On Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:53:51 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I had thought about taking a cruise until I found out what they were
really like. You don't see anything. You stop at a port and go to the
local souvenir stands and back to the ship. No in depth visit to see
what the place is really like.

_Alaska Inside Passage_
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?portCode=XIP

It was my first cruise and a great one. Port excursions included
salmon fishing (a company smoked them and mailed after we got home). A
float plane trip up to the glaciers on the Juneau river; having fresh
salmon lunch family style inside a national historic cabin and
watching the bears lick the grill grates and later standing at window
looking all the folks. It was a hoot the entire trip.

The other five I took were like you say, tourist stuff, but in Mexico
we spent a day in the interior rain forest, an other fun stuff on the
drive. One port I went charter boat fishing.

Neighbor couple just came back from a 4 month world cruise - price
was around $60,000.