SAILING IN…
If you are sailing into port on a ship’s maiden voyage, the welcome can be astounding – as witnessed by the maiden voyage of Queen Mary 2 (QM2), which brought Sydney to a screeching halt. Small craft sailed out to greet her, fire boats showered huge jets of water into the air and crowds lined the shore. And in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the heavens opened and flowers were strewn around her from a helicopter.
Most ships arrive early morning and have berthed well before 8am. Often they enter the harbour in the pre-dawn hours, and you could awake to find yourself staring at the wharf’s pylons. Best practice is to read the ship’s newsletter the night before for arrival details. It should tell you what time the pilot will come on board. Ultimately, everything is dependent on port conditions. In small or island ports, ships anchor offshore and passengers are ferried to a landing by tender – usually the ship’s lifeboats.
SAILING OUT
Most ships sail at 6pm, except on special occasions when it might be 10pm or
11pm. While streamers are long gone, in some smaller ports – in New Zealand or Tasmania for instance – the sound of the bagpipes piping your ship out to the strains of “Auld Lang Syne” or “Now Is the Hour” is enough to give you goosebumps. Or in Albany, Western Australia, when P&O UK liner Adonia sailed out, the locals lined the foreshore beaming her farewell with their car headlights. Everyone on board snuffled into their hankies.
At the start of a voyage, the upper deck of the ship will soon be rocking to the rhythms of a Caribbean band or swaying to the sounds of a South Pacific group. Colourful cocktails are circulated, while below, champagne flutes are sipped, as a Palm Court orchestra plays. All this before you have even left the harbour and farewelled the last lighthouse.
1 WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO
Who sails there? Carnival, HAL, RCI, NCL, Princess
Postcard-pretty, this port in the Netherlands Antilles is an all-time favourite for many cruise passengers sailing the Southern Caribbean. The legacy of Willemstad’s early settlers – Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and more – is easily visible as you sail into or out of the historic capital. Steep-gabled houses painted in gelati colours – pistachio, banana, raspberry and hazelnut – snuggle side by side, just as they do in Amsterdam. Standing on deck of MS Statendam looking over the roofs below, I have an irresistible urge to try to pluck them from this toy-town lookalike.
Once ashore, most people head for the picturesque old quarter of Punda to peruse the jewellery shops (gold and semi-precious stones are a good buy), see the floating markets and watch the famous pontoon bridge – one of the largest in the world – open and close to allow ships to pass into the narrow channel. Another important sight is the oldest synagogue (1634) in the Americas, one of the finest examples of Dutch Colonial architecture. Then there is the island’s most famous export, the delicious orange-flavoured liqueur Curacao, to sample.
2 SAN FRANCISCO, USA
Who Sails There? Silversea, HAL, Princess
The city on the bay in which Tony Bennett and other crooners left their heart is often enveloped in fog. We cluster on the deck ready to see the Golden Gate Bridge from a different perspective – beneath. But where is it? Suddenly its graceful orange-red spans loom above us and Silver Shadow sails silently and seamlessly under the ‘gate’.
The next most conspicuous sight in the bay is the island of Alcatraz – home to notorious gangster Al Capone, Robert Stroud (the ‘birdman’ of Alcatraz) and other incorrigibles. No longer a prison, it is a tourist attraction that can be reached by ferry. We turn our attention to the city side. Although compact and easily walk-able, San Francisco is spread over a series of steep hills. (Try a cable car to find out just how steep!)
We pass Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 and wave to the sea lions basking in the sun’s first rays. You couldn’t ask for a better arrival than that.
3 MONTE CARLO, MONACO
Who sails there? Silversea, Seabourn, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas
With more than 30,000 inhabitants, this tiny principality on the Mediterranean is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Thanks to amazing (Princess) Grace – American-beauty-turned-actress-turned-royal – Monte Carlo tops the chart as one of the Mediterranean’s most desirable ports. From your ship (or private yacht), looking at it from the water is like having a box at the opera, as you gaze at the parade of stars strutting the picturesque set.
Monaco continues to be a preferred hideaway for the rich and famous. So you might rub shoulders with a high roller, a minor royal or a Formula One racing driver in a chic café.
Its most famous building is easily the beautiful baroque-style casino, which has been the setting for many a Hollywood movie, and where innumerable fortunes have been won and lost. But for many, the greatest drawcard is the Monaco Grand Prix.
4 NEW YORK CITY, USA
Who sails there? Cunard, Carnival, HAL, Regent Seven Seas
There is no experience more momentous than sailing into New York after a transatlantic crossing. It is one of the great rites of passage. Nor is there anything to equal arriving on board a Cunard queen. It was Samuel Cunard who started it all with the first crossing of Britannia from Halifax to Southampton. My first crossing was as a teenager on a Dutch ship no longer in existence.
We stayed up all night, waiting for our first glimpse of the city that never sleeps. Some decades later, on a crossing on Queen Mary 2, nothing much had changed. We arrived in the pre-dawn hours. New York women were all ‘minked’ up and the men were wearing Astrakhan hats.
Everyone is eager for that first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the breathtaking sight of Manhattan, still lit up despite the hour. The best views are from the top deck, where you can see the Statue of Liberty on your left, Manhattan ahead and Brooklyn on your right. But if you want to enjoy the view of the statue on arrival from your cabin then book on the port side.
