On April 1, my 14-year-old daughter joins me in Los Angeles for the long flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We’re going on a Mekong River Cruise, from Vietnam to Cambodia.
Looking at the airline ticket is the only way to figure out how much time will pass between departure in Los Angeles on April 1 and arrival in Vietnam on April 3. Crossing the dateline, we lose a day. I expect to be “Lost in Translation” for at least a couple of days before boarding AMAWATERWAYS’ La Marguerite. Read more...(122 words, 1 image, estimated 29 secs reading time)
Join me, Ralph Grizzle, right here on March 22 as I board Silver Spirit in Acapulco for a cruise up the Mexican coast to Los Angeles. I’ll be taking a look at Silver Spirit’s outdoor dining venues — and much more. The cruise concludes April 1, so bookmark this page and return each day for something new!
Narrating on Cruise West’s Spirit of Endeavour in Glacier Bay National Park, native Tlingit speaker John Martin recites a passage in his ancestoral language. Martin, who spends the day and evening with Cruise West passengers, says he is one of only 12 fluent speakers of the Tlingit language.
While docked in tiny Haines, Alaska, the self-proclaimed “Valley of the Eagles,” we walked to the old Western-style movie set of “White Fang” for a visit to the Haines Brewing Company and a taste of some really good beer.
Announced at Miami’s Cruise Shipping Conference: Crystal Cruises will introduce an option for open-seating dining in the main dining room. Crystal is the only luxury cruise line not offering open seating. The new program begins in January 2011, and will offer open seating, by reservation only, between 6:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., while leaving in place the dining room’s early and late seatings. Crystal’s press release follows. Read more...(643 words, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)
You’ll need to use your imagination, as Oceania’s Marina is under construction in Genoa, Italy, but the panorama picture you’re looking at is of a soon-to-be-completed coffee bar overlooking the pool deck (click the photo to enlarge the image).
Typically, this space might be reserved for bars serving beverages with more kick than coffee, but as Oceania Cruises’ CEO Frank del Rio pointed out to press touring the ship today in Genoa, “Our guests aren’t big (alcohol) drinkers.” Read more...(115 words, 1 image, estimated 28 secs reading time)
Our cruisetour had only nine people. For the summer of ‘06, Cruise West cruisetour groups averaged only 17. The small numbers make for a true “up close and personal” experience.
Only 25 percent of the people who come to Alaska to see Denali get to see it. But you can improve your chances. If the weather down below is lousy, take to the sky on a fly-by Denali flight.
He’s been on top of Denali five times and plans to summit North America’s tallest mountain again – ambitious, he admits, seeing that he is 72 years old. Tom Choate talks about the mountain he loves.
Upper-Premium Line To Debut Private Country Estate Aura On Marina
By Avid Cruiser Contributing Editor Susan J. Young, who operates the web site Southern Cruising (full credits and more about Susan at the bottom of this story)
After visiting Fincantieri Sestri Ponente yard in Genoa, Italy, I’ve changed my perspective about what to expect on Oceania Cruises’ new, 66,000-ton Marina. Frankly, I assumed the new design would simply replicate a pampering boutique hotel feel; that’s certainly trendy these days. Read more...(1741 words, 9 images, estimated 6:58 mins reading time)
