Advice Needed. Can you take your bike on a cruise ship?

[andy753]

Hello everyone. We are going away on holiday this summer with our friends - two families with young(ish) children. Our respective wives and children enjoy swimming and eating ice cream but my friend and I get bored with this after about 10 minutes! We are both avid cyclists (road and offroad) and usually manage to convince our families that an active holiday away with a company like Neilson or similar is the best option (where they have bikes galore and a load of proven trails to explore). However, this year we are gonig to try cruising... which I am rather nervous about!!!! We are looking at travelling with a company called Azamara Cruises. Some of the stops look truly amazing (Kotor in particular) and if we were able to take our road bikes on-board and stow them somewhere in their bike bags we could get some amazing rides in along the way. But so far nobody has been able to give us a definitive answer as to whether this is possible. Does anyone know of any cruise lines who actively allow this? Has anyone done it? Many thanks for any advice you might have. If we can make this work, we may have found a holiday that keeps everybody happy!

[[XAP]Bob]

I'd ask the cruise company...

[softlips]

I'd ask the cruise company...

Yup, there's a good chance they may know.

[Nearholmer]

We went on a cruise once, when my good lady was pregnant with our eldest and didn’t fancy a more active holiday, and TBH “days at sea”, when sailing between ports, were tedious in the extreme, and on those days you’d not be able to cycle even f you have a bike with you. They do have static bikes in the gyms though, so you might be able to convince yourself that you are pedalling the boat along, which self-delusion kept me happy for a couple of hours.

Given the volume of luggage some people seem to bring, you could probably bring a bike in a big suitcase and nobody would be any the wiser!

PS: A quick google suggests that Royal Caribbean do allow bikes, but you have to keep them in your cabin, which suggests that a folder might be the best option.

[a.twiddler]

If there's no flying involved, I would have thought that something like a Brompton in a bag or case would be manageable, and could be stored unobtrusively in your cabin wardrobe. Definitely ask the cruise company beforehand. Not what you had in mind? Perhaps a folding MTB? Though I doubt that you'd get one in your wardrobe, and you'd soon get fed up with falling over it in your cabin. Also, have a care for your hotel services staff who would have to work round it daily when cleaning your room.

Riding an exercise bike in the gym is a weird experience on board ship. In a static room on land, not so bad, but even on a calm day a ship moves about a bit, and pedalling even with a view of the horizon is disconcerting, as you detect the movements and try to compensate which you can't as it's fixed to the deck.

Every cruise ship that I've been on has had a promenade deck which generally lets you walk all round the ship. I remember the first cruise I went on in 2009 where the ship had a notice telling you that one circuit of the ship was 1/3 of a mile so three times round the ship was a mile.
What could be better? Bracing sea air, a good walk, ever changing views of the sea. I did wonder how it would be, to be able to cycle round a moving ship but I doubt that that would happen, for insurance reasons if nothing else.

It might be possible to arrange bike hire through the cruise line at some destinations.

I was prepared to hate cruising, expecting to be mingling with the "over fed and nearly dead" and I really don't like crowds but it was brilliant. I've been on a few more since.

You can book excursions, or not, as you please (and in some places it is cheaper and easier to go solo rather than via the ship's booking office). There's always some quiet place where you can enjoy a book and watch the sea if you want a break from all the endless activities on offer.

If you can add cycling to the mix, it's even better.

[mjr]

One of Carnival's ships used to have special recumbents on a 800m track.
https://road.cc/content/news/141751-cyc ... w-carnival

Otherwise, Carnival only allow folding bikes, strictly for use on land trips. https://bikerumor.com/where-to-ride-how ... uise-ship/ (obnoxious popups)

[TrevA]

Having been on a P&O cruise around the Bay of Biscay, the thought occurred to me that it would be great to take a folding bike on a cruise. Guided tours around the various ports were quite expensive, such that when we got to La Corunna, we just did our own free self-guided walking tour. A folding bike would enable you to see more of the area and cover more ground. You sometimes have to be transported by coach from the actual port to the nearest town, which would be a problem with a full sized bike (though you could probably ride).

There is often quite a long queue to get on and off at the starting and finishing port, and you need to have all your luggage with you in the queue, so it could be a bit of a pain with a bike and a large suitcase (though you could have all your stuff in panniers mounted on the bike).

[horizon]

Unless it has been mentioned before, the big German cruise ships have their own fleets of bikes (some possibly electric) for just these purposes. AIUI they are used for both organised local tours and DIY. Although the bikes might threaten take-up of the profitable shore excursions (by coach), the cruise lines aren't stupid - they know that such a provision would nowadays be popular.

If I were you, I would contact the cruise line directly to see what they are doing and even perhaps shop around for a cruise ship that indeed had bikes available (road or otherwise). It wouldn't surprise me if the German cruise ships had them and the British didn't but hey-ho.

