CRUISES
Your home away from home.
Cruising is a fantastic way to visit many cities and countries while enjoying the convenience of your hotel on water.
River cruises are smaller ships that travel along the rivers throughout the world and stop at many small towns and cities along their route. You can walk into town from the ship or ride a bike along the river. They are intimate and offering the unique quality of the smaller boutique hotels of the world.
Ocean Cruises are larger ships with Broadway style entertainment, casino’s, visiting international ports across the world offering sports, spa’s, and the basics of luxury 5 star hotels.
RIVER CRUISES
Your hotel on the river
River cruises to Europe and Asia have become a favorite for many clients. They offer the convenience and luxury of an ocean cruise along with the experience of tours in each city visited. River cruises are easier than ocean cruises or land coach tours because they offer small, intimate ships, a crew that gets to know you and provides personalized customer service onboard. You can find yourself in the heart of cities such as Budapest, Paris, Amsterdam or Vietnam, Cambodia and other wonderful towns on the Seine, Rhine or Danube Rivers and only needing to unpack once.
For many travelers, a journey along the river is just the right pace. You can do as much or as little as you like. Shore tours are included in every town and often you have a choice of several and can pick the one best suited to your style. Your river boat becomes your hotel and you can wander on and off as easy as walking in and out of a hotel. You dock in the heart of cities and smaller towns along the river so you’re just footsteps away from the best sights, shops, cafés and mixing with the local residents. Relax in comfort on the open sun deck or indoor lounge and watch the river go by as you cruise from port to port.
Itineraries are varied in destination and length. Pre- and post-hotel night stays are easy to add on. Visit historical sites, medieval castles, and vineyards in places such as Germany, Austria and France. Cruise the Douro River in Portugal or the Po River in Italy. Maybe you are thinking of something more exotic such as the Mekong River in Viet Nam or the Yangtze River in China. There are many choices – and we are here to help you sift through them to find the one that will be your dream vacation.
Prepare to step ashore in fairy tale towns and fabled cities, immerse yourself in contemporary culture, and learn something about the history of the towns along the world’s greatest rivers. Prepare to make memories that will last a lifetime!
OCEAN CRUISES
Luxury travel on the sea
What better way to get the sampler of a region than to cruise through it? You get to visit different ports, each with their own quirks, amenities, and culture, while still returning to your cozy ship at the end of the day.
Of all the cruise itineraries in the world, there are probably at least a hundred or more. You aren’t limited to just one type of cruise. Go where you’d like to go. Want to go to Bermuda, Europe, Asia, Australia, Alaska, or the Caribbean? Then go. There’s an itinerary for everyone.
Taking a cruise is like a road trip, but you don’t have to keep packing and unpacking along the way. There’s something awesome about unpacking once for the whole trip and not having to repack until it’s time go home. Sit back, relax, and let the crew take you and your floating home-away-from home to the destinations.
Most of the cruise lines have the same process and basic concept of cruising. Entertainment, food, ports, and activities on the ship are fairly consistent. Why does this matter to you? For one main reason: it’s easier to switch between lines if you find a different itinerary you like or want to try something new, and you’ll still know basically what to expect. The world is your oyster when it comes to cruise vacations. Chances are if there is a place you want to go that touches a major river or ocean, there is a cruise line that stops there.
How does cruising compete with a land-based vacation? How many choices could you have if you were staying at an all-inclusive resort? Or how much money would you spend trying a new cuisine each night at various restaurants in a city? Nowadays, large cruise ships tend to have a lot of venues on their ships, many of which are complimentary, and several more that only require a small cover charge. Italian, Asian, Mexican, French, and even good old American comfort food – chances are there will be a very large variety of cuisines available to you on your cruise.
There are lots of choices when it comes to choosing a stateroom on a cruise ship. You can splurge for a suite, opt for balconies (and save some money if you choose an obstructed view!), or go with a window, porthole, or interior cabin. If you already have a good sense of how much a cruise will cost, you will always be able to find a stateroom to fit your budget.
Since everyone on the ship is sharing that ship for the duration of the voyage, you have a great chance of making some new friends along the way. Whether it be the couple you’re seating with for dinner, a family you click with by the pool, or a guest that is sitting near you at the bar, if you want to find friends on a cruise, you almost always will find them. The best part is, you’ll be able to see them again throughout the cruise, and maybe even stay in contact with them afterward. We know people who have gone on future cruises with people they met on past ones.
The crew on your ship want to make your vacation the best it can be, and you’ll find a lot of special experiences during your cruise. Whether it’s chocolate covered strawberries that you find in your room for your anniversary, or even an amenity that the ship offers such as a mixology class or epic waterslide, there are lots of ways a cruise vacation is different from any land-based ones, and that makes it extra special.
A cruise vacation just never seems to last long enough, does it? We hope you’ve found some of our points here helpful, and that they can aid you not only in deciding what vacation is right for you, but also give you some extra information about cruising that you may not have known before. Happy sailing!