Seabourn Cruise Line (by Susan Hanson): Research shows that even a short amount of time spent in nature can provide numerous health benefits – everything from reducing blood pressure and anxiety levels to enhancing the immune system. So just imagine the transformation you’ll experience on an expedition voyage, connecting to nature and wildlife in remote destinations that few will ever see. Here are six reasons why an expedition voyage is so good for you and your wellbeing:

Reconnects Your Mind, Body and Soul – Nature is the original antidote for stress. So says a Finnish study* that showed a mere 15 minutes spent outdoors provides calmative effects. There is no better way to enjoy the benefits of this than being immersed in the planet’s most untouched, pristine destinations that are only accessible by expedition ship. An expedition voyage engages all your senses, making you an active participant instead of simply just a spectator while, say, hiking along otherworldly shores in Antarctica, taking a Zodiac® cruise to view the vast seabird colonies of Copinsay, kayaking around Greenland’s Scoresby Sound – the largest fjord system on Earth – or even diving 1,000 feet below Iceland’s Grundarfjörður in a custom-built 6-person submarine.

Brightens Your Mood – Another study out of Stanford University^ revealed that time in nature reduces negative thought patterns, a risk factor for mental illness. Sadness can turn to giddiness while spying howler monkeys and toucans in the Amazon jungle, watching minke whales breach while kayaking in the Shetland Islands, or meeting 250,000 pairs of King penguins at a rookery on South Georgia.

Feeds Your Curiosity – Expedition cruising captures your imagination, your intellect, and your thirst for new discoveries as you interact and engage with some of the most uniquely breathtaking places on the planet. Seabourn guests are joined throughout by a world-class 26-member expedition team that includes expert scientists, academics, naturalists and more, all of whom share their knowledge and passion with you — and always with the freedom to engage as much or as little as you like.

Takes You Out of Your Comfort Zone – “You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new,” says motivational speaker Brian Tracy. Our safe spaces often keep us stuck in a rut, since handling unfamiliar situations is how we build self-confidence and gain greater awareness. Yet the ease of the expedition experience – making Zodiac® landings in remote areas, walking along the water’s edge of a remote beach, climbing inside a submarine to search for the mythical narwhal – you realize everything is doable and anything is possible.

Alters Your Perspective of the World – Visiting indigenous communities along the Amazon or witnessing a polar bear’s immense power as it breaks the sea ice while hunting seals are singular experiences that change you forever. An expedition voyage introduces you to nature without constraints, leaving you in awe of both its simplicity and complexity – and more aware of our interconnectedness.

…And Changes How You See Yourself in It – Kayaking alongside weather-beaten cliffs teeming with seabirds or having a pod of orcas swim beneath your Zodiac in Antarctica are vivid reminders of nature’s indifference to humans. It is a humbling feeling, yet one each of us should experience in our lifetime. An expedition voyage allows us to safely feel that vulnerability – and then recognize that in vulnerability lies strength.

Of course, being out in nature doesn’t mean going without luxuries. Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit are purpose-built to take guests on exhilarating adventures in remote destinations, with two custom-built, six-person submarines and a fleet of 24 Zodiacs that allows all 264 guests to head out on excursions at the same time – along with an elevated aesthetic and unrivalled level of service for which Seabourn is renowned.
https://current.seabourn.com/article/reconnect-your-mind-body-and-soul-with-an-expedition-voyage

The film Roman Holiday stars the young and radiant Audrey Hepburn as a royal princess freed from her gilded cage and determined to make the most of her day in Rome. A cruise passenger spending a port day in Rome can do likewise. All you need is a pair of comfortable shoes and a walking map to guide you.

Rome’s cruise port of Civitavecchia is an hour away by train and it’s possible to make your own way from the ship to the local station for boarding a train to Rome. However, to optimize my time in Rome, I prefer taking a ship’s transfer into the city. On a recent visit with my husband, we booked a shore excursion offered by Holland America Line that consisted of a motorcoach ride to the local railway station, where the group then boarded a private railcar for the journey into Rome.

