dalava

SO the family is looking to do a summer cruise in the Mediterranean sea with stops in several cities in Spain and Italy. From what I hear, the cruise ship is basically a hotel moving at night from port to port, and the day times are spent at the port cities for sightseeing.

This got me thinking, may be I should bring the bike with me and when the family is going to town sightseeing, I can get on the bike and ride around and near the city as a cycling tourist.

Has anyone ever done this? Or this is just a dumb idea to mix things up.

Homebrew01

yup.

If they even let you bring on a bike, where would you put it ? The rooms on boats barely have enough space for a suitcase.

urbanknight

I've never found it ideal to bring a bike along on a family vacation unless the whole family plans to ride. Just keep in shape by doing active shore excursions and/or spending a little time in the ship's gym.

dayday82

Investing in a folding bike might be an option. I hope to buy one to use on vacations and stuff too. You can fit a folding bike into a suitcase.... well depending on the bike. Some fold better than others.

StanSeven

As much as I like cycling, I wouldn't take a bike along for a couple reasons. I doubt the ship would let you take it one first, Even if they did, storing it is another problem. Then the ports of call are chosen for a reason - they are places to see, have fun, and enjoy with your family. Ships have stationary bikes and spinning classes. Use them while you are at sea and enjoy the ports with your family.

pennstater

My wife and I and a couple of friends all brought our bikes on a cruise about five years ago. Everyone still agrees it was one of the best vacations.

We had checked with the cruise line in advance. They said no problem as long as the bikes were kept in our cabin. While boarding they initially stopped us but after a phone call to verify approval they let us on. Bikes fit perfectly in the cabin closet. I had brought some plastic drop cloths to keep from getting grease on anything but didn't need it.

This was a Princess cruise of Canada and New England. Some of the ports we had to use a life boat to get to shore. No problem with the bikes. If you do get prior approval get a name or better yet get it in writing.

Your bigger problem may be with the airlines if your trip includes flying.

As an aside, for some reason we ended up seeing a lower deck where passengers usually were not permitted. There were bikes stored down there. We were told they belonged to the crew.

Oh, don't try riding on the gang plank. That didn't make us any friends. But a number of people told us they had wished they had brought their bikes.

jrobe

The one problem I would see is that the ports are usually right in the middle of cities (big cities). I would hate to take off on a bike in some of the cruise port cities I have seen. In fact, it is busy traffic for even some of the cabs I have been on getting off the ships. You would never pick these roads for a bike ride in any other circumstance.

I have about 10 Spinervals and CTS videos on my Ipod touch that I use on the cruise ship spinning bikes to keep my legs in shape (and to wear off the cheesecake). Then I enjoy the ship and ports the same as everyone else.

keisatsu

why don't you just rent a bike? Then you and your family don't have to deal with a bike being in the way, and you get to go riding.

pennstater

I have found Europe to be more bike friendly than the US. But the safety point is well taken. We did some pre-trip planning, though not in detail. We would stop at local bike shops and ask advice. You can make the cycling anything you want. In Halifax and Newport we just took a slow ride touring around town. In Boston, my wife and I left the bikes on the ship. In Bar Harbor we spent the better part of the day riding through Acadia, including climbing Cadillac Mountain - great view. In St John my wife spent the day with the other two wives that were not cyclists while us three men hammered for half the day.

The bikes were not our A rides. We would lock them but not worry about them being stolen.

The vacation satisfied everyone. The non-cyclists had something to do, the cyclists did not get grumpy and we still got to spend a lot of time together.

dalava

This sounds like a lot fun, and exactly what I am thinking. Did you take a normal road bike and outfitted with some touring stuff? Getting the cruise line to allow the bike on board beforehand is a great advice. I have a folding bike (with the S&S Couplers installed) that packs into a suitcase (BTW, it's the best way to travel with your bike by a long shot). So I assume transporting the bike and getting them on/off the plane/ship won't be a problem.

pennstater

We just walked them onboard. We took our older road bikes. Nothing special for touring. Just the usual shoes, helmets, gloves, multi-tool etc.

We were particularly aware of never getting too far away from the ship so that we couldn't get back even in the event of mechanical failure.

S&S coupled bike would be great. I've actually thought about buying one but have been talked out of it by a couple of LBSs. They said it was too much grief to disassemble and assemble and that TSA might open it and never get it back in its suitcase properly.

The idea of renting a bike isn't bad if you will be in the same place for a few days. But, being in a different port each day it was great to just get out and ride without the hassle.

icyclist 

Great idea if you aren't spending significant amounts of time away from your family when you're supposed to be with your wife or kids or parents or whomever. On my one – and very enjoyable – cruise, to Alaska, my wife would have been more than slightly annoyed if I had gone my own way while we were on shore.

I utilized the bikes in the gym a few times. On afternoon, I took a spinning class. I was the only person in the class. It was late in the day, and I stared out the back of the ship at the city of Juneau and the amazing landscape beyond.

The instructor wanted me to visualize a winding road.

"Mike, how about I come up with the imagery, since I'm your only student."

"Sure."

"I'm taking a spinning class. I'm on a ship, at the stern. I'm looking out a huge glass window. There is a mind-blowing scene of Juneau and the mountains beyond."

It was a great session.

Nachoman

I take a bicycle on all family vacations. I can usually bang out 30-40 miles before any one even wakes up. Also, even if you miss a few extra hour trip at an aquarium or zoo, who really cares?

OLBKR

I've got the perfect solution and a way to tour a good part of Europe by bike with a room, a great meal and a happy non biking wife waiting for you at the end of the day. A couple of years ago, we took a cruise of the Danube. Started in Budapest and finished in Prague. We traveled a distance each day which would be easily handeled by anyone on a bike. At times we continued on to cities over night while we slept arriving the next morning. They offered the opportunity to travel by bicycle for a few legs of the trip. The River Boat carried forty bikes. I'm sure they would not object to carrying your personal bikes as well. Their bikes were terrible...fat tire city bikes. There are paved bike paths along the Danube. Past castles, vineyards and through many small villages.

I rode forty miles high above the river, passing many European bikers, singles, pairs and familys on holiday and it was wonderful. We also spent full days in Vienna, Budapest, Nurenburg, and others where you could spend the day touring famous cities on your own bike. If you wanted a day off the bike, just stay on the boat as it makes its way upriver.

Machka 

First of all, going on vacation without a bicycle would feel really, really weird to me. I have gone places for a weekend or a few days without my bicycle, and I felt like I was missing an appendage.

Secondly, if you want to do a cruise with your bicycle ... check out this vacation package:
https://www.ctma.ca/traversier-madele...uise-cycle.cfm

Rowan brought it to my attention in one of my Outpost Magazines (the Hostelling International - Canada) monthly magazine, and I looked it up. Looks interesting ... and in a part of the world I haven't been yet.