Do shore excursions make the cruise?

19th Century Scottish sculptor John Steell's statue of poet Robert Burns in downtown Dunedin  turns out to be the meeting place for more than one tour, but you manage to hook up with the right guide, who immediately begins sharing local color about this charming village that could be in many parts of the United Kingdom.

As your bus winds slowly uphill, you enter a bucolic world of rolling farm fields and pastureland, with yellow Gorse flowers spreading wildly across what seem to be less-domesticated stretches.

You obviously must be in Ireland or Scotland.

Only you're not.

You're in New Zealand, driving to the Royal Albatross Colony, where you'll learn about amazing birds whose massive wingspans catch wind currents to fly around the world.  You'll later visit a penguin sanctuary, home to adorable flightless creatures whose own unique adaptations allow them to fly underwater through ice-cold oceans.

You can be forgiven for having misread the landscape.

The architecture and agricultural have been imported from the UK by homesick Scotsmen.  In fact, they introduced that yellow Gorse and rabbits, which have run rampant without natural predators, to New Zealand as reminders of home.

The city's name, in fact, is an adaptation of the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dùn Èideann.

Everything you need to know to make the most of this Scottish outpost in the Southern Hemisphere will be explained to you by a knowledgeable guide who knows exactly where to go and why.

You've heard the expression, "Clothes make the man," and how you dress can certainly effect the viewpoint, attitude and experiences of not only you but of those around you, but is it shore excursions that actually make or break the cruise?

The answer depends as much on you as on the itinerary or individual ports.

An excursion like the one summarized above certainly gives the traveler a great breadth of experiences over the course of a single day, but I dare say that someone who managed to make it to the same quaint village for a lengthy stroll through its quaint streets, punctuated by tipping a pint or munching on fish and chips in a pub, could certainly enjoy a wonderful day as well.

In fact, I know many people for whom the cruise ship itself is the primary destination, and if they get off the ship at all, it is just to visit a nearby internet cafe or souvenir shop.

They love the meals, entertainment and camaraderie found on board as well as the beautiful views across the water.  This is particularly true for repeat cruises in the Caribbean or Pacific.

However, if you've traveled half way around the world, you would probably want to include at least one or two in depth excursions that give you greater insights into the region.

After all, you must have taken that long flight for some reason.

There could be one specific highlight that makes the entire trip worthwhile.

My brother-in-law Brooks wanted to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to see one special painting, something that would have been nearly impossible a few years ago, so he and my sister joined us on a memorable Scandinavia/Russia cruise.  It would have been crazy for him to stay on board when the long awaited opportunity to visit what is truly one of the world's finest museums arrived.

At the other extreme, some people want excursions in every port, and if you're among them, excursions definitely do make the cruise.

An all-inclusive or more inclusive vacation like a river cruise or the Viking Ocean Cruise might be more cost effective than a mainstream cruise for you, particularly if you always choose mini-suites or suites for accommodations.

Bridging the gap between extremes, Oceania Cruises' OLife Program may include free excursions for up to five ports, while mainstream cruise lines may feature on board credits specifically designated toward shore excursions.

Most of us will choose ship sponsored excursions for a couple of key ports on the itinerary, often those which would be perceived as difficult or dangerous to approach on our own, such as Istanbul or Israel, and then explore easier destinations on our own.



It's also possible to use third-party excursion companies, though you should exercise due diligence in researching independent vendors, as tours with similar names aren't necessarily the same.  Cruise Planners has partnered with Shore Trips to give you a safe alternative to ship sponsored excursions, including multi-port packages for potential savings.

Shore Trips has proven itself particularly adept at providing private van excursions for small groups prepared to pay a premium for a more custom-tailored experience ashore.

Surprisingly frequently, however, it will be some smaller port which perhaps you had never considered visiting and simply wandered toward without expectations that turns out to be a highlight of your trip.  Allow some time for serendipity during your voyage.



Whatever you do, mix it up.  Make each port memorable in its own right rather than repeating the same type of excursion to the same types of places and activities in every port.

In the final analysis, cruise lines do not haphazardly throw together itineraries.  Like carefully curated pieces of art from a larger collection in the Hermitage, the ports have been selected to weave a story about the region, adding significant strands in each port and also during onboard presentations.

If we pay attention, we fully experience a region and gain enlightenment as well as entertainment on these epic sojourns.

We return home with newly stretched minds.  As the great travel writer Mark Twain wrote, 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

All of the photos in this post, by the way, are from New Zealand .

Why Should You Cruise on Avalon Waterways?

For empty nesters looking for a destination-immersive, relaxing and easy vacation, it is hard to beat a river cruise, regardless of brand.

Industry leader Viking earns the lion's share of business with great marketing, including specials that attract attention, and they deliver a wonderful experience.

Uniworld and Tauck take the inclusiveness of most river cruises to a more encompassing level, including pre-paid gratuities, adult beverages on demand any time and anticipatory service, and I assume Crystal Cruise Lines foray into river cruising will give them a run for their money.

What about Avalon Waterways?

