We will never, ever take a cruise. Don’t even tell us about your last one, because we hate, hate, hate what the cruise industry has done to once quaint towns and villages within reach of the nearest deep water port. Take Dubrovnik, Croatia for example. Now I have to be clear, we have never stepped foot in Dubrovnik. But, Croatians and Slovenians we talked to during our most recent trip to Istria made it clear that cruise ships have stripped away any of the charm of Dubrovnik. “In Krk, you can get a cup of coffee for 6 Kuna,” a Croatian restaurant owner told us the other night. “In Dubrovnik, the cruise ship passengers pay 20 Kuna and don’t blink an eye.” The same goes for schlocky souvenir shops, terrible food in restaurants and sub-standard hotel rooms – all supported and sustained by the flocks of sheep with little time but lots of cash who disembark from the massive cruise ships which ply the Dalmatian Coast.
Hopefully, cruise ships will not find a way to disembark their passengers in our winter home of Sarasota, FL. If that happens, we’re moving to Peoria.