The View from the Ship

Tour Hosts Review  by Sheri Leigh

Cruising provides a great way to see a variety of locations, without having to repack. Just look at the phenomenon of the big floating Vegas type ships we see hyped everywhere. While I have been there and done that — once many years ago — now my ideal experience, or so I imagine and am dying to try, is a slow relaxing meander down a quaint canal or river. Drinking in the scenery and getting a view of cities and towns from a totally different perspective. A recent quick excursion on the Chicago River, can give me a view of the city most tourists never see.

Of course not all cruises are calm and soothing, crossing Drake's Passage to Antarctica can be quite a rollicking experience, or so I read...but for the most part, a cruise is a relaxing and great way to and get in touch with the region you are passing through.

Some tour hosts even organize special lecturers on specific departures so you can enjoy a customized thematic cruise such as a journey in Mozart’s footsteps, an architectural and historic trip through Russia’s imperial cities or a garden cruise to correspond with Holland’s tulip festival.

This month’s hosts cover a wide range to options from the farthest reaches of the world, to the great rivers of Europe, China’s soon to be gone Three Gorges to our own backyard. But wherever the journey or the type of ship, a cruise for even a few hours, lets you experience a destination from a totally different view point, one you’ll never get from the land and certainly not from the window of a bus!

This month's tour hosts review: