My Escorted Tours

This was a group I escorted on Emerald Cruises. We started with 4 nights in Lisbon prior to the river cruise on the Douro. There was a high water problem with one of the bridges that caused Emerald to change the order of our stops. They worked really hard and made sure we had a great excursion every day. I highly recommend Emerald Cruises. Even though it was beyond their control they also gave everyone a refund when we got home because of the itinerary changes.

This was a great cruise. We started with 2 nights in Rome prior to the cruise. The hotel we stayed at was

very central and comfortable. I was escorting a group and they helped me get private transfer to Civitavecchia. Hotel was Paladium Palace. The cruise was on Norwegian Getaway. I rated it 4.5 because they changed the itinerary and one of the places I wanted to see was no longer available.

This was an 11 night roundtrip cruise from Vancouver inside passage. I went with the all inclusive plan.  The cabin was very spacious, food was very good. We did Celebrity Select open dining and never had a problem getting into a restaurant when we wanted to.

I liked this cruise because it took me to some ports I haven't previously explored and it was longer than the normal 7 days.  I flew from Kelowna to Vancouver and then got on the roundtrip sailing. 

I highly recommend this itinerary.

The Nieuw Statendam has been in service with Holland America for 1 year.  We celebrated the one year anniversary on board on Dec 3rd.  This is a lovely ship, not too big and not too small. I loved the Thermal Suite Spa with the hydrotherapy pool.  The food was great in all venues.  If you want Las Vegas style glitz, water slides and climbing walls this is not the ship for you.  If you want port intensive itineraries, great food and service this is for you.  There was a variety of entertainment venues to suite every style from Lincoln Centre Stage classical to Rock and Roll.  Billboard on Board was a favourite spot with dueling pianos singing chart toppers from different eras. Everyone sang along and it was better than karaoke.  The Casino was always busy and there was a nightly show in the unique theatre. 

Prior to the cruise I did a 2 night familiarization trip hosted by the Greater Fort Lauderdale  Visitor Bureau.

I stayed at the Marriott in Pompano Beach which was lovely and very quiet.  I also toured  the Margaritaville resort in Hollywood which is very lively with lots of different entertainment offered. This would be a great place to stay for a few days and then I  walked the Broadwalk (no not a spelling error it is Broadwalk). 

I toured the Hyatt Place hotel near Port Everglades.  This is a great place to stay if you just want to come in one day early (recommended in wintertime).  Breakfast included and transfers are available.  They do not charge extra person rates so if you have more than two sharing a room it is the same price.  A short walk to Total Wines to pick up the bottle of wine you are allowed to bring onboard.

This was my 3rd Panama Canal cruise.  This one started in Los Angeles and ended in Miami. I think I prefer starting in Florida and ending on the west coast as the trip home is much easier.  This was a great cruise and I highly recommend it.  The layout of the ship was great and so easy to get around.  The specialty restaurants are well worth the extra charge.

What a wonderful trip. Uniworld is truly 5 star all the way. 

In October I was on a 10 day Caribbean cruise with Princess Cruises on the Caribbean Princess.  This is one of the first ships to offer the new Princess Medallion services.  It was so easy to use.  If you like Caribbean beaches this is a good itinerary.  I found 10 days just the right amount of time.