I would like to recommend an online cruise agency that I use, iCruise.com (127 W. 25th St., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001; phone 888/909-6242). I have booked three cruises with them and find them very efficient and reliable.
by Paula Prindle, Orient, OH
Question: What could be better than cruising through southern France?
Answer: Absolutely nothing!
by Randy Keck (Third of three parts)
Re Lew Toulmin’s article “Tips on Last-minute Cruising” (April ’12, pg. 59), I also recently discovered and investigated a “last-minute cruise” listed on Vacations To Go (Houston, TX; 800/338-4962). With Silversea Cruises, the 17-day cruise, Jan. 10-27 2012, was from Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal to Valparaíso and Santiago, Chile.
by Cynthia Thompson; Lebanon, NH
If you enjoy cruising on a relatively small ship, with the chance to go ashore almost every day to tour interesting sites that, frequently though not always, are archaeological in nature, then a trip on the Aegean Odyssey is the vacation for you.
MS Deutschland features a golf theme in 2007. Among others, the 11-night “Britannica Golf” cruise offers rounds of golf at the 18-hole course at St. Andrew’s in Scotland and rounds at five other courses in Ireland. On a 20-night sailing from Phuket, Thailand, to Hong Kong, another cruise wraps up with golf at Mission Hills in Hong Kong, the largest golf facility in the world.
• The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will play nightly on select 2007 “Big Band and Ballroom Dance” theme cruises aboard the Crystal Serenity. There also will be afternoon dances, swing lessons and talks on big band history. Prices for a 10-day cruise from Lisbon to Miami, Nov. 9-19, 2007, start at $2,995 per person.
• On two Panama Canal cruises, children 11 and under can cruise for free when sharing a room with two adults. The Serenity sails from Miami to Caldera, Costa Rica, Nov. 19-30, for from $3,380 to $18,675. The Symphony sails Caldera-Miami, $2,195-$14,545.
Norwegian Cruise Line has followed Princess Cruises in converting to all-electronic cruise documents. Passengers receive e-mail messages directing them to the website for access to the documents.
I knew I would fly into London a day ahead of my Holland America Line “Arctic Explorer” cruise, departing July 25, 2011, from Tilbury, England, but I was puzzled as to whether to stay in London or near the port, itself. Luckily, a British client of mine felt I would prefer to stay in London, so he did some checking for me.
He told me to stay in a hotel near the Tower of London from which I could easily reach Tilbury Town Station by a British Rail train that left Fenchurch Street Station (on the Shoeburyness line).
My wife, Merrilyn, and I used the services of two excellent guides during a cruise ship stop in St. Petersburg, Russia, in September ’11. Both spoke very good English and were efficient, knowledgeable and personable.
Marina S. Wilson Private Tours (Office 23, 5th Floor, Nevsky Pr., St. Petersburg 198116, Russia; phone +7 812 313 1941 or 313 1726) offered a customized 2-day tour for $350 per person (9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days). The price included a car, driver/guide and admission fees.