Great Lakes Cruising

Discover a North American Treasure: The Great Lakes (Detroit to Chicago)

If you are looking for a voyage to a world-class destination, but wish to stay close to home, then how about the amazing Great Lakes.

Nearly fifteen thousand years ago, the last of the great glaciers retreated, leaving us with the legacy of the Great Lakes. The lakes are unique, for although they are called lakes, they are in reality vast inland seas that comprise one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. First used as a means of transport by Algonquin and Iroquois tribes, the lakes later became a thriving commercial hub and a heavily traveled waterway with the arrival of European settlers.

More than fifty years ago, the Great Lakes were the busiest waterway in the world and North America’s treasured summer destination. Now you can cruise once again in the Great Lakes on this unique itinerary, which encompasses American and Canadian ports.

Operating between two great American cities, Detroit and Chicago, the itinerary includes several of the most significant places found along the shores of this North American treasure. Visit the quaint village of Bayfield and experience Native American culture on Manitoulin Island before transiting the impressive Soo Locks, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Superior. Also witness the majestic grandeur of Lake Superior at Whitefish Point with its lighthouse, discover Mackinac Island’s bygone Victorian charms, and enjoy the delightful towns of Sheboygan and Saugatuck.

Your ship for this voyage is the American-flagged and operated Yorktown. Accommodating 138 guests in 69 exterior cabins, the Yorktown is the perfect vessel for relaxed and convivial exploration of the Great Lakes.

These cruises include: tours and excursions, welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship, all meals aboard ship, educational program of lectures and discussions by accompanying guest lecturer, port and embarkation taxes, gratuities to porters, guides, and drivers

In addition to being in the company of like-minded travelers, you will also be accompanied by excellent study leaders, whose lectures and discussions will enhance your appreciation of the sites visited.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1 • DETROIT, Michigan, United States | EMBARK

Day 2 • GODERICH | BAYFIELD | STRATFORD, Ontario, Canada

Day 3 • LITTLE CURRENT, MANITOULIN ISLAND | LAKE HURON

Day 4 • SOO LOCKS | WHITEFISH POINT | LAKE SUPERIOR

Day 5 • MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan, United States

Day 6 • SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin

Day 7 • HOLLAND | SAUGATUCK, Michigan

Day 8 • CHICAGO, Illinois | DISEMBARK | FLY HOME

Note: this itinerary also operates in the reverse direction, from Chicago to Detroit.

For more information: http://www.cruisesbyscott.com/

Top 10 Cruise Itineraries in 2012

Here they are:  the best places to cruise this year.  Which one is right for you?

The forecast for 2012 is that over 20 million Americans will take to the high seas on a cruise.  Many of those will skip the "cookie-cutter" itineraries and will set their sights on some new horizons.  Check these fun ideas out:

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Adventure Seekers:  Sea Voyager Expeditions

     This is a brand-new cruise line for 2012.  They will be offering expedition sailings to some of Latin America's hottest ecotourism destinations.  Their first sailings are scheduled to begin in April with destinations in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.  Cruisers will love the flexible itineraries, off-the-beaten path villages and indigenous people.  Each sailing is escorted by experienced naturalists and guides as well as excursions like rain forest hiking, kayaking in hidden bays, bird-watching and snorkeling.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Culture Vultures:  Star Clippers

     Star Clippers has been sailing between the European cultural capitals along the Baltic Sea for some time, but starting in May, cruisers may climb onboard the new Star Flyer - a tall sailing ship, with 3 different itineraries featuring Sweden, Russia and Finland.  Cruisers will enjoy visiting smaller, less-visited ports and will be immersed in the best of the Baltic lands of the Vikings and the Eastern Empire of the Tsars.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Families:  Disney Cruise Line

     March 2012 will be the maiden voyage of Disney's newest ship, the 4,000 passenger Disney Fantasy.  This fun ship will feature the AquaDuck (water coaster at sea), new pool deck features, elaborate stage shows, and ship-wide interactive, state of the art technology.  The ship will sail the Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, visiting the ports of St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel as well as a stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.  Families will love the Muppets-inspired adventure game and an animation-themed dinner show.  Kids will go crazy for the 1,800-square-foot Aqua Lab water play area, while parents can seek out serenity at the adults-only Satellite Falls splash pool on the deck above.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Foodies:  Oceania Cruises

     The new 1,250 passenger Riviera - launching in April 2012 - is poised to raise the bar on the epicurean experience at sea.  She is scheduled for a series of Mediterranean sailings through the fall, followed by a repositioning to the Caribbean for winter.  Watch for the 10-night October themed sailing, "Bon Appetit Wine & Food Festival", from Athens to Rome, with port calls in Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and Monaco.  Cruisers will love the 10 dining venues (eight of which are inclusive) as well as the opportunity to practice their kitchen skills in the hands-on Bon Appetit Culinary Center.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for History Buffs:  Deep Ocean Expeditions

     2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and what better way to remember this event in history than by boarding the R/V Keldysh (a vessel chartered from an oceanographic institute).  A maximum of 30 cruisers will set out on these 2-week expeditions, which includes an 8-10 hour dive to the shipwreck site in a 7-foot wide Russian Mir submersible, designed for three passengers.