Our Roman guide gave us some useful tips for what to see and do in Rome before we disembarked at a station near the Vatican. St. Peter’s Square was our rendezvous point and from there people in our group headed off in different directions to explore the streets of Rome independently. Six hours is hardly enough time to do Rome justice but we were able to complete a whirlwind tour of the major sights. The city core is easy to navigate on foot, its famous fountain-filled piazzas connected by winding streets.

St. Peter’s Square was a busy place on that sunny August morning, with people lined up beneath Bellini’s sweeping arcade to enter St. Peter’s Basilica – the world’s largest church. Its spectacular dome was designed by Michelangelo, whose La Pieta sculpture is one of many masterpieces displayed inside the resplendent cathedral. The piazza itself contains two beautiful baroque fountains and an Egyptian obelisk brought to ancient Rome by the Emperor Caligula.

From St. Peter’s Square we headed across the River Tiber, via Ponte Sant-Angelo, to visit more of Rome’s beautiful squares. First we stopped at Piazza Navona, lined with cafés and adorned with sculpture-filled fountains, then proceeded to Piazza Della Rotonda, which is dominated by the Pantheon, a domed temple from the early 2nd century AD and the best-preserved of imperial Rome’s surviving structures. Viewed from inside the temple, the massive coffered dome is a stunning sight with light streaming from the sky through its central round opening.

Our next destination was Piazza del Campidoglio, situated atop Capitoline Hill – the most famous of ancient Rome’s seven hills. A broad staircase leads to the Michelangelo-designed piazza, where former palaces are now museums. A replica of the 2nd-century statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, the only bronze equestrian statue to survive from imperial Rome, is mounted atop a pedestal in the centre of the piazza. The original work is displayed in the Capitoline Museum, which was remarkably quiet when we purchased our entry tickets and spent an hour wandering the magnificent exhibit halls.

Then it was time to head back across the River Tiber to St. Peter’s Square, where we reunited with our group and returned by train to the ship. Our day in Rome had been a holiday like no other.

The scenery is non-stop in Alaska, where snowcapped mountains and glacier-carved fjords provide a moving panorama for ships cruising the winding channels. Yet, for many passengers, the ports of call offer the quintessential Alaska experience.

When you step off a cruise ship at an Alaskan port, you can engage in any activity that’s your idea of a northern adventure. This might include dogsledding on a glacier or viewing humpback whales from a catamaran. But there is much to be said for just strolling the streets and soaking up a bit of local atmosphere. However you decide to spend your time in port, it can be an opportunity to meet the people who live and work in Alaska.

The ports of Southeast Alaska (also known as the Alaska Panhandle) are dramatically situated at the base of coastal mountains and are connected not by road but by the state ferry system, appropriately named the Alaska Marine Highway. Surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, these pockets of human habitation bustle with cruise visitors during the summer months. When several cruise ships are in port for the day, tour buses line up beside the piers and passengers clog the nearby shopping streets. But nature is never far away and it’s easy to escape the crowds, either on an excursion or simply setting off on foot to a nearby trailhead for a walk in the woods.

Visitor information booths are conveniently located near the main pier at each port. If a ship anchors in a port, passengers are tendered ashore to a central location on the waterfront.

Shore excursions offered by the cruise lines are run by local guides and licenced operators at each port of call. These companies provide their services to all of the cruise lines and a passenger booking a ship’s tour will be paying a fair price. Plus, there’s no need to worry about returning to the ship on time – the shore excursion staff will make sure everyone’s back on board before the ship leaves port.

Shore excursions can be reserved beforehand on your online account and can also be booked during the cruise. Some sell out more quickly than others, so it makes sense to book in advance. Should you change your mind, most cruise lines offer a full refund for cancellations up to 24 hours before the ship pulls into port.

Be prepared for a mix of sun and clouds on a cruise to Southeast Alaska, where the weather quickly changes and is often overcast. May, June and July tend to be the driest months, but rain is always a possibility. August usually brings more frequent showers, which increase in intensity in September. Wet weather can spoil many a vacation, but not a cruise to Alaska. Everyone takes it in their stride – and brings a raincoat.

