Crystal Cruises (800/337-9568) is instituting a more restrictive smoking policy.
Effective with the first cruises in 2014, smoking indoors will be permitted only in each ship’s Connoisseur Club smoking lounge. Smoking will be prohibited in all other public rooms, lounges, corridors and restaurants as well as in all staterooms, suites and verandahs. If smoke is detected in a stateroom or suite, a cleaning fee of $250 will be charged.
I had always dreamed of taking a trip above the Arctic Circle. My chance to visit came in June 2011. On the second day on board the ship, someone spotted a creamy lump on the white snow. The captain slowly maneuvered the ship for a closer look and I spotted my first polar bear! It was about 11 p.m., but, in this land of the midnight sun, it was still light out. This picture was taken from the ship’s deck.
HENRIETTA HALLAQ
by Bill Altaffer; San Diego, CA
My wife and I are not great fans of cruises, but we were seduced by a low price for a “superior balcony” cabin on the MSC Poesia, sailing from Port Everglades, Florida, on a 10-day western Caribbean cruise, Dec. 11-21, 2012.
An email notified us of the offer, available for 24 hours. The price was $859 per person plus $92.16 each in fees and taxes and $120 each for gratuities (a daily charge of $12 per person that the cruise line said “cannot be modified”). For the two of us, the total was $2,142.32.
Look for bowhead whales from a vintage, refurbished tall ship, the 168-foot, 34-passenger S/V Rembrandt van Rijn, while sailing around Greenland’s Disko Island, exploring fjords and landing at sites to observe wildlife. The 7-night, Arctic “Disko Bay Whale Safari” cruise begins at the town of Aasiaat, reached by charter flight from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
(Second of two parts)
In this 2-part series, I am adding to the suggestions made by ITN subscriber Cynthia Rignanese regarding what to do within the first few hours of boarding a cruise ship (Dec. ’12, pg. 12). In my view, many of these things are better done before embarking. This month I will cover shore excursions, special classes, phone/Internet access and ship’s library books.
14 days / 11 nights aboard 114-passenger Caledonian Sky, May 7-20, 2014. Highlights: In Kyoto, Nijo Castle / Great Buddha at Todai-ji / sail Japan’s Inland Sea / Hiroshima / take Zodiacs to Miyajima Island / samurai and merchant quarters in medieval Hagi / Gyeongbuk, SOUTH KOREA, home of Silla kingdom / back in Japan, taiko drumming group Kodo on Sado Island / Tokyo. Land / cruise, $9,990-$13,990. Single supp., $7,400-$7,700. Smithsonian Journeys (Washington, DC; 855 / 330-1542).
7-day/6-night cruise aboard the 8-passenger La Nouvelle Etoile, departing Sundays, March 23-May 4, 2014. Highlights: Amsterdam / in Zaanse Schans visit a working windmill / Aalsmeer flower auction / cheese farm in Gouda / Holland’s oldest vodka distillery/pottery works in Delft / Rotterdam / Keukenhof Gardens. Cruise, $6,540-$7,290. Single supp., $3,270-$3,645. Abercrombie & Kent (Downers Grove, IL; 888/611-4711).
by Nancy Tardy; Las Vegas, NV
The 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, is the focus of a cruise, May 30-June 8, 2014, being hosted by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The Silver Cloud of Silversea Cruises (877/813-3329, ext. 257, www.dday70.org) will feature historians, such as Tom Brokaw, giving talks plus officials from WWII museums of the UK and France.
Sailing from Lisbon, the ship will call at England’s Portsmouth, the Isle of Guernsey and the French town of Saint-Nazaire and spend five days in Caen, Normandy. Cabins run $16,998-$55,998.