Spectacular Ports of call

[robins11]

I was looking back at some photos of a recent Mediterranean cruise on Spirit and our departure from Venice. It got me thinking about all the varied ports of call we have visited and which ones have been the most spectacular in terms of arrival or departure. Was it the impressive natural scenery, or arriving into an historic city, or the approach into a modern cityscape, or seeing some iconic feature, something that created a real buzz and a 'wow' factor, a feeling of excitement and adventure.

For me it has to be Venice and that wonderful departure down the narrow canal through the city, or possibly Valletta in Malta where the ship enters a natural harbour between fortresses and surrounded by beautiful old buildings, or maybe Miami, with that fantastic sail away past South Beach.

Or was it Istanbul and the sight of the palaces and mosques as you sail in on the Bosphorus.

Do you have your favourites the ports that give you a real buzz of excitement ?

Better still if on a Norwegian ship.

[KeithJenner]

I think my favourite so far is Stockholm, as you get a good couple of hours of approach amongst all the small islands. Just looking at it on a map is fairly spectacular.

[punkincc]

For me, the top of the list would be the arrivals and departures on the entire Alaskan itinerary starting in Vancouver ( and everything in-between.)

 

Second would be departure from NYC with views of the Hudson, cityscape,

Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty and passing under the Verazanno Bridge.

 

Third would be departure from Acapulco harbor late at night, surrounded on three sides by hills twinkling with lights.

[Cubechick]

So far fir me it's the Alaska cruise, sailing Inside Passage on the way to Juneau, sailing Glacier Bay especially, sailing by the Na'Pali Coast in Hawaii, and sailing through the Panama Canal.

 

All just awesome. Hope to add to the list after our next cruise. :D

[Sequim88]

I think our best ports of call have been the ones where we were not docked in an industrial port area. Best "approach" would be a tie between Sitka Alaska (another place with lots of small islands) and Palma de Mallorca at sunrise. Most scenic stop hands down Villefranche sur Mer (and taking trains from there to Nice and Monaco was insanely easy). Favorite city - Barcelona, very wheelchair friendly too! Best "not a normal cruise stop" was a great day at Plymouth England and the train to Dartmouth.

[FiggyWig]

My vote goes to Istanbul... especially if you arrive around prayer time and the mosques are sounding out - something very mystical and special.:)

[Tiggertastic]

too many to choose from so here are my top favourites

 

The sail through the archipelago in and out of stockholm, it is eerie seeing no waves

 

The sail out of venice past all those wonderful buildings and st Marks square

 

Into Montenegro, the only Mediterranean fjord - stunningly beautiful

 

Warnemunde sail away, where the ship does a full 180 in a tiny space and the banks are lined with people and boats to see you off, fireworks included

 

I have to agree with Villefranche, it was my first ever wow on a cruise ship, on my first ever cruise and I will return one day

 

Santorini - realising that the world is all above your head

 

Istanbul too, one of the places where I stopped to take lots of pictures before even getting off the boat

 

the most unusual was as we sailed out past Galipoli and the cruise director did a running commentary as a tribute to the people who fought and died there - nerve tingling experience, an hour of silence from a packed deck of people

[Kaitlyn2]

too many to choose from so here are my top favourites

 

The sail through the archipelago in and out of stockholm, it is eerie seeing no waves

 

The sail out of venice past all those wonderful buildings and st Marks square

 

Into Montenegro, the only Mediterranean fjord - stunningly beautiful

 

Warnemunde sail away, where the ship does a full 180 in a tiny space and the banks are lined with people and boats to see you off, fireworks included

 

I have to agree with Villefranche, it was my first ever wow on a cruise ship, on my first ever cruise and I will return one day

 

Santorini - realising that the world is all above your head

 

Istanbul too, one of the places where I stopped to take lots of pictures before even getting off the boat

 

the most unusual was as we sailed out past Galipoli and the cruise director did a running commentary as a tribute to the people who fought and died there - nerve tingling experience, an hour of silence from a packed deck of people

Most spectacular was on The Sun leaving Ushuaia, Argentina with the mountains of Tierra del Fuego in the background. Second, sailing out of Sydney Harbour on a bright sunny day acompanied by literally thousands of sailboats.

We will be doing B2B Eastern & Western Med cruises aboard the Jade next March and are looking forward to Istanbul & others for comparision.

 

Karen

[robins11]

Most spectacular was on The Sun leaving Ushuaia, Argentina with the mountains of Tierra del Fuego in the background. Second, sailing out of Sydney Harbour on a bright sunny day acompanied by literally thousands of sailboats.

We will be doing B2B Eastern & Western Med cruises aboard the Jade next March and are looking forward to Istanbul & others for comparision.

 

Karen

 

Oh yes I agree with your thoughts on Ushuaia, the views there were just incredible. It really did feel remote. What a fantastic cruise on Sun.

 

John

[nobog]

Dubrovnik !

 

[lamchops]

Of the cruises that I've been on, these were the most memorable.

Valletta, Malta

Lisbon, Portugal

Fanning Island, Kiribati

Barcelona, Spain

Vancouver, Canada

San Francisco, USA

[HokiePoq]

What a wonderful thread! Brings back memories of beautiful sailaways and ideas for those to come.

For me it's hard to beat Venice and Santorini. Venice is so interesting as you go down the canals on our way in and out and Santorini is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

[robins11]

What a wonderful thread! Brings back memories of beautiful sailaways and ideas for those to come.

For me it's hard to beat Venice and Santorini. Venice is so interesting as you go down the canals on our way in and out and Santorini is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

 

Oh I agree the sailaway from Venice is stunning and on our cruise it was one in the morning when Spirit slowly navigated down the canal.

How about seeing Istanbul for the first time as dawn breaks !