As a member of the Globus Family of Brands, Avalon Waterways capitalizes on 88 years of tour experience to enhance their land experiences with certified local guides in each port.

That association with Globus allows them to offer a much wider range of seamless land experiences before and after the cruise beyond the typical 2 or 3 nights, including multi-country land tours on industry leader Globus Tours or modular independent regional stays with Monograms.

In the final analysis, however, the big appeal of Avalon are the unique Open Air Balconies found on their Suite Ships.

Words can't compete with the video above, but if you don't want to watch it, know that the freeze frame is not one of two suites on each ship.  80% of the rooms on the Suite Ships have 11 foot wide glass doors that open to become a 7 foot wide Open Air Balcony.

The room setup allows you to enjoy the features of a balcony in the comfort of your in-room seating area or while snuggling in bed.

While not all the ships in the Avalon fleet are identical to this, they have similar concepts for most of their rooms, and even the smallest river view room is 172 square feet, which makes comfortable room, and the price differential between their Suite Ships and others in the line is only about 6%, whereas some other lines may charge a 40% premium to be on their newest ships.

Everyone seems to want to be on a new ship, though there certainly is a good argument to be made for older ships that are well-maintained as a means of saving vacation dollars.

Avalon Waterways, however, is committed to never having a ship in the fleet more than eight years old, selling aging ships to other lines rather than retrofitting them to their newest concepts.  As an example of the opposite approach, higher priced Tauck will retrofit its own fleet over the next two years to include their newest design features, just so you know that I am not intending to disparage the practice.  It is simply part of Avalon's unique marketing proposition to say you will never be on an old ship if you choose Avalon.

You may not be surprised to learn that Avalon costs less than those more inclusive lines like Tauck and Uniworld, but it may surprise you that in comparison with Viking, the net pricing can be quite similar, and often less when it comes to their balcony rooms.

It should also be noted that Avalon has fewer rooms on ships of the exact same dimensions as Viking, translating not only into larger average sized staterooms but also 15% more space per guest throughout the ship.

What do you give up on Avalon? 

Like other lines, Avalon has introductory shore excursions in all ports (though Avalon claims theirs to be better in quality and selection), free wifi and wonderful meals, but you'll only get free flowing local wines and beer with dinner, whereas Viking includes them with lunch, too.

And while some lines like Uniworld and AMA Waterways have bicycles on board for the use of guests, Avalon does not, although they do offer optional bicycling tours.

Bottom line, if you've enjoyed ocean cruising with lines like Celebrity, Princess, Crystal, Oceania, Azamara and Regent Seven Seas and want an immersive, port-intensive vacation, you'll love river cruising in general and Avalon Waterways in particular.

Time for a Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands?

Perhaps like me, you grew up attending Sunday School, learning about the legends from the Bible.  I know that for me, David, Sampson and Solomon were big heroes, even more so than Zorro, Superman and the Lone Ranger, whom I understood to be just fiction.



The former seaside port of Ephesus (as in Ephesians)

Years later when I made it to college, a close friend took his own life, and I had a hard time dealing with that. I began attending church more religiously and bringing a Bible with me to read while waiting for Business classes to start.

At the same time, I did yoga along with a PBS Television class daily and meditated regularly in Mom's green backyard under a magnificent apricot tree.  Incidentally, that fruit tree became incredibly abundant with sweet, juicy, thoroughly delicious apricots, so much so that we would give bag after bag away every summer and still have lots to enjoy ourselves. 

I must have begun to present myself differently from the rocker I believed I was.  When working on a group project with a half dozen others in a Manpower Management class at Long Beach State, one of the other students uttered the slightest profanity, something not nearly as offensive as what seems to have become somewhat common language among young adults these days.  He turned to me and quite sincerely said, "Oh, I'm sorry Wes.  I didn't mean to offend you."  I smiled and said no apology was necessary.

What a diffferent world it has become since then.

Over the years, I've always felt a strong relationship with God and been extremely grateful for His many blessings.

While I'm not a medieval knight or Muslim who feels compelled to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Lands, it is a place I've dreamed about since my earliest memories, a land where heroes for the ages arose.

Have you always dreamed about visiting the Holy Lands?

There's no time like the present, but a "trip of a lifetime" frequently requires more time to plan and save for, so perhaps you'll be ready for your sojourn right about when Viking introduces its Holy Lands cruise.

Viking Ocean Cruises is a sister line to Viking River Cruises, which has been the market leader in river cruising in Europe and beyond for several years.

With their ocean cruise product, they are basically taking the features that made them popular on the river to ocean voyages.





As such, while their prices at first glance seem high, they do include an introductory shore excursion with local guides in every port, and on board free wifi, free alternative dining with a choice of 11 restaurants, plus complimentary beer and wine by the glass with lunch and dinner served on board the ship.

All things considered, this more inclusive cruise costs more than, for example, Celebrity Cruises, which is a very deluxe large ship, even after similar excursions and some allowance for the rest is allowed, but small ship cruising has nonetheless become increasingly popular with experienced cruisers.  In any case, Viking's itinerary has very succinct descriptions of excursions to amazing sites which can be easily explored on a Holy Lands cruise.

