FIRST TIMERS CRUISING Where in the World?
Continuing our series on the key issues for newcomers to cruising, we focus on the main cruise areas
When it comes to looking for one’s first cruise, the old estate agent adage of ‘Location, location, loca- tion’ should definitely be uppermost in your mind. As if it isn’t confusing enough trying to wade through brochures where accommodations come in dozens of varieties (they don’t, but some cruise
lines make it look that way), most will also speak of every destination as ‘Unique,’ ‘Special’ or ‘Outstanding.’ So what should you really look for when trying
to narrow down that all-important decision about where to go?
Weather
Good weather is often the prime reason for going on holiday, and cruise lines have the ability to send their ships to some of the most desirable locations in search of the best of it. If sunshine is what you seek, the
CARIBBEAN always tops the list, with almost guaranteed sun-tan weather year-round. This should arguably be top of your ‘must-do’ list, although you need to be aware it can be uncomfortably hot from June to September. The official hurricane season, from June to the end of November, can make conditions awkward, bringing heavy rain at times, but don’t worry that you are likely to encounter dangerous seas. Tropical storms are easy to track, and cruise lines will steer their vessels around them. The only drawback is your itinerary may change at short notice to avoid any affected ports. The Caribbean doesn’t have a monopoly on sun, though. The
MEDITERRANEAN is great sailing territory from May-October, and the Eastern Med (including Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt and parts of the Middle East) is especially blissful from October-April, perfect for a winter holiday tonic.
One important factor in considering the weather is that most itineraries are designed around the seasons, so you should rarely encounter bad weather (although transatlantic voyages and sailings across the Bay of Biscay are susceptible to heavy seas at any time of year). Virtually every schedule will visit a particular region at optimum times, hence Alaskan itineraries run only during their mild summer season (May-Sept); NORTHERN EUROPEAN sailings are confined strictly to summer months; and visits to southern SOUTH AMERICA (including the Falklands and Antarctica) are scheduled for the shorter Austral summer (from December to March).
Scenery
One thing cruising does par excellence is to highlight the most scenic parts of world, many of which can only be seen, or are at their best, from the sea. This means if your top priority is to be wowed by the landscape, there are particular regions you should consider first. NORWAY and the fjords is possibly THE most remarkable and rewarding cruise when it comes to near non-stop views of jaw-dropping splendour, with Geiranger and Sognefjord among the very best. The BALTIC also has its ‘must-see’ moments in the lake-strewn entrance to Stockholm, the Kiel Canal and impossibly pretty Riga in Latvia. By the same token, ALASKA impresses with masses of big, raw, natural vistas, from epic mountain ranges
60 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2010
and breathtaking glaciers to pioneer settlements. In fact, probably nowhere is quite so outrageously frontier-like and almost untouched by human endeavour as America’s 49th state, and it is an inspiring experience by sea and land. The Caribbean is not renowned for its scenery, but large parts of CENTRAL AMERICA are immensely stirring, notably the Panama Canal but also the rainforests of Costa Rica and Mayan monuments of Mexico. SOUTH AMERICA is now high on the lists of many lines when it comes to great sight-seeing, with the majestic Chilean fjords, awesome emptiness of Patagonia and ultimate edge-of-the-world feeling of Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn all prime cruise territory.
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