Silversea Cruises offers Slow Food Cruise Tours in Tuscany

Foodies sailing on Silversea Cruises are in for a treat. The luxury cruise line is offering a three-night sojourn into the Tuscan countryside for a pre or post cruise experience celebrating Slow Food.

Castello Banfi vineyard estate in Montalcino, Tuscany

For those not familiar with the Slow Food concept, it is a culinary movement that aims to bring food to consumers that is locally grown and close to source.  The Slow Food movement  aims to promote sustainable foods while promoting  local small businesses. Darius Mehta, Silversea’s vice president of air and land programs sees this tour as a “an excellent opportunity for foodies and travelers alike to discover the beauty, food, tradition and culture of Tuscany, while also gaining greater insight into the principles of the Slow Food movement.”

View Larger Map

Foodies sailing on Silversea Cruises are in for a treat. The luxury cruise line is offering a three-night sojourn into the Tuscan countryside for a pre or post cruise experience celebrating Slow Food.

Highlights of the 3-day Slow Food tour in the Brunello region of Tuscany include:

• Three nights lodging at Il Borgo, Castello
• Cooking class, where participants will learn to prepare typical Tuscan specialties with the help of Silversea’s own culinary team
• In-depth tour of the Castello Banfi winery
• A full-day tour of Slow Food-recommended vineyards, olive groves, farms or other traditional food-producing operations in and around Bolgheri

Priced from $3,599 per guest (based on double occupancy), the Slow Food tour is offered as a pre-cruise option on Silver Wind’s April 30 voyage (#2212), Rome to Venice, and Silver Spirit’s October 22 sailing (#5233) from Rome to Barcelona. It’s also available as a post-cruise option on Silver Wind’s April 17 voyage (#2210), Barcelona to Rome.

Black Friday inspired cruise photos

The cruise lines are busy preparing plenty of hot deals and incentives to entice cruisers to book this weekend. Whilst the sales and marketing machines are cranking out the offers, I decided to to put together a montage of fun places you might like to visit.

Baltic and Scandinavia cruising

Peak season for the Baltic is between May and early September.  Plan to find an itinerary that allows for maximum time in port to explore. Stockholm and Copenhagen are the most popular turnaround ports. A bonus is a longer cruise, about 12 days with a an overnight in the port. I would suggest arriving at least a day before the cruise to acclimate, rest, and start to get a feel for the area.

Sailing into Norway a popular destination on Baltic and Scandinavia cruise itineraries.

St. Petersburg, Russia.

Tip: When cruising the Baltic, make sure to check the itinerary for maximum time in St. Petersburg. Also, plan to budget enough money for shore excursions in this port. Because of strict restrictions, cruise visitors will encounter some red tape when it comes to roaming around on their own. Taking organized shore excursions is preferred (either offered by the cruise line or through a private tour operator.)

River cruising

One of the best ways to experience Europe is on a river cruise.  The Danube, Rhine and Seine are three popular river cruise destinations in Europe.

Seine River, Paris, France

Honfleur, France: a must see excursion on any river cruise in Normandy.

Asia cruising

Consider cruising in late Fall or early Spring for the best weather. The southern countries will offer the warmest temperatures, so if swimming in the pool or going to the beach is on your bucket list, make sure to plan ahead.

Popular cruise destinations include port calls in China, Japan, southeast Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Malaysia.  Tip: try to include Hong Kong in your itinerary selection. This popular turnaround port has a lot to offer. To learn more about Hong Kong check out our review.

Silversea Cruises in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

Seoul, South Korea.

Shanghai

Where would you cruise and be able to see some amazing stonework?

Drawing inspiration from this week’s FriFotos theme, on Twitter, I am in search of cruise destinations where I might find “stone.”

Port-of-call: Los Angeles. Limestone at the Getty Museum

Limestone walls The Getty Museum. Photo by KHueg.

Starting near my homeport of Los Angeles, I start with the stonework at the Getty Museum.

