Melinda Crow

, I’m talking about 2019 Alaskan cruises still available in primo suites on a LUXURY cruise line! Seabourn ships are consistently ranked among the top tier of luxury cruising, with guests treated to complimentary premium spirits and fine wines at all times on board, welcome champagne and a complimentary in-suite bar. As you swelter in the summer heat, start dreaming of kayaking Misty Fjords before returning to your luxury suite for a soak in your tub and pre-dinner cocktails. If you add the third person and split the total cost of the cabin three ways, the price of the 12-day round trip cruise from Vancouver is just over $2,500 each.

That is true for SOME countries, but if your cruise takes you beyond European Union countries, the Caribbean, plus a handful of others, American citizens often need visas in addition to their passports and in very few instances does the cruise line handle the process for you. The costs are spelled out During my research, I discovered that not only was it difficult to find the cost of the various types of visas a country offered but often the government sites themselves swapped me to third-party sellers for the application process, many with hidden fees. I’m definitely a do-it-myselfer when it comes to travel planning— and not inclined to pay a service fee when I can do something myself and avoid the fee or save a few dollars. Wander around iVisa’s website a bit and see if you don’t feel safe, secure, and better informed than when you arrived, better yet, do some cruise dreaming and punch in a few countries in the tool below to see how easy it will be to apply for the countries you long to visit by cruise ship!

It’s a gigantic publishing realm where you can read to your heart’s content about any topic imaginable. There’s a nominal subscription to view some stories, but there is still plenty available free without subscribing. My stuff is split about 50/50, half free, half subscription, but you can read my subscription stuff through shared links here. And the more I hang out on Medium, the deeper I find my thoughts going, so I find that when I write for Medium I dive deeper myself.

Cruises normally incorporate more of the total waking hours in port than cruising, so choosing how to spend your time in each port could be the most important part of your cruise planning. Most ports have detailed information on the site, including links to Google Maps directly to the port where the ship will be docking, allowing you to get an idea of what is within walking distance from the pier, and more importantly, what is not. I also never plan my shore activities without a quick search for the port on Cruise Critic. Thousands of cruise ports around the world have detailed descriptions written by Cruise Critic’s editors and expert contributors.