Cruise International February/March 2023 - Sample Issue

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RHINE & MAIN CRUISE WITH APT WORTH £5,790

CARIBBEAN CAPERS

SPARK A NEW SENSE OF ADVENTURE IN ST KITTS

Jean-Christophe

Novelli exclusive

Musical Danube

Lyon city guide

Spain for foodies

South Australia

Mississippi cruise

New ship reviews

Magic in the Med

SET YOUR SIGHTS ON EUROPE THIS SUMMER

ST LUCIA CARNIVAL

Every winter, cruise ships make frequent calls into the Caribbean island of St Lucia so passengers can admire its natural splendour, especially its famous twin volcanic peaks, the Pitons, along with lush rainforest and classic beaches with their warm, turquoise waters. Come summer there is another spectacular attraction, this time man-made, that also gets visitors reaching for their cameras. A traditional celebration that’s been shaking up the streets for more than 75 years, the St Lucia Carnival (July 1-19) is an eyepopping frenzy of beauty pageants, costumed parades, thunderous steel pan orchestras and hotly contested soca and calypso competitions. With performers sporting witty names like Q-Pid and Ezra DaFunMachine, flamboyance rules in a dazzling explosion of sequins and feathers that boils down to one life-affirming question: is there anything more fun than dressing up and dancing? Fortunately, on this balmy isle of pale white sands and tranquil coves, you’re never far from a glossy palm tree to lie under and sleep things off.

WORDS NIGEL TISDALL

Turn to page 44 to find more inspiration for your next Caribbean cruise holiday +

VARIETY CRUISES TAKES TO TAHITI

Small-ship line Variety Cruises has kicked o its debut season in Tahiti with a series of eight and 11-day sailings on the two-masted motorsailer Panorama II, which holds just 49 guests. Moor up at tiny ports of call where huge forested peaks overlook pristine white sands, with remote spots like Makatea, Taha’a, Moorea and Raiatea on the agenda, from €1,890 (varietycruises.com). ▲

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RIVERSIDE REVIVES FORMER CRYSTAL SHIPS

Riverside Luxury Cruises, the new line that launched late last year, has expanded its eet with four more ships sailing on Europe’s rivers from this April. ey are all former Crystal Cruises river vessels, acquired when the line collapsed last year (although the brand name and ocean ships live on under the new ownership of the A&K Travel Group).

e eet began with the renamed Riverside Mozart on the Danube, and has now grown to include Riverside Ravel on the Rhône and Saône, Riverside Debussy on the Rhine, and Riverside Bach and Mahler, which will begin operation in 2024.

Founder Gregor Gerlach said: “We are thrilled by the expansion of our eet to include these storied vessels. is acquisition allows us to expand our itinerary o erings, showcasing a level of space, personalised service and elegance not found with any other river cruise line.” (riverside-cruises.com).

PER CENT

FORT LAUDERDALE’S LGBTQ+ BOOST

A series of sold-out LGBTQ+ cruises brought an $8 million economic boom to Fort Lauderdale in February, as 11,500 passengers passed through the Florida city. Destination organisation Greater Fort Lauderdale estimated that spending on hotels, restaurants, shopping and attractions set an area record.

“With demand for travel to LGBTQ+ friendly destinations at an all-time high, our reputation for welcoming ‘everyone under the sun’ has delivered a record-breaking

booking of four consecutive LGBTQ+ cruises of this magnitude,” said Richard Gray, Visit Lauderdale’s senior vice-president of inclusion and accessibility. “Beyond our appreciation for the major economic boost to our economy, we want LGBTQ+ travellers to know they are truly welcome in our community.”

Cruises included departures with specialist operators such as Atlantis on Harmony of the Seas, Vacaya on Celebrity Reflections, and Olivia on two departures of Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam (visitlauderdale.com).

More than half of downloads of new app My Kind of Cruise, which allows users to compare cruise ships, lines and departure dates, are from those who have never cruised before

“You hear stories of how musicians were up and coming and breaking away from opera,” explains Dawn Vago, our cruise director on Scenic Jade. “Some of the palaces were built for music concerts and it’s fascinating to learn about the lives of these great artists. For example, in Vienna you can just picture a young Mozart performing for the Habsburgs at Schönbrunn Palace.

