Cruise

by Lew Toulmin

The cruising world keeps evolving, with ever more news and events. Here are some cruise deals and developments which should interest ITN cruising fans.

On two sailings of Oceania Cruises’ Nautica — to Thailand, Viet Nam and China, Jan. 19-March 5, 2007, and to Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan, March 16-31 — I have run into the same problem.

I was so entranced by Joshua Slocum’s account of going through the Strait of Magellan in 1895, “Sailing Alone Around the World” (multiple publishers), that I had to go. It involved long air trips to get there, but it was worth it. This was several years ago.

I took an unforgettable 11-day “Classic Antarctica” cruise with Big Five Tours & Expeditions (Stuart, FL; 800/244-3483, www.bigfive.com).

Antarctica. What an adventure! Yes, it’s far away and it’s expensive to get there, but, as the last of the seven continents, for us, Antarctica was calling. So when my husband, Jerry, and I received literature from Galapagos Travel (783 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Ste. 49, Aptos, CA 95003; 800/969-9014 or 831/689-9192) about a trip there in January ’07, we decided to check it out. We had traveled with Galapagos Travel in June ’04 and we trusted them to pick an ecologically minded ship with a good itinerary.

The following is being printed because it may apply to cruises to destinations other than the Caribbean, which ITN does not cover.

by Jane Albusche, Contributing Editor

As my grandchildren graduate from junior high, I take each on a trip anywhere he or she chooses. In June ’07 I took my granddaughter Alli to Ecuador and the Galápagos.

Following a visit to Peru in January-February ’07 (Nov. ’07, pg. 41), my husband, Joe, and I continued on to Quito, Ecuador, then flew TAME airlines to the Galápagos Islands. We boarded the S/S Mary Anne, a cruise ship run by Angermeyer Cruises.

For our 50th anniversary, in August ’06 my wife and I left for Europe on a 2-month trip. We utilized a travel agency in Colorado for airline, train and hotel bookings. Our drive in a rental car through France would end at Strasbourg, after which we would take an Adriatic cruise.

The ship would depart its pier in Venice, Italy, at 6 p.m. on Sept. 20. To make that, we had been booked on Lufthansa flight No. 6911 from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, Germany, on that same day, connecting with Lufthansa flight 4084 to Venice, scheduled to arrive four hours before our cruise ship left port.