Category — Cruise Destinations

By Arthur Balin, Assistant Sales Manager and Senior Cruise Consultant, The Cruise Web.

Peru is a beautiful country with a little bit of everything – rainforests, deserts, mountains and lakes. The beautiful landscape I found there on my trip in 2010 served as a wonderful backdrop to the history of this incredible nation that was once the center of the Incan Empire. [Read more →]

By Viviane Temchine, Senior Cruise Consultant, The Cruise Web.

South America presents a seamlessly blended array of exotic locales, great nightlife, lush rainforests, snowy mountain ranges, stunning waterfalls, tropical beaches, windswept plains, modern urban cities and the remains of lost civilizations at every turn.

Cruising through South America offers the experience of a lifetime with exciting ports of call like Rio de Janeiro and Santiago. Just remember that the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. When it’s cold in December, January and February up north… it’s summer in South America and peak cruise season.  Here are some highlights of what to expect on a typical South American cruise: [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

One of the reasons most Western Caribbean cruises stop in Cozumel, Mexico is because it has the most beautiful coastline. But the beauty doesn’t stop at the shore, it extends under the turquoise waters that surround the island.

Suggested Itinerary: 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.

[Read more →]

By Sherry Jefferson, Senior Cruise Consultant, The Cruise Web.

Last month I wrote about the advantages of small-ship cruising and this month, in a similar vein, I wanted to share my very recent (and very first) river cruise experience with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises.

I left on March 22nd to spend two days in Amsterdam prior to the March 25th sailing of the new SS Antoinette from Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection. The SS Antoinette is one of the new long ships and this was to be her first sailing of the season going from Amsterdam to Basel for the Castles Along the Rhine tour, but more about that later.

I arrived in Amsterdam to beautiful sunny mild weather and looked forward to seeing as much as possible in the two days there.  I was fortunate to secure a ride to the pier which is about a 30 minutes from the airport and had the opportunity to tour the other river ships docked there.  I then took a cab to the hotel and then set off to see the sites.  Amsterdam is very lively and everyone rides bikes there.  I’ve never seen so many bike riders anywhere, it was amazing.  [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

Everyone wants that special souvenir from their trip. Sometimes souvenirs are the $1 key chains at the t-shirt shop on an Alaskan cruise and sometimes they can be the thousand dollar jewels from Cartier on a river cruise in France or original artwork from a local artist on a South American cruise in Argentina. Whatever it is, you want to get the best deal you possibly can. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web Inc.

Spring time is the best time for nature lovers to get out of their gardens and explore some of the world’s best gardens. We’ve listed the top five gardens with the cruises that will take you there. So put down those pruning shears and pick up your camera.

1. Keukenhof Gardens – A trip to the Netherlands is not complete without a trip to this 79-acre jewel. With over 7 million bulbs planted each year, the experience dazzles. This is the place to see tulips in all their glory, but the garden is only open from March until May.

Suggested Cruise to Visit: Tulip Time river cruise from Zürich to Vienna with Avalon Waterways

2. Singapore Botanic Gardens – This tropical garden offers visitors a lush and welcoming environment with some stunning flowers, like the more than 1,000 species of orchids. The grounds also feature a healing garden with a collection of plants that have been used as medicine. In the morning it’s not uncommon to spot a yoga or tai chi class.

Suggested Cruise to Visit: Singapore to Vietnam and Hong Kong with Azamara Club Cruises

3. Kew Gardens (a.k.a. The Royal Botanic Gardens) – Once a summer getaway for King Henry VII, the garden is nearly 300 acres and has the largest living plant collection in the world. This spring, over 500,ooo,ooo bulbs will be blooming and the staff will be putting on special tours of the spring flowers.

Suggested Cruise to Visit: Transatlantic cruise on Cunard from New York to Southampton in England

4. Seychelles National Botanical Garden – This island, located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, has flora and fauna everywhere, but in this garden you can find Coco de Mer trees which produce a fruit used in Cantonese cooking. The garden also features giant sea turtles and fruit bats.

Suggested Cruise to Visit: Capetown to Singapore with Oceania Cruises

5. Versailles – Outside the decadently designed Versailles palace in France is a garden to match. The garden is large and well manicured to this day. The lawn is molded into intricate shapes and the topiaries have no leaf out of place. The garden even features a canal King Louis used for gondola rides.

Suggested Cruise to Visit: Paris to Nuremberg with Uniworld Cruises

The Cruise Web, Inc.
reply@cruiseweb.com
1-800-377-9383

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

What is the key sign of spring?

Is it the  spike in temperatures? Having more hours of sunlight? The chirping of blue birds? Nope. The true sign that spring is here is the blooming of flowers like the cherry blossoms, the tulips and the daffodils.

And this year, 2012, is a special year for flowers. Floriade, the ultimate flower festival, which only happens once every 10 years,  is going on right now in the Netherlands. The show covers 163 acres with 1.8 million bulb flowers, 5,000 rose bushes and 3,000 trees. Floriade is a celebration of flowers, gardening and nature and seeks to educate people on the importance of  the environment.  One exhibit even allows visitors to do the work of bees using scanning devices to digitally collect pollen. Floriade features exhibits from 35 different countries along with cultural programs from dancers, singers and theater troupes.

But you have to act fast to make sure you can be a part of this once-in-a-decade event which runs from April 5 to October 7, 2012. The best way to take in the sights of Floriade is to visit via a river cruise.  River cruise operators Uniworld and Avalon Waterways have created special itineraries to take advantage of this amazing and rare event. Keep reading for the details. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc. 

Just because you may be in international waters it doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Many cruise lines offer up special holiday meals in honor of the holiday. Including green beer.

Anything can be made green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, it just takes a small drop of food coloring, but to truly get an authentic taste of Ireland, Soda Bread is where it’s at. The bread, which is made with baking soda instead of yeast, gained popularity in the 19th century and has been a welcome dish on any Irish dinner table since.

But to have authentic Irish Soda Bread, a Cruise to Ireland should be on your to-do list.

In the meantime we’ve got a simple recipe for you from Cruise Consultant Merry Keane, who has dual citizenship between the US and Ireland. Best of all this recipe only has four steps. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

There’s a reason the city of Dublin is investing over 600 million euros into a cruise ship terminal. Cruises are offering more and more itineraries that include the Emerald Isle because there are tons of things for people to do and see.

Here is a sampling of some of the sights and experiences that await you in Dublin, the largest city in the Republic of Ireland.

Turn the Page

• Dublin is also known as the city of words. It was the home to several major authors like James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw and the setting for some lauded novels like “Ulysses” and “Angela’s Ashes.” There are tours of significant places in the life of these authors along with the Dublin Writers’ Museum, which goes in-depth into the city’s literary history. There are even two institutions dedicated to sharing the work of James Joyce to visitors. [Read more →]

By The Cruise Web, Inc.

Alaska is known as The Last Frontier and nothing exemplifies that motto more than the Iditarod race, which is in its 40th year. The race pays tribute to the 49th state’s sled dogs, which helped settle the state by transporting mail, groceries and even gold across the state’s vast wilderness.

The Iditarod has become one of Alaska’s most popular events and many cruise lines have excursions and cruisetours that put you right in the middle of the action. There are opportunities to try your hand at mushing. You can talk with former Iditarod winners and meet some huskie dogs that have or will participate in the race.

Keep reading to find out more about The Iditarod.

[Read more →]