     For a less extreme cruise option, choose from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines 1,309 passenger Balmoral, which will trace the Titanic's original intended route from England to NYC, or the 694-passenger Azamara Journey, slated to travel round-trip from NYC, with a stop in Halifax (the resting place of many of the Titanic's passengers who did not make the trip).  These cruises will feature onboard lecturers and historians, wreck experts, authors and relatives of Titanic survivors.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Nature Enthusiasts:  Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

     Head to the furthest reaches of the wilds of Russia.  Cruisers can set sail to circumnavigate the Sea of Okhotsk) in style, aboard the world's only 5-star expedition ship, the 184-passenger MS hanseatic.  Excursion highlights include zodiac runs to the tiny unpopulated islands of Iony and Tyuleny, and the wildlife-rich Shantar and Malminskie Islands; hiking across the grassland tundra of Talan Island; and brown bear viewing on a zodiac ride from Cape Utholoskiy.  Cruisers will be presented with a dizzying array of pristine landscapes, defined by volcanoes; coniferous forest-blanketed mountains; tundra, glaciers and geysers, and numerous types of wildlife.

*Best Cruise Intinerary for Nostalgia Lovers:  Great American Steamboat Company

     2012 marks the return of the Mississippi River Cruise, beginning in April.  The Great American Steamboat Company's 436-guest American Queen is billed as the largest and most lavish paddlewheel steamboat ever built, with a savory Southern-inspired menu led by top Mississippi chef Regina Charboneau.  Choose from the many different themed sailings, such as the Jazz Lovers, Civil War and Holiday cruises. 

     American Cruise Lines 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi will debut in August, featuring Dixieland bands, Mark Twain impersonators and other fun activities.  Both cruise lines will visit ports such as Cincinatti, Louisville, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Off-The-Path Explorers:  Avalon Waterways

     Top-of-the-line river cruise operator Avalon Waterways is not only launching an intimate new luxury vessel in 2012, but is also debuting on the first-ever Mekong River cruise itinerary between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia.  The 32-passenger Avalon Angkor features 16 spacious staterooms, complete with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and balconies.  This will be the first time that cruisers will be able to transit this particular route almost year-round.  Cruisers will explore virtually untouched villages of Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as the more popular cultural and historic cities along the way.

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Partiers:  Crystal Cruises

     If attending Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is on your bucket list, Crystal Cruises' brand-new "Samba Serenade" itinerary is the way to go.  The itinerary will feature five ports of call in Brazil (Buzios, Ilha Grande, Paraty, Sao Paulo, and Itajai), departing from Rio during the height of the Carnival festivities.  This cruise line can custom tailor your experience at Rio's Sambadrome, from grandstand seating to luxury VIP sky box suites to even marching in the parade (fully costumed).

*Best Cruise Itinerary for Romantics:  Windstar Cruises

     These dreamy yachts are outfitted with billowing white sails and hold a maximum of 312 passengers.  Windstar is offering a brand-new 2012 "Islands of Italy" itinerary that couples classic Italian sites (Rome and Pompeii) with exclusive and often overlooked Italian islands, such as the lush volcanic island of Ischia; the active volcanic island of Stromboli; and glamorous Porto Cervo on Sardinia.

Time to get started on your 2012 Bucket List!  Where would you like to start?
http://shunter.cruiseholidays.com/

Tipping on a Cruise

I believe cruising is the easiest way to see the world, but there is one part of the cruise experience that can cause anxiety for otherwise carefree passengers -- tipping. Here's a look at how tipping is handled by each of the world's major cruise lines.

On most cruise lines, but not all, gratuities are expected and encouraged. The traditional tipping procedure is to hand cash gratuities to the service staff on the last full day or evening of the cruise. For longer itineraries, tipping on a weekly basis may be the norm. The cruise lines that follow this tipping procedure are Crystal, Disney, Fred. Olsen, Hurtigruten, P&O, Royal Caribbean, Star Clippers, Uniworld and Viking River Cruises.

