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The Confident Cruiser blog
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All in Cruise Destination
CLIA's top ten list of ‘must visit’ destinations for 2020, includes both cities and more remote regions all of which can be visited on a cruise holiday. Not quite convinced about some of them, see what you think.....
VOLUMEJust a small section of the incredible 8000 pipes being used in the construction of the organ of La Sagrada Familia, in favourite cruise port Barcelona - due for completion bu 2026: the centennial of Antonio Gaudí's passing away. it will be awesome in the true sense when 8000 pipes fill this unique acoustic space with sound...
My daughter and I were looking for a short break away when we fell across an absolute bargain 5 night section of a repositioning cruise on MSC Opera, the following weekend. After upgrading to an Aurea Suite (of which more later) and upgrading the all inclusive drinks package to Premium it was still cheaper than a pampering weekend for two at a spa in the UK! We added two Easyjet flights ourselves as there were no MSC flights available and we were ready to go!
DOVER... The majority of visitors to Dover arrive through the frankly uninspiring Ferry Port on the Eastern side of Dover Harbour, drive off the ferry and get out of Dover as fast as they can Others arrive at the Western Docks by cruise ship and are herded onto a coach trip to see the sights of London! So while most of these arriving passengers will have spotted the famous white cliffs from the sea and some may even have noticed the famous Dover Castle perched high above the port they are missing out on some real hidden gems. There is a lot more to Britains oldest port than white cliffs so make time on your visit for a little portExplore.…
Meet Lucky, Nate and their entrepreneurial friends from Sitka, Alaska - who have changed my thoughts about cruising and made me want to be a more conscious cruiser in future.
As I spend my life writing about cruising and what do to ashore in port I am often asked, “Which is the best port, which one is your favourite?” I can't really answer because of course, I don’t have one! It is impossible, there are so many wonderful places that you can visit on a cruise that one individual port in the whole world won't stand out above all others. But the question got me thinking... I decided that there are definitely a few things that would go together to make my perfect port - see if you agree…
Although we had a plan for each port, it wasn’t as detailed as we would normally expect to have! So on this particular morning our plan was simple… leave ship, get taxi to the fictional Honoré, in reality a pretty village called Deshaies on the north coast of Basse-Terre, a forty kilometre, one hour drive to the north coast of the island. Sorted!
The 07.00 wake up call from the Captain was a surprise as we expected him to say that we were in dock rather than that were were just entering the Solent for the second time, heading for a different terminal than the one we had left from. It really is amazing that the wind could have been that strong and yet it really wasn't rough enough to even wake us up! Even the Red Funnel Ferry tucked herself in our wind shadow for a bit of protection as we crept slowly into the Solent.
