DESTINATIONS — CRUISE
Malta excursion, with Seabourn
Regent Voyager in Nice Pompeii
existing premium-class vessels in May. Le Lyrial will mainly be sailing the Dalmatian coast round- trip from Venice. Prices are from €3,110 cruise-only for seven nights departing May 26.
Getting to grips with the luxury cruise market is a challenge for agents as high-end clients have very exacting demands and expectations. As a general rule of thumb, the sector can be split into two: Crystal Cruises, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, SeaDream Yacht Club and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises offer a luxury experience, while one notch down are Azamara Club Cruises, Ponant, Viking and Oceania Cruises. Each has its own selling points but all have a lot in common, including fleets of small ships – Crystal Serenity is the largest with capacity for 1,070 passengers – so they can call at harbours and tender ports that the larger vessels have to sail past. Seabourn, for instance, will be visiting Bandol in France, Ile- Rousse in Corsica, Golfo Aranci in Sardinia, Xlendi in Gozo and Giardini Naxos in Sicily on an 11-
day Mediterranean Isles cruise from Monte Carlo to Civitavecchia, which starts from £3,999 cruise-only departing May 9. Because they are small, these luxury and premium-level ships can also offer the more personal service that comes with having fewer people on board and high passenger-to-crew ratios.
l CULTURE The Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines and Ottomans have all left a mark on the Mediterranean over the past two centuries, making it one of the best places in the world to visit for clients interested in history and ancient cultures. If they choose to cruise, they can dip in and out of different eras on one holiday. Greece, known as the birthplace of civilisation, is a good place to start the cultural trail. Passengers can learn about the ancient Minoans on an excursion to the Palace of Knossos in Crete or
to Akrotiri in Santorini. They can see where the ancient Olympic Games were held from
cruises that visit Katakolon and visit the mythical birthplace of
Apollo and Artemis from cruises that visit Delos. Seabourn has seven-day cruises
between Piraeus (the port for Athens) and Venice that visit Katakolon and also Monemvasia, known as the Gibraltar of the East, starting from £1,999 cruise-only departing May 9. Then, of course, there is Athens.
Voyages to Antiquity builds a couple of hotel nights in the Greek capital into cruises that start or end in Piraeus, so passengers can visit the Acropolis and other important historical sites. A 15-day voyage from Piraeus
to Istanbul with Voyages to Antiquity, with two hotel nights at the start and end of the cruise, includes calls at Kos to visit the remains of the medical school
where Hippocrates once taught, and Rhodes to visit the Acropolis at Lindos, and starts from £2,350 departing August 24, including flights, transfers and excursions. Clients can experience a taste of modern Spanish culture in vibrant Barcelona and a flavour of ancient Rome on cruises around Italy that visit Civitavecchia and Naples (for tours to Pompeii). Holland America Line’s 12-night cruises between Barcelona and Venice visit both Italian ports and start from £999 cruise-only departing May 28. Turkey is another treasure
trove, with the archaeological sights of Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus visited, respectively, from Canakkale, Dikili and Kusadasi, among highlights. Of course, there is Istanbul, where visitors can easily occupy a day or two touring the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Clients can visit them all on
one-week Aegean Mosaic voyages between Istanbul and Piraeus with Variety Cruises, sold in the UK through Seafarer Cruises. Prices start from £1,899 cruise-only departing August 21. TW
Aegean Odyssey, Delos 54 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 26 March 2015
FAST FACT
Emerald Princess will spend longer
in the Med in 2016, operating 15
departures – five more than this year
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104