone did that, it would be a better world.

Remember, it is an American company, sailing from America.  It is going to cater towards the majority of their guests from that location, Americans.  I've heard that cruises from Galveston are heavy on the Country music.  They're Texans after all.

 

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44 minutes ago, DunkelBierJay said:

Probably because the Pulse Nightclub shooting was a few months prior and security has been stepped up. I'm glad to see it wherever I travel.

One time, I got the "extra" scrutiny because I was flying one way back home ..... after it all, the thanked me for my patience..... my response was "extra security is always good, you'll never hear a complaint out of me."

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14 minutes ago, Sailor_to_Cruiser said:

I've heard that cruises from Galveston are heavy on the Country music.

Hey, ease up on Galveston, it's not all country music, lol...

The OB's comments are like complaining about kids being on a cruise when you are sailing on Spring Break or Summer break, of course there are going to be a lot of kids, school is on break.


I couple of years ago I sailed out of San Juan and there were about 20 Quinceañera (Very large extended families) on the ship during the week, instead of being upset my wife and I tried to join in the fun, it was a blast watching all of these young ladies strutting around in their frilly dresses.

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17 hours ago, Joe01 said:

Personally, I would avoid sailing from Baltimore again due to the conservative and all-American demographic. Same goes for the likes of Galveston as well.

As a Texan I have to chime in on this as well.    While the state as a whole is deemed conservative,  why the heck does that make any difference as to the opinion of the port?    You can easily read multiple threads here and other sites as well when it comes to cruising out of Galveston.   While the port itself has it's challenges, nearly everyone who's cruised out of there "generally" speaks very highly about the locals who are cruising on the ship as being some of the friendliest and polite people theyve ever met.     

I concur with others regarding your desire to be a CD.   which such garish comments like the one's you've made, I would tend to question if thats the right career path for you.   particularly when it comes to the melting pot of variable different cultures of the staff alone, not even mentioning the passengers.     

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17 minutes ago, coneyraven said:

One time, I got the "extra" scrutiny because I was flying one way back home ..... after it all, the thanked me for my patience..... my response was "extra security is always good, you'll never hear a complaint out of me."

I couldn't agree more. Safety is number 1.

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3 hours ago, Todd W said:

As a Texan I have to chime in on this as well.    While the state as a whole is deemed conservative,  why the heck does that make any difference as to the opinion of the port?    You can easily read multiple threads here and other sites as well when it comes to cruising out of Galveston.   While the port itself has it's challenges, nearly everyone who's cruised out of there "generally" speaks very highly about the locals who are cruising on the ship as being some of the friendliest and polite people theyve ever met.    

With 3 cruises out of Galveston complete I can confirm Texan's are great to cruise with.  The TABC laws on alcohol while in port and on bringing back bottles is the only true negative.    Distance to a major airport is no worse that Port Canaveral and possibly the next gripe with Galveston. 

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14 minutes ago, twangster said:

With 3 cruises out of Galveston complete I can confirm Texan's are great to cruise with.  The TABC laws on alcohol while in port and on bringing back bottles is the only true negative.    Distance to a major airport is no worse that Port Canaveral and possibly the next gripe with Galveston. 

yeah the dang TABC stuff is goofy .   seems like more people focus on that as a huge negative for Galveston. The time it effects anything is minimal in the grand scheme of things.   As for me,  put me on a cruise ship and as long as I can get some sort of cold drink for sail away, i'm happy. 

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On 5/24/2018 at 11:08 AM, Sailor_to_Cruiser said:

I am american. I live in Scotland (North Ayrshire). I have been here for 18 years.  I sailed out of Harwich a couple years ago and found the British population onboard the ship very overwhelming.  I sucked it up because, after all, I am in their country.  I would never put down and call names to the people of the host nation.  That is just bad diplomacy.

Regarding the "Welcome home all Americans" banner: it was in America, in the Nation's Capital of America.  If they can't say it, then there is something wrong with the country.  I am retired US Navy, and I am often appalled at the way the UK treats their service members, both active and veterans.  (I know that All Americans does not mean servicemen and women, but just go with me on this). Open your mind and see how other countries act and see if it can be used in your own country.  Maybe if everyone did that, it would be a better world.

Remember, it is an American company, sailing from America.  It is going to cater towards the majority of their guests from that location, Americans.  I've heard that cruises from Galveston are heavy on the Country music.  They're Texans after all.

 

Just for your information.  In CANADA,  all airports put JUST “ WELCOME”  banner on ALL  languages even in the city.  Nice !!

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