[lmm]

In my experience you can find sameness anywhere if you look for it, or you can find the interesting differences. Four hours is pretty short, true, but it's time enough to wander around a place and experience something unique (I had around that long in Vienna on one trip, but I ate a lovely "sushi burrito" for lunch, saw some amazing paintings, and drank in a wonderfully traditional cafe). I'd argue that a cruise can be worthwhile precisely because long bus rides suck; I've done similar trips around Eastern Europe as a road trip, sleeper train trip and river cruise, and the cruise was when I spent the least time moving luggage around or staring out of a window and the most time actually in the cities I was visiting.

[c22]

Here is a map of the island [0]. There was a $20 ferry to Placencia [1], but the ferry ride was a 30 minute trip and they recommended coming back 2 hours before cruise departure.

The other stops were a little better, but were all still clearly "cruise towns" with hour+ long bus rides to the next nearest populated place.

I'm not saying there weren't interesting differences. The entire experience was, in fact, extremely novel to me. I don't feel like I've "visited" any of the countries we stopped in, however, any more than I feel like I've visited changeover cities where I never left the airport.

[0] https://1ypfazc0twx431e6w2jik5nw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placencia