Cochem's High Water Marks

Last week in Southern California, the skies burst open to finally give us some relief from our latest drought. 

We mumbled complaints about the less than sunny weather, sat in traffic jams due to accidents on rainslick freeways and, for an unfortunate few, dealt with mudslides. 

Speaking on the phone with a Norwegian Cruise Lines representative located in Arizona, I had to explain that Los Angeles had not been destroyed by flood, as her local TV news seemed to indicate.  In fact, we had only a few sprinkles in Redondo Beach and something like 1 to 5 inches in Los Angeles County.

It wasn't even enough to stimulate the usual warnings by climate alarmists of another apocolypse related to man-made global warming, although of course the drought itself is often blamed on modern man, even if tree rings indicate intermittent droughts hundreds of years before the industrial age.

The high water marks in the villages along the Rhine and Moselle reveal a similar story of the power of nature's cycles. 

The marked buildings we saw were usually well over a hundred yards from the river and elevated at least another twenty to fifty feet, but the markings often towered twice as tall as the humans who marked them. 

That same rain that produces delicious wine grapes on the steep hillsides can, especially when bolstered by ice melt-off from the Alps, obviously create major problems for these beautiful river villages.

While some high marks, including several in Cochem, occurred more recently, many occurred in the 1600s and 1700s in other villages, and who knows how many high water marks were washed away with older buildings before the "new" construction? 

I'm not saying this disproves manmade global warming theories, but it is once again a reminder that climates have changed throughout the history of the earth.

The late Robert Crichton called global warming theory a religion, not unlike the druidism practiced by ancient Celtics who lived in this area before the Romans.

By the way, you may wonder what river cruises do if the water gets too high for them to cross under the bridges on rare occasions. 

Like humanity has through the centuries, the captains, crews and land-based cruise planners adapt.  Sometimes they're forced to cancel cruises entirely, turn the ships around to backtrack to the home port or move onto buses to continue the trek. It's not unlike how cruise lines react to hurricanes.

Viking River Cruises, which has by far the most ships including twins traveling in opposite directions on the same river, has been known to change passengers and their luggage from one ship to an identical room on the other previously going the opposite direction.  And the crew goes with them too, making it feel very much like they're on the same ship.  In any case, just as with ocean cruise ships, passenger safety is of primary concern, and cruise lines also aren't going to risk damaging their beautiful ships needlessly.

However, like on most river cruises, the river water levels were not unusually high or low for our trip, and the river wasn't flooding the village streets when we took a morning tour of scenic Cochem before heading up to Reichsburg Castle.

Our guide shared interesting information, including the story of the refurbishment of a timbered building by a successful optometrist.

According to our guide, there was some sort of subsidy for restoring old buildings that the city officials would not allow for the Brillen Müller building, because it belonged to a successful optometrist.  As amusing revenge, the businessman commissioned a sculptor to carve faces on the ends of four beams above his ground floor storefront. 

The faces represent the bureaucratic lunacy he encountered, so that anyone entering beneath will see his architectural taunt.  If you want to know what each face represents, you'll have to go to Cochem and ask for yourself. 

The beautiful wine village filled with historic timbered houses and surrounded by hillside vineyards could be a vacation highlight by itself, but it served primarily as a scenic introduction to the area, which in addition to our castle visit would include a unique afternoon experience in nearby Ediger-Eller.

Uniworld River Cruises

In Europe, there certainly are many great cities with remarkable histories waiting to be discovered.  Buildings older than our country and architecture based on alternative visions certainly entice, but the natural beauty is also incredible.

Wes by Hohenschwangau (Bavaria) a few years back.

Many of the great cities of history can be accessed by large cruise ships along the Mediterranean and magnificent Northern European coasts, but obviously there's a great deal more to explore inland.

Access to water routes has always been key to trade throughout the world, and in addition to the oceans and seas, rivers filled the bill.  Beginning with the Roman Empire, great cities developed along these tributaries of commerce in Europe.  It is not surprising that river cruising, which makes visiting these inland treasures convenient and exceedingly pleasurable, has become increasingly popular. 

Several competitors vie for river cruise business, offering unique marketing propositions.  Obviously, Americans want English-speaking staff aboard attractive ships that maintain a certain level of comfort and amenities, but which one is the right choice for you? 

Julie in Schafhausen (near Basel, Sw)

As with ocean cruising, much depends on your personal desires, but I must admit that Viking River Cruises has always dominated my offerings.  They certainly offer a wide selection of itineraries and wonderful cruise experiences.

Recently, however, I've decided Uniworld River Cruises deserves some attention from potential river cruisers.

Their luxurious river cruise ships tend to be more individualized, much like European boutique hotels of which no two are exactly alike, which is not surprising given their association with the prestigious Red Carnatian Hotel Collection.

Perhaps more significantly, Uniworld boasts being truly all-inclusive, with all beverages (not just those at meals) and all gratuities included.  That means if you want to enjoy a glass of wine or frosty mug of beer while cruising along the Danube in the afternoon or while listening to live music in the evening, you don't have to reach into your pocket or wait for the next meal rather than enjoying it the moment you want it. 