[simonhill]

I met a couple in Cuba who had used a cruise as a cheap way across the Atlantic. They had full touring gear. No details, except between Portugal and México.

However, my concerns would be.

I've never cruised, but my brother does and they don't seem to spend very long in each port. I'd check to see if it's worthwhile.

Visas, etc. Some visa free off ship are only allowed on organised tours, otherwise visa required.

You may not be able to cycle out of port due to restrictions.

H&S concerns onboard re blocking evacuation, etc.

I have vaguely thought about doing something ship bound (eg Norway coastal) but would only consider my Brompton.

[TrevA]

In my experience, ships usually stay in port for 7-8 hours or more depending on the itinerary. This would give you enough time to get a decent bike ride in. They usually sail overnight to the next port, so you wake up already docked and can disembark and explore from around 9am until late afternoon - 4 or 5pm.

[horizon]

From the cruise line:

Unfortunately Azamara don't provide bicycles I'm sorry, these would need to be hired separately for this particular cruise

[andy753]

Thanks everyone for all your advice here. My frustration is that Azamara keep saying "we don't provide bicylces" as one of you has pointed out and completely skirting the question of whether we can take our own bikes onboard. We are reluctanct to hire bikes - my friend and I are fussy types and like to ride decent kit which is set up correctly. I won't go into 'bike fit' here but suffice to say crank lengths, stem lengths, saddles etc make a massive difference to how enjoyable a ride is. Apparently we have a good 10 hours in each port if we get off first and that would enable us to get some amazing rides in (carrying enough spares of course should we break down!). We'll keep perservering with Azamara and I'll report back here. Thanks again for all your helpful comments...

[TrevA]

Another thing to consider. Cruise ships don’t always dock next to a quay. On one cruise we did, we called at Guernsey St Peter’s Port, but the ship anchored in the bay offshore. Passengers were then ferried into the harbour on one of the lifeboat launches. This could create an additional problem - would a bike be allowed on one of the launches? On the cruise we called at 5 ports in 7 days, the other 4 we docked quayside, so no such problems.

Also, if your cruise doesn’t start in the UK, you have the problem and additional expense of flying with your bike to the embarkation point. The flight for you will probably be included in the cost of the cruise, but that won’t cover your bike, so you’ll probably have to pay extra for the bike.

[Lookrider]

Its admirable that you would want to ride about whilst visiting ports but I think it may well be very logistical challenging
Your family would I expect hope you accompanied them on some if the port tours anyways .....
there is strict time restraints on port visits and the ship line seem to have priority in getting there coaches into the dock .filled up and away and back on time straight through any visa checks .....
The private tours are usually parked outside the port etc and all this time transferring burns into your port time ....
On bikes you may very well have to clear customs
And I doubt they will be in a hurry to see to your paperwork
Again burning into your time .....
Finally it will be your responsibility to get back on time as the ship will not wait as it may only leave on the high tide
Think punctures/mechanicals/lost etc ..
If you like organising things in advance that should be good...but of your relaxed and chilled I think the logistics may unfortunately be too much

Apologies if this sounds negative...but this is my experience of large cruises
You can however do the river cruises of which cycling tours in port are very much the go to way

Enjoy the cruise ...I think you find they are much better than you first anticipated

[a.twiddler]

Apart from the use of tenders as highlighted upthread, some destinations are some miles from the port at which the ship docks. I can think of Rome, Pisa, and Florence as European examples, where a longish coach journey is involved even if you don't book a tour and want to explore on your own once you get there. In ports such as Lisbon, where you disembark in the city centre, near the railway station, and Barcelona where it's a short trip to the centre, it's much more convenient. You can walk into town.

Most port timings are long enough to spend some time doing what you want but some are not. Our experience with MSC was not so good in this respect. Some of the stops on this cruise from Barcelona to Venice were awkwardly timed and shorter than we'd liked, and though our arrival in Venice as the sun came up was a memorable experience, we found that the schedule didn't allow time to see the city, but only to disembark, get on the bus, and head for Verona airport, not Venice as originally on our booking. Fortunately, our experiences with other cruise lines over the years have been much better.

In other places you are recommended to use the tour facilities for your own safety. Although our ship tied up near the town of Colon when doing a Panama Canal cruise we were strongly advised not to go into town on our own as there was a likelihood of being "robbed at knifepoint" such was the disparity between the conspicuous wealth of cruise passengers and the grinding poverty of the local inhabitants. There's something to be said for travelling and meeting the locals, but there are obviously limits. On our return, too, the ship had moved on to moor in Gatun Lake, requiring the use of tenders.

So obviously, as in other things, a bit of research will help so you can decide which cruise lines and destinations could make cycling the least stressful experience. Many ports are free and easy and need only to see your room ID or ship's card to let you through. Obviously it's wise to keep your passport with you. Bear in mind that my experiences are pre COVID lockdown, and mostly pre Brexit, and things change.