Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews by The Avid Cruiser

One of the great advantages of cruise ships is that experts frequently travel with you to help explain what you are seeing and visiting. When cruising in culturally significant places like Europe or in natural wonderlands like Alaska, the cruise lines will schedule sessions with experts who can add meaning and understanding to the visit. Continue Reading »

Is Norway’s dramatic coast more beautiful than Alaska’s?

From the top deck of Norwegian Coastal Voyage’s 464-passenger Nordkapp, the city of Bergen beckons. The picturesque waterfront is only a short distance away, and I am aching to explore. But poor planning on my part put me here too late. Our voyage to the north is about to begin, and for the next half hour, I can only watch as one of the world’s loveliest towns recedes into the distance.

Bergen is the departure port for the Nordkapp’s 12-day roundtrip cruises (one-way cruises also are available) to Kirkenes, near Norway’s border with Russia. The journey ahead will be unlike any I have ever experienced. Nordkapp will show me and my traveling companions some of the world’s most beautiful scenery; we will sail into breathtaking fjords, cross the Arctic Circle (twice), witness the Midnight Sun and call on the world’s northernmost town during our journey along Norway’s spectacular 1,250-mile west coast. Continue Reading »

Celebrity Cruises is gearing up for its biggest season ever in Europe. Five ships, including the new Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, will offer more itineraries in Europe than ever before for Celebrity Cruises. Continue Reading »

In the Netherlands, it is said, there are more bicycles than people.

The statistics, thanks to the web site Amsterdamize:

• Population: 16.5 million
• Bikes: 18 million
• New bikes sold a year: 1.35 million
• Bikes stolen a year: between 1.2 and 1.4 million

I pedaled through the tiny country and saw more bikes than I could count. Everyone, from crib to coffin, pedals a bike in Holland.

The country is mostly flat and ideal for cycling, but the best part is that cyclists pedal along roads either with no cars at all (with traffic lights just for bikes) — or with drivers who actually pay attention to cyclists. That is why Dutch cyclists are 30 times less likely to be killed than their stateside counterparts, according to Bicycling magazine.

The story gets even better when you combine boats and bikes. That is just what I did for one week on a “Bike & Boat Tour” offered by Channel Cruises, which touts its tours as “the most Dutch way” to see Holland.

Each morning, the captain mapped out a route for the 70 or so German, Dutch and English-speaking passengers. We pedaled away from the ship in small groups to a destination where we would meet the ship late that afternoon. Along the way we fortified ourselves with apfelcake (apple cake) and french fries with the traditional Dutch topping — mayonnaise. There is no better way to see Holland. Continue Reading »

When is the best time to book your cruise? The answer depends on where you’re going.

The only part of your cruise where you can’t relax is in booking it. Planning on cruising Europe’s rivers in the summer of 2009? Better hurry, or you’ll miss the boat.

You’re somewhat better off if planning an ocean cruise in Europe — or if you’re wanting to skirt the Alaskan coast. Ocean-going vessels have more capacity than European river cruisers, but even on big ships, it pays to book early. 

Savvy cruisers will begin booking their summer 2009 vacations in September 2008. Those who wait longer, “take a significant chance,” says Rick Meadows, Holland America Line’s executive vice president marketing, sales and guest programs. “You may not get the dates or the accommodations you’re looking for.”

Be sure to ask about “off-season cruises” in Europe and Alaska, where you’ll find some of the best values, but “many of those dates go quite quickly,” Meadows says. 

A good rule of thumb for when to book: nine months to a year out, unless you have your sights set on a balmy Caribbean cruise, which can be booked much closer in.

Click here to read the summer issue of Avid Cruiser magazine in digital format.

The digital issue is GREEN, immediate, up-to-date, portable, features embedded video, spans 100 pages and has no international borders. Anyone, anywhere, can read it, print it, pass it along and archive it for future reference.

To get the most from your experience, just click on this link, flip through the magazine or use the “toolbar” at the top of the page to navigate the magazine or print articles you want to read at your leisure.

Archives: allows you to access past issues of Avid Cruiser digital edition.

Thumbs: displays small icons of each page in the digital issue so that you can quickly find the article you want to read. Just click on the thumbnail to get to that page.

Print: possibly the most useful feature, allowing you to print the pages you want so that you can curl up on your couch and read.