And you won't have to wait long for service, because Uniworld has the highest staff to guest ratio among all river cruise lines, not to mention the fact that their ships carry only 130 pampered guests.



The Uniworld River Queen

A few months ago my friend Greg Rood mentioned to me, as he worked over his computer at the swim-up bar in Cabo, that once the cruise ships have unlimited internet access, he's down with another cruise.  Uniworld offers unlimited internet and Wi-Fi throughout the cruise at no additional charge, although I have to add that most of us could use a break from all this technology for a vacation and should force ourselves to focus on real reality more often.



Time for Europe?  (Large clock at Musée d'Orsay in Paris)

Fascinating shore excursions are included in each port at no additional charge.  So are bicycles, should you wish to strike out on your own, which is particularly easy because as soon as you step off the ship, you're in the center of most towns.  While there are some optional offerings at additional cost, the excursions included are more than sufficient for most guests on their first visit to each port, and a few optional excursions are also at no additional charge.  

The experienced, English-speaking local guides use Quietvox lightweight audio headset systems, which make it easy to hear their narration.  On our recent Panama Canal excursions, we had difficulty understanding some of our guides in bustling plazas due to ambient city noise and tour groups stringing out down the block as we "followed the leader."  This state-of-the-art audio system is key in getting the most out of the tour.

Rural France

Of course, we expect fine meals on any cruise ship, but with only 130 guests, Uniworld can serve the freshest local ingredients, sourced daily from farmer's markets along the cruise route. The meals are always prepared and served with care by culinary experts.

While there are many cruises from which to choose, the linked article about the Legendary Rhine and Moselle show how amazing such a trip can be.

If you're more inclined to sit back and watch pretty pictures to beautiful music, however, check out this video prepared by a satisfied cruiser of Uniworld on that same cruise:

The New Viking Star Ocean Cruises (and Viking River Cruises)

Peterhof in Russia

As you know, cruising consistently receives the highest guest satisfaction ratings of any form of travel, but even among such a happy group of vacationers, some are more thrilled by their cruises than others. 

Viking River Cruises has carved out a niche in small ship river cruising that brings rave reviews.  By combining port-intensive itineraries that include complimentary shore excursions with other niceties that would cost extra on most cruises, from wine and beer with meals to port charges/taxes to reduced-price air (including transfers) to free internet and self-service laundry, Viking easily fills its ships that visit the great inland cities of Europe and takes other cruises to more exotic locales like China and Egypt.

Viking Star Piano Bar in the 3 story Atrium

Viking River Cruises also includes deluxe two and three day land packages as add-ons for either end of the river cruises to extend the vacation for those who want to experience even more.

Their chefs make a point of procuring the finest local ingredients to prepare fine cuisine onboard for guests, with regional wines and beers to accompany the locally-inspired dishes.

While at first glance, their prices seem higher than mainstream ocean cruises, returning passengers have found that the bottom line trip costs the same or even less, once all those shore exursions and drinks on an ocean going vessel have been paid with the final bill.

This has led to not only Viking rapidly expanding its river ship fleet, but other great competitors like Uniworld, AMA Waterways and Avalon entering the market with their own variations on the river cruise theme.  This has pushed Viking to keep improving, and Viking Long Ships were introduced recently to great acclaim.

Viking Star

In 2015, Viking Star will take the river cruise experience to coastal cruising in Europe.  As other cruise lines have announced pulling ships from Europe for next season, this certainly is a bold statement by Viking.  Like all great companies, however, they are expanding to give their customers what they say they want: the same river cruise experience on European coastal cruises.

To that end, Viking Star is designed for a more intimate onboard experience with its primary emphasis on the ports visited rather than the onboard experience.  The offerings for 2015 are amazing itineraries through Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, most having more leisurely two week itineraries with ports almost every day.  It's possible to combine several together consecutively into an amazing amalgamation. See the great itineraries at the second half of the Viking Star Brochure for 2015.

Al fresco dining at Aquavit Terrace on Viking Star

To glide comfortably through the ocean, Viking Star will obviously be larger than Viking Long Ships, but carrying only 928 guests, she is certainly not your typical mainstream ship.  If you're looking forward big shows and partying until the wee hours, this is not your line.  In fact, Viking Star will take the space normally devoted to a casino on most ships and use that for just lounging and enjoying Hygge.  The Explorer's Lounge, with two story panoramic windows, and the glass enclosed Wintergarden, all with coversational seating arrangments to encourage interpersonal relationships rather than at atmosphere of watching entertainers from afar.

Viking Star Infinity Pool

And there's still a great spa, along with the only infinity pool at sea.

Oh, and by the way, every stateroom has a balcony, and they are larger than standard balcony rooms on mainstream ships.  Remember that when comparing prices.

You'll enjoy complimentary excursions introducing you to the ports, and then have time to branch out on your own. Viking Star is destined to be a favorite of everyone who cherishes time in ports, with long days and a few overnights, always arriving with a smaller contingent of fellow passengers rather than swarming the ports from a mega-ship.



