MS Nieuw Amsterdam’s inaugural cruise took place in July and I joined journalists and travel industry representatives from around the world for a four-day round trip from Venice to Dubrovnik. The cruise was packed with ceremonies and behind-the-scenes tours of Holland America Line’s newest ship, the line’s 15th and an almost identical sister to the Signature Class Eurodam, which launched in 2008.
To date the trip has been amazing on many levels, and while I do want to talk about the destinations we've visited, there are a few things from the last blog about the ship which I want to share with you.
It's been a long time since I took a cruise during such a high-anticipation time as the Christmas holidays, and I guess you could argue it was risky to embark attempt it on a ship and a new line.
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.
