In the early days most ocean liners were luxury transportation getting people from one part of the world to another. Trans-Atlantic cruises were the most common but there were routes covering the entire globe. Now cruise ships are a whole lot more than just transportation and they have seasons where they run itineraries around the world’s popular regions.
A repositioning cruise traditionally is when a cruise company needs to move their ships from one seasonal location to another. Winter is cruising season in the Caribbean while Europe is a Summer market. For that reason dozens of cruise ships head out across the Atlantic every Spring and return in the Fall. These Atlantic crossings are by-far the most common repositioning cruises but there are also other repositioning cruises. They include Fall Alaska cruises leaving to take ships back to the Caribbean or out across the Pacific. Another opportunity is a late Summer reposition movement down to South America and cruising back north in the Spring.
Just a decade or two ago these cruises were tremendous bargains with 12 to 15 night cruises going for fares of four or five hundred dollars per passenger. While those days are gone they are still less expensive than most other cruises. The down side was that you would spend seven to nine straight days at sea. The up side was that the ships provided the same entertainment, the same great cuisine and the same attentive service. Additionally most of these cruises also provide a port of call or two at each end of the cruise.
Lately, as cruising gets more popular and more people become frequent cruisers the ships have less trouble filling these repositioning cruise cabins and the pricing has regularly adjusted upward as a result. Even so, if it’s the cruise experience you enjoy these cruises are still a good value considering the length of the cruise relative to price.
Royal Caribbean at anchor Grand Cayman
In addition to the value these cruises offer, some cruise lines will add additional programs for passengers to add something extra to those sea days. They can range from classes and demonstrations to lectures on a number of topics taking advantage of college professors, art historians, archaeologist, naturalists and adventure travelers and explorers.
If you love cruising and are looking for new cruise opportunities, take some time and explore repositioning cruises.
Tucked in between Brazil and Argentina along the South American coast is the county of Uruguay. Its capital and major port is the city of Montevideo where over half of the countries population of three million live. A frequent port on many South American cruise itineraries the city is located near where the Rio de la Plata flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It is two-hundred fifty miles down river and east of Buenos Aries.
Where You Dock
Cruise ships normally dock at the Terminal Puerto De Montevideo which sits at the tip of a peninsula which covers most of the Tres Cruces barrio. A barrio is neighbourhood or district and Tres Cruces means “three crossings”, referring to the three major transportation routes which meet in the area. The port is well developed but does not offer a terminal adjacent to the pier. However only a couple of blocks outside the port is a shopping district and public restrooms are available in the Port Market*.
Transportation
While Montevideo is a large metropolitan area, Tres Cruces is the heart of the historic city with most of the sites within walking distance. Getting outside this area usually requires a taxi. While Taxis are common they are not cheap as gasoline is expensive here. A majority of drivers only speak Spanish so be prepared with written names of your destination. Expect to pay about UYU100 for a ten minute ride. Tipping is not usual, but rounding up is common.
Getting To and From the Airport. A shuttle is available between the airport and downtown for about UYS 800/950 or US$45. A taxi should cost about UYU 1500 or US$70.
Currency
Currently a Uruguay Peso (UYU) is worth about US$0.03. Most merchants in popular tourist areas will accept Dollars and Euros and most major credit cards can be used. If using currency expect small change to be in Uruguay Pesos.
Attractions
Just outside the port is The Port Market. Outside are street stalls and local shops and inside the main pavilion is a collection of cafes, bars and restaurants. The area is particularly famous for its steak houses.
Within the Tres Cruces area are a number of attractions like:
Locks Fountain at Av. 18 de Julio
Ramírez Beach, a wide sand beach & popular hangout
Galeria SOA, Candombe pedestrian Curuguaty
Palacio Diaz at Av. 18 de Julio
Ciudadela at Av. Intendente Municipal Juan Pedro Fabini
Fountain Plaza Cagancha at Dr. Enrique Tarigo
Galería Caubarrere Convención at Restos de la muralla de la Ciudadela at Buenos Aires
Mausoleo de José Gervasio Artigas at Prócer de los Orientales
Monument at Plaza Independencia
The Black Gallery Arte Contemporáneo at Calle Perez Castellano
Palacio Santos at Av. 18 de Julio
Monumento a Atilio Narancio
Palmera de Juana de Ibarbourou at Manuel Vicente Pagola
We were never aware of love locks before about fifteen years ago but recently as we travel we often come across collections of padlocks attached to bridges and other public structures. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what was going on by all the couples names engraved on the locks. But in the last five years or so it is becoming difficult to not notice these collections, they’re popping up everywhere.
