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Black Sea to Rhine valley with Vantage

I took the “Grand European River Cruise – Black Sea to Rhine River Valley,” plus a pre-cruise option in Transylvania, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845; www.vantagetravel.com). I flew from Miami, Florida, to Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 22, 2015, boarded the ship on Oct. 27 and returned from Frankfurt, Germany, to Miami on Nov. 21, the day the cruise ended.

Stargazing cruise, Australia

In Kakadu National Park, on the northern coast of Australia’s Northern Territory, the “Algohgarrng Experience” is a stargazing billabong cruise from Kakadu Tourism (Kakadu National Park, Australia; phone +61 8 8979 1500, wwwkakadu tourism.com).

Lasting 1½ hours and lit only by the stars, the cruise is guided by an indigenous member of the Kakadu clan, who will share his people’s stories of the night sky. It runs during the dry season (June-September). AUD90 (near $66) per person. On the website, under “TOURS & ACTIVITIES,” click “Yellow Water Cruises.”

Day tours from Melbourne & Tauranga

My wife and I took two day tours worth recommending.

• While in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 10, 2015, prior to a cruise on the Golden Princess, we (along with four friends) took a 7-hour trip to the Healesville Sanctuary (www.zoo.org.au/healesville) in the Yarra Valley.

At the sanctuary, we saw animals and birds native to Australia. Included in the tour was a ride on the Puffing Billy steam train. Two 1912 locomotives pulled a 20-car train on the 25-minute ride. The valley was gorgeous.

John’s Yellow Cab in Athens

There were four of us who wanted to take several taxi trips in Athens, Greece, over three days in mid-October 2015 before heading to our ship to embark on a cruise. The taxi service we hired was John’s Yellow Cab (phone +30 694 447 5706, www.athens-taxi.net).
When we arrived at the airport, John Grivogiannis met us with a sign showing our name and we were driven into town, a service for which he charged €45 (near $49). Since the fixed fare for standard taxis from the airport to Athens was €38, we thought this was a fair price.

Cuba cruise report

In my letter “Heading to Cuba by Cruise Ship” (Sept. ’15, pg. 12), I discussed the plans my wife, Patti, and I made for a cruise to Cuba in January 2016. Having returned, I wanted to share with ITN readers what happened, what didn’t happen and what has changed since we first signed up for the cruise.
We booked our trip in April 2015 with Cuba Cruise (Toronto, Ontario, office: 855/364-4999, www.yourcubacruise.com), making our final payment in August.

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