Cruise

A friend and I were on the Azamara Quest during the fire at sea that occurred the evening of March 30, 2012.

I read the subscriber’s letter praising Oceania Cruises’ “Sun-Splashed Holiday” (May ’11, pg. 27). I was a passenger on the same sailing of the Regatta, Dec. 22, 2010-Jan. 2, 2011, cruising from Miami through the Caribbean. I have taken this holiday cruise every year for the past five years.

The subscriber wrote, “The brochure plainly states, ‘Oceania Cruises… are designed for adults and do not provide for the care, entertainment or supervision of children’.”*

Luggagefree, Inc., ships luggage anywhere in the U.S. as well as to Canada and Europe. The company picks up luggage at a designated time from the traveler’s home or office, wraps it in heavy plastic, ships it to the destination, tracks it along the way and notifies the owner via e-mail, fax or phone when the bags have been delivered. At the end of the stay, it ships the luggage back.

The company ships standard luggage as well as skis, bikes, cribs and other bulky items.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced that it will keep the SuperStar Leo in its fleet, rename it “Norwegian Spirit” and operate it in the Alaska and Caribbean areas. Its sister line, Star Cruises, will operate NCL’s 15-year-old Norwegian Sea. Star Cruises’ plan is to send NCL’s mid-size, middle-age ships to Star’s fleet in Asia.

In 2004, Go Barging’s newly renovated, 12-passenger hotel-barge L’Impression­niste, sister ship to La Belle Époque, will cruise on a unique itinerary in the Provence region of France, taking in six waterways, including rivers, canals and lakes.

The cruise begins in Avignon and heads down the Rhône to Arles (with exploration of the Roman Arena and more). Moving on to the Canal de Rhône à Sete, a stop is made at the medieval walled city of Aigues Mortes.

In August ’03, my husband and I took a wonderful 12-day trip to Russia with Lexcorp Cruise & Tour Marketing (3401 Investment Blvd., Ste. 3, Hayward, CA 94545-3819; phone 800/578-3401). They have over 20 years’ experience in travel.

I noticed in the Travelers’ Intercom section a couple of rather negative reports of Russian riverboat experiences (March ’04, pg. 32 & April ’04, pg. 82). Having enjoyed three such trips over the past six or seven years, I would like to reassure other travelers that these trips can be exceedingly enjoyable and interesting.

In reading the March ’04 issue, on page 32 I came across a reader’s comments concerning a cruise aboard the Novikov Priboy in Russia. Contrary to the general impression left by those comments, I found my two Russian river cruises — on a different ship — to compare favorably with any.

by Mairlyn Lutzker, Sunnyside, NY

Time does not change the ocean currents, and since its discovery, the Drake Passage, a turbulent body of water connecting the tip of Argentina to the waters off Antarctica, has been giving ships and their passengers a hard time.

A reader mailed ITN a copy of the letter below, sent to the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The cruise referred to was aboard Holland America’s m.s. “Amsterdam,” beginning Jan. 29, ’04, in Valparaiso, Chile, and concluding Feb. 19 in Rio de Janeiro.

I want you to know of recent actions by the Brazilian Consulate General in Los Angeles and how those actions communicated to my wife and me a strong contemptuous message that Brazil does not want Americans to visit Brazil.