Cruise Holidays - Attheta Travel

If you’ve cruised, you know, and if you haven’t cruised yet, you’ve heard: the food on a cruise is delicious, plentiful, and available 24 hours a day. It’s hard to resist, but why should you? All of your cruise ship dining, with the exception of some specialty restaurants, is included in your fare. And, don’t let the fear of coming home with some extra pounds keep you from cruising. The vast majority of ships are equipped with excellent fitness facilities: some are as cutting edge as any you can find on land. On Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, the fitness center is all about location: it’s top-deck forward, which provides fantastic views. Three spacious tiers of activity include free weights and weight machines; stationary bikes, treadmills and ellipticals; and a variety of fitness classes, including TRX suspension training. Oasis Class ships also have Gravity machines, which condition the body through Pilates and resistance training, and Kinesis walls, which use a p...

If you’d like to take a cruise where the focus is on the sights and experiences waiting on shore, river cruising is a great choice. And, if you’ve stayed away from river cruising because you think it’s for age 55+ only, take another look. It’s true that river cruises attracts mature cruise fans, for a variety of reasons. The ships are smaller and more intimate, with luxurious furnishings. Itineraries are often 14 days or more, and fares tend to be higher than ocean cruises of similar length. But, those characteristics certainly don’t exclude non-seniors: a luxurious, small-ship, inland cruise experience can be appreciated by people of any age! Some aspects of river cruising can truly appeal to educated, globally aware, travel-loving millennials. River cruises take you away from tourist-oriented sea ports and into the interior for a close-up look at a region’s history, culture and daily life. On a river cruise, you can usually walk off the ship right into the heart of a city ...

Nestled between the peaks of the Andes and South America’s Pacific Coast, blessed with diverse and stunning natural beauty, ports along the 2,653-mile length of Chile welcome cruise ships. Valparaiso, a common port of embarkation or debarkation, is also the port for Chile’s capital, Santiago, about 70 miles inland. Some visitors bound for Santiago get lost in the charms of Valparaiso instead: it’s reminiscent of San Francisco, with dramatic hills and Victorian-style homes. Spend some time looking at artifacts from Chile’s Easter Island at the Fonck Museum, or take an excursion to the expansive beach resort at Vina Del Mar. If you can tear yourself away from Valparaiso, the thriving city of Santiago and its distinctive neighborhoods await you. These include Centro, the oldest part of the city, and the Belle Artes neighborhood, with galleries, art museums and tempting boutiques. Visit San Cristobal for marvelous views of the city and mountains – the city zoo is there, too. And, don’t mis...

Until now, equipping ships with high-speed wireless Internet access hasn’t been a top priority for most cruise lines: after all, a cruise is an opportunity to unplug from daily life and put away your laptops, smart phones and other devices, right? Actually, it’s not surprising that cruise travelers are demanding better Wi-Fi: some really can’t get away for a cruise without the ability to check in with work (hopefully, not too often) or with loved ones at home. Many ships already offer some wireless Internet access, but the connections are often much slower than what you’re used to. But, some cruise lines have announced plans to meet the demand for fast, stronger Wi-Fi. For example, Royal Caribbean has equipped its Oasis and Quantum Class ships with a high-speed Internet service that it calls Voom. The service uses satellite internet technology that provides high-speed connections, even in the middle of the ocean. Royal Caribbean doesn’t sayexactly how fast Voom is, but p...

The Rhine is a storied river that begins high in the Swiss Alps and travels more than 750 miles to the Netherlands and the North Sea. As one of Europe’s main waterways, it’s a hardworking river that serves historic port cities like Basel, Strasbourg, Rudesheim and Cologne; but, it’s also a fairytale river that flows below majestic castles, past charming villages, and through forests and vineyards. Here are some highlights of the ports you can visit on a cruise of the Rhine: Basel, Switzerland, is located on the border with France and Germany; a literal crossroads of Europe. The cathedral is beautiful, and the alleyways of the MarketPlatz are lined with quirky craft shops. Strasbourg, France, has picture-perfect cobbled streets and timbered houses. Top sights include the cathedral, one of the tallest medieval buildings in Europe, and the Rohan Palace, which hosted Marie Antoinette and now houses multiple museums. Rudesheim, Germany, is at the southern end of the Rhine...

A cruise can be a time to indulge in the luxury of delicious food available 24 hours a day, sleeping in comfortable lounge chairs on deck, and tasting new wines and cocktails without a thought to your usual workout routine. But, it’s possible to come home from a cruise feeling better and fitter than when you left. Most cruise ships have fitness facilities, and many are comparable to the finest facilities on land; so, you can indulge, but also keep up your fitness routine. Some cruises take it a step further and make the entire experience about health and wellness, offering lectures, classes, workshops, activities and dining choices that improve your wellness as you sail. Here are just a couple of the many options available: Vegans and others interested in the vegan lifestyle will love the seven-night “Holistic Holiday at Sea” cruise, which will depart from Miami on the MSC Divina February 27, 2016, bound for the Eastern Caribbean and wellness in body, mind and spirit. Th...

Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, has a long and colorful history as well as amazing natural beauty. Once an important source of tin and rubber, Phuket Island was a frequent stop for Portuguese, French, Dutch and British traders. Today, people from around the world visit the island via cruise ship. Most of the island is covered by mountains and forest, which still produce rubber and palm oil. For a rare experience, visit Khao Phra Taew National Park, the last virgin rainforest in Thailand. You can take a guided hike through the lush jungle, watching for wildlife and stopping for photos at crystal-clear waterfalls. The island has lovely beaches, too, especially the sandy beaches along the western coast. Some of the most popular are Patong Beach, which offers watersport rentals and seasonal surfing; Karon Beach, a wide beach with a coral reef to explore; and Kamala Beach, where you can swim, sun and shop at a local market if you are there on a Saturday. If you’re interest...