Port authorities on cruising’s great cities
Our writers hark back to pre-COVID voyages to reveal their favourite overseas destinations.
Sometimes it’s not just about the journey; it’s about the destination. And when it comes to cruising, there’s a real sense of drama and anticipation about arriving in a new port. What lies beyond the harbour and what fresh discoveries await? Here, T+I’s writers hark back to pre-COVID travels to reveal their favourite overseas ports of call.
VALLETTA, MALTA
There’s a grandiose sense of arrival when cruising into Valletta, presiding over the Sciberras Peninsula like a fairytale fortification. Ships are often greeted with cannon booms from the Saluting Battery in the Upper Barrakka Gardens. With thick battlements, bell-towers and ornamented domes, the citadel looks impregnable but is full of accessible history and heritage treasures. The Knights of St John, who ruled from 1530 to 1798, have left a legacy of pompous architecture, while remnants of British rule, from 1800 to 1964, include English as an official language and high-street brands such as Marks & Spencer. Art lovers, listen up. Two Caravaggio paintings are held in the oratory at St John’s Co-Cathedral, a 16th-century gothic masterpiece. The Beheading of St John the Baptist, his largest and only signed work, is displayed opposite his dramatic depiction of St Jerome. Lunch? Piccolo Padre, in an 18th-century villa on the seafront between St Julian’s and Sliema, serves excellent wood-fired pizzas, best followed with a visit to nearby gelateria decked with striped awnings. Before setting sail, a cocktail made with local orange bitters on the terrace of the Club Bar at The Phoenicia hotel, by the city gates and in business since 1947, is de rigueur.
Silversea’s 11-day cruise aboard Silver Spirit departs Rome (Civitavecchia) on April 14, 2022, for Athens (Piraeus); includes a full-day in Valletta and fare-included excursions; from $9180 a person, twin-share; silversea.com.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
SEATTLE, US
Spending your Alaska cruise jet-lagged would be foolishly wasteful. A more sensible place to shake off the cobwebs is the departure port of Seattle, which is walkable, waterfront, wine-filled and foodie-approved. Proving its welcoming vibe, the monorail from the airport costs $US3 ($4), leaving your budget free to be splurged on the sublime seafood, shopping and nightlife. Downtown is overflowing with cosy bars, restaurants, designer stores, music venues and a sprawling shelter of local specialty snacks at Pike Place Market. The tourist attractions won’t drain your time, with barely any queues in this small city (population 750,000). The futuristic Space Needle’s glass-floored observation deck offers 360-degree views; MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture) is a must for fans of Seattle natives Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and Pearl Jam; and the delightful Chihuly Garden and Glass contains indoor and outdoor artworks within eight galleries and a glasshouse. About an hour away are the wineries of Woodinville, the Boeing Future of Flight centre, Seattle Premium Outlets shopping mall and whale watching in the San Juan Islands. If your cruise ends here, the Port Valet program delivers airline boarding passes to your cabin and transfers luggage from the cruise terminal to the airport for no extra charge.
Celebrity Cruises’ seven-night Alaska Glacier cruise on Celebrity Solstice from Seattle to Vancouver departs September 9, 2022; from $US1149 ($1500) a person, twin-share;
celebritycruises.com.
LOUISE GOLDSBURY
PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE
The chief attraction of Chile’s southernmost city is the romance of what lies beyond: the glacier-fed Beagle Channel and, just across the restive open-ocean Drake Passage, the blue-white world of Antarctica. While Patagonian Punta Arenas (Sandy Tip in English) might seem little more than an icy blast-bitten staging post with the tang of adventure on the air, it certainly has its charms. The buildings along the port are painted jolly Nordic blues and yellows, and there’s fun to be had at the pubs and tourist shops specialising in Patagonian furs. The city’s past, as a penal colony that rose to riches off the sheep’s back, will doubtless resonate with Australians. And its handsome conifer and cypress-lined main square, Plaza Munoz Gamero, has more than a touch of boom-town grandeur. In this district are the palaces-cum-museums of wool barons Sarah Braun and Jose Braun Menendez, with their opulent Proustian airs. The Museo Maggiorino Borgatello has more to say about the history of the Patagonian natural world, including the tragic story of the Indigenous population, the Selk’nam, in whose demise the wool barons were implicated. Latvian-born Sarah Braun also lends her name to the elaborate local cemetery that houses her remains; a city of the dead with more vanity than many cities of the living.
Hurtigruten’s 18-day Voyage of Discovery to Antarctica ends in Punta Arenas, followed by a return flight to Santiago; departs October 22, 2021; from $14,701 a person twin-share including international flights;
hurtigruten.com.au.
