Mooning Over SH Diana
When you walk onto Swan Hellenic’s newest ship, SH Diana, you are immediately greeted with a sense of elegance and sophistication. That’s not what you might expect from an expedition ship, but the newest member of Swan Hellenic’s fleet captures the essence of high-class exploration. As soon as
Viking Cruises Announces New River Voyage To Europe
Viking Cruises is heading to Europe and will operate year-round with a new winter river voyage! Guests can travel around Europe on the brand’s latest voyage, Treasures of the Rhine, giving guests first access to explore Europe in the winter season! “The Middle Rhine is one of our mo
Holland America Line Celebrates 150th Anniversary
Holland America Line’s Rotterdam ship arrived at the Port of Rotterdam just in time for the brand’s 150th Anniversary! Rotterdam‘s arrival on the date of the HAL’s Anniversary allowed the brand to kick off the celebration with special guests like royalty, local
Swan Hellenic Takes Delivery Of New Flagship SH Diana
Today, Swan Hellenic took the official delivery of its brand-new flagship SH Diana from the Helsinki Shipyard! “We’re delighted to have taken delivery of this exceptionally beautiful and versatile new 5-star vessel,” said Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito. “As the larg
SWAN HELLENIC NAMES VALERIE ANN WILSON GODMOTHER OF SH DIANA
Today, Swan Hellenic announced the details for the naming ceremony of its newest and largest expedition cruise ship, SH Diana. The ceremony for the cruise line’s third ice-class vessel will take place on May 4, 2023, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The brand-new SH Diana will get to call the luxury tra
Viking Cruises Names Eight New Longships in Paris
What sets a great cruise ship naming ceremony apart from just a good one? The Eiffel Tower looking on certainly helps. Along the slate-colored stripe of water know as the Seine during a crisp winter day in Paris, Viking Cruises named four new river ships (the other four in Amsterdam) in a spec
Crystal Cruises Returns to European River Cruising
One of the top names in river cruising made their return to the waterways of European yesterday with another ship scheduled to sail today. Crystal Cruises set sail from Vilshofen, Germany on board their ship Crystal Ravel on a seven-night itinerary on the Danube River and Crystal Debussy w
Amsterdam: Connoisseurs of Cozy
I’m sitting in Café Papeneiland in Amsterdam, when the feeling of gezelligheid hits me. It’s what this city’s bruin cafés — the Dutch answer to the pub — are most famous for inducing: a lovely, warm feeling of contentment. To be gezellig is to be cozy, to feel togetherness, to enjoy comp
Holland America Renames Their Upcoming Ship
Holland America Line announced today that it is changing the name of its newbuild from Ryndam to Rotterdam and designating it the new flagship of the fleet. The ship will be the 7th in Holland America’s 150-year history to bear the name Rotterdam. The cruise line
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Buying Two HAL Ships
Like most businesses across the world, cruise lines are in an all out effort to reduce their operating costs as their usual income is no longer rolling in. As we reported earlier this month, Carnival Corporation had plans to sell 13 ships either to other cruise lines, or to the scrapyard. We already
Choose Your Cruise – May 15, 2020
Happy Friday! Today on choose your cruise, we’ve got three options from around the world and YOU get to pick your favorite! Let us know which cruise you would pick in the comments below. Cruise A When it comes to exploring the world, few do it better than National Geographic. Their partn
Choose Your Cruise – April 10, 2020
It’s choose your cruise time! Last week we posted some of our favorite expedition cruises from companies who are really pushing the boundaries between luxury and adventure. Today, we’re skipping the remote environments for river cruises all over the world. If you love sipping wine, learn
What to Do in Amsterdam
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, is an enormously popular place with cruise ship passengers and there are a lot of us. Amsterdam is the third biggest cruise port in Europe by number of passengers. Over 700,000 passengers visit its two Passenger Terminals one of which is smack dab in the
5 Ways To Have A Blast In San Blas
Panama’s San Blas Islands are exotic, friendly, and relatively nearby; often a port of call on Panama Canal itineraries, including those featuring partial transits of the Canal. They form an archipelago consisting of 378 islands scattered around in an area of 100 square miles in the northwest of P
Editor-in-Chief Awards 2019
2019 Editor-in-Chief Awards As editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine, Bill Panoff travels a lot. So each year, he reports back on his favorite travel experiences around the world. Here are this year’s picks of those who left amazing impressions in terms of service, quality, and memorable mom
48 Hours In: One Dam Fine Town
Amsterdam has always been a seafaring town. It started a thousand years ago as a fishing village on a narrow dammed strip of land surrounded by water and bog. But the town soon expanded with increased trade, and by the 17th century it was the richest port in the world. Amsterdam’s Golden Age was m
For Shore: Navigators Through the Millennia
From the Vikings and great European explorers to 20th-century sailing vessels and warships, maritime museums tell the stories of colonization, trade, and war that have shaped the world as we know it today. Detailed below are some of the best museums worth a visit during your next stop in popular por
Ship Review: Crystal Bach
Gray skies hang over Germany’s Black Forest and there’s a hint of rain in the air, but I’ve stepped off the gangway of Crystal Bach into a world of shimmering light. Crystal Bach Rooms with a View Riverboats on Europe’s waterways are essentially limited in size by the many locks and bridges
Amsterdam On the Map
On the Map When in Amsterdam, turn your compass to these local hotspots. By Steve Korver Once upon a time, Amsterdam was more bog than village. With the water too dirty to drink, the locals were forced — for safety’s sake — to drink beer. While often jolly and social, the villagers did retain
