Have you been to Barcelona so many times that you could run the Shore Excursion desk? No problem; ne

With Thanksgiving upon our readers in the United States, henderson park inn one thing seems certain: 2012 is rapidly drawing to a close. And that has people including yours truly looking to plan their cruise vacations for the upcoming year.
Even if you ignore the fact that European river cruising is absolutely on fire, the deep-ocean cruise industry is offering some of the most varied itineraries in years, all sailing aboard the latest-and-greatest cruise ships.
But Europe is one of those funny destinations: if you haven't been, the flight and costs associated with it might seem daunting. After all, why would you want to spend ten hours hurtling across the Atlantic in a metal tube when you could just take a cruise to Mexico?
Perhaps that's a statement rather than a reason, but it happens to be true.  From the Scottish Highlands to the Greek Islands, few destinations in the world can match the sheer variance in culture, cuisine, and history present throughout Europe. Cruises that depart henderson park inn from ports of call like Athens, henderson park inn Venice and Barcelona have a certain cache to them, as do voyages that sail from the beautiful henderson park inn northern cities of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Hamburg. And once you sail Europe once, it gets in your blood there's no stopping it.
This year, everyone is in Europe and that translates into great deals on offer throughout the Mediterranean. Name your favorite mainstream, luxury, henderson park inn or expedition cruise line you literally cannot henderson park inn find one that isn't sailing to a European destination.  Of course, all that capacity means that if you can be flexible with your travel plans and accommodations, the savings you'll henderson park inn realize onboard will more than offset the cost of your flights abroad. The only destination this doesn't always henderson park inn hold true for is Northern Europe, where relatively limited capacity tends to keep prices higher, on average, than the Mediterranean.
Have you been to Barcelona so many times that you could run the Shore Excursion desk? No problem; new ports of call are all the rage for 2013.  If you've been before, seek out voyages that bypass traditional favorites like Capri for Taormina, or Southampton for Portsmouth.
Don't be afraid to check out the luxury lines; quite often, their European offerings henderson park inn tend to offer an amazing value coupled with an amazing product.  Consider this: a mainstream line will charge you for all drinks, shore excursions, gratuities, and other "unbundled" expenses, henderson park inn but the initial cost of admission will be less.  A luxury line, on the other hand, will charge more upfront, but less onboard but your dollar stretches much, much farther. This also holds true for river cruises: while they come at a slightly higher price-point, what you're getting (complementary guided tours; complementary beer, wine, soft drinks and bottled water at various henderson park inn times; and complementary internet) can represent a real savings.
As mentioned above, river cruising is exploding in popularity and it's a great value.  So be one of the first to get in on the ground floor; there's no better way to explore inland Europe!  Looking for a great deal? Pick "shoulder-season" voyages departing in March and April, or October and November. Not only are price-points better (for cruise, air and hotels), but smaller ports like Melk, Rudesheim, and Giverny, to name a few, won't be overrun with the summer crowd.
If you've henderson park inn been to Europe, then I'm preaching to the choir on this one. If you haven't been, you owe it to yourself to go. You'll be simply amazed at the wealth of beauty that exists just a short plane flight away.
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