For cruise traditionalists the three “must do” voyages are an Atlantic crossing and the two great canals – the Suez and Panama. I’m determined to savour every minute of the Panama Canal. But there’s a timelessness in an inside cabin so my alarm bleats in the dark. I turn on the TV and the bow cam shows we are approaching the entrance of the Panama Canal and it’s bright daylight outside. That certainly galvanizes me into action and a few minutes later I’m dressed and on the bow with a few hundred others. Looking up I see similar crowds on the open spaces facing forward on the upper decks.
For most of us, Colon is just a jumping off point to the nearby feature synonymous with the whole country of Panama – the Panama Canal. There are some human achievements that show that grand plans can come to fruition and we should be proud of what we can achieve. In an age when laying national broadband cables seems all too difficult, it’s hard to imagine looking at 77 kilometres of mountains and disease-ridden jungle and picking up pick and shovel and thinking “we can dig a ditch through this and link two oceans”...
We had booked a day-long 4WD trip to the lava fields of the 10,800ft high volcano but as there were not enough takers it had been cancelled, so we set off for Taormina to see if we could find a local tour operator offering something similar.
Radio presenter John Kerr is known for delighting Australian audiences with his talkback panache, so it’s no surprise that he has a lot to say about his recent cruising experiences.
Family man, former footballer and sometime ‘Chief’ from Channel Nine’s The Footy Show, Paul Harragon, is a man of many talents, but in his free time he loves to go cruising with his family.
Not visiting Colombia in general and Cartagena in particular is one of the regrets of my travel life. I’ve seen Romancing the Stone and remembered the dramatically beautiful scenes around the port of Cartagena.The first port of call on this Radiance of the Seas voyage is Cartagena, so one travel regret is about to be redressed.
I expect there are people who walk on to a ship for the first time with a deck plan etched into their brains. Not me – I read the reviews and get a feeling for the ship but I love the joy of discovering things for myself. It’s even better if the journey of discovery finds enough hidden nooks and crannies that it continues for a few days.
My alarm went off at 8 am and I woke to complete darkness. There was a moment of fear. Had Cuban pirates boarded the ship in the night and consigned me to a barrel?
Not surprisingly, there’s a widening range of river cruising options across Asia. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, India, China or even Borneo could be the destination for your next river cruise.
Fernando is living the life we all aspire to. He has sailed for 130 world cruises aboard ultra luxury line Crystal. That's 15,600 days of being served the finest cuisine, sleeping in suites with a personal butler and visiting the world's most beautiful cities. Who better to tell us about Crystal's next world cruise!
