Luxury Cruising
TSAR ROMANOV'S SUMMER PALACE
While sailing on the Crystal Symphony to the Black Sea, we stopped in Yalta, Ukraine, to visit the summer palace of the Romanov Family, Livadia. Thousands of tourists visit this Crimean Peninsula palace as this was the sight of the famous Yalta conference of the Big Three, which included President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin in 1945. My wife and I decided, as usual, to do our own independent tour and it really paid off!! We met a tour guide named Kosta, whom we are still in touch with, and he treated us to a special day. Not only was Kosta our personal tour guide, but he got us unprecentented access to areas in the Palace that nobody else on the entire ship was privy to. He gave two old Russian ladies a few rubles and up these stairs we went into the private study of Tsar Nicholas II. Pictures of his entire family were everywhere on the walls, and we were able to look out at this spectacular view of the Crimean Sea from the desk of the late Tsar. You could almost feel the Tsar‚ presence in the room. He then took us to the Grand Reception Room and another waiting area. We never expected to get this kind of access to this amazing historical palace.
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Luxury Cruising - Europe Like Never Before
Mediterranean Sea Cruises are available, because of the weather, from May through the middle of November. Some of the most popular ports of call in Europe are Nice, France, Barcelona, Spain and Venice, Italy. Later in the fall are perfect times to visit these areas to get the best value in your travel and accommodations.
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Cruising Categories Explained
Did you know that all cruise lines are rated? While all cruises are excellent values, cruise ratings help you to know the level of service to expect when choosing a cruise line. Ratings are based on excursions, food, entertainment, and of course service.
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Six Star Celebration
When planning a cruise on one of the 6 star cruise ships, it's always a good idea to have someone who's either been to the region that you desire, has cruised on these ships themselves, as well as having the ability to give you, the client, the best price possible. The insider benefits to knowing which cruise line would be the best connection for you enables you to have opportunities and benefits that normally would not be available. A benefit on 6 star ships is the ratio of guests to crew - 1 to 4 and some as low as 1 to 1.
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Matching The Right Cruise For You
One of the most important things that I or my staff can do is match the right people with the right cruise. We will ask questions like, "Are there kids involved?" or "Have you cruised before?" and "What is your budget?" With this we will look at all the options and find the best value and most-affordable cruise that perfectly fits your needs. Here at Art of Cruising we deeply care about your experience and want you to have a great time onboard!
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