Bordeaux

Valentine’s Day Cruise Deals, If You Hurry

Published February 9, 2016 | By Clark Norton

The Royal Clipper in full sail. Photo courtesy of Star Clippers.

Two of my favorite cruise lines, Star Clippers and CroisiEurope, have just come out with Valentine’s specials, and with Cupid Day coming right up, you’ll have to move quickly to take advantage of them.

Star Clippers, whose fleet consists of three of the world’s largest and tallest sailing vessels, has a Valentine’s Day offer of French Champagne, sweet treats, and a one-hour massage for two for all new bookings made by February 15, 2016, based on double occupancy.

If you’re traveling solo, you can treat yourself to one massage along with the Champagne and sweets as well.

The offer is good for select Mediterranean sailings between April and October of this year. To review European itineraries and to book, go to the Star Clippers website or call 1-800-442-0551.

Note: I was on one… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Boat travel, Caribbean, Cruises, Europe, river cruises | Tagged Bordeaux, CroisiEurope, European river cruising, Rhine Valley, river cruises, Royal Clipper, Star Clippers, Star Flyer, Start Clipper, Venice | Leave a comment

A Quick Guide to Top European River Cruises

Published March 12, 2015 | By Clark Norton

Part 2 of a 3-part series

In our last post, we began our quick guide to European cruising rivers, starting with the Danube, Rhine, Seine, and the Volga and other Russian waterways — probably the best known of the top 12 cruising rivers in Europe.

In this post, we’ll take a look at four more rivers — well, actually five rivers and one canal — ranging from France to Portugal, Germany and the Czech Republic to Sweden.

The Rivers of Bordeaux: the Dordogne, Garonne, and Gironde

Bordeaux vineyard and chateau. Photo from Bordeaux Tourism.

You can get an intimate look at Bordeaux, perhaps the world’s premier red-wine-producing region, on this three-river cruise that begins in the city of Bordeaux itself. Bordeaux, situated along the Garonne River — which connects to the Bay of Biscay via the Gironde River along France’s western coast — is a treasure trove of architectural… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Boat travel, Cruises, Europe | Tagged Berlin, Bordeaux, Czech Republic, Dordogne, Douro River, Douro Valley, Dresden, Elbe, European river cruises, Garonne, Germany, Gironde, Göta Canal, Porto, Portugal, Prague, river cruises, Stockholm, Sweden | 2 Comments

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Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.