It's Monday, and I got home Saturday night. In all, the journey home took us the same amount of time as the trip from Vancouver to Miami ... the off-loading from the ship was late, the buses were late, and the flight was late. Overall, though, they say that the sign of a good vacation is you're anxious to leave for it and anxious again to leave from it, so I would say that it's been good overall. Although I was the only one on the ship (sans the captain and some crew) that was fifty-something, I did manage to meet a few people that interested me.
One thing that always impresses me is that the British, almost as a race, love to travel - and they don't seem to mind roughing it if the circumstances dictate. They'll go anywhere, anytime, and pretty much at any cost (figuratively and literally). The Americans - not so sure. The Germans are everywhere. The Canadians are a fairly well represented minority, based on our population, and I think we can travel on the down-low when we have to. That's a skill I need to re-aquire.
I can pretty much say, though, that inasmuch as the cruising life is incredibly easy (bring your own hotel), it's not for me. Although mom and dad would get angry at me for saying this, I'll say it anyways - cruising is not touring. There's been such an industry built around the wealthy people coming off the ships in every port, what they (and me) see is a sterile version of what the locals want you to see. And any port big enough to fit a cruise ship is a port I'd likely avoid. Just imagine what people see when they step off a cruise ship in Vancouver. If you're lucky enough to be at the Pan Pacific, you could walk to Stanley Park. But what if your ship is docked at the seedy eastern edge of Gastown?
My old boss, Don, was big into home exchanges for months at a time. He got linked up with people all over Europe. I think living somewhere for a month or more gives you much more (for maybe much less).