Holland America Line recently celebrated a milestone anniversary of 150 years in service and 50 years of cruising to Alaska. Founded in the Netherlands and now headquartered in Seattle, the company operated transatlantic service between Rotterdam and New York long before their fleet of blue-hulled ships became a dominant presence in Alaska.

I too am celebrating an anniversary of sorts. My guidebook to Alaska was first launched 30 years ago and is currently in its 10th edition. To celebrate the book’s enduring success, I decided to take a somewhat nostalgic cruise to Alaska aboard the Zaandam. Entering service in May of 2000, this is a spacious, mid-sized ship carrying 1,400 passengers. Like all HAL ships, which are run by Dutch officers, the Zaandam boasts a wrap-around promenade deck, its teak surface perfect for walking and pausing at the rail to enjoy the sea views.

In keeping with my first cruise to Alaska, when verandah staterooms were just starting to be a standard feature on ships, my husband and I opted for an ocean view stateroom on the ship’s main deck. As much as I’ve become used to having a private verandah onto which I can step to view the scenery and breathe in the fresh air, there were advantages to enjoying the voyage from a window positioned closer to the water. We kept the curtains open and, without getting out of bed, could look outside at the sea and sky any time of day or night. In the evening the northern twilight would cast a pastel glow onto the clouds outside our window and the easy motion of the ship was accompanied by the soothing sound of water brushing against the hull.

The familiar fjords and snow-clad mountains of the Inside Passage are always a welcome sight as the ship travels the narrow channels and open straits of the British Columbia and Alaska coasts. The ports of call have expanded their infrastructure over the years to accommodate the steady increase in number and size of ships docking at their doorsteps, but familiar landmarks remain the highlight amid the newer attractions.

In Juneau, the nearby Mendenhall Glacier draws visitors by the hundreds and the shuttle buses fill up quickly. We have hiked the trails near Mendenhall Glacier and landed by helicopter on the Juneau Icefield, so on our last visit we opted to simply go for a walk along the harbor’s bustling boardwalk, past kiosks, public art and the seadrome where floatplanes land and take off, taking passengers on flightseeing excursions to Taku Glacier Lodge.

Skagway is one of Alaska’s most scenic ports, situated at the head of a beautiful fjord. The train ride to White Pass is a must for first-time visitors to Skagway but we chose on this visit to set off on foot to the Yakutania Point trailhead and enjoy a forest hike with views overlooking the fjord’s turquoise water.

Cloudy skies greeted us in Glacier Bay as we motored to the head and lingered off the face of Marjerie Glacier. Its snout is slowly retreating but remains an impressive sight, its crystal blue ice rising several hundred feet above the water.

In Ketchikan, my sister and brother-in-law headed off to the popular Lumberjack Show while Bill and I strolled the town’s boardwalk streets, reminiscing about our previous visits to this lively port. We first pulled into Ketchikan in a sailboat in 1990, when the sight of a cruise ship in port was still a novelty. Today it’s not unusual for half a dozen large ships to be in port on any given day during the summer cruise season. Even so, the reasons for visiting Alaska by cruise ship remain as compelling as ever.

There are many scenic waterways in this world, but there is only one Inside Passage. Stretching northward from Puget Sound in Washington State to Glacier Bay in Southeast Alaska, this vast and intricate coastline of winding channels, turquoise fjords and forested islands is a famous sea route travelled by vessels of all sizes. Cruise ships ply these waters, but the ultimate is to embark on a voyage of the Inside Passage in your own boat.

Of all the boating I’ve done along the Inside Passage, one of my favorite cruising areas is British Columbia’s central coast, just north of Cape Caution. This aptly named cape marks one of the few exposed legs of the Inside Passage. Here there is no avoiding Queen Charlotte Sound – an open stretch of water, best approached with ample preparation and a close eye on the weather.

Once past Cape Caution, boaters enter some of the best coastal cruising in the world: dozens of deserted islands, secluded anchorages, beautiful beaches and an abundance of wildlife, not to mention some of the best sport fishing anywhere.

