My last cruise was on the France in the late sixties and I have to say that was gastronomic heaven. BTW, we were drinking young 61’s.
Joyce would like to try one the River cruises and I lean toward one of those new floating Vegas behemoths. Not really knowing I feel
rambling cruise might be confining.?
I’ll do either, what lines and itineraries for both modes would you suggest?
Comfortable accommodations and good food, picturesque venues are important as is culture/art/history assuming we go the river route.
Thanks,
You need to narrow it down some. Budget, length of cruise, geographical location and time of year. There is something out there for everyone and every budget.
Erie Canal/Hudson River/Hudson Valley/Saint Lawrence River/Great Lakes excursions always sounded like fun to me.
I haven’t been, but this one starts in New York Harbor.
There goes my recommendation. Our next cruise is this November, 24 nights Cape Town to Buenos Aires on Oceania. Going to Cape Town a few days early. Get to visit a little SA wine country and a few days in Mendoza at the end. We are retired so long trips work for us. We will be gone about 45 days on this one.
A few years ago, we took a 14 day Baltic cruise on Celebrity Cruise Lines and visited places we wouldn’t otherwise visit. Lots of fun. Went in mid-June. Long days of light but cabins were equipped with blackout curtains. There are shorter cruises in the Baltic but if you haven’t been in the region it is worth the trip. Many highlights on the trip. My favorite was Saint Petersburg, Russia, Tallinn, Estonia, Stockholm, and Oslo. My wife and daughter loved Copenhagen for the shopping. That was an expensive port for me. I also got to visit the Normandy American Cemetery. My birth father was killed during the D Day invasion so it had special meaning for me. We also went to Poland, Germany, Finland on that trip. Left from Dover, England.
Explore the world. There is so much to see and so much to learn.
Ron; I really don’t like those huge ships…All our cruises have been on Regent Seven Seas…ships have 490 or 700 passengers. The beauty is it is all inclusive…all alcohol, no tipping, most excursions. Yes, it is relatively expensive but if you add in all the “nickel-diming” on most other lines, it actually is not that bad. Airfare included, all suites with balconies…They have excellent itineraries of all lengths and destinations.
Like others have mentioned look at Crystal, Silver seas, Regent, Oceana etc. I think it will be a good balance between a huge ship and a small river cruise. Depending on where you have been I would look for a route somewhere in Europe that appeals to you. I would look for a cruise that starts and ends in different ports, then you can spend a few days before and after your cruise at each port.
I didn’t mention it earlier but we took a Regent Seven Seas cruise as well. Only 15 days but they were outstanding. Someone mentioned the magic words “all included” and for the most part that was true on Regent. This was 3 or 4 years ago and at that time, they had a premium wine list that was not included in the fare but the wines were reasonably priced. I asked Regent to send me the current wine list for my cruise and the agent sent the list in an Excel spreadsheet. It had the vintages and prices. It also had the usual misspellings and one wine listed twice at two different prices but mistakes happen. They also had optional tours in many ports that were available at an add on fee but that too was quite reasonable. We cruised from Dubai to Rome. Great trip.
The same company owns Oceania Cruises and they have some very interesting itineraries as well. They have two sizes of ship 684 passenger and 1250 passenger. While not quite as “all inclusive” as their sister company Regent, their prices are very good and they have some amazing itineraries. Our 24 night cruise will be on Oceania sailing from Cape Town to Buenos Aires with 2 stops in Namibia, 5 in Brazil, 2 in Uruguay, and disembarking in Buenos Aires.
As for gaining weight, they have a gym, plenty of room to walk, swim, a spa and then there are the ports. We love cruising. Not constantly packing and unpacking. We have more time than some so we spend a few days in the embarkation port area and a few more in the disembarkation port. We plan to spend 3 weeks in Argentina at the end of the cruise. I bet I can get into a lot of trouble in the wine country there.
We are Silversea devotees. Most of their ships are 3-400 guests and small enough to get where other cruise ships can’t (for example, in St Petersburg we were moored a block from the Hermitage). All everything (will bring you a bottle of champagne in the middle of the night if you can’t sleep), great food, quality care and (my wife’s favorite) walk in closets. High end wines are separate, but arrangements can be made
I have often looked at Silversea cruises. They are the cream of the crop. Unfortunately we haven’t found an itinerary that suited our needs. Would love to try them some day.
However if anyone is considering Regent, I would recommend you contact this agent Aldo Ampuero <AAmpuero@prestigecruiseholdings.com> He is top notch. Far better than any agent I have worked with in the past. He has been with Regent for a while and is always a top representative because he builds relationships with his clients. Jumps through hoops when necessary. It was him that secured the premium wine list and sent it to me in an Excel spreadsheet. He advised on excursions as well with real knowledge. As an old retired salesman I appreciate that kind of interest and service.
I’ve been on 3 cruises with Seabourn. Great food and decent wine selection is included. Options to buy special wines available, only done that once for a nice cab with steak dinner. Unfortunately they no longer have the 200 passenger ships I was on, now only using 450 passenger ships. Good deals available via Costco Travel, they will discount the sale prices on the Seabourn Website. Excursions are extra though there often are cabin credits to offset some of these costs.
Ron; Yes, all beverages are included. You can have wine, spirits, beer, whatever you like. The dinner wines are usually quite good and vary depending on your itinerary. They also have many wines available at all the bars throughout the day. In addition, they have a premium list which is relatively well priced. Truthfully, I rarely felt the need to use it. The food is quite good and completely open seating…Eat when you want and with who you want. Each ship also has 2 or 3 “specialty” restaurants…Prime 7 (meat), Italian, and French. There is no charge for any of them although since they are very small, you need to make a reservation. Service is outstanding throughout the entire ship.
check out Uniworld river cruises. I did a rhone river cruise from Marseilles to burgundy. Excellent food and great accomadations, only about 120 people. Wherever we stopped, I brought wine onto the boat with no corkage. Stopped at wineries in Hermitage, CDP and Beaune. Highly recommend it
Great reminder stewart. Both Uniworld and Viking River Cruises provide high quality river cruising experiences. Viking has now venture into ocean cruising too. Some years ago, we took a Viking River Cruises, cruise/tour of China. Great experience. Even learned to play Mahjong. Given the pollution issues, I am not sure we would go now.
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