Laszlo and Gina in Copenhagen

As with traditional Viking River Cruises, you must book early to enjoy the greatest savings.   As the embarkation date approaches, air prices and cruise prices will begin inching higher.  Plus, booking early allows you to choose the very best ship locations.  Paying early entitles you to greater savings.

Make your future wonderful, and begin enjoying the anticipation today.

Better service leads to better trips! 

Fascinating River Cruises

Ocean cruises aboard dazzling floating resorts remain the bulk of my business, but many experienced cruisers are ready for more port-extensive experiences. River cruises offer fantastic opportunities to explore interior regions away from the "Seven Seas."

While sea cruises have hotel stays and tours as add-ons, river cruises long ago established a combination of land and cruising as standard, allowing extended stays in fascinating cities like Paris or Prague at either end of the river cruise.

Interior Europe remains strong, whether for Winter Markets in Central Europe, Spring Tulip Time in Holland or summer cruises to elegant cities on the Danube, but river cruises take you to more exotic locales, too. 

The fastest growing river cruise line, Ama Waterways, recently introduced cruise vacations on African safari routes to their other itineraries in Europe and on Sotheast Asia's exotic Mekong River.

Viking River Cruises has always been the leader, and with their fantastic Russia, China and Egypt itineraries long ago proved exploring exotic frontiers doesn't require roughing it.

Whether you want the pinnacles of civilization, storybook settings, or the most primative places on earth, river cruising delivers great destinations.  The perfect balance of land stays and cruising makes a perfect vacation into regions that should be on your bucket list.

Live your dreams.

Better service leads to better trips!

TODAY ONLY DEAL!!!

If you are a Southern California resident looking for a last minute cruise for Spring Break, you simply cannot do better than this amazing trip on Radiance of the Seas.

Discover for yourself why Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships are my personal favorites. No, they aren't the biggest, but they have lots of great features that perfectly suit me and possibly you. There are great restaurants, from the terrific fried chicken and fish joint on the fantail of the ship where I love to grab lunch to the incredible spread at the buffet to the deluxe dining room. There are amazing nightclubs, including the signature Crown Viking Lounge perched high above the ship to the deluxe yacht club-like Schooner Bar to the African safari themed lounge with self-leveling pool tables. There's great entertainment, including a dedicated movie theater with stadium style seating, rock climbing wall and terrific live singing and dancing. The fact that this floating resort ever arrives at any ports is simply frosting on the cake.

This ten night voyage, however, includes great ports. Cabo San Lucas is always a favorite, and maybe you'll take a pirate ship to snorkel at Chilleno Bay. In Puerto Vallarta, go ziplining, and ride horses in the sand n Mazatlan. In addition to the big three of the standard Mexican Riviera cruise, you get Acapulco, the favorite port of many experienced cruisers. And that's not all. Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo lets you choose the modern side or the historic village side.

Don't waste a lot of time contemplating this one. It is on sale today! You can have a balcony for only $899 per person! Even with taxes added in, that's less than $100 a day for a world class cruise embarking from convenient San Diego. Ocean View is only $699 pp, but for a few dollars a day you can add those intimate moments like morning coffee or evening wine on a balcony. Third and fourth passenger rates are only $549 per person, subject to stateroom availability.

Rarely do you have the opportunity to book a true last minute bargain this close to a holiday that doesn't require expensive air fare. Don't miss it. Call me NOW!

Radiance of the Seas embarking April 2, 2010, for Ten Nights on the Mexican Riviera

Ice Skate to Mexico

The arrival of Mariner of the Seas to service the Mexican Riviera market could be the single greatest event in the history of Southern California. Do you think that statement might be a little too over-the-top?

You'll have to take a cruise to find out. Many people have formed their opinions about Royal Caribbean based on Baja cruises aboard Monarch of the Seas. Monarch's weekend escapes to Ensenada certainly earned big kudos, and the four night cruises to San Diego, Ensenada and Catalina surprised travelers with the rejuvenating effect. Monarch was a big step forward from Viking Serenade and previous short cruise offerings in Southern California, but people privileged to take a seven night cruise on Vision of the Seas discovered there really is a big difference between ships within the same line.
Vision of the Seas has always been a crowd pleaser, but most of the time, she would re-deploy to Alaska for the summer, when families were most likely to take Mexican Riviera cruises. As such, for many people, Monarch of the Seas was the face of Royal Caribbean.

This week, Mariner of the Seas arrives in Los Angeles, and the world will never be the same. Is that statement too bold?