Almost without exception, the first anchorage we pull into after rounding Cape Caution when northbound is Fury Island at the mouth of Rivers Inlet. This anchorage, part of Penrose Island Marine Park, is partially ringed with dazzling white beaches of crushed shell and sand. In sunny weather the setting is reminiscent of a South Seas atoll, especially at high water, when the water lapping ashore turns a brilliant turquoise as it shimmers over the crushed clamshells. The cove’s outer beaches can be visited by dinghy or kayak, and are a lovely place to have a picnic or a secluded swim.

These stunning beaches are actually archeological sites – kitchen middens dating to pre-historic times when the Indigenous people living in villages along the shores of Rivers Inlet came to Fury Island each summer to harvest clams. The shells of these clams were tossed aside and the piles they formed were, over time, crushed and compressed into the shell beaches now enjoyed by boaters and kayakers. Visitors are welcome to laze on these beaches but not disturb them.

More beautiful beaches lie across Fitz Hugh Sound on the outer shores of Calvert Island. The main anchorage in this area is Pruth Bay, reached via Kwakshua Channel. Pacific white-sided dolphins frequently feed at the mouth of this bay and at its head is a former sportfishing lodge that has been transformed into a research facility for environmental science. Called Hakai Institute, it accommodates scientists and undergraduates who work here throughout the summer months. Boaters are asked to anchor well away from the institute’s docks, which are used by delivery vessels and seaplanes, but the rear fingers are kept free for dinghies to tie up. From here you can access the trails leading to the beaches on the other side of the island.

It’s an easy hike along a groomed trail to West Beach – a long crescent of soft sand with views of the surf pounding onto distant reefs. Smooth rock formations overlook parts of the beach, where ocean swells rumble onto shore and sandpipers skirt the edge of the surf as they flit across the wet sand. At the south end of the beach is Lookout Trail, which climbs to a viewpoint overlooking the ocean, then descends to a series of smaller, secluded beaches lying to the south. At the other end of West Beach is a signpost for the North Beach trailhead. This trail includes a sturdy boardwalk bridge straddling a wetland filled with native water lilies and leads to another beautiful sweep of ocean beach.

In the week since my last blog we’ve stopped at three ports in French Polynesia as well as Auckland and Bay of Islands in New Zealand. The cruise has been good, although the ship has experienced several mild cases of Covid. Some passengers are wearing masks and coughing is often heard in the public areas. Guests are encouraged to wash their hands frequently and most are still enjoying their cruise.

The entertainment on the ship has been good. Our favourite act is a talented cover band called The Cardinals, which performs hits from the ’60s to early 2000s. As mentioned earlier, the food continues to stand out for Celebrity and the meals on this cruise, basically a transition voyage, have been better than expected. At the lido deck Oceanview Cafe there is a wide selection for breakfast and lunch.

One aspect of the ship I find needing attention is the public area’s background music which, for the crowd on this ship – mostly older couples – is a bit too frenetic, especially in the mornings. One fellow passenger suggested the music in the pool area should be much mellower for people relaxing or reading. But this is a small point for most cruisers I would guess. Alcohol drinks are expensive and when combined with the added gratuity add up to what you’d pay in a luxury hotel. A beer is about $7 USD and a bottle of basic red or white wine will be well over $40 USD. The wine steward at our table, Nelson, is very good however and knows his wines, offering excellent recommendations.

The cruise director has worked hard to engage passengers in various activities. Many of these are held in the grand foyer, where people can casually join in. Especially popular are the dancing classes, with couples brushing up on their ballroom dancing so they can take to the dance floor and enjoy the live band music in the evenings.

Most cruisers know booking early has its advantages. You can select the cabin and deck of your choice, book the shore excursions you want and get your preferred dinning selection. We didn’t book early enough it seemed on our Celebrity cruise and ended up waitlisted for the early dinner sitting. When it came time for the first night of dinning we were slotted into “Select” or open seating. Although this can be fine most of the time, we ended at a table in a high traffic area and decided to duke it out with one of the dining assistants the next day to find a table in the early sitting.

