You would hardly turn down an invitation to attend the launch of a new ship when the location was Venice. Princesses don't say no either.The occasion was the dedication of Holland America Line (HAL's) brand spanking new, straight-out-of-the-box (read shipyard) Nieuw Amsterdam - fourth ship in the company's 137 year history to carry the name.
I'm quite taken by a tall, elegant man striding purposefully along the companionway of the Penthouse Deck on Crystal Symphony. I can't see his face, as I am behind him. His coattails swing rhythmically with each step. Aha! I've got it! A visiting conductor from a famous orchestra perhaps?
The old barge Anjodi is restless. Moored between two of the many hundred gigantic plane trees that form a leafy avenue along the 300 year old Canal du Midi, the most famous and picturesque canal in France, she wants to move on. Not her guests. We have all slipped into a dreamy torpor.
Luxury cruise industry veteran Larry Pimentel has held the position of President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises since 2009. With over 25 years of experience in the high-end travel industry he has been celebrated with awards such as Travel Agent magazine's "25 most influential travel executives of America" and the "2004 Leader in Luxury".
Amongst cruise converts globally, Silversea's luxury fleet is regularly voted as the number one cruising experience - no need to convince them. Instead, I would be addressing my fellow unconverted - the peripatetic flyers amongst us.
"Isn't she lov-el-y!" the seasoned reporter of luxury cruises breathily declared. "She is sexy, isn't she?" another chimed. I stared up at the great white pointy hull of Seabourn Odyssey in silence. The glamorous proportions of this new luxury yacht dulled into the mish-mash of other great white pointy hulls I had stored in my memory banks.
Like many others, I've had my own version of France. I've been there many times. But a recent experience has changed my perceptions of this most diverse of countries, I went barging and on the way discovered I knew little of France, after all.
We sit on deck and drink champagne on ice. But the biggest chunks of ice are not in the silver ice bucket, nor clinking in the glasses of those who prefer gin to bubbles, they are in front of us and all around us. A vast shimmering wilderness of blue-tinged ice.
When Charles Darwin and his crew first saw the Galapagos Islands in 1835 the captain described them as 'the infernal regions'. Certainly the twisted black volcanic rocks and highlands hidden in mist come as a shock to anyone who expects your typical tropical island.
Luxury cruising takes on a whole new meaning in Kerala, Southern Indian where houseboats drift through the sleepy backwaters offering a luxury retreat as traditional India drifts by on the canal banks.
Since the mid-80s Pamela Conover has spent much of her life criss-crossing the globe in the pursuit of cruising excellence. Now, one of the most powerful leaders spearheading the changing face of onboard lifestyle,she has been overseeing the building of Seabourn's new breed of luxury small ships.
SarinaBratton is a woman of many talents. She rose to the top in the cruise industry and then left the security of a large company to create her own cruise line (not an easy task in itself). She achieved international recognition as Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific for Cunard Line and won the 2004 Veuve Cliquot Award for Outstanding Women. Well deserved in ouropinion.
Silversea is one of the best and most luxurious small ship cruise lines in the world and the charming Steve Odell is the man who masterminds its progress in the Asia Pacific region. A childhood fascination with ocean going liners led to a career in the industry and a love of ships that has never left him.
