Cruise Holidays - Attheta Travel

Cruise lovers eagerly await new ships that promise first-at-sea attractions. Here’s a look at a few features being planned for ships that will debut in 2020. Keep in mind that we never know for sure how many great new features a ship will have until it’s ready to sail: the cruise lines like to keep some things secret, and plans can change while a ship is still under construction. For now, we know Royal Caribbean is getting the 4,198-passenger  Odyssey of the Seas ready to debut in November 2020. It will be the line’s first Quantum Ultra Class ship in North America. Royal Caribbean says the Odyssey’s top-deck SeaPlex will be the most action-packed top deck to date. It will have interactive virtual reality games for individual and group play, augmented reality gaming walls, bumper cars, and glow-in-the-dark laser tag (Yetis vs. Snow Shifters). The SeaPlex will also have familiar (but still exciting) Royal Caribbean features like surf and sky diving simulators, plus a bungee t...

A Caribbean cruise that calls on Barbados actually ventures a little outside the Caribbean. Lying east of the rest of the Lesser Antilles, Barbados is technically in the Atlantic. In fact, there’s not much but water between Barbados and Western Africa; more on that in a moment. Your ship will sail up to the island’s southeastern shore, where the capital of Bridgetown is flanked by stretches of white sand beach. It’s tempting to spend the day relaxing on the sand, enjoying a swim and a lunch buffet, and many visitors do just that. For something a little more adventurous, hop on a catamaran and sail to Turtle Bay, where the wild sea turtles make their nests along the beach. You can swim and snorkel in the bay alongside some of these friendly creatures. If you venture beyond the beaches, you’ll find lots of interesting things to see and do inland. Sugar cane was once the foundation of the Barbadian economy, and while all that remains of many plantations are some atmospheric ruin...

Many adventurous souls dream of sailing the world. If you’re one of them, take a look at the fabulous options for taking a world cruise. What makes a cruise a world cruise? World cruises sail three months or more, visiting multiple continents and immersing you in an array of scenery, historic sites, and modern wonders. World cruises focus on onshore and cultural experiences, and often sail on smaller, luxury ships. The crew makes things easy, taking you from port to port and filling days at sea with learning opportunities and fun activities. Most world cruises set sail in January, with some exceptions. Some literally sail around the globe, making a full circumnavigation. Others don’t, but still visit dozens of ports, including some it’s not possible to see on any other type of cruise. Here’s a look at a few world cruises coming up in 2020 and 2021: A Cunard Line ship completed the first continuous circumnavigation cruise in 1922 and has sailed more world cruises than any other line. Th...

Port Klang is the closest cruise terminal to Kuala Lumpur, called KL by the locals.   There are no markets or sights in Klang, so be prepared for the hour commute into KL, the federal capital of Malaysia. We are familiar with KL since I lived in the area while we built a new cellular telecom network.  However, much has changed in the past twenty years.  Malaysia wanted to be a first-world economy by the year 2020.  The people have improved the economic and the living conditions, but still have room for improvement.  Still, it was a very pleasant surprise – except for the jam. Traffic in KL is almost like a living thing, the jam moves, grows, and blocks traffic.   Don’t go anywhere in a hurry, and always carry something to read and a bottle of water.   Take a ship tour in Malaysia (we do not recommend a private guide), the ship will wait for your tour to return to the dock.   A private guided tour can easily be delayed in the jam and yo...

As much as we love the expansive feeling of cruising on a wide-open ocean, we highly recommend the close-to-shore experience of a river cruise, too. There’s so much to see along the interior waterways of the world: major cities, quaint villages, castles and temples, mountains and valleys, and amazing cultural treats. Where can you take a river cruise? There are lots of possibilities. In Europe, the Danube is a popular choice for cruising. It flows along or through 10 different countries, so you can visit wonderful destinations from Germany to the Black Sea on a single itinerary (though most cruises focus on just one of the river’s three sections: upper, middle or lower). Vienna and Budapest are two of the most popular ports on the Danube. The Rhine is another historic European river, flowing from the Swiss Alps through Germany and the Netherlands to the North Sea. The river goes through areas of outstanding natural beauty, with castles, churches and vineyards perched on t...

Our next port of call was the city of Georgetown on Penang Island (Malaysia), another UNESCO World Heritage site.   It was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. The cruise terminal is within easy walking distance of the old town and Fort Cornwallis (built in 1786). On Penang, we had arranged a private tour of old George Town for our Distinctive Voyages group.   The highlight of our tour was a two-hour trishaw (bicycle powered cart for one passenger) tour of the old town.   The trishaw drivers transported us thru the old town, Little India, and between our tour sites.   At each stop, our driver would wait for us to return to our trishaw and we would go to the next site.   A great way to visit George Town in the heat.   Since Penang is in the tropics, it’s always hot and muggy. One of our stops was a tour of the Blue Mansion, an   historical hotel and filming site for many movies including Crazy Rich Asians and Anna and t...

Rangoon, the largest city in Myanmar (Burma) has two names, Rangoon and Yangon.   Today, the locals call it Yangon.   The Azamara Quest spent three days (two nights) docked in the river near the city. Due to changing tide levels in the river, the cruise terminal is on the Yangon River, south of the city.   Unfortunately, the drive to the city is 90+ minutes.   Road construction and traffic can cause major delays.   In this port of call, we were glad we took tours offered by the ship. A large refinery is near the cruise terminal and gas transports often block both lanes of the two-lane road as they wait to fill their tankers.   On our first visit to Yangon from the cruise terminal, we were stuck in a jam for more than an hour.   Our return to the ship from a tour was more than two hours.   The tour of the city was fantastic!   The Shwedagon Pagoda is the primary tourist site in the city – and well worth the trip.   The...