Viking Cruises on Tuesday announced it has expanded its portfolio of partnerships with premier cultural institutions, with a summer season of events around the country. Viking has signed on to sponsor the United States tour of the acclaimed English boys choir, Libera, and the Ballet Sun Valley international festival this summer. The company has also extended its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl for the fifth consecutive season.

These new partnerships build on Viking’s commitment to drive cultural insight and personal enrichment, with current partners that include National Geographic’s “Genius,” PBS’ Masterpiece, TED, The Metropolitan Opera, BBC, Highclere Castle, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Oslo’s Munch Museum and St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, among others. 

Here's a 2 1/2-minute drone video of Holland America's Oosterdam — which I just sailed on last week in Alaska — during a sailaway out of Port Tampa Bay for a Western Caribbean cruise. Some "crazy beautiful footage" of the ship leaving at dusk, as the videography team put it. 

The drone gets closer to the ship than in most cruise ship videos I've seen. The music chosen wouldn't be my first choice. But overall, short and sweet. 

Over the years I've heard plenty of horror stories about travelers returning from cruises only to be hit by a jaw-dropping — and unexpectedly ginormous — cellular phone bill.

It's why I make every attempt to NEVER turn on cellular service on while aboard a cruise ship.

In March I spent a week aboard Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf on an otherwise splendid sailing in the Caribbean. During the trip I received a single text from AT&T informing me that I was nearing my data capacity for the month and, if it was exceeded, there would be a $20 fee for additional data usage. (I had purchased the ship's Passport Plan, which covers Wi-Fi but not cellular.) I had used my iPhone 7 on land during the trip and probably forgot to toggle the setting back to Airplane Mode when reboarding the ship a couple of times. In any case, I didn't intentionally use my iPhone on board Wind Surf for even a moment. That is, I uploaded no photos or video, texted no one, called no one. 

So imagine my surprise when my AT&T bill arrived with an overage charge of $1,825!

If you dig jazz and love to cruise, you might want to consider booking a cabin on MSC Divina for the 14^th Annual JazzFest at Sea. The 11-night, jam-packed voyage that spotlights jazz of the 1920s and 1940s leaves from Miami on Jan. 3, 2018 for the Southern Caribbean with stops in Antigua, Grenada, St. Kitts, Barbados and more.

Some of the great legends of genre that will be on board include tenor saxophonists Houston Person and Harry Allen, Warren Vaché, Allan Vaché, Rossano Sportiello, Butch Miles, Bill Allred, Johnny Varro, Howard Alden, Duke Heitger, Danny Coots, Frank Tate, Mark Shane, Mike Pittsley and Charlie Silva. Vocalists include Rebecca Kilgore, Banu Gibson and Yve Evans.

AmaWaterways will offer more river cruise opportunities in Vietnam and Cambodia for 2018, the award-winning river cruise company has announced.

The AmaDara will sail either up or downriver along the Mekong River for seven nights, tacking on pre- and post-cruise land extension options.

“We are pleased to offer our guests more opportunities to experience the unique authenticity of the Mekong and the villages that line the riverbanks,” Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-owner of AmaWaterways, said in a statement. 

2018-19 Southeast Asia itineraries are as follows:

Paul Gauguin Cruises, a cruise line offering small luxury sailings to Tahiti, French Polynesia, Fiji and the South Pacific, has unveiled its itineraries for 2019.

The 2019 calendar includes 99 cruises that offer passengers the chance to discover some of the South Pacific’s hidden gems. In 2019, there are three new sailings to the Society Islands and Tahiti Iti.

Known for its exceptional service and its outstanding passenger-to-crew ratio, Paul Gauguin’s cruises feature roomy ocean-view cabins with balconies in select stateroom categories, gourmet dining, a state-of-the-art spa, spacious decks by the pool, a fitness center, boutique and a lounge with live entertainment.

Viking Cruises has just announced a new ocean cruise itinerary that will allow guests the rare opportunity to explore the far north in Norway’s winter during a peak period for aurora borealis sightings.

Sailing between London and Bergen, Norway, starting in January 2019, “In Search of the Northern Lights” will establish Los Angeles-based Viking as the first U.S. cruise line to offer a full-length itinerary in the Arctic Circle in the winter season.

Luxury / Millionaire / Wealth Videos http://www.youtube.com/user/luxsreports?sub_confirmation=1

Luxury Cruise ship Tour of Seabourn Quest.

I'm friends with Ralph Grizzle, the Avid Cruiser, and admire his video reports from Silversea, Seabourn and other luxury cruise lines. (Ralph wanted to join Cruiseable as an Advisor but found it might conflict with his existing business relationships.)

This short video takes you on a video tour of Seabourn Quest, which for my money is one of the top five cruise ships in the world. The Quest offers amazing itineraries to Antarctica, South America, the Caribbean and Europe. I would absolutely love to travel aboard Seabourn Quest to Antarctica. Once. Adding this to my bucket list.

Many more photos and information about Seabourn Quest on Cruiseable at: https://cruiseable.com/cruise-line/seabourn/seabourn-quest 

Silversea is rolling out a number of special enrichment experiences for the remainder of 2017 dedicated to opera, ballet, food, wine, bridge play, wellness and learning.

The culturally immersive experiences, curated by the Silversea staff, are designed to both engage and enlighten the luxury cruise line's guests, according to marketing chief Barbara Muckermann.

Here is a preview of what is to come.

Just in time for summer vacation, one of the fiercest underwater legends has come to life in an entirely new way. SeaWorld Orlando’s original roller coaster offers an adventure for thrill-seeking guests unlike any other, now that Kraken Unleashed opened to the public on June 16.

AmaWaterways has launched a new onboard fitness program on board the Paris and Normandy sailings of AmaLyra.

The new program features four to six classes each day that include morning stretching, jogging, yoga, cardio, and more led by “sports scientist” Selina Wank. 

In addition to the fitness activities, there will be discussions about healthy eating and relaxation that put a new emphasis on wellness during the cruise. 

“Being active and healthy while traveling is something that is personally, so important to me, and as a company, AmaWaterways has been embracing active travel for more than a decade,” Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-owner, said in a statement. 

“We believe guests are looking to take steps to ensure that their vacation time is an extension of their wellness-oriented lifestyle, and we are so happy to continue introducing new ways for travelers to remain healthy while on board our ships,” Karst added. 

AmaWaterways has had a long history of offering wellness activities aboard its ships. It was the first to offer bikes onboard, and the cruise line is dedicated to providing healthy culinary options to guests. 

There is an ongoing focus to provide locally sourced ingredients as well as gluten-free, low-sodium and vegetarian menu items.  The cruise line also offers a hydration station onboard all of its ships with infused detox and gemstone water. 

Right now, the wellness program is offered onboard the AmaLyra, but there are plans to launch the program on additional ships in 2018. This includes the AmaMagna, which is scheduled to debut in 2019. It will introduce even more wellness opportunities with a watersports platform and expanded fitness and spa facilities.

— from Cruiseable news services

Are you familiar with repositioning cruises?

We certainly had not heard about them until last year when a fellow house sitter traveled from Panama to Portugal and taking a reposition cruise could be a new way of traveling for you!

After downsizing and selling up everything we owned we now travel the world house sitting and writing about our adventures on our baby boomer travel blog. Travel costs are our #1 expense item and we are always looking for travel hacks to maximize our travel dollar and finding discount cruises is one way we do it.

What are repositioning cruises?

Cruise companies reposition their cruise ships from continent to continent to commence the next season e.g. Europe to the Caribbean.