LUKE SLATTERY
ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
After crossing the Gulf of Finland, vessels must wait until the early hours to enter St Petersburg. It is only after midnight, when nine of the city’s 342 bridges are drawn open, that the river becomes navigable to large ships. This simple quirk of maritime traffic means the pre-dawn arrival feels mysterious and magical, a sensation that persists the longer you stay in Russia’s romantic western stronghold. A minimum three-day stay is necessary to fit in tours of the former imperial capital and the outrageously gilded Peterhof summer retreat, and then to spend the rest of your shore time at The Hermitage. Local wisdom holds that visitors would need 11 years to spend one minute admiring each extraordinary artwork in the three million-strong imperial collection, so pick your targets. My recommendations? Michelangelo’s Crouching Boy (one of only four remaining sculptures by the Renaissance master), the Raphael loggias and the escort-only Gold Rooms with their gleaming treasury dating to 7BC. Or follow your favourite artist. Whether Rembrandt, Picasso, Titian or Matisse, they’re all here in abundance. Jump the insanely long entry queues with an upscale operator such Crystal Cruises, which offers VIP access to the Hermitage wonderland.
Crystal Cruises’ 71-night Grand Journey: Europe includes two nights in the Russian port; departs Stockholm July 31, 2022; from $38,762 a person, twin-share;
crystalcruises.com.au.
KENDALL HILL
BARCELONA, SPAIN
The capital of Spain’s northeast Catalonia region captivates visitors with architecture that spans millennia, world-class art galleries and museums dedicated to the likes of Picasso and Dali, vibrant food markets, Michelin-starred restaurants, sun-soaked beaches and shopping strips. But beyond the works of Antoni Gaudi and Joan Miro and the long, wide boulevard that is Las Ramblas are a host of other riches. In the cool Gracia district of the city, visitors can sip vermouth in honey-hued basement bars or slurp pepper-packed gazpacho prepared by a local family in their private residence. There are out-of-the-way places for pinxtos, and secret flamenco bars that would be impossible to find without someone pointing out the way. Which is exactly what the guides from Regent Seven Seas Cruises do on the line’s Discover Gracia’s Alternative Vibe shore excursion. These intimate experiences stay with guests long after sailing away from the port.
Regent Seven Seas’ 10-night voyage on Seven Seas Splendor departs Venice for Monte Carlo on April 26, 2022, calling at Dubrovnik, Valletta and Barcelona, among other ports; from $10,000 a person, twin-share; rssc.com.
CARLA GROSSETTI
YANGON, MYANMAR
Probably no Asian city can rival this thriving port’s trove of Raj glories and sepia ghosts, its sprawl of Victorian-Edwardian architecture. The restored, massive Secretariat Building alone occupies a full city block. Explore the Colonial Heritage Trail and its side streets, plus Bogyoke Aung San Market, The Strand Hotel and Sule Pagoda, which novelist Amitav Ghosh described as “rising above the busy street like a rock rearing from the sea”. The Swedagon Pagoda, with its golden spindle soaring 99m to a diamond-encrusted tip, has been a must-do for centuries. Try also two unique Yangon transport experiences. The Elephant Coach is a World War II Chevy “Blitz” truck that’s been impeccably reincarnated for luxury sightseeing, complete with liveried chauffeur and elegant hostess. Hop on the Circular Train to see the real Yangon, close-up and rattling. This suburban commuter service trundles a long loop and is alive with vendors, families and interaction. You’re welcome aboard; hop on or off at will. Later refresh yourself with a cup of rich, intense Burmese tea. And don’t miss the national dish, mohinga soup, a flavour-bomb of noodles, egg, fish and light curry. Sadly, the recent return of thuggish military rule over the good citizens of Myanmar upends the notion that people get the government they deserve.
River operator Pandaw’s 14-night Irrawaddy cruise ex-Yangon takes in the ports of Prome, Mandalay and Mingu; from $US6589 a person, twin-share; departs February 5, 2022; no single supplement on select dates; pandaw.com.
JOHN BORTHWICK
NEW ORLEANS, US
When Louis Armstrong posed the question, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? he sang of yearning for pines, oleanders and the Mississippi. He forgot what makes the city one of the world’s greats: dancing. Not just at Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest; given any opportunity, New Orleans locals love to let the good times roll. It could happen joining in the second line during a brass band street parade, seeing a band on Frenchman Street, or listening to New Orleans vinyl 45s at a bar. After all, the city is the birthplace of jazz, the cradle of rhythm and blues, funk, blues, zydeco and a style of hip-hop called bounce. And then there’s the cuisine. Ride a streetcar to a weekend jazz brunch at New Orleans institution Commander’s Palace or sample the city’s delicacies any day such as cochon de lait po-boys, crawfish etouffee and, for dessert, powdery beignets. A guided stroll on a Viking Cruises shore excursion through the French Quarter is a good way to get acquainted with the Crescent City, eyeing off the intricate wrought-iron railings of the rowhouses and stopping by bars where libations such as the Sazerac and its rowdier cousin, the Hurricane, were invented. Expect to cut a rug.
Viking River Cruises’ eight-day Heart of the Delta itinerary sails between New Orleans and Memphis, with departures from November 2022; from $6495 a person, twin-share; vikingrivercruises.com.au.
ANDREA BLACK