Passengers on most of these lines are encouraged to tip their cabin steward and dining room waiter $3.50 to $5.00 per passenger, per day, and their assistant waiter/busboy should be tipped $2.00 to $3.00 per passenger, per day. On most ships, tip the maitre d' or dining room captain about $5 to $10 (total) only if you ask for special favors or tableside service.

It is customary to tip bartenders and wine stewards 15%, and many cruise lines automatically add this gratuity to the bar or beverage bill. Gratuities for special services such as spa treatments are left to the discretion of the guest, but 15% is considered typical.

The growth of freestyle dining and alternative restaurants put pressure on this system. Because passengers on many ships now dine when and where they wish and do not return night-after-night to the same table, they may rightfully resist handing a week's worth of tips to the waiter and assistant waiter they happen to end up with on the last night of the cruise.

That's why many cruise lines opt to automatically charge tips, usually $10 to $12 per person, per day, to shipboard accounts and divide the total among all dining room personnel, cabin stewards and others who are involved in serving passengers. These lines include Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess and Windstar.

If a passenger feels that the amount automatically charged to his or her account should be adjusted higher or lower based on the service received, the cruise line will make that adjustment when the bill is settled at the end of the cruise. These amounts do not cover tips for bartenders and wine stewards, which are generally 15% added to the beverage bill at the time of service.

A few cruise lines specifically state that gratuities are included in the cruise fare and that tips are neither expected nor encouraged. Azamara, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream and Silversea fall into this category. Even on these lines, some passengers still tip for outstanding service or special favors.

Does any one tipping policy tend to encourage better service than the others? Even seasoned cruisers disagree on this one, but most are in favor of the traditional method of rewarding individuals directly or rolling all gratuities into the upfront price.

By knowing the cruise line's tipping policy prior to boarding, the only thing that you will have to worry about at the end of your cruise is returning to reality.

Headed to the D. R. - Take precautions against cholera.

With cholera cases in D.R., CDC calls for traveler caution

Travelers bound for the Dominican Republic have been advised by the Centers for Disease Control to take preventative measures in the wake of nine cases of cholera reported there since mid-November.
The CDC and the U.S. State Department have not issued any travel warnings for the Dominican Republic.
"Most travelers are not at high risk for getting cholera, but people who are traveling to the D.R. should exercise caution to avoid getting sick," the CDC said.
The CDC recommends that travelers bring a prescription antibiotic in case of traveler's diarrhea, water purification tablets and oral rehydration salts.
The tablets and salts can be purchased at stores in the U.S. that sell equipment for camping and other outdoor activities.
Travelers also should follow basic safeguards against consuming contaminated food or water.
The D.R. closed its borders with Haiti in late October, where confirmed cholera cases now total more than 72,000 with 1,648 deaths reported, according to the United Nations World Health Organization.

Do You Need a Passport to Cruise?

Please note that U.S. citizens must bring one of the following WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) compliant documents in order to sail on a cruise that departs and ends from the same U.S. port:

Copies of the following will NOT be allowed:

• US Passports
• Naturalization Papers

Originals, or copies will NOT be allowed:

• Baptismal Certificates
• Hospital issued "Certificate of Birth"

As always, we recommend that all guests travel with a passport (valid for at least six months beyond completion of travel). Although a passport is not required for U.S. citizens taking cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port, traveling with a passport facilitates your customer's disembarkation experience. It also makes it easier for them to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port should they miss their scheduled embarkation or need to fly back to the U.S. for an emergency.

• Valid U.S. Passport
• Passport Card
• Original or legible copy of a Birth Certificate (issued by the Department of Vital Statistics)
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Enhanced Driver's License
• Trusted Traveler Program Membership Card (i.e. Nexus Card, Sentri Card or Fast Card)
• A Consular Report of Birth Abroad

New US Dollar Policies in Mexico

Traveling abroad means converting to the local currency, right?

While Mexico has had a very liberal acceptance of US dollars for decades, the Mexican Government passed new laws beginning September 14, 2010. With this new law, the use of American Dollars (CASH) to make purchases in Mexico will change. Other payment methods such as credit cards of all types and all issuing banks, Travelers Checks, Mexican pesos and non-American foreign currencies (such as Euros or Canadian Dollars) are NOT affected in any way by this new law.

