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Unique itineraries


islandwoman
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Well, ships that cruise the world instead of repeating the same old, same old itineraries have the more uncommon port stops. Next summer Regent is doing the North Cape, but going over the top of the cape onward to Russia for stops in Murmansk, Archangel, and the Solovetsky Islands. That's pretty cool. Thinking about it. In 2020 we'll be stopping in Manila (doing a Corregidor excursion), and Saipan (hopping a brief flight over to Tinian, 5 miles away). In 2021 our stops include St Helena (Napoleon's last port), Ascension Island, and Namibia and Senegal. Mostly expedition ships port at South Georgia/South Sandwich Islands. Definitely on the wish list. The more remote ports are mostly visited by smaller ships. To send 2,000+ tourists tramping over St Helena would be a travesty. Check out Crystal and Silversea also, they have some great itineraries. Ocean-wide Expeditions is our go-to for penguins and polar bears (obviously, not on the same trip.)

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7 hours ago, islandwoman said:

In your opinion, which cruise lines have the most interesting/unique itineraries? 

 

Hi

Needless to say that would depend on what are your interests.

 

So, for most that would be the cruise line that goes where they want to go.

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9 hours ago, islandwoman said:

In your opinion, which cruise lines have the most interesting/unique itineraries? 

"Interesting" and "unique" may be very different things. 

That said, in general, cruise lines that have smaller ships with longer itineraries will have more unique itineraries. But, some of those ports may be "bare bones" (no Diamonds International 😳😉). 

If you want the largest variety of unique itineraries, you will need to consider premium/luxury lines that focus a significant amount of their fleet resources on regional globetrotting routes (e.g., Rio to Lima, transpacific, Capetown to Singapore, etc). This is just one of the many reasons why we prefer Oceania.

 

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I cruise for itinerary primarily. There are lots of different ways to dissect your question.

 

Among the mass market lines, Holland America has the most interesting/unique itineraries. They don't excel at the cookie-cutter Caribbean itineraries but if you are looking for good itineraries particularly in Northern Europe, Asia, and South America they offer some interesting ones at prices that remain pretty affordable. I haven't really researched Australia/New Zealand but have no reason not to think they offer some interesting options there as well. (One omission, I have not found HAL itineraries in the Med to be better than some other lines, especially now that their smaller ship, Prinsendam, has left the fleet.)

 

I have been looking for itineraries on Oceania as I would like to sail with them, but so far they have not impressed me overmuch. IMHO Oceania focuses more on 'first line' ports but on an excellent onboard experience. So far I prefer the itineraries of their 'Premium' level competitor Azamara, which focuses more on the itinerary and off-ship experience, with quite a few unusual port stops and more overnights than other ships offer, which allows you to have a somewhat more in-depth experience ashore.

 

Some luxury lines offer interesting itineraries, others less so. It's often a matter of just wading through their brochures or websites to see what's on offer.

 

And there are some interesting expedition ships (and river cruises) which offer unique and interesting itineraries but I almost consider them to be in a different bucket from "cruise lines" so I'm not sure that's what you're after.

 

Finally, there are a few lines that really seem to specialize in certain regions:  Hurtigruten for the coastal Norwegian area, for example. Or Paul Gauguin cruise line for Tahiti.  Or Cunard for the 'real' Trans-Atlantic experience.

 

Lots of interesting options out there. I find that the more I travel (and strike things off my bucket list), the more I tend to add to it... 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Hurtigruten for the coastal Norwegian area, for example.

They definitely do that but they're who we sailed on to Antarctica.  And because of their small size we got to go ashore which the big ships are banned from.

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4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

And there are some interesting expedition ships (and river cruises) which offer unique and interesting itineraries but I almost consider them to be in a different bucket from "cruise lines" so I'm not sure that's what you're after.

 

I am looking for a "cruise line" but would be willing to branch out onto an expedition ship or river cruise.  Do you have some suggestions for those also?

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10 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

 

I am looking for a "cruise line" but would be willing to branch out onto an expedition ship or river cruise.  Do you have some suggestions for those also?

As mentioned - Azamara and Silversea both have expedition ship itineraries.  There are numerous river cruise lines - Naval, Viking, Crystal, Tauck would be a few for Europe.  

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Any of the expedition ships. We booked one with Hapag-Lloyd on their new international expedition ship. It goes up the Amazon all the way to Iquitos. All other ships turn around in Manaus. Check out some of Ponant's cruises.

If you haven't travelled on the Aranui in French Polynesia yet, that ship does the freight/passenger run to the Marquesas Islands and one to an island group that almost nobody visits, definitely none of the 'regular' cruise ships.

The river boats do run of the mill itineraries but also some more unusual cruises in Asia and Russia.

 

Edited by Floridiana
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In the UK, I look for Fred Olsen and Cruise and Maritime- small, old ships but often with unusual ports, and reasonable prices.

Fred Olsen's Balmoral is in the middle of their annual Mystery Cruise... and it's eleven countries in eleven days. Some passengers were a bit disgruntled when the first port was a run down fishing port in the UK- I'd have enjoyed it, as there's amazing country, castles and the Norfolk Broads nearby.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/8/2019 at 7:11 AM, Bookish Angel said:

Expedition ships to remote Antarctica and the Galapagos were our favorite ocean-going vacations.  Small numbers of quiet, savvy passengers, great lecturers,  interesting and often physically-challenging hikes, walks and climbs, etc.


We will get to both within the next eight years or so and are looking forward to it!  

 

We like cruising Windstar for the small numbers of savvy passengers. It really makes a huge difference on your cruise experience.

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On 10/8/2019 at 4:11 AM, Bookish Angel said:

Small numbers of quiet, savvy passengers,

Thanks for this comment.  We've sailed Hurtigruten twice.   A 400 pax ship to Antarctica and 100 pax for a RT Norwegian coastal cruise.  Your description really nailed it.

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On 10/10/2019 at 5:01 PM, islandwoman said:

 

Please explain what you mean by "savvy passengers".

Very well-traveled, well-informed about the world, curious, intelligent, practical and with realistic expectations.  Light packers, too.

Edited by Bookish Angel
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10 hours ago, donaldsc said:

This is a gross  oversimplification but in general, none of the major cruise lines have unique itineraries.  You have to go on the small expedition ships to get really unique itineraries.

 

DON

A useful generalization, even if a "gross oversimplification".  We sailed down the Amazon on Princess, but she doesn't do that anymore.  This year we're doing 2 itineraries on Princess that are different for us -  Search for the Northern Lights and a sail-by of Antarctica.  But I can't find anything new on Princess for 2021.  We have reached the age where we need comfort (not luxury), safety, and special food in our travels.  Do any of the small expedition ships that you have in mind meet those requirements? 

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10 hours ago, islandwoman said:

A useful generalization, even if a "gross oversimplification".  We sailed down the Amazon on Princess, but she doesn't do that anymore.  This year we're doing 2 itineraries on Princess that are different for us -  Search for the Northern Lights and a sail-by of Antarctica.  But I can't find anything new on Princess for 2021.  We have reached the age where we need comfort (not luxury), safety, and special food in our travels.  Do any of the small expedition ships that you have in mind meet those requirements? 

 

Crystal has a 200 passenger expedition ship.  I have never been able to afford one of those crystal expedition cruises.

 

 

DON

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On 10/13/2019 at 8:26 PM, donaldsc said:

This is a gross  oversimplification but in general, none of the major cruise lines have unique itineraries.  You have to go on the small expedition ships to get really unique itineraries.

 

DON

There's a space between. How about this?

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/baltic-cruises/stockholm-to-amsterdam-MNA200908/

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