Columns
Talk of the Town: Reposition your life with a cruise
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| SUBMITTED PHOTO Don and Ruth Behnke are joined by Captain Knut Hanssen, master of Seven Seas Voyager. |
By Regina Ford
Green Valley News opera critic Donald J. Behnke is a seasoned traveler and recently submitted this travel piece, which I want to share with you loyal readers. All aboard with Donald and Ruth Behnke!
As Don explains:
“Dead head” is a no-no in any part of the transportation business. Dead head is the term used when referring to a leg of an air charter, cruise or land transportation with no cargo or no passengers. This is commonly the return leg of an air charter but could also be the repositioning of an air charter or other mode of transportation.
“Sending a semi out unloaded to pick up freight a thousand miles away is a big loss to the trucking company, and so it is with cruise ships. When the winter season ends in the Caribbean, ships must be moved to the more lucrative summer markets in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Scandinavia or Alaska.
“The thought of sending them empty, especially with today’s fuel charges, would cause ultra-hypertension in the offices of cruise line CEOs; hence, the repositioning cruise intrigues some passengers who want a leisurely sail and a different set of ports across the Atlantic and avoid the dreaded dead head.
“My wife Ruth and I recently enjoyed a repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, Spain.
The Regent Seven Seas cruise ship Voyager is small, 550 passengers, so one might not consider a ship this size for trans-Atlantic crossings, a market dominated by names like QE 2 and the Queen Victoria. But we like the intimacy and relaxed freedom of the smaller vessels, not to mention the high passenger/crew ratio and special services like a butler, so we chose the Voyager for the celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary.
“It is the right time of year for us - end of the opera season about which Green Valley News readers are more accustomed to hearing from me as opera critic. This put us on the coast of Spain in mid-May before the crowds of Europeans and the heat arrive.
“This two-week cruise appeals to those who have already done the ‘different island each day’ Caribbean schedule as well as travelers avoiding landed tours involving a different hotel every night or two. But don’t get the idea this one is dull.
“There were five ports and plenty going on during the days at sea. The beauty is, reading, listening to music with the stateroom’s excellent audio system which accepts iPod, mp3 and your own CDs, and satellite TV are options to gambling, lectures, exercise or dance lessons! Take your choice.
“The refrigerator had the soft drinks and beer you ordered online before the ship left Florida, and the pre-ordered wine, liquor and snacks are on hand for cocktails when the sun drops over some imaginary yardarm. We’ve just been to British Bermuda, so please forgive such references to the halcyon sailing ship days of the British navy.
“The Voyager features open-seating for meals, not specified times for dining, choices usually either too early or too late for us.
“The main dining room is supplemented by a smaller French bistro operated by Le Cordon Bleu and an Indochina restaurant, both requiring reservations, something one can do in advance on the Internet, if desired. Shore excursions can be reserved the same way, though we chose to make those decisions port by port, depending on how energetic we felt at the time.
“Excursion descriptions wisely advise not only the total time of the tour and what is seen with how much walking is involved and other suggestions about clothing and shoes. Regent Seven Seas knows its passengers!
“We arrived at Fort Lauderdale a day and a half before the cruise began, always a good idea, given the recent history of flight cancellations. After leisurely visits with retired friends and relatives who have rolled down the right coast from our old days in New York, we boarded the ship on April 30 and spent two leisurely days at sea plus one in the port of Hamilton, Bermuda. On the way to Spain we stopped at the Azores, Madeira, Malaga, Valencia and then into Barcelona in two weeks.”
So how does one spend two days at sea from Ft. Lauderdale to Bermuda?
“This cruise features Mabel Mercer’s cabaret music and a Cordon Bleu cooking course, the latter an option at extra cost. Constantly aware of the potential weight gain of a cruise that includes not only sumptuous meals, as they all do, but also free cocktails, wine and beer both in the stateroom and throughout the ship, we devote time each day to walking the track around the pool deck and the treadmills of the ship’s gym.
“We also attended the lectures given before each port as well as topics as diverse as the voyages of Captain Cook and spying by British Intelligence and the CIA by those who have “been there, done that.
“Wi-Fi permits daily e-mail connections with family and friends. There is also a computer room on board for those who don’t want to lug a laptop. Mine is the size of half a sheet of paper and weighs under a pound, so it fits easily into my carry-on luggage.”
“First stop, Bermuda. Accidentally inhabited by British sailors ship wrecked on the way to transport more provisions to the Jamestown colonists in 1609, Bermudians have long been a friends of the U.S. They actually hoped the Continental Congress would send troops out to capture them during the American Revolution, but George Washington had enough problems and simply pledged eternal friendship while gratefully accepting the 100 barrels of gun powder which the Bermudians stole from the British and rushed over to Charleston for its defense.
“We were treated to a tour of Bermuda by the Virtuoso travel agent hosts on board. It was a new port to us, and well-worth getting off the ship for half a day to tour around.
“Bermuda is still quite British with driving on the left and UK accents. Some of the beaches really are pink, as advertised. The former agriculture of Bermuda onions and Easter lilies has given way to tourism and golf, and the 21 square miles of Bermuda are perfect for both. There is also a favorable climate for international business, particularly insurance. Shopping occupied most of our fellow-travelers while we were on tour. We now had four days at sea for lectures, more songs in the Mabel Mercer-style and some much-needed trips to the ship’s gym between sumptuous meals. We’ll see you in a few days after the Azores and Madeira on the way to the Spanish coast.”