The practice isn’t new but was virtually unheard of outside of a few cities, mostly in Eastern Europe. Early in the twenty-first century the practice has exploded worldwide. A love lock is a padlock which lovers lock to a bridge, fence, gate or monument to symbolize their eternal love. In recent years the lovers’ names or initials, and the date, are engraved on the padlock, and its key is thrown away usually into the river under the bridge to symbolize unbreakable love.
This simple and romantic practice seems innocent but more and more being treated by authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is becoming serious cost associated with damage and their removal. We’ve been told that there are places where authorities are embracing them as a tourist attractions.
Paris
A little research will show that love padlocks date back at least 100 years to a Serbian tale of World War I, about the bridge Most Ljubavi or the Bridge of Love in the town of Vrnjačka Banja. A local schoolmistress named Nada, who was from Vrnjačka Banja, fell in love with a Serbian officer named Relja. He went off to war in Greece, where he fell in love with a woman from Corfu. Heart broken Nada broke off their engagement and after some time died from heartbreak. As the tragic love story circulated young women from Vrnjačka Banja wanted to protect their love and started writing down their names, with the names of their loves, on padlocks and attached them to the bridge where Nada and Relja used to meet.
Savannah, Georgia
Ha’penny Bridge, Dublin
In Dublin there is a famous pedestrian bridge called the Ha’penny Bridge. It is one of the more famous symbols of Dublin. Nearly 200 years old (1816) it is a protected structure, but in recent years Dublin City Council have had to remove thousands of padlocks from the bridge on a regular basis. They are considered unsightly and are causing damage by chipping paint and adding considerable weight to the historic bridge. Engineers have estimated that at some point, if not removed, they could cause the bridge to collapse.
While the key to many a heart now lies at the bottom of the River Liffey where couples in love have thrown them after securing their love locks to Dublin’s historic Ha’penny Bridge, a group is dedicated to breaking that bond. Almost as soon as the lovers have left, an expert lock-picking group arrives to tear these bonds of love apart and stop the locks from making the bridge structurally unsafe.
River walk Wurzburg, Germany
“It’s a fairly constant churn,” said Seán Nicholls, who set up the group when he was on his way to a professional lock-picking meeting. “I was heading to the meeting one day and I walked over the Ha’penny Bridge and noticed all the locks. In my mind it was defacing a city treasure. That’s kind of where the idea came from,” he said.
Dublin City Council embraced the group in the aftermath of a love-lock situation in Paris where the locks caused a section of the Pont des Arts bridge to collapse.
Just recently the practice has come to America and is growing in Savannah, Boston and a number of other cities. Since a number of locksmiths are now offering professional engraving on their padlocks the practice is likely to grow even more.
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It’s becoming springtime in Antarctica and a number of cruise companies are posting new Antarctic cruise offerings. If you enjoy cruising, if you are looking for more exotic destinations, this is a cruise not to miss!
It seems hard to believe but we can now visit Antarctica on a cruise. Each year thousands of passengers stand in awe as the snow and ice covered mountains of Antarctica slide by while whales and penguins break the water all around your ship.
Each year more and more cruise ships are taking passengers into the frozen realm of the South Pole with visits to Paradise Bay, Elephant Island and cruising along the continent’s coasts. There a also hundreds of smaller expedition boats taking visitors ashore to walk on the ice sheets and visit penguin colonies.
Antarctic Itineraries – Currently a number of major cruise companies offer cruises to Antarctica with Buenos Aries being a favorite departure port. You can find itineraries that include several ports of call in South America like Montevideo, Porto Madryn and the Antarctic cruise departure port of Ushuaia, Argentina. Most cruises to Antarctica will visit the peninsula with a day in Paradise Bay, a cruise around Elephant Island and an additional port call in the Falklands.
Porto Madryn is specially noted for wildlife viewing (it’s the place where Orcas chase seals up on the beach) and the Falklands is a major breeding ground for sea lions along with six species of penguins. Ushuaia is a fast growing city that sits at the entrance to Tierra del Fuego and the end of the world with the incredible wildlife watching found in the Beagle Channel.
Ships bound for Antarctica docked at Ushuaia
Visiting Antartica is controlled by an international association setting rules for private tour operators. It seems that eight countries have made territorial claims in Antarctica and no country recognizes the claim of any other country. That leaves it very unclear what authority is in charge of the continent. As world travel and exotic destinations grew in popularity more and more businesses realized there was a serious opportunity for Antarctic tourism. This has left the Antarctic tourism industry largely self-regulated but they’re working hard at being responsible. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) was founded in 1991 by seven companies growing to around a hundred members today.