You'll have to take a cruise to find out. Royal Caribbean includes lots of signature attractions on all of their ships, including fantastic lounges like the Viking Crown lounge surrounded in windows and perched high atop the ship and the nautically-themed Schooner Bar. They always have rock climbing walls and super health spas. Basically, Mariner of the Seas just expands on the concepts, with an ice skating rink (that's right, you can ice skate on your way to Mexico) and the Royal Promenade, reminiscent of a fashionable European street featuring a British pub, coffee house, shops and lounges. There's also mini-golf, Johnny Rockets and lots, lots more. It really must be experienced to appreciate, as photos and words don't do it justice.
Let me put it another way. Last week I enjoyed touring the beautiful Queen Mary 2, billed as the most elegant of the large ocean liners, and in my opinion, Mariner's Sound of Music Dining Room is superior to any of the restaurants on QM2, including the Queen's Grill, access to which is limited to people paying thousands of dollars to stay in suites. Mariner's Portofino and Chops specialty restaurants are both more beautiful than QM2's Todd English, IMHO. This is not to put down QM2, which is a wonderful ship that takes passengers on unique voyages with an undeniable air of sophistication. It's just that Mariner is that great.

And, of course, the entertainment includes very talented musicians, singers and dancers you've come to expect with Royal Caribbean. Don't be the last to discover Mariner of the Seas. In fact, call up your friends and family to invite them to join you on a Mexican Riviera cruise this summer. That's right, Mariner of the Seas will be here through the prime summer season!

Voyager of the Seas: November, 2008

A nice cruise ship goes well beyond being comfortable, efficient transportation between ports. It is a destination in its own right.

Surprisingly, many people who take cruises stay on board when the ship is in port. That's not us. We enjoy our ports too much to miss any, and on this itinerary with long port days and only one sea day, we spent less time exploring the ship than usual.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed our stay aboard Voyager of the Seas, which is indeed a magnificent destination. One of the most prominent features of Voyager Class-ships and the newer, larger Freedom-class ships is the Royal Promenade.

All cruise ships have shopping areas, and many are quite lovely, but Voyager of the Seas, with its wide walkway that includes cafes, bars and a soaring ceiling, set a new standard when she introduced the Royal Promenade about eight years ago.

It very much feels like being on a nice street in a European city, and there's even a classic Morgan roadster parked by the Scoreboard, a sports bar that features multiple flat screen TVs. Cater-corner from the scoreboard is the Pig and Whistle, an Irish pub serving Guinness and Murphy's Stout.

Across from that, Seattle's Best Coffee serves excellent espresso drinks for which they do charge, but they give away fresh baked good including delicious oatmeal cookies and pizza to anyone who asks. Surprisingly, there's also a self-serve coffee for free right there, and that coffee, as everywhere on Voyager of the Seas, turned out to be quite good, which is in contrast to my coffee sipping experience on many cruises. There's usually music playing at one or more of the Promenade venues, whether a folk singer in the pub or a jazz band on the street.

Of course, there are stores in the Promenade, and just as on most cruises, tables of sale merchandise come out like clockwork on different days, expanding the possibilities but also making some items available “one day only.”

The Promenade is a pleasant place to stroll, and it attracts lots of guests, even when activities like the Captain's cocktail party or the opening night Island Frenzy Parade are not in progress.

I had a Guinness at the pub and some great Mexican pizza, cookies and coffee at Seattle's Best during our cruise, but upon returning to the ship, we primarily unwound at the Crown & Anchor Diamond Member's lounge, to which we received an invitation the first day. We received this benefit as a result of having taken more than ten cruises on Royal Caribbean --- those three night cruises add up! --- but you can get a short cut to Diamond perks by booking a suite for your next cruise. The lounge had free drinks, using only name brands like Coca Cola, Jack Daniels and Tanqueray, along with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. The only problem was that we couldn't take our drinks out, and the room itself is nice but has no views.

Because there were so many past guests on this cruise, by the second night of these free happy hours, all of the seats were filled and people were standing around. Royal Caribbean upped the ante, opening Cloud Nine, part of the Crown Viking Lounge, to accommodate the overflow. Perched high on the fourteenth deck and surrounded by glass walls, this became the preferred Diamond lounge, although our concierge, who attained tickets to the ice show and for preferred tender times for us, was stationed in the original lounge. Bartenders served us, but sometimes guests helped themselves, making their own drinks. It was a nice stop before dinner.

The three level dining room is gorgeous. We were seated on the top level for dinner, so we didn't have as much of a sense of the grandeur of the restaurant as we did when we enjoyed breakfast on the lower level, but it was still very nice. Our table mates for the trip were two nice couples, one from Las Vegas and the other recently transplanted to South Carolina from Chicago.

Because most port stays ended at 7 PM, we signed up for late dining on this cruise, and by the time we finished delicious dinners, it was 10:30 PM. Sometimes the big show of the night was presented pre-dinner, but more often it started at 11 PM.  On cruise ships there's always great entertainment including the opportunity to dance to terrific bands until well past midnight.

Lest I forget to mention it, the Voyager of the Seas Orchestra which backed all the shows and also played gigs around the ship both as the full band and as combos, proved to be the best band I have ever heard on a cruise ship. Each musician was a gifted soloist, and the arrangements were extremely tight. By the time we dropped into bed, we were worn out, but most ports arrived to our floating resort at 7 AM the next morning.