Next day, the matter was quickly sorted after a conversation with Nellie, a maitre’d assistant and we got a spot at a table for ten. So far, we’re the only ones at the long table with a window on to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Solstice is a 120,000 ton Panamax ship carrying about 2800 passengers. About 80 per cent of the ship are balcony cabins along its 12 decks. It has two atriums and the main one, opposite the guest relations desk is a main gathering area dancing with an excellent nightly cover band. One of the main features, as mentioned, is a large lawn area on deck 15.

Celebrity Cruises has since the Covid 19 era continued to get high praise for its clean ships, excellent food and service staff. While the line has been known for many years for its cuisine, its service, in my view, had sometimes been a bit on the cool side with indifferent waiters and bar staff. On this cruise, I would say the service has improved and ranks with another ‘Premium’ class cruise line know for its friendly and engaged staff – Holland America.

The itinerary for this cruise includes Moorea, Tahiti, and Raiatea. After that it heads to Auckland and Bay of Islands in New Zealand before the last leg to Sydney. Tomorrow we arrive in Moorea where we’ve rented some bicycles to tour this beautiful island. This is a sentimental stop for our editor, Anne Vipond, as she visited her with her parents when she was 16. They stayed at Club Med which unfortunately close many years ago.

It’s been over a decade since I last cruised on Celebrity Solstice. At that time I was invited aboard with travel agents and other journalists to sample Celebrity’s newest ship and for some reason came away unimpressed. It remains a bit of a mystery why but I think I was cranky over very minor things such as the use of synthetic material instead of real teak on the promenade deck and I also didn’t like the idea of the exposed workings of the atrium elevators. The lawns on the upper decks seemed contrived.

But I was so much older then, as the saying goes, and now, being younger I see the Solstice in a different light. This is a beautiful ship with many intelligent features and a layout which still stands up well some 15 years after its launch, And today I like the idea that so many teak trees were spared from the Solstice’s decks.

My wife and I boarded the ship in Honolulu for a 17 day cruise to Sydney stopping at French Polynesia and New Zealand. We flew from Vancouver on an Air Canada 737 Max which I think is too small a plane for such a long flight. Nevertheless, it departed on time and we and our luggage made it fine after the five and half hour flight. We hopped in a cab and went to the very serviceable Ramada Hotel located near the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Cab fare is around $50 to $60 USD.

Having a morning and a few hours in the afternoon gave us plenty of time to revisit the area near the hotel along Ala Moana Boulevard and the beaches near the Hilton. Soon though it was time to take the short cab ride to Pier Two and get aboard the ship. Arriving, checkin was a breeze, Celebrity allows passengers to book a time to checkin. Lo and behold, several staff were waiting for us and in minutes we were on the ship and in our cabin. Celebrity does lifeboat drill individually so there is no master drill after you get to your cabin – a big improvement over the draw-out process of assembling on the deck with hundreds of other weary ‘guests’.

Our travel agent, Todd Hancock from Seacourses, convinced us to get one of the cabins with an angled balcony which is bigger that most in the ‘Concierge Class’ cabins. And he was right, these are nice comfortable cabins. The other smart thing about the Solstice is the doors are inset so ambient noise is reduced and you are out of the way of other ‘guests’ when you enter and leave your cabin. Another good aspect is the cabin door swings outwards so doesn’t bang or interfere with the bathroom door.

The next challenge though was trying to get a table at the early sitting as we, booking late, had been relegated to Select or open seating. That’s for the next blog.

 

 

The fabled city of Venice, famous for its romantic canals and graceful gondolas, is facing several challenges. Situated on a cluster of islets within a lagoon in the Gulf Venice, the city that began as a medieval fishing village is slowly sinking. The islets upon which Venice is built consist of sand, silt and hard clay, which tend to compact over time. In winter, when high tides, heavy rain and strong winds all combine to bring exceptionally high water levels into the Venice Lagoon, the canals spill their banks and flood the pedestrian streets and plazas of Venice. Adding to these winter woes is the city’s summer inundation of tourists.

In recent decades, Venice has been struggling with over-tourism and, in an effort to cope with the situation, the city has introduced a fee-paying entry system for day-trippers (people who don’t stay overnight). In addition, new measures have been introduced to divert the majority of cruise ships away from the city centre to other terminals within the Venice Lagoon. Porto Marghera and Fusina Terminal are directly opposite Venice, while the small fishing port of Chioggia is located at the south end of the Venice Lagoon.

