Cruise

 7 days, 6 nights in ENGLAND. Departures May 3 & 24, July 12, Aug. 2, 9 & 16, 2020. Highlights: In London, Hampton Court Palace for tour of Henry VIII’s apartments, Hampton Court Maze/Windsor Castle/Cliveden estate, former home of Astors/Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey)/on River Thames, Stanley Spencer home in historic village of Cookham/Christ Church at Oxford. Cabins from $5,850 per person, double occupancy (ppdo). Single supp., $1,800. European Waterways (Berkshire, England, UK; in US, 800/394-8630,  www.europeanwaterways.com).

On a transatlantic cruise aboard the Seven Seas Explorer, I sailed from Miami to Lisbon, Portugal, stopping at a few islands along the way, March 25-April 8, 2019. Including business-class airfare (Lisbon-Miami via London), trip insurance, shore tours and tips, the price of my trip, traveling as a single with Regent Seven Seas Cruises (Miami, FL; 844/205-8890, www.rssc.com), was $12,398.

Comparing Crystal, Viking and Silversea cruises

In the article “Luxury on the Sea: A Month-long Cruise from Dubai to Cape Town” (Jan. ’19, pg. 18), I wrote about a cruise on the Crystal Symphony with Crystal Cruises (888/722-0021, www.crystalcruises.com). On that trip, taken in November 2017, I paid $9,006 (plus $120 in port taxes) for 30 nights in a level-3 veranda cabin.

In January 2019, my husband and I booked a Baltic Sea cruise for August on Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess. At the time of booking, we purchased travel insurance from Travelex (www.travelexinsurance.com). Because we had purchased this insurance within two weeks of booking our cruise, the policy waived preexisting conditions.

We were so fortunate to have had this policy in place because two days prior to our departure, my husband had a medical emergency requiring hospitalization, which ultimately required us to cancel this much-anticipated trip.

The Italian government announced on Aug. 8 that cruise ships will no longer be allowed to travel through the city of Venice’s main canal; they now will be rerouted around the city.

Venice has been fighting to keep cruise ships out of its canals for years, citing damage to buildings from the wakes of ships plus the unsightly image of cruise ships towering over its picturesque setting.

My wife, Bonnie, and I have taken a number of cruises, including going with Princess Cruises to Alaska in 1997 and to New England and Canada in 2008 and with Norwegian Cruise Line around Hawaii in 2005. We particularly enjoy Holland America Line and cruised with them on a 4-month, around-the-world cruise in 2012, for 68 days around South America in 2015, on a 48-day South Pacific cruise in 2016 and on a 28-day transatlantic cruise, including the Norwegian fjords, in 2017. In 2018, we did an 11-day cruise to Alaska with Oceania Cruises.