“It became a modern era for music and the Viennese waltz brought people together through dance, which was hugely important at the time. It’s amazing that hundreds of years later, our guests can hear renditions of the music in the venues where they were actually performed.”

After an inspiring introduction to its classical heritage, I was fully ready to live and breathe music on my journey along the river.

Budapest, famed for its architecture and thermal baths, is also home to more than 40 concert halls and theatres, so there will always be a plethora of shows to choose from. Top of the list for 2023 must be a performance at the Hungarian State Opera House, which reopened its doors in 2022 after lengthy renovation.

As part of the excursion programme in Budapest – free of charge on the all-inclusive package – Scenic o ers a coach and walking tour, which nishes with a beautiful private piano recital.

On to Vienna, known as the ‘capital of music’ thanks to the many famous composers who called the Austrian city their home during the 18th century. I’ve been lucky to visit Vienna a number of times, but this was di erent as I could really feel the worlds of Strauss, Beethoven and Mozart come alive.

During a walking tour organised by Scenic, I spotted monuments of composers dotted around the city, visited Mozarthaus, the museum and apartment where Mozart lived ▲

3 OF THE BEST...

HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

Explore Mozart’s birthplace and visit the rolling Austrian hills – backdrop to musical classic The Sound of Music – for an exclusive production based on the movie (right)

Main image: Schönbrunn Palace, one of the locations in the Austrian capital Vienna where a young Mozart performed

MUSIC EXCURSIONS ON THE DANUBE

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Exclusive to Scenic, pay a visit to the Palais Liechtenstein

(right). Enjoy a glass of Austrian sparkling wine, then settle into the elegant surroundings for a classical concert.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

After a half-day tour with a guide exploring the historical sights of both Buda and Pest, finish the excursion in a very special way, with a concert by a local Hungarian pianist.

It’s amazing that hundreds of years later, guests can listen to music in venues where it was actually performed

GRECIAN DREAMS

Splash in and out of translucent Aegean waters from the deck of Variety Cruises’ Galileo on an idyllic week-long sailing around the Cyclades. With just 24 cabins, it has the feel of a private yacht rather than a large cruiser and can tuck into secluded bays bigger ships can’t reach. You’ll have an on-deck barbecue o the perfect beaches of uninhabited Poliegos, spend a day at unspoilt Folegandros, explore the pretty shing ports of Paros and see the ancient ruins at Delos. All but one night is spent in port, giving you the chance to enjoy evenings ashore in vibrant Mykonos and sleek Santorini.

e eight-day Jewels of the Cyclades on Galileo sailing round-trip from Athens on June 2 starts from £2,205 on a half-board basis (varietycruises.com).

A TASTE OF ITALY

Is there any destination quite so delicious as Italy? Sail there with Silversea Cruises and you can savour all its avours via the line’s Sea And Land Taste (Salt) programme. Excursions introduce signature foods – there’s a mouth-watering wine, pasta and cannoli tour in Palermo – and on board you can take cooking classes, sip regionally inspired cocktails and dine on local recipes made at Salt Kitchen, where the menu mirrors each port of call. is Italian extravaganza overnights in Naples, calls at two ports in Sicily and nishes in Trieste and Venice (above), branching out brie y to Malta and Croatia in between.

e 11-day Civitavecchia (Rome) to Fusina (Venice) itinerary on Silver Moon, departing October 29, starts from £5,900 including ights, transfers, dining, drinks, butler service and some shore excursions (silversea.com).

SAVOURING SPAIN

Beginning in Barcelona (below), Azamara’s two-week circumnavigation of Spain gives you the time and opportunity to soak up the Castilian, Catalan and Basque cultures that you’ll encounter along the way. It’s both comprehensive and unrushed, with late nights in arty Bilbao and Malaga as well as Valencia (right), where guests are treated to one of the line’s complimentary AzAmazing Evenings – this time a thrilling dance performance in the architecturally avant-garde City of Arts and Sciences. e ship even sails up the Guadalquivir River, mooring for two nights in Seville so you can tuck into tapas and watch a amenco performance.

e 14-night Spain Intensive Voyage on Azamara Journey departing June 3 starts from £2,763 (azamara.co.uk).

REUNION BY RIVER

A Mississippi cruise proves the perfect setting for a mother-and-daughter adventure

WORDS JANE ARCHER