Life is best enjoyed at cruising speed

Some people love cruise ships. Not necessarily the ports in which the ships dock, mind you, but the actual cruising itself.

Regardless of the company you choose, the ships they employ – especially the huge ones – offer a range of activities, from stage shows to casinos, art classes to wine tastings, swimming pools and libraries, plus numerous options for fine dining (in addition to the buffet tables that allow you to gorge on demand).

Fact is, you never have to leave the ship to enjoy yourself, which is fine if just relaxing in a comfortable atmosphere is what you want. My wife and I have taken three cruises. But we did so mainly because they were the easiest way to experience the places where our ships were headed.

The first came several years ago when we sailed from Vancouver, British Columbia, up the Alaska Inside Passage to the city of Seward. From there we rode a train, through mountainous scenery, into Anchorage.

The second came a few years later when we flew to Sydney, Australia, and then cruised to New Zealand. We hit several ports, from Dunedin and Christchurch on the south Island before heading on to the north island’s city of Auckland and on to the natural and historical area Bay of Islands, before sailing back to Sydney.

Our third cruise came shortly after, when we flew to Amsterdam and before sailing around the Baltic Sea. Picking up our ship, we sailed first to a port in Germany, then on to Tallinn (Estonia), St. Petersburg (Russia), Helsinki (Finland), Stockholm (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark) before heading back to Amsterdam … then home.

And, yeah, I’ll admit that I enjoyed the experiences that the ships offered. Not much of a gambler, I avoided the casino. But we ate well, drank some gourmet coffee, and we took advantage of the tours that are always available when the ships hit port.

For the uninitiated, when you go on cruises you have a couple of choices. You can either go on the excursions that the cruise line arranges, or you can make your own arrangements. Both tend to cost extra, but the benefit of the cruise-line-sponsored treks is that they’re sure to get you back to the ship before it sails. Bear in mind that if you’re late, they’re not going to wait for you.

We tend to play it dangerously and make our own plans. In Alaska, when we stopped at Skagway we rented a car and drove to the Canadian province of Yukon (just to get our passports stamped). In Juneau, we hired a float plane and flew over glaciers to a back-country resort where we enjoyed a tasty salmon dinner.

On the Baltic Sea cruise, we explored each of the cities, or as much as we could in a mostly one-day stay. The best stop was our two-day tour of St. Petersburg – likely the last time we’ll be able to visit any part of Russia. Roaming through The Hermitage Museum and visiting the Peter the Great’s Summer Palace ranked atop our must-see lists, but I can still recall taking an early-morning escalator down into the city’s underground subway system and passing hundreds of Russians heading up (presumably to work) … and not a single one expressed even a vestige of a smile.

But my favorite was New Zealand. We left Sydney at sunset and sailed two full days before entering scenic Milford Sound. From there we sailed south, around the tip of the south island to the city of Dunedin. From there we took a day trip to check out Baldwin Street, said to be the steepest street in the world. Sitting only a few miles from Dunedin, the 350-meter lane is a national landmark.

On a more serious note, we also were able to tour Christchurch, the largest city on the south island (and second-largest by urban population in the whole country). A highlight of the tour when we took it in 2012 was a bus ride past the wrecked parts of the downtown area that were caused by a series of earthquakes that hit the city between Sept. 4, 2010, and Dec. 23, 2011. Reports say that the city center has been rebuilt … and reinforced.

For fun, and because we are avid moviegoers, we also opted to tour Hobbiton, the 12-acre village (now a tourist attraction, complete with cafe) that was constructed in 1999 as part of the production of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The place was first due to be demolished, but a few of the Hobbit Holes (merely facades) were saved, and in fact were used in 2009 when Jackson returned to film his “The Hobbit” trilogy. The whole place is now renovated and has the feel of a real village … or as they’re known, a shire.

And of course we signed up for a penguin tour (just as we did years later in Capetown, South Africa). We had more than a few choices. In fact, if you check out Google maps you’ll find at least five companies that can help you see penguins up close, plus a few spots where you can observe them in their native habitats.

All of our prior experiences have prepared us for a cruise that we’re planning to take in May. Again, it’s the kind of experience that we would have trouble arranging any other way: We’re going to sail from England to the coast of Norway and hit a number of the country’s more notable fjords (not, I think, unlike New Zealand’s Milford Sound).

One suggestion to anyone planning a cruise: Tack on an extension. Once our Alaska cruise ended, we rented a car and drove north to Fairbanks, then back down through the center of the state, before flying home.

On our Norway cruise, we plan to first fly to the capital Oslo, spend a couple of days there before taking a train west to the city of Bergen. We’ll fly to England from there where we’ll then pick up our cruise liner in Southhampton.

On board, I’ll likely have to order a cappuccino or two, maybe even a glass of sauvignon blanc, to help me catch my traveler’s second breath. Then it’s anchors aweigh.

Once again.