Cruise
Air routes, Guyana travel, Mediterranean cruises
Q
STEVE, except for a JetBlue flight that leaves at midnight, there are no nonstop flights from Denver to New York’s JFK Airport, and as a traveler who is sick and very tired of flying to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Dulles, Boston or Detroit to get to JFK (to connect with an international flight), I would really like to know why. — Ellen Jacobson, Centennial, CO
Amazon jungle cruise
A small ad in ITN caught my eye and my imagination. Who hasn’t dreamed of taking a small boat cruise on the Amazon?
Setting the pace
I read with great interest Wesley Wilson’s letter regarding his handicapped wife’s negative experience with Vantage Deluxe World Travel on their September ’04 river cruise in Europe (July ’05, pg. 27). Although Mrs. Wilson often stayed on board rather than take shore excursions that required considerable walking, the cruise company nevertheless asked her to leave the ship.
Sapphire Libya & Med cruise
I took an 8-day cruise to Libya and the Mediterranean aboard the MS Sapphire of Louis Hellenic Cruises (Athens, Greece) in April ’05. I booked it through Advantage Travel & Tours (Poway, CA; 800/882-2098 or e-mail advantaget@aol.com).
Happy cruising ahead for 2006 and 2007
Cruising is looking good for 2006 and 2007. The cruise industry appears set to boom over the next two years, due to continuing economic prosperity worldwide; the aging of the world population and the resultant disposable income and time, and the creativity of the cruise lines in developing new, attractive ships and shipboard attractions.
I will discuss this topic by forecasting shipbuilding for the next two years, then describing the really fun stuff: the new attractions that are coming on line in the cruise fleet.
Minerva II on the Black Sea
Beth Habian’s article “Spain… plus Italy and Corsica — Cruising the Mediterranean with Swan Hellenic” (Nov. ’05, pg. 6) was right on target. The Minerva II offers a unique cruise experience. My 15-day Black Sea cruise, Aug. 20-Sept. 3, ’05, greatly exceeded my expectations.
HAL’s ‘Voyage of the Vikings’
Holland America Line’s ms Maasdam does an annual summer round trip from Boston to Rotterdam: “Voyage of the Vikings.” While it is possible to take only half the cruise, most passengers go for the full 35 nights. My wife and I took the 2005 cruise, July 16-Aug. 20, at a cost of approximately $8,000 per person for an outside cabin.
Black Watch improved
I am writing because, although Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in Ipswich was given the opportunity to reply to the specific complaints of one couple (“Black Watch Cruise Appraisal,” Jan. ’06, pg. 73), we, the North American representatives — and closest to the rest of the customers — were never given a chance to provide input. If we had, we would have pointed out the following.