On the Horizon

By Toby Saltzman

Cruise passengers have plenty to look forward to when sailing resumes and goes full speed ahead in 2022. Bespoke experiences from top cruise lines are just one more reason why it’s an opportune time to look ahead and book ahead.

Experience Alaska on intimate expeditions with Seabourn guided by expert naturalists. Besides kayaking through Misty Fjords and sailing a catamaran through the turquoise waters of Tracy Arm to the glistening Sawyer Glacier, there’s much to do. Join a photography jaunt to capture pods of orca whales as they breach and circle in feeding frenzies. Fantastic fish tales, bragging rights and the promise of Seabourn’s chef to cook your catch can be yours on fishing quests. Or try salmon fishing from Ketchikan or Sitka. Passengers can also sign up to fly from Juneau to catch halibut at Icy Strait Point, or tackle ocean fishing for rare Chinook salmon on the calm Inside Passage from Wrangell Island.

Guest travelling with Oceania Cruises can immerse themselves in the beguiling blend of music, wine and food of the renowned Italian tenor’s world, amid the Bocelli vineyard estate his family has owned since 1730. From Livorno, drive through scenic Tuscany for a stop at Bocelli’s recording studio to see a biographical film about the singer and record yourself performing one of his songs. Then, it’s on to Lajatico, Bocelli’s birthplace, for a vineyard tour and wine tasting with Bocelli family members at Officine Bocelli restaurant, followed by a lavish Tuscan meal. After visiting Bocelli’s private Teatro del Silenzio, an open-air amphitheatre where he performed annually, guests can stop at the museum featuring Bocelli memorabilia.

Rejuvenate your body and spirit in the curative thermal spring waters of Terme dei Papi – Thermal Baths of Popes – celebrated for aeons by Etruscans, Romans and legendary popes. Depart your Regent Seven Seas cruise for an exclusive wellness mission from Civitavecchia for a drive through Italy’s pastoral countryside en route to the medieval city of Viterbo. Here, 15th-century Pope Nicholas V built a grand palace close to the Bullicame spring that produces warm, mineral-rich waters and soothing vapour. While relaxing in the vast outdoor pool amid splendid gardens, guests can ponder how it inspired Dante’s Divine Comedy and Michelangelo’s landscape sketches.

Overnight stays on segments of Silversea’s European Grand Voyage allow for exclusive, after-hours delights at iconic city sites. In Spain, the evening plays out in Bilbao’s architectural past and present, enriched with culinary and visual art, starting at Restaurante Aspaldiko, set in a cherished, old Basque building. After the chef presents culinary tips and a gastronomic tasting menu, guests transit to the ultra-modern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao for a guided tour enhanced by the music of a string quartet. For a grand finale, guests can sip cava while a children’s choir performs in the atrium.

From the Hebrides to the Shetlands, guided expeditions around the fabled isles with Hurtigruten will have you revelling in rich Celtic, Viking and British history, culture and nature. And, of course, there will be visits to authentic Scottish distilleries in Islay, the “whisky isle.” Between touring medieval fortresses, dining at the 800-year-old Duart Castle on Mull, and seeing the circle of 5,000-year-old Neolithic Callanish Standing Stones on Lewis, passengers are destined to see spectacular landscapes and wildlife. The volcanic Treshnish Isles attract nesting puffins, colonies of kittiwakes, gannets and eagles. The sea stacks of St. Kilda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, harbour thousands of nesting seabirds and minke whales.