10 Best Reasons to Take a River Cruise
River cruising is the in-vogue travel trend, so popular that more than two-dozen new river ships will debut in 2014. I have personally seen the growth having spent a lot of time in the Rhine River area during the past 15 + years. Explore such cities as Paris, Vienna and Budapest. Cruises on the Danube and Rhine continue to be the most popular, but that’s just the beginning of where you can go. France is getting new attention with Bordeaux in addition to the Seine and Rhone. Even Italy is getting attention with the Po River and Portugal’s Douro Valley in the wine region. Other popular destinations include Russia’s Volga, China’s Yangtze, the Mekong. One of the newest is cruising in Myanmar. And be sure not to overlook the 
beautiful springtime tulip cruises and the ever popular Christmas Market cruises. The popularity of river cruising started in Europe, but we now have many river cruises closer to home. In addition to the Mississippi, we have a new sternwheeler on the Columbia & Snake Rivers in the Northwest.
| 1. River cruises get you to inland Bucket List places. |
| 2. Experience is leisurely |
| 3. Ships are intimate |
| 4. Time to explore |
| 5. Better cabins |
| 6. Nicer ships |
| 7. Local tastes & culture |
| 8. Not a lot of extra charges |
| 9. Casual dress code |
| 10. It’s for grownups |
I can’t go into detail here on the 10 best reasons to take a river cruise, but I’ll be happy to talk to you in person or you can email me for a complete list and even more reasons to take a river cruise.
Tags: castles, China, Christmas markets, Europe, France, Germany, river cruises, wine
Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden Call to Boston Celebrates Historic Relationship between Cunard and the Port City
Queen Elizabeth Press Information
23 September 2011 – Continuing on her maiden New England & Canadian Adventure voyage, Cunard Line’s newest ship,
Queen Elizabeth, made her first visit to Boston, Massachusetts yesterday. Welcoming Queen Elizabeth to the historic port were David Mackey, Interim CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), along with local dignitaries, and port and local tourism officials. As part of the traditional maiden call plaque ceremony, Mackey and Captain Christopher Wells, Master of Queen Elizabeth, presented plaques to each other to commemorate the special day.
“The Port of Boston is honored to welcome Queen Elizabeth. The cruising industry continues to generate significant economic impact for our region, with more than 7,000 jobs and $429 million in income for Massachusetts in 2010,” said David Mackey. “Cunard Line’s historic ties with the Port of Boston have certainly contributed to these activities, and we look forward to welcoming Queen Elizabeth again on her future voyages.”
The city of Boston also holds great historical significance for Cunard Line, being the first U.S. city that the company’s first passenger ship, Britannia, called on at the conclusion of her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England in 1840.
Joining the celebration to welcome Cunard’s newest ocean liner was Nancy Haas of Shreve, Crump & Low, America’s oldest and finest jeweler, who presented an exclusive Boston Harbor Bowl to Captain Wells in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s maiden visit. The jeweler’s historic ties with Cunard date back to 1840 when Shreve, Crump & Low created a 2.5 foot silver cup that was to be presented to Sir Samuel Cunard. The “Boston Cup” went missing and was found in 1967 in an antique store in Maryland. Cunard purchased the cup and later displayed it on board Queen Elizabeth 2, and it now resides on board the line’s flagship Queen Mary 2.
“We are pleased to celebrate our relationship and strong longtime Boston ties with valued port officials, the Coast Guard, the British Consulate and Shreve, Crump & Low, as well as other Bostonians here today. We appreciate their passion about our history and also our future as the youngest fleet at sea,” said Captain Christopher Wells, Master of Queen Elizabeth.
Bostonians share an affinity for Cunard’s hallmark of dressing up. A recent online survey commissioned by Cunard measuring the attitudes of 1,500 U.S. residents revealed that more than half of them enjoy dressing up five times or more each year. Bostonians enjoy the elegance and glamour of getting decked out more than residents of Washington, DC and San Francisco. In addition, respondents said they preferred to dress up on a cruise vacation, rather than during a land-based holiday.
Prior to her maiden call to Boston, Queen Elizabeth visited New York for a rare overnight call to Manhattan. She continues her maiden New England & Canadian Adventure voyage up the eastern seaboard through Maine to the Canadian ports of Halifax, Nova Scotia and Québec City, Québec.
Debuting in October 2010, Queen Elizabeth captured the world’s stage with her Royal Naming Ceremony by Her Majesty The Queen, in Southampton, England. Art Deco features throughout the ship pay homage to the original Queen Elizabeth, reflecting The New Golden Age of Ocean Travel. On board, guests savor the sense of occasion by dressing up for glamorous evenings at Royal Nights themed balls, and enjoy countless offerings and amenities from Champagne Afternoon Tea in the Garden Lounge to an extraordinary dining experience in The Verandah, a French restaurant that pays tribute to the legendary Verandah Grills aboard the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary.
For more information about Queen Elizabeth or to book a voyage, consult your travel consultant
International Accents Travel 865-577-3137
Tags: Cruises, Queen Elizabeth, World Cruises
So you think you can’t go on a cruise because you don’t have a passport. Well, here’s the scoop.
You do not need a passport to cruise from and return to the same US cruise port. You also do not need a passport if you cruise from and return to San Juan, Puerto Rico. If you leave one US cruise port, like Miami, and return to another, like Los Angeles, perhaps on a Panama Canal cruise, you will need a passport.
It is advisable to have a passport when cruising in case of an emergency. Let’s say you get hurt on one of the shore trips and need to come home for medical attention that is not available where you are located, well then you can have a problem getting back into the United States. Even if you’re on an Alaksa cruise, you may have to return from Canada, so this is a good rule of thumb for Caribbean or Alsaska cruises. Not a good situation to be in. So even though a passport is not needed, it is a very good idea to get one anyway. For $135 a passport is good for 10 years, just $13.50 year! Now that’s one deal that’s really too good to pass up.
Tags: Caribbean, Cruises, Passport
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