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”...
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?
Together with her sibling, Azamara Journey, the launch of Quest into the market created an intriguing new category in the cruise industry, called "luxury lite"......
We left Piraeus at six o’clock last night after a seamless boarding process, during which we discovered we’d been upgraded to the top-of-the-range Club World Owner’s Suite – an amazingly spacious suite at the aft of the ship on Deck 8 that comes with the services of Sooria, our Indian 'English' butler.
We spent most of our on board time in our new favourite place, the bar lounge, where we could sit in comfort on large leather chairs and watch the fantastic scenery drift slowly by.
With so many cruises on offer, how do you decide? Our cruising experts give their top picks for cuisine, kids’ clubs, service, entertainment and sheer whizz-bangery at sea.
As an award-winning travel writer and author of 15 books, Glenn A Baker has visited 115 countries and is a Life Member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Here he recalls his five most memorable seafaring adventures.
So we come to Paul Gauguin. Not the 19th-century artist who showed the world the beauty of Tahiti, but the luxurious modern cruise ship named after him. Launched in 1998 specifically to cruise in French Polynesia, she has found her niche and is rarely less than fully booked.
Health at sea is a question I am asked about quite frequently, and having had the unfortunate need to visit the medical centre on board Carnival Splendor on my recent Mexican Riviera cruise, I now have some first-hand experience to share.
Maritime historian Rob Henderson shares experiences of celebrations on board cruise ships - birthdays, weddings, Christmas, New Year and ANZAC Day on board Princess Cruises' Dawn Princess.
Dining on modern cruise ships is an event of choices in the variety of cuisine offered in numerous themed venues. To take advantage of all the food being offered on most ships requires an appetite of epic proportions and leads many to the dangerous habit of constant grazing.
A river cruise through north-east India’s Assam, rich in wildlife and dotted with traditional villages, offers a peaceful perspective on this teeming subcontinent.
She's the most specious ship yet from luxury line Oceania Cruises. James Sitters tells Rose Kelly and Peter Lynch what's on board the new class of ship, including restaurants, spas and suites.
