22-day/21-night cruise of the CARIBBEAN and the Amazon River in BRAZIL, Dec. 22, 2011-Jan. 12, 2012. Highlights: From Ft. Lauderdale, cruise to Nassau, Bahamas; St. Kitts; Barbados, and St. George’s, Grenada, then explore Amazon River. Cruise price, $3,499-$6,199. $500 discount if booked by May 31.
Institute for Shipboard Education (Charlottesville, VA; 877/224-0797).
15-day/14-night gulet cruise of GREEK ISLANDS, May 19-June 2, 2012. Highlights: From Kos, sail to Nisyros; Stefanos Volcano/Bronze Age town of Akotiri on Santorini/Naxos/islands of Amorgos, Levitha and Leros/Kalymnos. Cruise, £3,475 (near $5,570). Single supp., £800 ($1,283).
Peter Sommer Travels (96 Monmow St., Ste. 2, Monmouth, NP25 3EQ, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1600 888 220).
Ten days/seven nights includes four-night Nile cruise. Highlights: In Cairo, Sphinx, Pyramids at Giza, mummies at the Egyptian Museum/cruise the Nile and visit Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Kom Ombo. Land/cruise, from $2,395 (Deluxe) to $4,395 (Luxury). Single supp., $875-$1,895. Internal air, $225.
African Travel, Inc. (Glendale, CA; 800/421-8907).
11-day/10-night tour includes four-night Yangtze cruise. Highlights: In Beijing, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City/Great Wall/hutong tour by rickshaw/embark cruise ship in Yichang/Three Gorges/sampan excursions to see hanging coffins, minority villages/in Shanghai, the Bund, Yu Yuan Gardens, Children’s Palace. Land plus cruise, $1,699-$2,099. Single supp., add 50%.
Value World Tours (Fountain Valley, CA; 800/795-1633).
When the Crystal Serenity sails out of Seward, Alaska, and above the Arctic Circle to New York, Aug. 16-Sept. 17, 2016, it will be (at 68,870 tons), by far, the largest cruise ship to have traveled through the Northwest Passage. On Sept. 2, people other than Crystal Society members may book cabins, which start at $45,510 per person, double.
My husband, Bob, and I took a cruise from Italy to Israel aboard the Azamara Journey of Azamara Cruises (Miami, FL; 877/999-9553).
We had a balcony room, and the trip cost $3,499 per person (plus $137 in taxes), which included gratuities, drinks (but not specialty drinks) and a shore excursion. Insurance with Travel Guard cost $327 each. We purchased air travel through Azamara and ChoiceAir, paying $1,274 each and each getting a ship’s credit of $500.
Editor’s note: ITN was emailed a copy of the following letter, sent by a subscriber to Oceania Cruises.
My husband, Stephen, and I traveled aboard the Riviera on the “Italian Escapade” cruise, July 3-13, 2013, sailing from Rome to Venice and including Florence, Sorrento/Capri, Amalfi/Positano, Taormina, Corfu, Kotor and Dubrovnik.
We have traveled on four other cruise lines, and our experience aboard the Riviera was, by far, the best.
The Costa Cruises ship Costa Concordia was towed into the port of Genoa, Italy, on July 27 for scrapping.
The ship, first launched from Genoa in 2005, had spent two years off the coast of the island of Giglio after hitting a reef and capsizing in January 2012. The accident resulted in the deaths of 32 people, including one crew member whose body was never found. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial for multiple counts of manslaughter and abandoning the ship.
In response to rocket attacks against Israeli targets, the Israeli military began a rocket-and-artillery offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza on July 7, escalating it to a ground offensive on July 17.
At press time, more than 1,850 Palestinians had been killed and 9,080 injured, with 64 Israeli soldiers killed as well as two Israeli citizens and one Thai citizen in Israel.
On a 161-passenger boat, 8-day, 7-night cruise-tour from Vilshofen, GERMANY, to Budapest, HUNGARY, Dec. 27, 2014-Jan. 3, 2015. Highlights: Learn of new knitting techniques and patterns with textile expert and author Barry Klein. Create items to wear at New Year’s Eve on-board celebration in Vienna, AUSTRIA. In Melk, Benedictine abbey tour/city tours in Vienna and Budapest. From $2,799 per person, double occupancy. Optional three nights in Prague, $750.
AmaWaterways (Calabasas, CA; 800/626-0126).