Some cruise lines have chosen to bypass Venice and pull into other ports in the region, such as Trieste (located a two-hour train ride east of Venice on the Adriatic coast) or Porto Corsini near Ravenna (located a two-hour drive south of Venice).

Large and medium-sized ships no longer dock right in Venice (at the Marritima terminals) and instead dock on the mainland side of the Venice Lagoon, near the 4-km causeway that connects the mainland with Venice. However, many of the cruise lines still check in their passengers at a Marritima terminal and they are then taken by bus to their ship. Porto Marghera (part of the industrial port on the mainland) accommodates large ships. Fusina Terminal accommodates the small luxury ships. Train service connects Porto Marghera to Piazzale Roma at the western entrance to the Grand Canal. Passengers at Fusina Terminal are ferried across the lagoon to Venice. Small boutique ships (under 25,000 gross tons) and river vessels can still dock in Venice at the Marittima basin and at the San Basilio pier on the Giudecca Canal.

The thrill of arriving in Venice on a cruise ship, gliding past St. Mark’s Square and the entrance to the Grand Canal, is now a thing of the past. However, for those passengers planning a pre-cruise stay in Venice, a water taxi ride from the airport to your hotel will more than make up for it. This experience is described in a previous blog, posted September 29, 2016, called An Unforgettable Taxi Ride.

The tiny principality of Monaco, on the French Riviera, epitomizes glamour. Nestled in hills overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this coastal enclave covers less than a square mile but enjoys an international fame far exceeding its size. Attractions range from the royal palace in Monaco-Ville to its famous casino in Monte-Carlo. If this weren’t enough, fans of Formula One can walk the iconic circuit of the Monaco Grand Prix, passing landmarks barely visible on race weekend when the street route is temporarily transformed with crash barriers and corporate signage.

For cruise passengers stepping ashore in Monaco’s yacht-filled harbor for a day of sightseeing, the principality’s highlights are within easy walking distance. Public elevators are strategically situated to help people ascend some of the steep streets and the local buses are an efficient way to get from one side of the principality to the other.

Large cruise ships anchor and tender their passengers into Port Hercule, which is sheltered from easterly swells by a sea wall and breakwater. Rising above this natural bay is a steep headland known as the Rock of Monaco – site of the old town’s medieval fortress and royal palace.

Avenue de la Porte Neuve leads up to Monaco-Ville where cliff-top gardens provide sweeping views out to sea and narrow, winding streets lead to Place du Palais and its grand Italianate palace in which a reigning prince has resided for over seven centuries. Standing outside is a statue of Francesco Grimaldi, who seized control the fortress in 1297 by disguising himself as a Franciscan monk. A changing of the palace guard takes place every day at five minutes before noon.

Not far from the palace is the cathedral in which Princess Grace, who died in a tragic automobile accident in 1982, is buried. Monaco gained a layer of Hollywood glitter when film actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in 1956 to become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. Her son Albert has been Monaco’s constitutional monarch since the death of Prince Rainier in 2005.

After a few hours spent strolling around Monaco-Ville, it’s time to head to the other side of the harbor to enjoy the famous sights of Monte-Carlo, including those associated with the Monaco Grand Prix. This is the most historic and famous race on the Formula One calendar and its route is shown on Monaco’s visitor map. It starts on Boulevard Albert I, which runs past the La Condamine quarter of boutiques and traditional open-air markets before heading up to Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo, then circling back down the hillside and through a tunnel to emerge along the harbor.

Monte-Carlo’s famous casino overlooks the fountain-filled gardens in Place du Casino, where other attractions are the luxury Hotel de Paris and the historic Café de Paris – the perfect place to pause for lunch before visiting the casino, its interior a dazzling display of gold-leaf and gilt. Afterwards take a stroll through Place du Casino’s gardens to the seaward side of the casino complex to view the ornate façade of the opera house, then head down the hillside to the harborfront. From there it’s a pleasant walk along the marina promenade back to the cruise tender dock or you can instead hop on the bus boat for a five-minute crossing of the harbor.