“When on a cruise, reserve ahead the tours you feel you must take.” I know you have heard this before and so have we, but on a cruise my husband, David, and I took from Copenhagen, Denmark, up the coast of Norway (Oslo, Stavanger, Ålesund, Geiranger, Bergen and back to Copenhagen) in September ’12, we ignored this advice and missed out on a fjord cruise we had hoped to take.
A “freak” or “rogue” wave struck the cruise ship Marco Polo on Feb. 14 as it headed through the English Channel toward London. One passenger died, another was injured and airlifted ashore for medical assistance and 14 other passengers suffered minor injuries.
The minor damage to the Waldorf Restaurant was repaired, and British authorities cleared the ship to depart on its next scheduled cruise on Feb. 16.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 458th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine. For those of you reading this publication for the first time and wondering what’s in store, here’s what ITN is all about.
Covering destinations outside of the United States, ITN presents letters and articles written by its subscribers, who range from independent travelers to people who enjoy group tours and from those who travel on a tight budget to those who prefer luxury accommodations.
My husband, David, and I took a cruise up the Norwegian coast in September ’12. We got a wealth of information from the Cruise Critic website.
Even noncruisers can use Cruise Critic to get advice from local experts at destinations as well as from people who have recently been to particular destinations.
We chose what we wanted to do based largely on feedback from recent travelers, and, of course, we returned the favor by sending in a post-cruise report of our own.
by Wanda Bahde; Summerfield, FL
Here’s something my husband, David, and I learned on a 2012 trip to Europe: don’t be afraid of public transportation, even when you are pressed for time. There are times when it really is your best option.
Jack Ogg, Houston, TX
My husband, Mike, and I took a 27-day segment of a ’round-the-world cruise with Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; 800/774-6237).
We embarked on April 19, 2013, in Port Rashid, Dubai, and, after stops at Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Istanbul and Montenegro, disembarked in Venice on May 15. The cruise fare for the two of us was about $15,000; we had a cabin on level 7, midships. This was our third time taking a segment of a Princess world trip.
With our Adriatic cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette, May 20-June 3, 2013, sailing from Venice to Rome, with port calls in other cities in Italy as well as in Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Malta, my wife, Alma, and I completed our 64th cruise. The itinerary was great.
However, during the first evening on board, we walked down to the atrium and found a live band playing at maximum amplification. The sound was so loud, it was almost at the pain threshold.
The dinner bell rang early for the evening meal aboard the small ship Athena, owned and operated by Grand Circle Cruise Lines (Boston, MA; 800/221-2610). The captain requested that the gourmet repast be served in time to give all 48 passengers the opportunity to go to the top deck by sundown to witness the ship’s passage through 2,300 years of history.