The first night, the seas were rough. I was surprised by the amount of rolling on a ship so large (138,000 tons, or almost twice as large as most mainstream ships). I slept like a log, which is to say that I felt like I had been cut down in the Pacific Northwest and spun by kicking lumberjack boots until I started down rapids. Not really.....but close. It was a good reminder that no matter how large the ship may be, a mid-ship location is much better for limiting ship movement during stormier parts of the year for any given itinerary.

Our D1 balcony room was forward, primarily because that was where I could get a triple occupancy balcony at the time of booking. A big advantage of booking early is the choice of the best locations.

Many of the finest suites on ships, however, are located at the extreme ends of the ship, and experienced cruisers frequently prefer the greater solitude and feel of the sea that those locations offer. Again, it comes down to finding what is best for you personally, which is something a Cruise Planner like me can help you understand, especially if you're a landlubber who doesn't know if he has sea legs.

Because we would not arrive at our first port, Villefranche, until 10 AM, Amy and I had decided we would work out at the gym, setting a wake up call for 8 AM. Morning came very quickly, but we dutifully headed over to the state-of-the-art health club. Amy wanted to do the elliptical cross training machine, but I knew we would be doing a lot of walking in port, so I persuaded her to do mostly upper body lifting instead. Like most places on the ship, we could look out at the ocean as we trained. After about a half hour of pumping iron, we took a jacuzzi in the gym. Amy headed back to the room to shower, but I went over to the dry sauna before returning. If you have the time, a quick workout is a great way to start a cruise day.

Santorini: July, 2007

In the 2005 movie “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” a teenager named Lena rides a donkey up the steep hill to visit her grandparents in scenic Santorini.

The part of Lena is played by Alexis Bledel, who for several years played Rory Gilmore on one of our family’s favorite shows, “The Gilmore Girls,” which undoubtedly helped my youngest daughter Amy relate to her Greek vacation.

When Amy learned we would be visiting Santorini, she insisted she would ride the donkey up the hill. 

She enjoyed the ride up so much that she rode back down at the end of the day, and she thoroughly enjoyed every moment in between.

That’s the perfect attitude with which to approach a port: have specific objectives but flexibility, and always have great enthusiasm.

Her mother wasn’t as thrilled with the ride up, on which her donkey bashed into another donkey, cutting Julie’s leg.

My nephew Jered rode a donkey up, but after reaching the peak, he decided to head back to the ship to recover from many late nights of partying in the disco.

Most of us had decided to take the tram to the top.

On paper, Santorini seems to be a simple port to explore.

Either the tram or donkey would be four Euros. 

For us, it would essentially be a postcard port. 

We weren’t trying to learn any history but rather simply enjoy the amazing beauty of the blue domed buildings high above the deep blue sea.

In reality, the port was congested with too many tourists, most coming from cruise ships, making the line for either the tram or donkey rides long.

Rollie had the best idea: hike to the top.

He beat us all to the top by a half hour and got a great aerobic workout.

He said that he received several offers to ride donkeys on his way up, probably because some people didn’t enjoy the feeling of riding a wobbly creature into old guardrails next to sheer cliffs and got off before making it to the summit.

The tram itself was a quick ride, but the line took a terribly long time, with hundreds of people cutting in front of us until we finally reached a walled area where we could block them back from wall to wall.

Having our tenders delayed, also presumably due to port congestion, had me quite frustrated by the time I made it to the village.  I began to wonder if I should have paid $66 for a shore excursion that would have beat the crowds with an earlier tender, but then Santorini became wonderful.

On top is Fira, a quaint village of white-washed small shops lining cobblestone streets.

Our oldest daughter Gina stayed in that village with her Aunt Cheryl, who has health issues that limit her mobility.

They enjoyed lunch and some browsing before taking the tram back down.

Laszlo wasn’t there, having taken a Volcano Hot Springs Tour instead.

The rest of us hustled through this village to catch a bus to Oia (1.2 Euros each way), where we found what we expected: engaging architecture along breathtaking vistas.

After snapping lots of photos, we began looking for a restaurant and found one with the most amazing views, but there were no gyros, which Jay, Amy and my niece Kendra had been craving since I started bragging about the gyros I had in Heraklion with Gina and Rollie.

I wanted a gyro too, but the prices for the view restaurant felt as steep as the cliffs of Santorini, with a Diet Coke alone costing 4.7 Euros.

The four of us made an awkward retreat, leaving Jacque, Rollie, Kelsey and Julie to enjoy a meal with a spectacular view.

The four of us walked back toward the bus stop to where we had seen a gyro café.

We pointed to the sign to get the gyro combination plate for 5 Euros.

It looked like a soda and two gyros, but we assumed it was one cut in half to show both ends. Kendra chose another plate that had French fries, gyro and soda for the same price, which should have been a clue.

When we received our meals, Kendra had what she thought she ordered, while the rest of us had two large gyros and a soda each.

The food was terrific, but we couldn’t eat it all, so we gave some to a cat.

Our view wasn’t as spectacular as on the other side of Oia, but we could see lots of blue water.

After lunch, we caught the bus back to Fira, where we took a leisurely stroll browsing in shops.