Port-of-call: Aqaba for Petra

Queen Elizabeth will call into Aqaba for Petra – the City of Stone during her 2012 World Voyage #FriFotos pic.twitter.com/Ru8Eal6C via @CunardLine on Twitter

Port-of-call: Loreto, Sea of Cortez cruise

Stone wall in Loreto, Mexico. Holland America Line ship.

To see some more great places that feature “stone,” check out the #FriFotos hashtag today to see some wonderful submissions from other travel enthusiasts.

Barge Connection jumps into the #CruiseChat Spotlight

Join us August 30th at 2pm on Twitter to learn more about barge cruising with Barge Connection in the #CruiseChat Spotlight.

Since 1998, Barge Connection has been sending individuals to Europe for unique barge vacations. As a tour operator, Barge Connection serves as the go-between for vessel owners and cruise vacationers. Click here to read about barges.

Barge Vessels

The Barge Connection represents fully crewed barges, riverboats and self piloted vessels (similar to houseboats).

Destinations

The Barge Connection offers trips on many of Europe’s most popular rivers. Barge cruises on the Rhone, Moselle, Loire rivers provide ample opportunities to enjoy the countryside.  In addition to the larger rivers, barges also float along smaller canals.

Have you been on a barge vacation? Let us know about your trip.

Family Cruising in Europe: Cruise Chat Recap

#CRUISECHAT HashTracking.com Report

Thanks to @KidTravel and @CruiseRadio as we tackle cruising through Europe with the family.

• Listen to the interview that inspired the chat from Cruise Radio.
• Looking for a guide for what to look for when cruising with teens? Check out Family Travel Networks 12 tips for cruising with a teen

 

Top 10 by number of impressions

1. cruisebuzz: 891,352
2. kidtravel: 824,261
3. jkheaton: 416,211
4. cruiselinefans: 175,624
5. cruiseradio: 150,840
6. carevacations: 93,234
7. cruiseguy: 89,124
8. shipsandtrips: 71,375
9. halcruises: 33,272
10. rickgriffin: 30,818

Top 10 by number of tweets 
1. kidtravel: 101
2. cruisebuzz: 88
3. carevacations: 82
4. jkheaton: 51
5. cruiseradio: 40
6. cruiselinefans: 29
7. simontravels: 26
8. shipsandtrips: 25
9. cruizecast: 18
10. cruise_info: 17

Top 10 by number of followers 
1. rickgriffin: 30,818
2. travelblggr: 30,265
3. mcmedia: 13,726
4. cruisebuzz: 10,129
5. orlandochris: 9,053
6. producergirl: 8,939
7. halcruises: 8,318
8. jkheaton: 8,161
9. kidtravel: 8,161
10. roritravel: 7,426

The Questions

1. What should you consider when planning a family Med #cruise? Any tips?
2. Name two reasons why cruising is great way for families and multigenerational groups to experience Europe?
3. Which ports are the easiest to access for family #cruise visitors to Europe?
4. Traveling from the US is a long haul to Europe, what are some survival tips for families?
5. How can families get the best value from a #cruise vacation in the Med?
6. Any recommendations for shore excursions? Are there excursions that are specifically designed for families?
7. Are there any resources or tools that you think are particularly helpful for planning a #family #cruise in Europe?
8. Help of hindrance: US dollar/Euro exchange rate and a #cruise vacation in Europe. Why?
9. Cobblestones and strollers don’t mix. Share any tips for how to navigate the streets with your kids in Europe.
10. Name two things you  ”pack” for surviving a European family cruise.

Some of the answers

Sound advice … “Figure out collectively as a family what you want to see and do while in Europe” -@joyceeOlivaPR

Why Europe... Mediterranean destinations are full of history, but you can also laze in the sun. Great food. And gelato for the kids- @CaptGreybeard

Top cities and tips:

Venice and Dubrovnik was a favorite of  @cruiseradio.  Barcelona was high on the list for the easy walk around town by @CaptGreybeard.

Great tips from Family Travel Network’s  @kidtravel who suggested  that families “Look for ports that have great flight connections & rates + places you want to spend extra time exploring”