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Large cruise ships banned from Venice Lagoon

April 6, 2021 by Linda May Leave a Comment

Once European cruising starts up again after being halted due to Covid, there will be some big changes. The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure & Sustainable Transport has put forth a ban on large cruise ships (over 40,000 gross tons) to sail into the city center of Venice city.
Instead, they will need to dock at Porto Marghera, an industrial port about 6 miles away from where they used to be able dock. (which was close to St Mark’s square)
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini tweeted that the cruise ship ban is a fair decision that has been long-awaited for years as it was a shock to visitors in Venice seeing cruise ships “hundreds of meters long and as tall as apartment buildings,” passing in front of St. Mark’s Square.
This decision has been brewing since 2019 when the 65,590 GT MSC Opera cruise ship went out-of-control and rammed into a dock & the Uniworld River Countess river cruise boat in the Canal, injuring five people.  Harmony of the Seas in Venice

Here is a list of ships that Balcony Travel sells that are under 40,000 GT  (GT is the volume of all the ships enclosed spaces)

Azamara Journey, Pursuit, Quest                  30,277
Crystal Endeavor                                               19,800
Oceania Insignia, Nautica, Regatta, Sirena 30,277
Regent Seven Seas Navigator                        28,803
Ritz Carlton Evrima                                          26,500
Scenic Eclipse                                                    16,500
Seabourn Odyssey, Quest, Sojourn               32,346
Seabourn Venture                                             23,000
Sea Dream I and II                                              4,333
Silversea Silver Shadow, Whisper                 28,528
Silversea Silver Spirit                                       39,519
Silversea Silver Wind                                        17,235

For perspective, here is the information for a Royal Caribbean ship
Harmony of the Seas                                      228,081

 

Filed Under: Azamara, Balcony Travel, Cruises, Crystal Endeavor, Europe, Featured Post, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Ritz Carlton Yacht, Scenic Eclipse, Scenic Eclispe, Sea Dream, Seabourn Cruises, Silversea, Venice

France River cruise on the Seine

October 10, 2012 by Linda May Leave a Comment

I loved my river cruise on the Seine, it was so diverse from the beauty of Claude Monet’s place in Giverny to the emotions felt in Normandy. This trip should be on every ones bucket list !

Plus starting and finishing in Paris was also a highlight – to see the Eiffel Tower come to life before your eyes is something you won’t forget.

Filed Under: Avalon Waterways, Cruises, Europe, River Cruises, River Cruising, Seine River

Baltic Cruise

June 26, 1990 by Linda May Leave a Comment

In 1990, I sailed aboard the Sun Viking (part of the  Royal Caribbean Cruise Line) from England to Norway, Sweden, Finland and into Russia winding back via Poland and Germany to end up in London again.

This was probably the most memorable cruise in that my son just happened to be born exactly 9 months after taking it !

The midnight sun in was amazing, you could be out on deck at midnight and still light out. St Petersburg (called Leningrad when we visited) was such a contrast between old and new.   You can see the street pictures are so gray, yet the Hermitage and Catherines Palace were shimmering with gold.  We went into a grocery store to look around and saw the meat in the freezers, except they had no power to them so not actually sure how they kept the stuff cold.

One of the most interesting things about this cruise (and obviously way before privacy laws) they published a “Passenger List” which was circulated to every cabin and listed each passenger and the city they came from.  It was a really nice keepsake and too bad they had to do away with it.

Loved the beautiful Baltic cities of Helsinki, Olso and Stockholm – it was hard to pick a favourite.

1990SunVikingBalticCruise
1990SunVikingBalticCruise
1990SunVikingCruiseCaptain
1990SunVikingCruiseCaptain
1990SunVikingCruiseHighlights
1990SunVikingCruiseHighlights

 

Oslo visit
Oslo visit
Frogner Park Oslo
Frogner Park Oslo
Oslo
Oslo

Filed Under: Baltic Cruise, Copenhagen, Cruises, Europe, Leningrad, Oslo

Don’t forget your Travel Insurance!

You know that old saying "Don't leave home without it" but in this case, its travel insurance. Many people don't realize that they are not covered by their provincial or state health plans when travelling out of the country. I am able to provide quotes for both Canadian and US residents as long as you contact me before you depart. Please don't forget as the cost is minimal compared to the cost if something happens.

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Meet Linda

Linda May Dinsmore

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CTCLogo Elite Cruise Counsellor Luxury Cruise Specialist

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