Amy led a group onto the donkeys for the downhill ride, while Julie, Jay, Kendra and I sought the perfect cliffside taverna for some ouzo.

We settled into one with a spectacular view and shared the small bottle of ouzo, clinking glasses in Santorini like characters from some Hemmingway novel I never read.

The anise-flavored liquor is surprisingly good. I don’t like licorice, so I would think this drink would be appalling to me, but it is really quite excellent. It goes down smoothly.

Then again, I think it was the company more than anything.

We had some other drinks to help quench our thirst, but the ouzo stole the show.

From there, we continued our hike down the hill, giving us more perspective on Rollie’s climb up.

At the base, we found a little swimming area in the ocean next to another taverna.

It didn’t take any arm-twisting to get any of us in the water.

The cool, clear water felt amazing.

At a certain point, Jay and Kendra took a break.

We decided to buy some beer at the taverna to essentially pay for using their steps into the water, and Jay, in his wet bathing suit, plopped down on the padded seat.

The waiter came over, quite upset, telling Jay to get up. Holding the damp seat cushion with disgust, the waiter asked, “What can I do with this now?”

He then motioned for Jay and Kendra to be seated in the chairs with cushions removed and wasn’t much happier after taking the beer order

Back in the water, I looked down at my watch and saw it was 4:00.

“What time were we supposed to be back on board?”

I decided to head down to the tender loading area and discovered the last tender was at 4:15.

I ran back to the taverna, waving for the others to join me. They paid for the half-finished drinks and took off running. As we boarded the tender, the crew was loading up their signs, but we weren’t too late!

This, of course, was not the end of our day. We changed into formal clothes and enjoyed sugar-free mojitos at another scenic sail-away in the Crown Viking Lounge.

Another amazing family dinner in the dining room, exchanging stories. Formal portraits followed by our biggest Trivia loss of the trip. We were so bad that we won the booby prize for worst score. We will all cherish those plastic Royal Caribbean keychain tags, for they invigorated us to the point where we won at Trivia the next night (leatherette baggage tags)…but I’m getting ahead of myself again.

I have never been on a cruise so many days without a full production show with costumed singers and dancers. The cruise director announced this was the first show by a new cast that had boarded the ship only the day before. They were a talented bunch of performers, energetically performing songs from movies like “Footloose” and “Dirty Dancing,” but the chemistry wasn’t there yet. Still, we all enjoyed the show.

Monarch of the Seas: February, 2006

Totally refurbished in June of 2003, Monarch of the Seas has been upgraded to include many of Royal Caribbean's latest innovations, including the soaring rock climbing wall, Boleros Cuban-themed nightclub and Jade Asian-Fusion Restaurant.

While onboard, you get a full cruise experience, and in a recent year, Monarch of the Seas won highest honors for guest satisfaction in Royal Caribbean's fleet. Because for many Southern Californians, Monarch is Royal Caribbean, this may not be that surprising, but if you have been on Vision of the Seas, which does the 7-Night Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles three fourths of the year and Alaska in the summer, you know these past guests aren't comparing Monarch to other Royal Caribbean ships, which speaks quite highly about how Royal Caribbean compares with other cruise ships in the area.

In addition to Vision Class, there is the jumbo sized Voyager Class that introduced us to ice skating rinks at sea, the largest Freedom Class that has everything Voyager has plus surfing onboard, and mid-sized Radiance Class, with glass elevators climbing multi-story glass walls to capitalize on remarkable views at sea. Monarch, like her sister Sovereign Class ships, is wonderful in her own right, and she is a great first cruise or renewal between longer cruises, but keep in mind that there is more to see next time.

Monarch does have a terrific crew, from room stewards to dining room staff to entertain-ment. A regular feature in Boleros nightclub is Dueling Pianos, with two performers sitting down at baby grand pianos in a battle for the audience's favor. Made famous at San Diego's Sing Sing, Dueling Pianos delivers lots of laughs along with some great tunes. At other times in the evening, a hot salsa band turns up the heat for dancers in Boleros, and they even teach passengers a few steps of cha cha, salsa and other dances.

Royal Caribbean's signature Viking Crown Lounge perched high above the ocean with commanding views is a great place to unwind in the daytime, but at night, when the disco cranks into full gear, it becomes a favorite place for partying. You don't want to miss the '70s party, with all the "special guest stars."

Many public areas, including the Windjammer buffet restaurant and the nautically-themed Schooner bar have new furnishings and polished appearances, but the ship has a few drawbacks. Her staterooms tend to be small, and this can feel somewhat claustrophobic for the interior rooms in particular. Many people make the conscious decision to only go in their cabin to change clothes or sleep, and as long as they stick to that agenda, they will be fine. That works for a short cruise. If you like a little down time in your room, however, get a window at a minimum, and upgrade to a Superior Ocean View or Junior Suite if possible. Another item I warn clients about is the pool area, which has astroturf instead of teak decking. You get used to it rather quickly, but for me it always makes a bad first impression.

Okay, did that last paragraph make you want to take this ship? I think maybe I over did it. This is a great ship for a quick trip.