Cruising can be one of the most value-friendly vacations going but offers some extraordinarily high-end options as well. But how the heck do you choose from all the hundreds if not thousands of options out there? Here are some resources (including non-traditional cruising, like freighters) and feedback.
Cover photo: Mitch Ames
The exclusive dining experience on the Princess Discovery is unlike any other I have been a part of during my travels. "360: An Extraordinary Experience" is dining immersion making one feel like you’re sitting in the Greek countryside with olive trees or smelling the fragrance of lavender in the south of France. Thanks to Princess Cruises, I savored this time with fellow bloggers. I immediately became captivated with the experience when I heard beautiful music played by two violinists and…
Read more…Virtual-Piano Our planet's vast, remote, southernmost continent - larger than Europe - is a much-coveted "final frontier" for many travelers. And booking Antarctica vacation packages via cruise ship offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see frozen landscapes that can't be seen anywhere else along with a plethora of polar wildlife. With vacation packages typically ranging from one to three weeks, cruise ships departing from Argentina's Tierra del Fuego make the two-day crossing through the…
Read more…Carnival Cruise Line On their recent Carnival Cruise Lines vacation, every member of the Meyers family was busy enjoying their three-generation vacation getaway. Tom and Martha were playing their favorite sport of pickleball, which is a popular pastime among people in their advanced age group. Their son Ben and his wife Melissa were steering electric race cars along a winding two-level track (above and below), slowing to negotiate sharp hairpin turns. Meanwhile, grandchildren Tom and Betsy were…
Read more…We spent two nights were spent aboard the MS Nordkapp., a 590-passenger ship that´s one of the nine currently operated by the Hurtigruten line, which plies the Norwegian coast daily. These are mostly passenger cruise ships, but also serve the vital function of transporting locals and cargo between 34 towns along the coast, some of which are otherwise fairly isolated. And they´re comfortable but hardly luxurious, without most of the bells and whistles common across the cruise industry these…
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Made any new friends on your cruises this year?
http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderboomer/2011/12/26/2011...
Ahoy, folks! Got two new cruising questions on our Ask A Travel Expert forum, both from a journalist looking for input and quotes. If you can help, please click on one or both links below:
Best Cruise Itineraries for 2012
Best Small-Ship Cruises
Thanks much!!
When cruising the Caribbean and you stop at San Juan, Puerto Rico, you might see me singing there. Here is a special HOLIDAY GREETING song for you
Come along with me to the land of the iguanas:
http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderboomer/2011/10/13/land...
I was asked to give some information on cruising on small ships. Here ae a few bits of info. You can get more at www.smallshipcruises.com
WHAT IS CRUISING ON A SMALL SHIP LIKE?A small ship is part cruise ship and part private yacht. You have many of the advantages of cruising, but you can go to remote locations and out-of-the-way ports where big ships can’t go.
Typically, there are no group games, few announcements, no assigned dining room seating. Instead of bingo, you have the opportunity to visit the bridge at any time and stand at the helmstation, or on a very small ship perhaps take the helm yourself. Instead of a cruise director, you have historians, naturalists and other experts who give talks and slide shows and join you at dinner, perhaps an author or a wildlife photographer. Sometimes there is a casino, more likely not, or it will be small. Sometimes there is a piano bar or a band and a dance floor, but just as often there is a local band brought on board for dancing on the aft deck. Instead of spending much time inside the ship, you spend most time outside at destinations.
Usually there is focus on learning about the environment and people and cultures of the area, with some lectures by naturalists and historians, wildlife excursions with guides, and a library with books and videos on the destinations. You might learn about ancient roots of civilization while viewing Mayan ruins or archeological sites in the Greek Islands or you might get close to nature watching the courting dances of blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos, or feeding bananas to lemurs in the Seychelles. Because there are fewer people, you have the opportunity to meet with speakers in informal conversations. The lectures, the artworks, the closeness to the environment all provide a profound sense of place to the destinations.
Because of their turn-on-a-dime maneuverability the small ships can get into secluded coves and remote places inaccessible to bigger ships, going up rivers to where they are just navigable or going to places that can be reached only by water and are less often visited.
Because of the small number of passengers, the itinerary can be flexible. You can stay for the evening for a local festival, stop to watch a whale, or launch a zodiac in minutes if there is something special to see.
To your pae listing Info Sites I would appreciate your adding SmallShipCruises.com www.smallshipcruises.com We are the biggest website in the world on small ships.
Thank you.
Shirley Lidne, Editor
You can check out shore excursions that you can book independently at our website www.smallshipcruises.com
I can't etthe link to copy on here but go to the left hand column of the site and scroll down to the blue box What To Do Before You Go. It lists shore excursion choices all over the world.
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