The most noticeable differences to you will be:

• Hotels and Exchange Booths, and Local Banks will only be able to change a maximum of $1,500 USD CASH per person per month into Mexican Pesos. Previously there was no limit.
• Businesses (including restaurants, shops, and DMC's) will only be able to accept a maximum of $100 USD CASH per transaction - but the number of transactions per customer is not restricted.
• Certain businesses may not be able to, or may choose not to accept American Dollars for any purchase at all (this may include shops, etc), however still accepting Mexican Pesos.
• If a customer wants to purchase an excursion (for example) that costs $150 US dollars per person, customers will only be able to pay $100 of this amount in USD CASH and the remainder will need to be in another form of payment (credit card, Mexican pesos, etc).
• Airlines are advising that within Mexico, they will only accept Mexican Pesos and credit cards for any fees (including baggage fees).

Vacationers should never carry large amounts of American dollars with them abroad, but instead they should consider either using a Credit Card, taking or locally withdrawing Mexican Pesos from an ATM (very easy and convenient), or use Traveler's Checks (of any currency).

To those considering booking direct or online

I hope and trust that you will book your next vacation with Cruise Holidays. But we know there are alternatives out there, and we know you are receiving mailings and seeing ads that often urge you to book directly with a travel supplier online.

We enjoy an open and honest relationship with our clients. So I would like to share some straight talk with you about using toll-free numbers or websites to book your vacation directly with the provider.

The best-kept secret in the travel industry is that those who book direct are paying for something they are not receiving: the services of a professional travel consultant.

I realize you are being told that it is easy to book your cruise, tour or airline tickets online. You can do it yourself. Just trust the supplier to take care of everything and have your credit card within easy reach.

Be thrilled that you live in a time when you can just click and travel. It's all so easy, isn't it? Turn over your credit card number and personal information to someone in a cubicle in a reservations factory or, better still, to outsourced labor working out of a call center overseas. Now your credit card information is in Bangladesh, and your vacation will be expertly planned and delivered.

So why use my services? Well, the first thing you need to know (the industry's best-kept secret) is that you are going to pay my fee or commission when you book directly because it is always -- not sometimes, always -- built into the price of any brochure program. It's the way the industry prices.

Tour operators and cruise lines, even top-grade hotels, love direct bookings because a portion of the travel agent's commission that is built in to every program simply goes into their pockets. They believe that it costs them far less to maintain order-takers in a reservations center.

Most telephone res agents who work for cruise lines are commissioned salespeople with little knowledge of the industry. Their goal is simple: Try to get a direct booking, earn their smaller commission, and let the company pocket the rest of the total commission built into the fare.

So when you book something directly, you are making a sucker bet that the person on the other end of the line has your best interests at heart, will look out for further discounts and apply them to your record and will be there for you in an emergency.

Imagine what happens when you make a direct booking. Your credit card information is stored, and you receive a computer-generated invoice. That's it. You are now a travel statistic. The computer software that is now your "agent" will notify you when final payment is due, and you will receive final documents.

Of course, you will not receive any of the amenities available through our office, so you might actually be missing out on pricing incentives and advantages.

Let me state it as clearly as I can: With the exception of certain airline and hotel websites that run occasional online "sales," you will never receive preferred pricing on any online site.

If a tour operator or cruise line did not give us pricing that was equal to or better than what they offer on their site, no reputable travel consultant would ever again sell their product. It just never happens. You can always count on the fact that our pricing will be as good or better than any tour or cruise prices you see on direct booking sites.

There is not enough space to list all of the things we provide to our valued clients that are never provided when you book directly with a cruise line or tour operator. But here are just a few to keep in mind:

We are going to compare what competitive companies offer. We are going to advise you on the very best product to meet your needs. We can point out the advantages and disadvantages of several options. Booking directly puts you in touch with a single-product sales person. That is all you get.

We provide special documentation and advice about ports, sightseeing options and even restaurants. We know the best times to do your itinerary, and we might have affiliated offices abroad that can make your vacation truly memorable.

One of the most important things we can do is analyze your travel insurance needs. If you book direct, you get no options, no discussion. You are offered only whatever the site happens to be selling. We offer a universe of options, and that often saves you money.

Suppose something goes wrong? Suppose someone gets sick, and you need help getting home in a hurry? Suppose your vacation experience was unsatisfactory? Who is your advocate if you are dealing directly with the company operating the program? You have none.

Perhaps the most important single thing that we do is give you an honest, unbiased view of both the upside and downside of the vacation option you are considering. Book direct and you get none of that. Everything about the product will be painted in glowing terms. Everything will smell like a strawberry.

When I go to sleep at night, I am generally aware of where my clients are traveling and what current conditions they are likely to encounter. I worry about my clients. I think about their welfare, and I think about ways that I can enhance their experiences abroad.

I am fairly certain that the direct booking tied up somewhere in a supplier's software booking program is incapable of showing a "booking statistic" much empathy.
Scott Hunter