What did I expect from Poland? I’m not sure; I was just excited to go somewhere new and unexpected. What I brought home from Poland were stories of her extended history, images of her glories and pain, glimpses of her future. We easily could have spent several additional days in each city. With even more time we could have made side trips to Poland’s smaller cities, to the countryside, or to the Tatra Mountains. There was so much to see and learn that I had trouble deciding what to write about for this blog. Picturesque. Modern. Medieval. Poignant. Political. Pragmatic. This old, yet new, country left a deep impression. This newbie to Poland is now hoping to return to discover more about this resilient country.
We recently had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to travel with UnCruise Adventures, the small-ship expedition cruise line based out of Seattle, Washington. It was truly an all-encompassing way to see Hawaii and unlike any other cruise line we’ve traveled on before.
It’s always been a dream of ours to experience Machu Picchu and combine it with a visit to the Galapagos. Recently, this dream came to fruition. Sherri and I just returned from a two-week journey to Peru and Ecuador to visit these magical destinations. Some say it is the “journey” that counts, in our case, it is all about the destination!
Last month, Cruises & Beyond had the priviledge to attend an inaugural preview of the Norwegian Bliss. NCL gave travel agents and consultants alike an opportunity to experience their newest ship shortly before her first sailing to Alaska amidst a two night foray into international waters from Los Angeles. With such little time, it was nearly impossible to check out every corner of the ship, but we saw enough to give you our initial impressions of this unique vessel.
There’s a reason why we like to sell Crystal Cruises to our clients. That’s because we strongly believe Crystal is the top luxury cruise line of them all. You’ll pay a premium to sail on one of their ships, but that’s what helps make Crystal’s all-inclusive splendor happen. From 5-star culinary experiences to the unmatched personal service provided by all staff members aboard their ships, Crystal offers the best there can possibly be. It goes without saying that we love Crystal and our clients do too.
There’s a new cruise line in town, and you may have heard of the name before. It’s making waves in the cruising new cycles and it comes from a very well known brand. Virgin Voyages, of the famous Virgin Group most known for its fiery founder Sir Richard Branson, will be debuting the first of her planned four cruises ships, the Scarlet Lady, some time in 2020. She will be sailing from her home port of Miami and will set out on four and five-night sailings to various Caribbean destinations.
The rather little-known river cruise division of Adventures by Disney is going all in in the European river market as it plans to expand its river cruise offering to southern France on the Rhone River in 2020. The family focused escorted tour unit already includes departures on the Danube, Rhine and Seine rivers and offers active sightseeing adventures as well as immersive culinary experiences along its itineraries.
It looks like Blue World Voyages is on schedule to debut there one-of-a-kind sports and wellness ship on time for the summer of this year.
Tauck, the family-owned travel company offering over 140 different all-inclusive guided journeys worldwide, will be introducing a new river ship that will navigate the Douro River in Portugal and Spain. This is its first river cruise offered on the Douro River.
Carnival Cruise Line said that for the first time it will offer a series of cruises from San Francisco aboard Carnival Miracle operating a diverse schedule that includes four- to 15-day voyages to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico in 2020. These deployments further bolster Carnival’s position in the West Coast, where it says it will soon be carrying more passengers than any other cruise operator.
Holland America Line's new Pinnacle Class ship Nieuw Statendam is similar to Koningsdam, the first Pinnacle Class ship, but it has a number of updates and new features. Nieuw Statendam includes purpose-built staterooms for families and solo travelers among its 1,377 staterooms. See the video above to get a sneak peek at the ship’s public spaces and interiors designed by Adam D. Tihany and architect Bjørn Storbraaten. Also see photos of the Music Walk, the Rolling Stone Rock Room, Lincoln Center Stage and B.B. King's Blues Club.
Now officially sailing the high seas and on its maiden voyage, the Celebrity Edge has taken the cruising world by storm. Christened “the most revolutionary” ship at sea, the Edge takes the cruising experience to an elevated level.
When Crystal launched their river cruise arm in 2016 with the introduction of the Crystal Mozart, we wondered whether Crystal would successfully carry over their legendary reputation to this new experience. After a couple of years of pleasing river cruise customers and five new river vessels later, it’s safe to say that Crystal has not only pleased their existing customer base, but has also inserted themselves in the conversation for best river cruise line in a congested river cruise market.
After more than four years of planning and 23 months of construction, Celebrity Cruises officially took delivery of Celebrity Edge, the cruise ship that promises revolutionary changes to the cruise experience. As part of the delivery, Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s chairman and CEO; and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Celebrity’s president and CEO, hosted a ceremony aboard the ship while it was docked in the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
Over the past year, there has been robust and almost frenzy-like activity by cruise lines to enter the luxury yacht expedition market. The popularity of this type of travel has grown so considerably that brands who have historically been in the hotel and resort game have announced an expansion into the ultra-luxury yachting market. Last year, the Ritz-Carlton revealed concrete plans to launch three new mega yachts to begin sailing in 2020. Fast forward a year later, the first of three has touched water for the first time.
Cruises & Beyond
745 Portola Drive, San Francisco, CA 94127
Phone Number: 415-753-2189 800-603-8838
hello@cruisesandbeyond.net
