Oh the Places I'll Go

 Most of the people I know who have cruised the Danube River have sailed between Budapest and points north—through Austria and Germany.   We elected to cruise the lower Danube through the former Soviet-bloc countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia.   Our Viking River cruise began in Bucharest, Romania and ended in Budapest, Hungary.   This region, situated between the historically great empires of the Ottomans, the Habsburg Germans, and Russia, has a history of occupation, conflict, and contested borders alternating with periods of nationalist identity, struggles for independence, and self-rule.   We heard about these struggles during many of our guided tours and lectures on board the ship.   Having thrown off the yoke of Communism, the nations we visited are moving toward full integration as part of the European Union. After 22 hours in transit, we arrived in Bucharest, without our checked suitcases, which we had, unfortunately, left in Chicago....

Seven years ago I took my first cruise, reluctantly, but all it took was that one experience to whet my appetite for more.  Since that first adventure on the seas, I have taken fifteen more ocean cruises and two river ones, for a total of over three hundred days now spent on ships.  And, we already have another five booked to sail within the next fifteen months!  Several friends have asked recently for suggestions of which ships and itineraries they might think about booking.  So, I am writing this post to provide my responses to that question.  I will begin with a caveat:   I have not sailed on the popular, big cruise ships like Norwegian or Royal Caribbean.   These may be great options for those with a limited budget or children, but I have no interest in trying them.   I have not sailed on ships that cater to families with children, like Disney, although I have heard good things about them.   I have also heard positive things from friend...

Scott has long wanted to go on a Caribbean-island vacation, but to which island?  He found a Viking Ocean cruise to ten of them, and we decided that would be as good a way as any to do an initial reconnaissance.  We booked a December cruise.  Since his teaching schedule gives him a break then and we have no immediate family to spend the holidays with, this has been a favorite travel time of ours for several years.  We convinced our good friends Monica and Loren to spend Christmas in the Caribbean with us after having had so much fun together last year on our Rhine Christmas Markets river cruise. The old fort Our cruise began and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where we had booked a walking tour of the old town and fort.   Unfortunately, Monica and Loren had flight problems and missed that first day.   To add insult to injury, Monica’s suitcase didn’t arrive.   In fact, it didn’t catch up with the ship until the last two days of our cruise.   C...