More from Don’s travels in Friday’s Talk.
rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740
As Don explains:
“Dead head” is a no-no in any part of the transportation business. Dead head is the term used when referring to a leg of an air charter, cruise or land transportation with no cargo or no passengers. This is commonly the return leg of an air charter but could also be the repositioning of an air charter or other mode of transportation.
“Sending a semi out unloaded to pick up freight a thousand miles away is a big loss to the trucking company, and so it is with cruise ships. When the winter season ends in the Caribbean, ships must be moved to the more lucrative summer markets in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Scandinavia or Alaska.
“The thought of sending them empty, especially with today’s fuel charges, would cause ultra-hypertension in the offices of cruise line CEOs; hence, the repositioning cruise intrigues some passengers who want a leisurely sail and a different set of ports across the Atlantic and avoid the dreaded dead head.
“My wife Ruth and I recently enjoyed a repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona, Spain.
The Regent Seven Seas cruise ship Voyager is small, 550 passengers, so one might not consider a ship this size for trans-Atlantic crossings, a market dominated by names like QE 2 and the Queen Victoria. But we like the intimacy and relaxed freedom of the smaller vessels, not to mention the high passenger/crew ratio and special services like a butler, so we chose the Voyager for the celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary.
“It is the right time of year for us - end of the opera season about which Green Valley News readers are more accustomed to hearing from me as opera critic. This put us on the coast of Spain in mid-May before the crowds of Europeans and the heat arrive.
“This two-week cruise appeals to those who have already done the ‘different island each day’ Caribbean schedule as well as travelers avoiding landed tours involving a different hotel every night or two. But don’t get the idea this one is dull.
“There were five ports and plenty going on during the days at sea. The beauty is, reading, listening to music with the stateroom’s excellent audio system which accepts iPod, mp3 and your own CDs, and satellite TV are options to gambling, lectures, exercise or dance lessons! Take your choice.
“The refrigerator had the soft drinks and beer you ordered online before the ship left Florida, and the pre-ordered wine, liquor and snacks are on hand for cocktails when the sun drops over some imaginary yardarm. We’ve just been to British Bermuda, so please forgive such references to the halcyon sailing ship days of the British navy.
“The Voyager features open-seating for meals, not specified times for dining, choices usually either too early or too late for us.
“The main dining room is supplemented by a smaller French bistro operated by Le Cordon Bleu and an Indochina restaurant, both requiring reservations, something one can do in advance on the Internet, if desired. Shore excursions can be reserved the same way, though we chose to make those decisions port by port, depending on how energetic we felt at the time.
“Excursion descriptions wisely advise not only the total time of the tour and what is seen with how much walking is involved and other suggestions about clothing and shoes. Regent Seven Seas knows its passengers!
“We arrived at Fort Lauderdale a day and a half before the cruise began, always a good idea, given the recent history of flight cancellations. After leisurely visits with retired friends and relatives who have rolled down the right coast from our old days in New York, we boarded the ship on April 30 and spent two leisurely days at sea plus one in the port of Hamilton, Bermuda. On the way to Spain we stopped at the Azores, Madeira, Malaga, Valencia and then into Barcelona in two weeks.”
So how does one spend two days at sea from Ft. Lauderdale to Bermuda?
“This cruise features Mabel Mercer’s cabaret music and a Cordon Bleu cooking course, the latter an option at extra cost. Constantly aware of the potential weight gain of a cruise that includes not only sumptuous meals, as they all do, but also free cocktails, wine and beer both in the stateroom and throughout the ship, we devote time each day to walking the track around the pool deck and the treadmills of the ship’s gym.
“We also attended the lectures given before each port as well as topics as diverse as the voyages of Captain Cook and spying by British Intelligence and the CIA by those who have “been there, done that.
“Wi-Fi permits daily e-mail connections with family and friends. There is also a computer room on board for those who don’t want to lug a laptop. Mine is the size of half a sheet of paper and weighs under a pound, so it fits easily into my carry-on luggage.”
“First stop, Bermuda. Accidentally inhabited by British sailors ship wrecked on the way to transport more provisions to the Jamestown colonists in 1609, Bermudians have long been a friends of the U.S. They actually hoped the Continental Congress would send troops out to capture them during the American Revolution, but George Washington had enough problems and simply pledged eternal friendship while gratefully accepting the 100 barrels of gun powder which the Bermudians stole from the British and rushed over to Charleston for its defense.
“We were treated to a tour of Bermuda by the Virtuoso travel agent hosts on board. It was a new port to us, and well-worth getting off the ship for half a day to tour around.
“Bermuda is still quite British with driving on the left and UK accents. Some of the beaches really are pink, as advertised. The former agriculture of Bermuda onions and Easter lilies has given way to tourism and golf, and the 21 square miles of Bermuda are perfect for both. There is also a favorable climate for international business, particularly insurance. Shopping occupied most of our fellow-travelers while we were on tour. We now had four days at sea for lectures, more songs in the Mabel Mercer-style and some much-needed trips to the ship’s gym between sumptuous meals. We’ll see you in a few days after the Azores and Madeira on the way to the Spanish coast.”
More from Don’s travels in Friday’s Talk.
rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740
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