the avid cruiser

Regatta is departing Saint-Malo, charting a course for Bordeaux, with a single sea day in between. Regatta overnights in Bordeaux. Tune in tomorrow for "A Sea Day On Regatta," and on Wednesday for a Bordeaux experience.

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What a day in Saint-Malo, France. The walled city is absolutely charming, but it's not alone in the variety of offerings all accessible in fewer than 40 minutes from the tender landing. Across the bay is Dinard, well worth the short water shuttle transit for a walk along the coastal pathway to admire the Belle Epoque villas and exotic plants that bring to mind Provence. Not more than 20 minutes from Saint-Malo is Cancale, where we enjoyed a shellfish lunch in an extremely charming cafe in the fishing village renowned throughout France for its oysters. A drive along the Emerald Coast brought us to Mont Saint Michel, the stunning world attraction that is made even more dramatic by the fact that it is situated in a bay that is home to the largest tidal movements in Europe. Forty minutes after leaving Mont Saint Michel, we were back in Saint-Malo. Much more on the day and the destination will be reported in the coming days and weeks.

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On Oceania's Regatta. "We love the configuration of this class of vessel," say Ken and Nancy from Los Angeles. They're referring to the former R-class vessels once operated by Renaissance Cruises and now part of the successful Oceania Cruises' brand. The formula for success: good value on small "upper premium" ships. "Upper premium" means that Oceania aspires to come close to product parity with much higher-priced cruises on the luxury ships. Does Oceania succeed? Stay tuned.

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Unveiled at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg today, a new website for Cruise Europe, a member organization comprised 106 European destinations.
 
Cruisers can find comprehensive information about destinations from Nordkapp in Europe's far north to Lisbon. Cruise Europe executive staff pictured from left: Vibeke Jorgensen, executive director; Dirk Moldenhauer, chairman; and Monica Bengtsson, marketing chair.

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People have been cruising the North Atlantic for centuries, but charting a course has not always been easy. Information about the island groups in the North Atlantic has been hard to find, Modern-day mariners, however, have a new tool.
 
Today at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg a new alliance was announced, comprised of five North Atlantic island groups: Orkney Islands, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland and Labrador. "We've launched a new portal for consumers," says Agust Agustsson, marketing manager for Port of Reykjavik, Iceland. "The benefit is that you can now find information on one website about these five island groups, which have been hidden away for so long."
 
The North Atlantic islands are true, unspoiled and undiscovered gems.
 
"It's a place like no other," says Bob McCarthy, spokesperson for the alliance, "one of the last undiscovered places left."
 
Launched today, Cruise Islands of the North Atlantic's website is www.cruisenorthatlantic.com

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In Hamburg, Germany, two Canadian destinations were recognized during Seatrade Insider's Cruise Awards 2009.
 Ranking among the world's top three cruise destinations in their categories: Saint John, New Brunswick, Transit Port of the Year; and Cruise The Saint Lawrence, Destination of the Year. The Saint Lawrence's appeal for cruisers: Innu and French culture (it's like having Europe next door), abundant marine life, natural beauty, rich heritage and friendly people. "The Saint Lawrence is untouched, unmatched, unforgettable," says Rene Trepanier, executive director of the Cruise Saint Lawrence. www.cruisesaintlawrence.com
 
Saint John's appeal: Bay of Fundy, highest tides in the world. Walk on the ocean floor, explore a magnificent coastline, and walk into caves carved by the Bay Fundy. "We're our own natural Nirvana," says Betty MacMillan, manager business development for Saint John Port Authority. www.cruisesaintjohn.com

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Finally, a great solution for good German draught beer on cruise ships - Beer-in-Box.
 
The 400-year-old Bavarian brewery, Ankerbrau (www.ankerbrauerei.de), removes the carbonation from the beer, boxes the beer, then recarbonates it once on board through a system developed by the brewery. "The great thing is that the beer is always fresh," says Karl Bosch, who works with the brewery. "And it's one-way packaging." The boxes can be flattened and recycled on ship.
 
Advantages are: saves space, more product in the container, longer shelf life (8 months), no keg deposit and always (did we mention it already?) great German beer.

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Met at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg -Tour operator Iceland Travel offers a variety of tours, including one that allows cruise passengers to meet the locals on walking tours in Icelandic ports. For more info contact liz@icelandtravel.is.

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In Hamburg on a Beatles tour. They played 281 concerts here between 1960 and 1962 before becoming sensationally famous in 1963. The sign reads that the Beatles lived here, in St. Pauli, in 1960. The two-hour tour is conducted by Stefanie Hempel, a local musician, www.myspace.com/stefaniehempel

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Accessible to cruise passengers from Lulea, Storforsen, which means "big rapids," is astoundingly beautiful. Storforsen is one of many attractions from Lulea, which in my opinion merits overnights by cruise ships. In fact, The World, Residensea's residential ship, has overnighted here (2007) in the north of Sweden. I will be reporting more from this "new" cruising region near the Arctic Circle in future posts. Stay tuned.

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