Very interesting. . . .

[new2ride]

I just came back from Western Caribbean cruise. I was amazed to see a great number of cyclists on the cruise ship, with their bikes. Everytime we came into port, they came off the boat with bikes in tow and went for rides. How cool is that? I've never seen that before and I've been on several cruises.

[emily_in_nc]

I just came back from Western Caribbean cruise. I was amazed to see a great number of cyclists on the cruise ship, with their bikes. Everytime we came into port, they came off the boat with bikes in tow and went for rides. How cool is that? I've never seen that before and I've been on several cruises.

That's awesome! Did you stop in Belize City, by any chance? If so, hopefully they didn't attempt to ride there. That's a pretty iffy area of the city that the cruise ships come into. Tourist Village is fine, but once outside that...not good for cycling. It's a serious city atmosphere with tons of traffic, vagrants and other unsavory types. We walked a couple of blocks to get to shops (story on our blog: http://bebelize.weebly.com/1/post/2011/10/an-afternoon-adventure-in-belize-city.html), but I would never ride there.

Hope you had fun on the cruise!

[jyyanks]

What a great idea! Fast, easy and cheap way to get around and see the different stops. I would worry about unsavory characters and getting lost but I'm not the most adventurous person. I do think it's cool that they are finding a way to bike while on a cruise!

[new2ride]

emily_in_nc - no we didn't go to Belize, we were in Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. At every port, the cyclists rode their bikes -- I thought it was sweet. I can't remember which port, but there was an excusion for bike riding. :)

While I didn't bike on the cruise, I did have a great time. Swam with the sting rays in Grand Cayman, did lots of snorkeling and some shopping. DH and I are thinking about staying in Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Cozumel. The weather was awesome and the water is the most amazing aqua/turquoise color. I love the Caribbean. :D

[Titania]

That's really cool! I'd be super scared to do that on my own, though. I guess maybe it's OK if you can stay with a big group.

Sounds like you had a ton of fun on the cruise!

[evangundy]

check this out for cruising & cycling - not very long mileage but kinda expensive
http://bikeandcruise.com/

Edna

[channlluv]

You know what would be a good concession is to rent touring/cruiser bikes with baskets right there at the docks for the tourists. I guess there would be all kinds of liability insurance involved, and theft protection, but what a potentially lucrative business, especially if you offered guided tours. (Kind of like Bob's snorkeling gear, which you can rent all over Hawaii.)

Or to be the bike wrangler on the ship itself who manages the bike lending at each port of call...you'd get to travel all over and maintain the bike fleet. Could be a lot of fun for an adventurous wrench.

Roxy

[new2ride]

@evangundy . . . no kidding, that's really expensive. That's almost double what the price is for one ticket. I cannot remember which port is was, but one of stops did offer a bike tour ride, with rented bikes. I would have loved to have taken the ride, but there's no way DH would consider it. He doesn't ride at all so the thought of peddling up hills, etc. was not appealing to him. We compromised and snorkeled - love doing that too!:D

[featuretile]

Can you please tell me the name of the cruise line that lets people take bikes? I bought a Bike Friday and thought I would be able to take it on a cruise and use it in ports. This would be great in Europe. Nothing is more than 20 miles away and what is that on a bike?

When I contacted several major cruise lines, they would not allow it. You could bring it in a suitcase, but not take it off because of security reasons. (It would not fit thru the metal screening conveyer belt?) I even sent them a picture of the bike in a bag so they could see that it would not touch their carpet.

I know you can take bikes on some river boats, but I could not find any major cruise lines that would allow it. I'd appreciate the info. Maybe some line has changed policy since I asked.

[new2ride]

The cruise line I was on was Royal Caribbean. I don't know what the specifics were for the passengers who had bikes to bring them on and off the ship. I thought it was cool cuz I would have never thought to bring my bike on a cruise.