Viking Cruises Presents "Great Homes, Gardens & Gin"

I was a big fan of the Downton Abbey, the British period drama series that aired on PBS for six seasons. And when I recall watching Downton Abbey, it brings to mind Viking River Cruises…  I dare to say that due to its sponsorship of the series, Viking River Cruises became a household name! So I was not surprised to see that Viking has partnered with Focus Features, Universal Pictures and

Carnival Films for the release of the new full-length film Downton Abbey, which by the way, was wonderful!

For years Viking has offered a variety of ways for its guests to experience life at Highclere Castle, the filming location of Downton Abbey. In celebration of the movie, the company developed a new Pre/Post Cruise Extension, “Great Homes, Gardens & Gin”  which was designed to give guests an exclusive look at several country estates that have served as the settings of the Downton Abbey series.

Azamara Pursuit…a Short Review

Last Saturday we returned from our cruise aboard the AzamaraPursuit. It was a country intensive voyage that stayed in Israel for 5 nights, as well as a visit to Limassol, Cypress and Heraklion, Crete.  This was probably the best cruise vacation we ever had!  Here's why...

The Ship…this 30,000 ton ship is small in size but large on style and hospitable service. The warm and elegant décor very much resembled a boutique hotel that we once stayed at in Venice.  There are several public spaces filled with groupings of deep comfy couches in which people naturally gravitated to for pre-dinner cocktails or after- dinner conversation.