Part of the magic of travel for me is the historical events and life stories of the areas I visit. Aboard Viking Cruises´ 930-passenger Jupiter, we crossed the Baltic Sea from Scandinavia to Rostock, on Germany´s Baltic coast, and popular as a jumping-off port for all of the Nordic countries. Now this coast´s third largest city (pop. 210,000), it was part of Communist East Germany from the end of World War II till German reunification in 1990. The area was bombed by the Allies durin
Cruising (85)
Lisbon, the city of seven hills, cobbled streets, and stunning views over the Tagus River, offers some of the most enchanting boat tours you can find. If you're looking to add a splash of adventure to your trip, you’re in for a treat with the best boat tours in Lisbon, which you can book at SeaBookings.com. From tranquil sunset cruises to exhilarating dolphin watching, there’s a boat tour for everyone. Here’s a rundown of the best boat tours in Lisbon that you won’t want to miss!
Lisbon Sunset C
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 f
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 wer
American Cruise Lines
Our cabin on the American Symphony (top) rivaled those we have enjoyed in many an upscale hotel. The food and table settings were both five-star. The lengthy list of available activities in our temporary home away from home covered a wide diversity of interests. Oh yes, and there also were ample opportunities to explore inviting towns that provided deep dives into Civil War and other history, visit magnificent antibellum plantations and mansions with their lovely gardens
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 pow
A French Country Waterways barge in France
One evening several years ago, my wife Fyllis and I savored a sumptuous four-course gourmet dinner accompanied by wines that had been produced nearby.
More recently, we listened raptly to lectures by knowledgeable experts about a variety of issues, some controversial, in several Eastern European countries.
The settings for these experiences could have been a five-star hotel or resort - and indeed in atmosphere and attractiveness they deserved that rat
The poet William Wordsworth once said that the best way to view the hills of the English Lake District was from a boat on one of the lakes. I’d agree with that; when I was a kid, my holiday job was working on those boats on Lake Windermere.
A lot of time has passed since then, and I’ve amassed many more over the years. Cruises on lakes, river cruises, trips around the harbour, ferry crossings - the only thing I excluded from my list was ocean cruises.
River cruises fall into two categories. Th
Some folk describe glaciers as "rivers of ice", and in essence that’s just what they are. It starts with a snowfall, back in the Year Dot. If that snow doesn’t melt, there’s another snowfall next year, which just lies on top of it. Repeat this process for a few thousand years, and the snow is compressed into ice. Just the same as if you squeezed a snowball really tightly, you’ll finish up with an iceball. Slowly but surely, the ice heads off downhill until it reaches a level where it can melt;
Myanmar (aka Burma) is changing fast and is now one of the "gotta-visit" places before it is too late. Tourism is now booming and things are changing fast. One are that is still of the radar of most tourist is the Irrawaddy Delta. Only Pandaw cruises can provide a comprehensive tour of the area.
The delta, which comprises nine main tributaries and a capillary system of smaller creeks and waterways, stretches over 10,000 square miles. Heavily populated, this water-logged maze has played a major
After writing scores of articles about ocean cruises, we decided to see what motivates vacationers to take European river cruises. We are glad we did.
So Much to Choose From
There are endless selections of river cruise itineraries on the internet, so we sought the guidance of three prominent river cruise companies in Europe – Amway, Uniworld, and Viking.
Viking River Cruises Comes Through
Viking River Cruises was most generous with their public relations department and customer service time, so we s
We boarded our ship in Buenos Aires, and the cruise would take us right around South America around the famous … or infamous … Cape Horn to Valpariaso.
I thought of the old sea shanty ‘Paddy Lay Back’:
‘… for we’re bound for Valparaiso round the Horn’
Then I remembered more words of the same ditty:
‘ … half the crew were spewing o’er the ship’s side
And the other half were spewing over me’.
Happily, such conditions didn’t happen on this cruise. We called at Punta del Este, Puerto Madryn and Port S
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Our goal in taking a month-long cruise around Hawaii and Tahiti on the Golden Princess was to experience – and then write about – how a major cruise line like Princess caters to its suite passengers. It was one of our most enjoyable projects.
Suites for two
Over the past ten years, we have photographed and written about suites in B&Bs, hotels, resorts, and on cruise ships. It is our writing practice to always consider our subjects from a “couples” perspective. In that light, we have found many sui
Pandaw River Expeditions has become the first Western operator to reach China’s Yunnan Province via the Mekong River, when the RV Champa Pandaw moored yesterday at Guanlei.
The Champa Pandaw, which has 14 teak-finished staterooms, was specially built to withstand the strong currents and challenging navigational conditions of the Upper Mekong and deliver Southeast Asia’s first ever “four country” river expedition.
Running from October through April, Pandaw’s 14-night cruise The Mekong: from Laos to