5 SANTORINI, GREECE
Who sails there? Star Clippers, Minerva, Azamara, Seabourn
This alluring island in the Cyclades group is probably one of the most famous of all Greek Islands, not only because it soars steeply out of a sapphire sea – said to harbour the lost city of Atlantis – but also because its familiar crescent shape profile was created by a stupendous volcanic eruption in 1450 BC. The volcano is still active! You will sail across its fathomless caldera en route to the capital, Fira.
Clinging on to the terraced cliff face, Fira is lined with the quintessential Greek whitewashed streets featuring boutiques, bars and restaurants that all have breathtaking views. Running along the edge of the caldera, the street Agiou Mina leads to the much-photographed 18th-century church of Agios Minas, which has a distinctive blue dome and white belltower.
A thrill for many is a donkey ride up 580 cobbled steps from the tiny port of Skala Firon to Fira, some 270 metres above. When you get to the top, you can enjoy the sight of your ship resting peacefully at anchor below.
6 RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Who sails there? RCL, HAL, Regent Seven Seas, P&O International
This Brazilian beauty is easily one of the most recognised and dazzlingly beautiful harbour cities in the world. Once the eye alights on the 30-metre statue of Christ the Redeemer (now one of the world’s New Seven Wonders) standing on top of Corcovado Mountain, you witness a sight that you will remember for a lifetime.
Besides appreciating the sheer natural beauty of this spectacular harbour, you can take the cogwheel train up the mountain, through the emerald-green rainforest, to the foot of the statue. For more panoramic views, take the aerial tramway up Sugarloaf Mountain. Just remember that there is no guarantee you will see the ‘Girl from Ipanema’, especially among the Carnival throngs.
7 ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Who sails there? Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, Silversea
Istanbul is the only city in the world that straddles two continents: separating them is the beautiful Bosphorus River. Istanbul is one of the most mesmerising sights at any time of day or night, but it is probably more spectacular sailing out than in, especially at sunset. It is hard to imagine a lovelier sight than watching the last rays of the sun make silhouettes of the city’s many minaret-studded mosques, while the sound of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayer soars above the roar of the traffic. Meanwhile, the harbour is abuzz with water traffic. Ferries hover like dragonflies, alighting briefly here, then darting off there. From the water you can identify the Galata Bridge, which separates the Bosphorus from the Golden Horn, and the elegant Bosphorus suspension bridge, which links the European side of the city with the Asian side.
The most famous mosque near the water is Süleymaniye, but to see the Blue Mosque and Santa Sofia you will need plenty of shore time.
8 HONG KONG, CHINA
Who Sails There? RCL, HAL, Costa, Star Cruises
Hong Kong, like many Asian cities, is an emerging cruise hub. With the advent of a new cruise terminal in four years’ time, it will feature strongly as a favourite port on cruise ship itineraries. But there is no denying it is already a fabulous harbour city. At no time is it more dramatic than when dusk darkens to night. Suddenly, Central surges into a wall of cascading light from its many high-rises topped by dramatic neon signage. Tallest among them is the IFC building, while on the Kowloon side, the tallest is the ICC building.
The harbour itself is a never-ending source of fascination with its kaleidoscopic colours and shapes – the much-loved Star Ferries scurry back and forth, junks placidly ply their trade and bulk carriers muscle past. But still there are oases of serenity, on top of the Peak, or at the legendary Peninsula Hotel on Kowloon’s waterfront.
9 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Who sails there? Princess, P&O, RCL
This is a given. Few ports can come anywhere near Sydney. No matter what size craft you are on, from the moment you sail past the sandstone majesty of the Heads into the world’s most beautiful harbour, there is a sense of awe – it doesn’t matter how often you have done it. But sailing in on QM2 takes the cake. Standing on the upper decks while rounding North Head in the early hours, we were almost eye-to-eye with spectators lining the clifftop.
She comes in at a heck of a bat, so don’t lounge around in your cabin thinking you have all of the time in the world, or you’ll miss out. The stalwarts among us are primed to tick off the landmarks, the Bridge, the Opera House and tiny Fort Denison. We tower above it as Commodore Warner ‘spins the wheel’ in a semicircle past the Fort, then noses the majestic liner in to a berth at Garden Island. I reach for my hanky, and I’m not alone.
10 VENICE, ITALY
Who sails there? MSC, HAL, Princess, Silversea, Crystal
Sailing into Venice from the Adriatic Sea, you will enter the vast (and shallow) lagoon, follow the narrow shipping lane past the island of Lido, then enter the Giudecca Canal. At no time do ships pass along the magnificent Grand Canal, lined with the private palazzi of merchants and noblemen. Eye-popping in their opulence, these days most are museums, hotels or belong to foundations. The only way to explore the Grand Canal by water is to take a vaporetto (water bus), motoscafo (motor boat), water taxi or gondola.
Even so, from the deck of a ship, you glide past quite a few of La Serenissima’s incomparable treasures: the entrance to Piazza San Marco, and a fleeting glimpse of its priceless gem, Basilica Di San Marco, and the pink-and-white marble Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). Water city it may be, but to discover the Venice behind the mask, you will have to explore by foot.