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L.America&C.Americaw/Swan Hellenic |
| Reviewed By: de Wolff, CASCAIS Portugal on 26th Mar 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Swan Hellenic |
Times cruised before: 3-5 |
| Cruise Ship: Minerva II |
Sailed:
December,
2006 |
| Destination: South America |
Age: 65+ |
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Until a "trial run" with Swan Hellenic to the Baltic, I was a 'non'cruiser'.Couldn't imagine being cooped up with that many people for that length of time. A short 5-10 day cruise is a good way to change your mind. I did and since have done a Christmas Time cruise to Latin America as well as a tour of Mayan culture in C. America (N. Orleans to Barbados). Both were fascinating.
The secret for me is to pick a smallish boat.Here, each person's likes come into play. I have seen the mamoth 3000 passenger boats come into port with their 'party-party' types imposing their drunken selves on the local population ( nationality does not come into play: the Russians can be just as boisterous and unpleasant as the English or Americans - its more the 'football psychosis'that is at play} and I know thats not my scene. There have not been many 'small'boats around but there are more and more. The educational type upmarket tour is in fashion and getting more popular each day. One has to book well in advance to get the type of accomodation one wants: outside cabin with balcony;midships;convenient to elevators.......study the plan of the boat before picking your spot.Then once aboard they say 'relax'.I have never been so busy as on these cruises. Lectures and movies on where you are going;excursions each day, twice a day.Evening concerts,or crew entertainment. Hard to fit the daily gymn workout into the program without getting up at 6am.Who said you were going to relax? IF you really want to benefit of all that is offered its exhausting. One comes home for a rest, but in all the places we have 'done' so far its been worth every moment and every penny. No packing and unpacking;superb service everywhere;top quality accomodations and incredible food: there is really nothing that is wanting on a Swan Hellenic Cruise. They look after you - and well!!
As to the people you meet or dont meet: its a great deal of luck. We have made friends that we see again;we have had trips where we didn't really 'bond' with anyone in particular. But all were pleasant people and even with 200 passengers on board thats enough to find someone of interest. No assigned seating so one doesnt HAVE to eat with anyone one doesnt care to know better. One can be a loner if that is your preference.
I had been somewhat skeptical of a Christmas cruise: not the usual family orientation but it worked out well. The boat was beautifully decorated for the Season and being in a hot sunny climate did not allow one to be nostalgic. Our S. American adventure was not typical since we had a lot of friends in Brazil who met us at many of the stops. Speaking the language made us less dependent on the daily excursions so that we could break away from the daily routine and "do a lot by ourselves".We used the cruise more of a way to travel and get to places - at least in Brazil. On our recent Mayan Culture adventure we knew nothing about the area we were going to and relied heavily on the excursions and the programming of the Swan Hellenic group. Organization is superb: every detail is prepared for and one really feels that they know what they are doing. Again all this is the advantage of a small boat. One could not possibly cater this type of program to thousands of people.Local guides can be disappointing. Its luck. One has good ones and not such good ones but we rarely had a really bad one. If it happens one can let it be known.Staff is very attentive to this type of comment. One feels they care to know the truth.On this last cruise we added on a few days at the start to see N. Orleans on our own and stayed over in Barbados at the end. Again,one can easily combine ones own program with the cruise program.Its sufficiently flexible.
We were sorry to see the Minerva 11 get sold and Swan Hellenic pack up.There seems to have been some major snags to have to stop and now restart.We have not as yet tried the reconverted Minerva 1 and fear it may be too small . In the interim new small cruise lines have started up with more luxurious craft . We intend to do some specialty cruising ( Antarctic; river cruising etc) and see how it compares.There is still so much to see and cruising is the way to go. Flying is no more fun.Cruising is !
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Tried all restaurants. Mainly ate outdoors or in the Grill Restaurants upstairs.Dining room too crowded. | | Entertainment | |
| The opera group singing was fun.The crew shows are always fun but when one has seen a few they tend to get monotonous.Lectures in the daytime are superb. | | Shore Excursions | |
| All were different. We picked to get a cross section. The day in Tobago at the beach wasn't much of anything........... | | Staff |  |
| Dining room staff. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| n/a I wouldnt recommend a S.Hellenic cruise for young children | | Onboard Activities |  |
| enough.When on board we wanted to relax!!! | | Cabins | |
| Facilities were excellent. Could have been a bit bigger: we couldnt get a suite. Next time......... | | Overall Rating | |
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