Elephant Island
*Under existing IAATO rules, only ships carrying fewer than 500 passengers are allowed to make landings at approved sites and only 100 people allowed ashore at a time and must be accompanied by certified guides with a ratio of 1:20. They must not bring food ashore or leave anything behind or take anything back.
It’s time to explore those Antarctic options and be prepared for the cruise of your life!
Cruising Antarctica is the newest experience for travelers. Sailing on luxury ocean liners or smaller expedition boats it is an experience not to be missed.
Welcome to Perth, where soft-sand beaches and scenic parks meet a thriving metropolis of small bars, creative restaurants and curated street art. Nature and urban life exist in harmony in Perth, on Australia’s west coast. Here, where the locals soak up more sunny days than in any other Australian city. In addition to white-sand beaches, the city offers historic architecture, a huge public park and a number of great museums. Perth isn’t short on world-class attractions for visitors to Australia’s Wild West. There are a number of great things to see and do in Perth that you should fit into your itinerary.
Where Your Ship Docks
Fremantle in Western Australia is Perth’s harbor and where cruise ships dock. It is a full fifteen miles outside Perth making sightseeing somewhat of a challenge. Taxi Fare from the port of Fremantle into Perth is estimated at $60. It usually takes over 30 minutes to reach Perth from Fremantle Harbor by taxi but there are other options.
Getting Around
TransPerth is the Perth public transportation system, and it includes bus, train, and ferry networks throughout the region. There is an easy option for using the Perth public transit all day, called the Day Rider. A pass ticket costs about US$10.00 per day and it’s good for all zones for a 24 hour period from first use and is the best option if you plan on traveling around the city.
Transperth operates a train from Fremantle Station Platform 1 to central Perth Station Platform 8 every 20 minutes. Tickets cost $3 – $6 and the journey takes 30 min. Alternatively, Transperth operates a bus service from Adelaide Station in Perth. Tickets cost $4 – $6 and the journey takes almost an hour.
Currency
Australia has its own Dollar with an exchange rate to the American Dollar of about US$0.75. US Dollars are not usually accepted but credit cards are welcome and there are ATMs available everywhere.
Attractions
Kings Park – Introducing the largest inner-city park in the world, roughly 20% larger than New York’s Central Park. Kings Park is a verdant thousand-acre oasis in the heart of Perth, offering postcard-perfect views of the city centre and the Swan River, as well as 300-plus native West Australian plants, dozens of bird species and miles of manicured gardens and untamed bushland to hike and explore.
Perth’s Fremantle Prison Is a popular tourist attraction and is WA’s only UNESCO World Heritage-listed building. It’s history stretches way back to 1855, housing some of Britain’s worst convicts and the Western Australia’s toughest prisoners right up to its closing in 1991. Today you can take a tour of the historic site and if you’ve got the time even spend the night in a cell at the backpackers hostel situated in the former women’s wing.
Scitech An interactive museum experience exploring the modern world through playful science, technology, engineering and mathematics experiences. If you’re traveling with children or maybe just a child at heart don’t miss a visit to Perth’s SciTech. Link HERE.
Cottesloe Beach With the snow-white sand, turquoise water, lush green vegetation and Norfolk pine trees this beach is one of the best in Australia. With summer temperatures in the high 80’s and winter lows never much lower than the 50’s you’ll understand why Cottesloe is Perth’s most popular beach. The main beach is great for swimming or sunning and North Cottesloe is incredible for snorkeling with South Cottesloe famous for surfing. While there be sure and have a coffee in the iconic Indiana teahouse.
Rottnest Island Is just a half-hour ferry ride away. ‘Rotto’ only has 100-odd permanent residents but the population climbs to several thousand during summer holidays, when visitors flock to the beaches, cycling trails, untouched bushland, history and the world’s happiest anima, the incredibly photogenic marsupial called the quokka.
The Bell Tower You cannot miss this modern glass sculpture that climbs into the sky over the Elizabeth Quay area – a 250 foot tower that houses the Swan Bells, which comprise 18 bells sourced from historic churches in London. The Bell Tower is surrounded by ceramic tiles designed by school kids around WA, and contains an observation deck providing incredible views of the city of Perth and surrounds.
PerthAquarium A state with 12,000 miles of coastline is bound to boast an incredibly diverse array of marine life, and Perth’s aquarium is up to the task. AQWA was the country’s largest aquarium when it opened in 1988 and still boasts a 750 thousand gallon tank containing an almost 300 foot tunnel to offer visitors an amazing look at the aquariums marine life including grey nurse sharks, stingrays and loggerhead turtles.
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