CRUISES & RIVER CRUISES
There are an incredible range of cruise ships of every shape, size and budget. These will range from the 3000 person liners with a huge set of on board facilities and options, to match any land based resort, to the small expedition ships nosing into isolated bays which may have limited facilities on board but will get you into some unique destinations only possible to reach by water. Putney Travel will help you decide on the type of cruise that suits you and your budget.
Almost all parts of the globe are now covered by cruises from the traditional Mediterranean, Caribbean or Alaska to Antarctica, the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.
Expedition and Discovery cruises
If your idea of a cruise is basically a means to get from A to B then there are a huge range of Expedition and Discovery cruises all over the globe – and varying degrees of comfort or luxury to enjoy. What both types of cruise have in common is the desire to explore a destination, a wide range of shore excursions and, often, a knowledgeable onboard lecturer and guide team. Antarctica would probably be top of the list of Expedition cruises with its incredible landscapes and wildlife and other popular options would be the Arctic region, including the Polar Bear haven of Spitzbergen, and the Amazon where your zodiacs can take you into hidden creeks and within the flooded forest. Discovery cruises operate on all continents and will often enable you to get into smaller, more intimate, ports, spend more time exploring ashore and complete transits of canals and rivers not open to the larger vessels.
River cruises – Worldwide choices
Within the last few years there has been an explosion of river cruising options in both the number of boats themselves and the range of destinations. From classic rivers such as the Rhine, Danube or Nile the options now include the Mekong, Ganges, Amazon or Yangtze to name just a few. There is always something to see on river cruises and as the waterways are, in many cases, the highways of the country you can get to see the great sights that get built up along them and experience the way of life of the local population.
Within Europe the best known rivers to cruise on are the Rhine and Danube. The former has a wealth of fascinating stops from Switzerland downstream to Amsterdam and also includes the Rhine and Mosel wineland regions. The Danube itself is slightly less built up but has the big names of Vienna and Budapest and can offer a fascinating insight into Central and Eastern Europe. Elsewhere in Europe enjoy the Russian Waterways linking Moscow and St Petersburg, the Rhone Valley, the Dutch Bulbfields, the Elbe or the Douro with its famous port vineyards.
Further afield the Nile has long been the number one choice and the re-opening of the full length cruise from Aswan to Cairo will be very popular when it fully reopens on a regular basis. The Yangtze has its famous Three Gorges and the associated dam and elsewhere in Asia there has been a huge growth in cruising options, many of a unique boutique style, on the Mekong (Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos), on the Irrawaddy in Myanmar (Burma) and the Bhramaputra and Ganges in India. In the Americas there has been a resurgence on US cruising along the Missouri and Mississippi and to really get away from it all try an Amazon cruise in Ecuador or Brazil and get to see the world’s greatest rainforest, and its inhabitants, up close and personal.
- Having worked and travelled on Ocean and River cruises in and around 5 continents use us to really find out what life is like on board and what you will see in each destination.
- If there are particular places you want to visit check out the time you have in port – some cruise lines keep time in port to a minimum and will hardly ever stay overnight.
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by TMS
