Reply Submitted by CruiseFlorence on Tue, 07/17/2012 - 14:28
My husband and I cruised last year aboard one of the Small Ships and we had a ball. We had never cruised on a small ship cruise before, but we will again. The crew made it a point to get to know us and when we entered the lounge in the evening, the bartender would just start making our drinks.
The other passengers were mostly younger than us but they were really relaxed, so we got to know almost everyone before we ended the cruise. We never waited to board or disembark, which made each port stay much longer than the equivalent stop on a larger ship. We saw people lined up for a city block in Dubrovnik waiting for the tender.
We also looked at Voyages to Antiquity and I liked their program, but it was longer than we had time for.
I don't think that you can go wrong with a cruise with Small Ships.
Reply Submitted by sonia on Mon, 08/20/2012 - 17:15
Would you mind sharing which company you used?
Since you had such a good experience I want to make
sure that we consider it for our trip there next year.
Thanks in advance. Sonia
Reply Submitted by marjraye on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 08:07
We took the Venice-Istanbul trip on the Aegean Odyssey in April 2012. We booked our package through Road Scholar and got some extras, including several days in a hotel in Istanbul with plenty of city touring. We really enjoyed the ship - 300 passengers - average age 67 - good food, excellent staff - really oriented towards learning about the destinations, history, etc.
The weather, in mid-April, was not the best along the beautiful Croatian coast. Rainy, chilly, windy and many cafes and restaurants closed. This did not deter us from sightseeing, and the Roman and Venetian sights are great, but not so good for indulging in "Mediterranean cafe life". When we got to Corfu the weather became just about perfect.
Istanbul was wonderful and we should have stayed longer.
I feel good about recommending Voyages to Antiquity - especially for those who are not looking for mega-ship activities, with all the gambling, nightlife, shows, etc. We had light musical entertainment, lectures, a couple of movies - plenty to do.
Reply Submitted by sonia on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 15:01
Thank you. This is so helpful.
We love Istanbul and will probably try to tie this
cruise with a visit to Turkey as there are many sites
there that we have not seen. We do not enjoy large cruise ships
because our focus is learning, art, history, etc., not entertainment.
I had not thought of Road Scholar but now that you mention it
makes a lot of sense for us too. Your info is much appreciated.
We tend to travel in early spring and late fall and the rainy weather
is always part of our travels!
Thank you.
Dalmatian Coast
My husband and I cruised last year aboard one of the Small Ships and we had a ball. We had never cruised on a small ship cruise before, but we will again. The crew made it a point to get to know us and when we entered the lounge in the evening, the bartender would just start making our drinks.
The other passengers were mostly younger than us but they were really relaxed, so we got to know almost everyone before we ended the cruise. We never waited to board or disembark, which made each port stay much longer than the equivalent stop on a larger ship. We saw people lined up for a city block in Dubrovnik waiting for the tender.
We also looked at Voyages to Antiquity and I liked their program, but it was longer than we had time for.
I don't think that you can go wrong with a cruise with Small Ships.
small ships
Many thanks for your quick reply.
Small Ship Cruise
Would you mind sharing which company you used?
Since you had such a good experience I want to make
sure that we consider it for our trip there next year.
Thanks in advance. Sonia
voyages to Antiquity
We took the Venice-Istanbul trip on the Aegean Odyssey in April 2012. We booked our package through Road Scholar and got some extras, including several days in a hotel in Istanbul with plenty of city touring. We really enjoyed the ship - 300 passengers - average age 67 - good food, excellent staff - really oriented towards learning about the destinations, history, etc.
The weather, in mid-April, was not the best along the beautiful Croatian coast. Rainy, chilly, windy and many cafes and restaurants closed. This did not deter us from sightseeing, and the Roman and Venetian sights are great, but not so good for indulging in "Mediterranean cafe life". When we got to Corfu the weather became just about perfect.
Istanbul was wonderful and we should have stayed longer.
I feel good about recommending Voyages to Antiquity - especially for those who are not looking for mega-ship activities, with all the gambling, nightlife, shows, etc. We had light musical entertainment, lectures, a couple of movies - plenty to do.
Thank you. This is so
Thank you. This is so helpful.
We love Istanbul and will probably try to tie this
cruise with a visit to Turkey as there are many sites
there that we have not seen. We do not enjoy large cruise ships
because our focus is learning, art, history, etc., not entertainment.
I had not thought of Road Scholar but now that you mention it
makes a lot of sense for us too. Your info is much appreciated.
We tend to travel in early spring and late fall and the rainy weather
is always part of our travels!
Thank you.